July 10, 2017 – Lake Louise

We started off a little screwed up and set up in the wrong campsite. After moving to the right site, we took a drive into town, and checked out the Visitors Center and the small (but well stocked) market.

Saturday Morning we didn't get started until around 10am. We went to Lake Louise for a hike and the crowds were so bad there was no parking. We left and went to Lake Moraine which was even worse. We decided to get off the road most traveled and headed to Radium Hot Springs in Kootenay NP. Another formal pool, but the temperatures were just right in both the hot and cool pools.

Sunday we got going at 8am, and went to Lake Louise where the three of us hiked to the Tea House at Agnes Lake.

Lake Louise from Chateau Complex (low clouds)

Lake Agnes Tea House

This was over a 1,000 ft vertical climb, but we all did well. We came back, had lunch and took a siesta. We planned on doing more but the rains came back.

In all, we really enjoyed the three parks. The weather went from highs in the 90s to low in the 40s each night. At Lake Louise we had rain every evening and fog for most of the morning. The crowds are really bad, so getting an early start is crucial to getting a parking space and avoiding the masses on the trails.

We will start the final leg of the trip to New England Monday, July 13th.

July 7, 2015 – Jasper National Park

Tuesday Night - We were in A22 a dry site that backed up to the Athabasca River (a very cold glacier fed river).

Athabasca River from Wabasso Campground

A very nice young couple from Ontario was camped in the next site. They had both quit their jobs and were headed to Vancouver to start over. The first night Laurie cooked a great local tenderloin on the grill.

Wednesday we had a slow start, but were able to stop and view the magnificent Athabasca Falls. We ended up taking care of some chores in town that afternoon.

Edith Cavell Peak

After dinner we drove to the base of the Edith Cavell Peak on recommendations of the neighbors. Temps were about about 10 degrees lower, so it was a good break from the low 90s at the campsite.

Thursday we got going by 8am and hiked the Valley of 5 Lakes.

The smoke and haze had finally cleared, so we had great visibility.













In the afternoon we went to Miette Hot Springs. Much more formal pools than Liard Hot Springs, but still a great stop.

Miette Hot Springs - Hot Pool

Mountain View from Hot Springs Road

Maligne Canyon Fire Cloud

On the return from the Hot Springs, we passed the road to Maligne Canyon and Maligne Lake (one of the most photographed). There was a forest fire burning so we could not enter the canyon. We did photograph the smoke plume from the fire when we got back to our campground. We had dinner in Jasper Village at Earl's (a local chain). Dinner was great.

Friday we broke camp and headed down the Icefield Highway towards Lake Louise. Another smokey hazy day. At the southern end of Jasper NP is the Icefield Centre located at the foot of the Columbia Icefield. This is a very busy place.

Athabasca Glacier

Columbia Icefields

You can take a bus up onto the Athabasca Glacier – we did not want to spend our afternoon in a crowd of people so we headed on down the road.



























We stopped for a few photos at Bow Lake. We arrived at Lake Louise Campground in the late afternoon.

July 1, 2015 - Off to Jasper NP

Sorry we have not done any updates lately, but Internet is always unpredictable.

Stayed off grid at the Cottonwood Campground on Klaune Lake in Destruction Bay – beautiful lake front site.

Destruction Bay from the back of the camper

Next day stayed in Teslin, Yukon and then we were off to Liard Hot Springs in BC. During the drive we saw several herds of bison grazing along the road, as well as a black bear.

Down River Lagoon (cool side)

Great dry campsite at Liard Hot Springs Provincial Park with a short walk to the Hot Springs
The Springs were very hot in a rustic setting. If you swam down stream the water was more comfortable. Spent 2 nights there and celebrated the 4^th of July with a traditional American picnic

Up River at the source (120 degrees)

Sunday night we stayed at Pink Mountain RV Park, which was billed as having “something for everyone.” Truth be told, it turned out to be more of a long term trailer park for oil & gas field workers.

We were rewarded the next night when we couldn't find space at Sherk's RV Park and had to drive further to Valleyview, AB. We stayed at Poplar Ridge RV park. Beautiful site, full utilities and so very peaceful. Nice to relax, have a nice hot shower and plenty of water. Water has been a rare commodity when traveling in such remote locations – most have to truck water in to their location, so it is closely monitored. When available, showers are usually coin operated and cost $3-5 extra.

On Tuesday we began the final leg of the trip to Jasper.

Signage in the the national parks is not like the US, so we had a little trouble finding Wabasso Campground. Maps seem to be in short supply except at the visitor centers, and then they are all varriations of the same map.

6/28/2015 - Final Days in Alaska

We drove from Valdez to Copper Center where we spent 2 nights @ Squirrel Creek Campground.

Dash Cam shot of Glacier leaving Valdez

While Scott was setting up the camper, an eagle landed on the beach 50 feet away.

Had dinner with Lil & Terry Gilmore and Molly McCormick at Tonsina Lodge – a restaurant that served ethnic Russian food. Very nice meals. Lil, Terry and Molly split their time between Kenny Lake AK and next door to us in Silver City, NM.

Copper River in Wrangell-St Elias

We spent the following day driving in Wrangell-St Elias NP to the mining towns of McCarthy and Kennecott. The road is a 60 mile section of gravel road that was once part of the railroad bed for the 196 mile train that ran from the Kennecott Mine to the town of Cordova on the coast. We saw a porcupine on the side of the road at one point, and later on we saw what we think was an Owl fly across in front of the truck. The town of Kennecott is only reached by shuttle vans from McCarthy. To get to McCarthy, you park on one side of the river, and cross a foot bridge, then walk a half mile to town.

Ma Johnson's Hotel in McCarthy (Not quite Johnson's Boarding House)

Kennecott Copper Mine

The park service has been working on restoring the Kennecott Mine building for a number of years and it appears that they have many more years till it is finished. 

On the way back from McCarthy, we had the second flat tire of the trip. We are getting good at putting on the spare in short order. The next morning we were able to get the tire repaired in Copper Center, then hit the road to Tok, AK where we picked up the Alaska Highway to start the trip east. We had intended on driving to the Tetlin Nature Preserve for the night, but ended up staying at a nice rv park in Tok that had great showers and laundry. This was our last night in Alaska, so we both had Alaska Halibut at the restaurant next door to the campground.

Overall we traveled about 2,500 miles in Alaska. The total trip is well over 8,000 miles so far. There are only about a dozen numbered roads in Alaska. We traveled on some part of most all the numbered roads that were paved. The road construction was a constant frustration. Most all the road work is done in the daytime, and they typically close one lane for large stretches. As a result you often wait up to 30 minutes for the pilot car to take you through each of the construction zones. The only real warm weather was in Chena and Fairbanks. The coastal areas are much the same as the Pacfic Northwest – cool and wet. The number of forest fires grew to over 300 during our stay, but started to diminish by the time we left. We expected the long daylight hours to bother us, but we all slept well despite it being light out.

We will be spending July 4^th at Liard Hot Springs on our way to Jasper and Banff.

6/22 /2015 Week 4 in Alaska - Fairbanks/Valdez

Monday we took a canoe float down the Chena River with brother Jim and Buddy's cousin Rocky.  A beautiful day for a leisurely float.  Had lunch at Pike's Landing.  Laurie cooked a dinner of Copper Red Salmon and chicken (for Scott, who doesn't like salmon and Claudia who is tired of it!)  Tuesday night we went to the Golden Heart Review at Pioneer Park - a great production of music and dance that illustrated the establishment and colorful history of Fairbanks.

 Wednesday Scott and I returned to Pioneer Park to tour the exhibits that weren't open the night before.  These pics were taken at Pioneer Park that day.  Their were over 200 fires burning in the interior at that time. so the air was thick with smoke and visibility during the later part of our stay was hazy. We are told that Fairbanks is in the Arctic Desert, so fires are not unusual for this time of year.

Captain Bud @ the wheel

Musher Buddy

Wrangell Mountains

Thursday we left for Valdez, On the way we stopped at Wrangell-St Elias NP Visitor's Center where we caught up with Molly McCarthy, a fish biologist who works at the Park and also has a home in Silver City.

We camped that night at Blueberry Lake State Recreation Area - a beautiful campsite on a pristine lake.

Valdez Harbor from the camper

We arrived around noon in Valdez and stayed 2 night at Bear Paw RV Park.  An excellent site in the "adult park" situated on the water.  Weather was cool & foggy with drizzle both days.  Caught a few clear shots of the harbor where an oil tanker was loading.

  

Valdez itself was no culinary oasis, so we ate all our meals in the camper.  Tomorrow we leave to meet up with Molly, Lil and Terry who all live on homesteaded property on Kenny Lake near Copper Center.  Lil and Terry also own the house next door to us in Silver City.

6/15/2015 Week 3 in Fairbanks

We stayed an extra night in Denali, and broke camp Monday at noon. We had lunch at 49th State Brewery. Lots of stuff in the yard, but one thing of interest was the bus where Christopher McCandless lived & died in the movie Into the Wild.

Rock Pool - Hot Spring

By the time we got to Fairbanks, it was late, so we camped at Rivers Edge RV Park. We had a riverfront site. The next day we met Laurie's brother Jim at Chena Hot springs where we spent a couple of nights. Chena is currently owned by a man who runs a large Recycling operation. Water at Chena comes from the ground at 155 degrees, and is used to heat the buildings and the hot pools. In addition they have a prototype turbine that uses a combination of the 155 degree water and an R-134a fluid to make steam and generate electricity. http://www.chenahotsprings.com/geothermal-power/

Moose and Calf in pond next to the Rock Pool

On Thursday we went to Jim's house in Fairbanks. And Thursday evening we went to watch Jim at Band Practice for the Fairbanks Community Concert Band. This is a very professional group of volunteer musicians, some active military, some retired and many  folks from the community who just love music.

Friday evening was Foodstock at the Howling Dog Saloon. A great 3 day music festival on 2 different stages.  Admission was $5 or 5 cans of food and all proceeds go to help the local community.
Saturday evening we watched the Midnight Sun 10k Run. It started at 10pm and finished at midnight. There were about 3,000 runners, many in crazy costumes.
Sunday was the Solstice Festival in Downtown Fairbanks. Lots of food vendors, 3 stages with constant entertainment including the Fairbanks Community Jazz band, with Laurie's brother Jim playing trumpet.

6/8/2015 - Alaska week 2

Day 1 - Homer Bound
A beautiful drive on the Kenai Peninsula.  Got to Anchor Point and decided to stay at Kyllonen RV Park located on the "farthest west highway in North America."   Very nice small park with everything we needed including excellent wi-fi!

Watching the Alpha Eat

Walked the beach after dinner and came upon a large group of Bald Eagles having dinner.  There were about a dozen.

This is mine and you stay away

Day 2 - Rained in the morning so we spent a leisurely morning "around the house". Went into historic Homer and had lunch at Two Sisters Bakery. Very warm and welcoming place.

In the afternoon Laurie went to see fellow Pickleball player Lori Zitzmann who lives in Silver City half the year and Homer the other half.  She and husband Tom have a fabulous home overlooking Kachemak Bay where we walked on the beach and watched a nesting pair of eagles from their window.

On the way to dinner we passed a moose dining in the ditch. Finally, Laurie got to see a moose up close.

View from the Little Mermaid Restaurant

Dinner at the Little Mermaid on Homer Spit was fantastic. Laurie had local Kachemak Bay Oysters on the half shell. Our entrees were Rockfish Tacos for Laurie and Grilled Rockfish for Scott.












Day 3 and 4 - Whittier


Had beautiful weather and smooth seas for our Glacier catamaran cruise - 26 glaciers in total, including College Fjord named after the East Coast Ivy league colleges,  These glaciers included the seven sisters (including Smith ) and were the most numerous and the closest together.  Nice lunch and great crew aboard the Phillips Cruise.

Surprise Glacier

Cascade, Barry and Coxe Glaciers

College Fjord

The view of Russia from Sarah Palin's window in Wasilla (only kidding, this was an abandoned housing unit that housed the residents of Whittier, AK).  Of the 260 current residents, most live in one large apartment building that replaced the old abandoned one.

Days 5 - 8   Denali NP

Spent 3 glorious days at  Denali.  The roads were hell getting in, but well worth it.  The sun came out, the weather was very warm and the wildlife on the 8 hour bus trip though the park was amazing. Here are some of the pictures taken from the bus:

Mt McKinley

Dahl Sheep

Grizzly

Lone wolf in motion

Caribou