Jasper Day 3

Today we traveled to the Pocahantas Mines (these were coal mines in the area). and then to the Mielle Hot Springs.  To be honest the mines were not really worth it.  There was little left of the colliers (coal miners) homes or the mining operation.  Just some foundations and the mine shaft which you could not enter.  The hot springs were great with several pools, two were HOOOOT, medium hot, COOOLD, and cold.  It was great to relax though and get a restful day in.  This afternoon we are i the Soft Rock Cafe in Jasper and catching up on some email and the rest of the things that we need to do.  So tomorrow we head on down the Icefields Parkway to see the Athabasca Glacier. I think that the first time I saw this was when I was 5 years old and have been up on the glacier about 5 times.  It is just great to stand on hundreds of feet of snow and ice.  We will see if this time it snows on us up there(it has every time we were up there before).Well that's all for today folks.Lorneenjoy the bears they are Bev's greatest joy on the trip. 1 Bears2 Princess Lake and Lover's Island3  Underground water from Medicine Lake going into Malinge Cyn4 Malinge Lake I think

Jasper, Alberta

Jasper Day 2
We spent part of the morning first going to Patricia Lake and Princess Lake above the town of Jasper. Princess Lake has a mountain looking down on it that is just unreal with the iron deposits showing a rich red color to them. On the way were a herd of Elk which we photographed and then onto the lake where Bev and I once again walked around Lover’s Island with its quaint bridge. What is so nice about all of these lakes is how clear they are.
After that was our trip to Medicine Lake and Maligne Lake. On the offroad there we encountered three sets of bears. Yesssssireee folks we have seen more bears here in one day than all of our Alaska trip. It was three yes countem three mamma bears each with two cubs. Now that is a bear of a day. Medicine Lake was first with its emerald green clear waters and the Rocky Mnts all around. It is really evident here how the glaciers carved these mountains and valleys. You can see a whole line of mountain ridges that are perfectly symmetrical in how the glacier came down the valley. Medicine Lake also drains into an underground aquifer but more on that later.
Next it was onto Maligne Lake and on the way another elk and a wolf. I did not get a picture of the wolf as he was partially hidden by the flowers he was hiding in.
On the way back as an afterthought we stopped at the Maligne Cyn. I was not going to go here because the hiking would be bad for Bev but she insisted that we go. It was well worth the trip as the canyon goes down several hundred feet and is only about 20-30 feet wide at the most. Water rushes everywhere and there are waterfalls and rapids at every point. The walking trail has several bridges that span the canyon and it is something to see. Water from this canyon comes from Medicine Lake and takes some 70 hours to go underground before reappearing in the canyon. Quite a trip huh.
Well today we go to the hot springs at Miette and then to the Pocahontas Mines.
Lorne
Pictures are elk and bears and Medicine Lake

Old White Haired Racals

Scroungy Old Men
As you know Bev and I left for this trip on May 28, 2008 and if you have followed the photos in this blog you will realize that as time has past my hair has gotten progressively longer and longer as the time has passed. This may have concerned some of you. How could I let such a lapse in personal decorum happen. Well folks when you are old and have white hair you are just eccentric and not weird or slovenly. Therefore, my hair continues to grow as I have had a hard time finding a barber while on the trail of adventure.
Tomorrow or the next day we will be in Jasper, BC and I may look in the directory to find a suitable hair stylist (that’s a fancy barber) or go to just a regular barber (my preference) or for the third choice it may just get longer. Then I could hang out in Wal Mart or the Mall and ask strangers for a handout and possibly fund this little adventure we are on. Time will tell.
Lorne

Smithers to Prince George

Smithers to Prince George
We left Smithers as I said on a Sat (and I thought that it was Thurs) but then as you travel the road of life with no timetable and no calendar to look at one day just stretches into the next and it really is hard to keep time and distance into perspective. It’s not like you have to be at the office at 8:00 in the morning and you have a regular schedule. I try to impress on Bev we need to get up early (she won’t budge).
This part of the trip was a backtrack from when we came up to Prince George to go to Prince Rupert so again we crossed the Skeena River many times and went along many mountains and lakes.
In Prince George we crossed the Fraser River which flows to the Pacific Ocean and is reallllly wide. Shortly after we made camp at Purden Lake Provincial Park. We even has some trouble because this is just outside Prince George and the weekend so there are not many spots left. But we found one and are happily settled into the pine trees and it will be tacos tonight. There seem to be lots of kids in this park and I hope that the noise level goes down after it gets later in the evening. Tomorrow it is on to Jasper and we will probably stay there for a few days as it is a really lovely town with lots of lakes and such in the town itself. I recall on our last trip that we did not seem to have as much time as we wished to explore it.
On the list also for Jasper will be to try to find an internet service and laundromat. Both are coming due as we have not been able to post for the last several days.
Sorry no pics this time

Hyder to Smithers

Hyder to Smithers
We left Hyder and completed the Cassiar Hwy. Wow shat a difference from 2004 when it was all gravel and dirt. Now we are backtracking on Hwy 16 the Yellowhead Hwy towards Prince George, BC. We stopped for the night at Smithers in the Municipal Campground on the Skeena River. Really quite a nice place and we have electrical hookups. They were having a band or music concert in town but before we had found out about it I had already started a fire in the fire pit for dinner. Yes folks I am cooking steaks tonight on an open fire. And I must say so they turned out really good.
In the morning I decided because it had rained all night I would wash the Trek at the campsite instead of a car wash. It sure feels good to get the dust of the road off the RV.
1 Totem poles along the way
2 Twin Falls the first one
3 Totem carving
4 Twin Falls the second one

BEARS

BEARS YESSSIREE BEARS
We were in Hyder at the dump at night as suggested after a dinner of fish with of all people Les and Maureen. Some of the Halibut that I had caught in Homer. Tom, whom I met in Hyder took me to his crab pot for some fresh crabs to cook but alas there were no crabs in the pot.
Well we waited until about 7:30 to 8:00 and no bears in the evening at the dump, so off to the bear viewing area on Salmon Creek. We waited and waited and then suddenly some trees started shaking down by the stream. Waited some more, more shaking, no bear. Then the grizzley popped out into the stream and gave us quite a show. Then back into the bush and we waited some more and sure enough another bear popped out farther down but I was unable to get his picture as the camera jammed up on me.
Well the next morning we thought that we had seen enough bears and were tired so we decided to just head on out the Cassiar turnoff.
About half way down the road here was this great black bear just eating flowers and not paying too much attention to us or anything else in his life but just eating. So we stayed with him for about 20 minutes and then I finally told Bev she had seen enough and much to her disappointment we left her bear. Well we didn’t get 30 feet down the road and he went for the bush.
I did see one more bear on the Cassiar but was going too fast and there was not time to get a picture.
Lorne
1 Black bear
2 Black bear
3 Grizzley
4 Sorry same grizzley

Border Safety

Borders and Safety
Well I have confirmed it again in 2008. I thought that with all of the turmoil in the federal government and the Dept of Homeland Security and securing our borders this blatant issue of open borders would have been corrected. But the wheels of government turn slowly if at all up here in Alaska.
You see Hyder is in Alaska at the end of Hwy 37A the Stewart Hyder cutoff to the Cassiar Hwy. Stewart is in BC and part of Canada. Therefore where the paved road in Canada ends and the dirt and fravel road to the town of Hyder begins is an international border. Hyder is even a deep water port (although all of the docks are in Canada (Stewart). Nevertheless, this border into our country is totally unprotected. Yessiree not even a customs agent stands between the border and the town of Hyder.
Needless to say the Canadians have a full inspection station to prevent their border from being breeched by what and who knows what coming in from Hyder.
Perhaps it is because Hyder is surrounded to the edats by Canada and to the west by the ocean and to the north by a federal conservancy.
Nevertheless I must point out to you all that are borders are not protected and anything can come into Hyder. The president has failed again in his commitment to protect our borders.
Hyder really is unique in that it is the old west for sure. There are no police, no city government, no building codes and there are about 40-50 full time residents. All self policing but my understanding is that there are a fair number of convicted felons living here. Some are not allowed into Canada, and others must post extremely high bonds to be allowed in.
Well the wild old west where shootings and knifings still play on in Hyder, AK.
Lorne
1 Bar in Hyder
2 View from the road ?
Sorry I lost the photo of the unprotected border, please don't tell the terrorists.

Hyder and the Glacier

Hyder,
The last time we were in Hyder we did not give this place a thorough enough look see. Last time we thought that it was just a bar and one gift shop. Not so.
You go thru town and down the road and come after 5 miles to the Salmon Creek Bear Viewing site. A long boardwalk on the Salmon Creek set up for viewing both black and Grizzley bears that come to feed on the salmon in the creek. We went early in the morning but not early enough, all we saw was a wolf and he was gone too quickly for me to photograph him.
We did travel along a dirt road for about 20-25 more miles and saw some absolutely outstanding scenery. Picture yourself high on a mountain edge looking down 2000 feet to the glacial river at the bottom and it’s a gravel and dirt narrow road with areas of snow on one side of the road and a shear drop off on the other. Up ahead you spot salmon Glacier with its long arm and foot ant the bottom and a glacial lake on the other side of it. You are high on the mountain looking across at the glacier and there are few if any people there. Ah inspiring!
We went down the road some more and spotted an old copper mine entrance and did not venture in. Now I wish we had I understand the old rail lines and rail cars are still in there. After that we spotted some marmots (small like mink or otters) and after that we came upon Marmot Glacier. Not as spectacular as Salmon Glacier but still a great sight for a day of just hanging around the town of Hyder.
Lorne
1 Mine shaft
2 Snow on the road
3 Salmon spawning
4 Marmot
5 Salmon glacier

The lake to Hyder

We headed down the Cassiar from our campsite on the lake. What a great drive and the second day on the Cassiar the hwy improved greatly. Very little construction and almost no gravel. It is a great drive between the mountains and the river next to you with lots of lakes. You are now higher in altitude because you can see snow on the mountains and the vegetation has changed again to large fir and aspen and ash and birch trees.
We left on the short road to Steward and Hyder (Steward is the Canadian town and Hyder is in Alaska (its most southern port and city).
This drive is really neat you go by the Bear Paw Glacier and wind along the river with forest all around you. We saw two bears today (black) and we were able to photograph one of them. We stopped in Stewart to refuel and found that the credit card company has shut off my credit card again. You would think after telling them twice that I am on an extended trip thru Canada that they could get it fixed. Anyway sorry Dr. E but I had to use the office card a couple of times.
We found a lovely campsite in Steward in the municipal park right next to a stream.
More on Hyder next.

1 Jade BC
2 Campsite on the lake
3 Needle Mountain on the Cassiar
4 Bear (black

Watson Lake Onward

Watson Lake to Kinaskan Lake Provincial Park
We left Watson Lake after visiting the Signpost City or Park in the center of town. Since the Alaskan Hwy was built in 1942 people have left signposts at this site from where they were from. So today Bev and I also left a frizbee signpost at the appropriate place and now we are immortalized there for posterity (or is that posteriorly nailed to a post).
The Cassiar Hwy is a beautiful drive and except for the still unpaved portions really spectacular lakes and rivers and mountains. You are in valleys and alongside the Cassiar Mtns and then the Three Sisters Range and finally dropping into the Eaglenest Range finally dropping past the Slamgeesh Range of mountains.
We also passed thru the Wild Horse Plateau and over the Knat Pass all the while looking everywhere for wildlife.
We saw a black bear but too late to photograph him. He was crossing the road in front of us but skirted into the underbrush before Bev could get the camera on and focused.
We stopped in Jade , BC and that’s what they have there frome the Princess Mine (tons and tons of Jade (I mean really big boulders of it). You wonder why they charge so much for just a little piece of it.
Tonight we are in a provincial campground and right on Lake Kinaskan. What a sight to look out over the lake from our front window.
I talked to Dr. E today and it seems that everything is fine and I’m glad to hear that Dr. K is doing great and soon to be father of a boy. Well get all the sleep you can now Dr. K , and make sure that you keep the humor up in the office as if you do not it can be a dull place to work. One last item on your agenda will be to ask daily if Dr. E has made an appointment with the orthopod. Do not let her evade, dodge or otherwise obfuscate this task.
Well we are getting further south now so we actually do have some darkness at night. It’s sort of refreshing to see the sun go down around 10:00 pm and we have a few hours of nighttime. It really helps you to sleep and to again get your body regulated. Bev can now sleep in realllllly late.
Hi all to Diann and Mark and all the kids and I hope that the summer at the beach city has been fun for ya ol.
Bye for now tomorrow we head to Hyder for the BEARRRRS!!!
Lorne

1 Cassiar
2 Bear Paw Glacier
3 Stewart Walkway for viewing
4 Beaver house

Whitehorse to Watson Lake

Whitehorse to Watson Lake

Last night we talked to Jeff in CA a good friend who has worked here on the Alaska Pipeline years ago and is now an electrical contractor in So. Cal. Our thoughts are with you and Kim his wife who has just had hip surgery on her second hip. Get well soon Kim!
We also skipped dinner at Tim Horton’s restaurant last night instead opting for our favorite from last time of a fish and exotic foods place. Originally it was a bakery in 1900 in a tent and they still keep the tent atmosphere. Well eat your hearts out Pearl and Bob because we had fish and chips and Bev was going to get Artic Char but they were out of it so instead you can have Muskox fillet or Bison stroganoff, or Caribou steaks. In addition was the 5 berry pie with ice cream for dessert (strawberry, rubarb, mooseberry and I don’t know the others). Interestingly the hostess remembered everyone’s name and the wait was 30 minutes but she remembered who you were even after dinner, and the waitress took orders from several tables, with drinks and how you wanted it prepared without ever writing anything down. I was impressed.
Today we bid fairwell to Whitehorse and headed towards Watson Lake. Along the way we ate at Muckluck Annies, a must stop for anyone in the area. Annie serves a salmon bake and we had ribs and salmon combo with a full salad bar and dessert. Mmmmm eating was good the last two days.
Along the way we crossed the continental divide (that’s where water flowing on one side of the road goes to the Pacific ocean via the Yukon River and water on the other side of the road goes to the Artic ocean via the McKenzie River. We have done this several times up the Dempster Hwy. But it was still something to stop for.
Tonight we are camped along the Rancheria River which flows into the Dease River which will take us down the Cassier Hwy to Hyder.
We were not planning to go this way until this afternoon when we again met up with Les and Maureen who told me that the Cassier was now paved. When we drove it in 2004 it was all dirt. That and the fact that there are bears in Hyder clinched the decision to alter our course. This will mean we will miss the Laird Hot Springs and Dawson Springs the start of the Al Can Hwy bur for lots of bears welllllll.
The Cassier is also a beautiful hwy and I msut say that this last stretch of the Alaska Hwy has been great. Very few frost heaves, paved and almost no road construction. I was actually able to achieve 65mph for short stretches.
So tomorrow it’s into Watson Lake to refuel and then seet the signpost city. This is where people have placed signposts from all over the world usually listing mileage to that place.
Speaking of gas let me say just a word about that. When you live in a small closed environment (eg an RV) and you have GAZZZ well what do you do. You have two choices 1. PAIN or 2. Shame . Well I choose not to have excruciating pain and this causes Bev to look with somewhat of a bewildered look at me and to say “Was that you?” Now one could lie and say it was Scruffy but I doubt that I would be believed, and furthermore after 38 years Bev knows me well. Ah, but love still lives on and conquers all.
During our drive today we crossed in and out of the Yukon and British Columbia seven times. After a while you just don’t stop to take pictures of the welcome signs.
We also stopped at the Tslingich Indian interpretive center today and it was really quite good with displays of the clothing and snowshoes and tools they used. Also got to see a craftsman who had built a Cedar canoe (these are long about 25-30 feet and made from a single log. He was painting another one with Indian design while we were there that had done a race between Whitehorse and Dawson. They still have to pass thru Five Fingers Rapids which from what he said could be quite adventuresome.
Stopped at Swan Lake and another stopping grounds for the Trumpheter Swans and Northern Swans but none were there at this time of year.
Well now it’s time to enjoy the river that we are parked next to boondocking or as the English group would say wild camping.
Lorne
1 Taghini Hot Springs
2 Swan River and Bev
3 Muckluck Annies
4 Tlinguish Indian Boat Builder
5 Silk Road English Group Maureen, with Bev and Les

Scenes from the road Dawson to Whitehorse

1 Crossing the Yukon
2 Rain on the journey
3 The Five Fingers Rapids on the Yukon
4 First grizzley bear
5 Scruffy on the road and all his excited looks

Whitehorse

I have been meaning to post pictures on the blog for several days but alas I have not been able to find an internet provider that could handle the large files it requires. All of them have just shut me down. So some day you may see a deluge of photos if I find one.
Yesterday we spent sightseeing in Whitehorse at the visitor center for some films and then on a trolley ride (really a neat little train) which was built at the turn of the century and used in Portugal up until the 30’s and later in a museum and now resurrected to give tourists a ride along the Yukon River here in Whitehorse.
Next a walk around the town and then out to the fish ladder at the power station ( the longest wooden fish ladder in the world). This is to help the salmon get around the dam that was built to harness electricity. You can view the salmon when they are here going up the ladder and they keep a count of the numbers that go up each year to monitor them.
Then we went back to the log church museum and watched a video of Rev Steele (I hope I have this name right) the Anglican minister who ate his boots. Apparently lost in the winter with two others while traveling from the Inuvik to the Dawson area they became lost because of early snow and were forced to eat their boots for food. For 52 days they spent in very poor conditions and each man lost about 50 lbs. But they finally arrived at an Indian village and were saved. Not so the Lost Patrol of the RCMP some two years later.
Lastly, we had tea at night with Les and Maureen (two English adventurers). Both are in their own Mercedes van conversions (more step vans like a bread truck) and both were members of the Silk Road Club that I had followed on the internet. These two were part of a group that has traveled to Russia, Mongolia, Tibet, China and to the tip of South America. All of this was in their RV’s. I gained lots of information from them and was happy to finally meet some of this group.
Today the sun is finally out and I think we will bid Wal Mart farewell and go to the Takhini hot springs near here for the day.
We were at the hot springs today for about 4-5 hours and the weather was great. The springs were warm and it was nice to relax there. We decided not to spend the night there as there was no internet service there as was advertised. So we are now back in Whitehorse outside the Legislative Assembly Building and the email service seems to be good here.
Photos
Wal Mart Parking
The trolly
The hydro plant
The SS Klondike
The fish ladder

Dawson to Whitehorse

Dawson City to Whitehorse
Last night it rained all night and in the morning we decided on no more sightseeing in Dawson today as the weather was not looking too good and we needed to get to Whitehorse to be closer to an airport in case Bev needed to go home early for the second grandchild’s coming.
So down the Klondike Hwy we came and we saw our first grizzly bear today. Yessiree he was rambling along the road and when he spotted us it was up into the trees he was a goin. But it was still nice to see him and we did get some good pictures. Made up for the two porcupines we missed on the Dempster Hwy (they were just too fast to take pictures of).
It was also nice to be on a paved road again after the last roads (the Taylor Hwy, the Top of the World Hwy and the Dempster Hwy) were all dirt roads and after a while even in the Jeep that gets old.
The Klondike Hwy follows basically the Yukon River and the lades and the rivers are just wonderful. There were several places where signs were posted as to when forest fires had occurred and you could see the reforestation effect after so many years. In general it appeared that it took 40+ years for the vegetation to fully recover.
We came to the Five Fingers Rapids which were quite dangerous as there are 4 large cylindrical boulders coming out of the river in one place and cutting the river into five rapids. Near this area was where the paddle wheelers and steamers took on wood for fuel. It took load and loads of lumber to fuel these ships and they operated until the 1950’s when the road was completed to Dawson. Really that is not too long ago.
Well Gabe we are now in the Wal Mart parking lot in Whitehorse and this is quite a popular place for RV’s to stay while here. I think that we will probably stay here 2-3 days to recuperate and then move on. The last day in Dawson was clean up and laundry so we haven’t had a lot of rest days lately.
We did meet a couple from Switzerland and she had canoed the McKenzie River from Slave Lake (Edmonton, SK to Inuvik) seven years ago and then bicycled back there, now that is one hearty woman. They were going to canoe from Whitehorse to Dawson and then bicycle back to Whitehorse (that’s about 325 miles).
This brings me to another adventure I could plan in the future. When Christopher my one year old grandson will be 10 years old he and I could canoe down the McKenzie River from the Great Slave Lake to Inuvik and then we could go to the Berring Sea (that’s the Artic Ocean) and then we could just forget the bicycle trip back but find another way. Think of the adventure that would be.
Well if I can find internet service tomorrow I will post these newest blogs and hopefully some of the pictures. Sorry I tried 3 times to post the pictures and no luck with this internet provider
Lorne

Legends

The Dempster Legends
I thought I would tell you about two stories that are about the Dempster region. The Hwy has only been completed since the mid 1970’s and before that there was no road. People in Inuvik had there supplies brought to them by barge up the McKenzie River from Edmonton, Alberta over the Great Slave Lake. This was no small feat and you waited all year for those supplies and they were expensive.
In 1915 the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) would send each winter from Dawson a patrol with sled dogs to Inuvik. This would take about 50 days to complete and was quite an ordeal, usually three to five sleds and 5-6 men. Well the 1915 patrol was called the Lost Patrol because they got lost in the region and all perished because they did not take an Indian guide it was felt. After that all patrols were required to take an Indian guide.
The next bid of history is about Mad Trapper Jack and could be where the saying goes that the Mounties always get there man. Mad Jack apparently killed two men in a fight of some kind and then went into the woods. He was accosted by the local constable for questioning and he for some reason he killed him to. So the Mounties (I should say one RCMP ) led a chase to capture Mad Jack. This chase and pursuit lasted for over 42 days and covered thousands of miles by sled dogs in temperatures below -40 degrees. Mad Dog was finally killed while being arrested for the crimes he committed, and so ends the story. But not the legend.
Some pictures this time I hope.
1 Beaver lodge
2 Mountains on the way, note the tree line
3 Tsiigehechic town from the ferry
4 Artic Circle
5 The long road