Alaskamarge Travels

I like Montana, and from what I’ve seen, I like it a lot.  The Lolo Pass area didn’t disappoint.  What fun I had hiking and poking around in the footsteps of Lewis & Clark, the Nez Perce Indians, and countless other American Indians who used this area to get from the salmon bearing Idaho side to the buffalo bearing high plains side that is Montana and Wyoming.  With my time here being as limited as it was I dashed like a mad woman from trail to trail and from historic site and historic campsite to the next.  I can’t wait to come back and spend a good deal of time exploring…perhaps next summer.

And Missoula.  I like Missoula, though I only saw it for a brief moment.  It sits at the confluence of 5 river valleys and is said to be the cultural hub of Montana.  It is a college town with a thriving downtown area boasting a multitude of outdoor cafes and coffee shops etc.  It is my understanding that it is also an unusually literary town with scads of writers and writer wannabes both past and present, not to mention its thriving arts, music, theater, and film programs and venues.  They even have a Festival of the Book every September, which apparently attracts several thousand people.  AND perhaps best of all, this entire package is surrounded by lovely hills and mountains, clean air, clear rivers and streams, hiking/skiing trails galore, and is spitting distance from Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks.  What more could a gal want?  Oh, and the speed limit is 70 (sometimes 75) and for those who know me, know I love this too!

The drive here from Glacier was about 175 miles and took me past Flathead Lake, the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi.  It is 28 miles long and up to 15 miles wide.  This morning, I am headed toward Yellowstone, which is just over 200 miles to the East and I’ll be driving on a major interstate for the first time in Dora….speed limit 70.  I’ll stop somewhere around Big Sky, which a huge ski resort  with a town attached (which came first?  I don’t know) before heading into Yellowstone the next day.

It was 33 degrees this morning and is expected to be another sunny day reaching into the low to mid 80’s.  What wonderful diversity!  I stayed about 6 miles north of the Lolo Pass at the Lee Creek Campground.  Lewis & Clark passed through this area on their way West on September 11, 12, and 13 of 1805.  At that time, there was already snow in the mountains.  That’s just a few weeks from now.

Here are some shots taken while here.  This first one was taken during a hike out an old logging road from the campground.

I kept seeing these big blobs of granite while hiking and finally learned what they are called.  Each is a batholithe.  Say it out loud and see if you don’t laugh.  Batholithe.  I crack up every time I say it…who knows why….maybe because it makes me feel like I have a lisp.  Batholithe.  See, there I go again.  Batholithes are big blobs of granite that have slowly pushed themselves up through the earth’s crust like an air bubble rising in a jar of honey, at least that’s what I read.

Moving on.  Here is Dora at the Lolo Pass Visitor Center.

This is Packer Meadow about a mile from the Pass.  The Lewis & Clark Expedition stopped here on their way west.  This was also a popular resting area for the numerous Indians traveling back and forth across the Pass.

And this is a trail marker from the Lewis & Clark Trail, which in this area is the same as the Nez Perce Trail.

And finally a shot of the Lewis & Clark Trail not far from Packer Meadow.  The thing I noticed most about hiking in this area were all the pine trees.  There were so many different kinds, Lodgepole, Ponderosa, Douglas Fir, Cedar etc.  It smelled like Christmas all the time.

Well, it certainly has been a wonderful 3 days here in Glacier National Park.  The sun has been fully shining with cool morning temps running in mid 50’s and the afternoon temps jumping up into the mid to upper 80’s.  It’s very dry here too.  Considering this and the number of people, which is nothing like Jasper or Banff by the way, my days have been going something like this:  Rising early to see some sights and hit a trailhead before the bear bell wearing masses arrive, enjoy a lovely hike with reasonable solitude, go back to Dora to walk and hang out with the dogs, fix a bite to eat and head over to the Outdoor Center where I met Mr. Eyes who has yet to make a second appearance.  After using their complimentary internet, I have been heading back to fetch up the dogs, bathing suit, towel, and reading material and walk the 5 minutes it takes to get from Dora to Lake McDonald where we swim, sun, and relax in the afternoon heat.  After depositing the dogs back at home, I grab my bike and tool around the hood for awhile seeing what I can see then head on home for the evening.

I find this to be a very acceptable schedule.

Tomorrow morning we’ll pull stakes and head down to Missoula and the Lolo Pass where I will play Lewis and Clark for a couple of days before working my way over to Yellowstone where I actually have reservations (if you can believe it).  I’ve really been looking forward to visiting Missoula and Lolo Pass as I’ve been reading a little bit about the Lewis & Clark Expedition and find it most interesting.  I don’t have much time this go round, but I can see coming back to spend a good bit of time wandering around the great pioneering trails of the Midwest.  Fascinating.

Below I’ve included some photos of my time here in Glacier.  Enjoy!

This first shot was taken on the Going To The Sun Road which cuts across the Park from Lake McDonald to St. Mary’s Lake on the other side.

This is Hidden Lake and is taken from the trail before it drops down to the lake.  Hidden Lake is accessed from the high pass called Logan Pass.

Another shot of Hidden Lake.  The water in the park is unbelievably clear.

Logan Pass on the way out to Hidden Lake.

I saw a band of Mountain Goats on the way out to the lake.  Is it a band?  I know it’s a band of sheep, but I’m not sure about goats.

Gaggle of Geese.  Pack of Wolves.  Litter of Kittens.  Herd of Elephants.  Pod of Whales.  Murder of Crows….

And shortly after the goats came the Big Horned Sheep.  Please notice the guy lying down in front.  He has what they call a “full curl”.

These guys were a good distance away, but I had my “Africa” camera, so was able to zoom in.

And this is Lake McDonald where I would spend my afternoons.

And finally, the Montana State Flower.  Indian Paintbrush.

Oh, I can’t end on a flippin’ flower, so I’ll throw this next one in.  Also, I remembered, it is a herd of goats, not a band of goats.

Cheerio!

I am happily back in the United States and away from the masses and craziness that was Jasper and Banff.  I am also happy to report that gas costs about half of what it did in Canada, so I won’t have to sell a kidney to make it all the way to NC.

Since my last blog post, many of my more experienced RV friends have emailed to let me know that they forgot to tell me that big rigs definitely have trouble at the more popular National Parks during peak season.  Knowing this, I think I’ll still hit Yellowstone, if I can scrounge up a spot and then steer well clear of them for good, unless it is off season.  Lesson learned.

Fortunately, I was able to find a spot in Glacier National Park and have paid for a 4 night stay.  We are walking distance to Lake McDonald, where we have already swum several times.  I have also retrieved one of my bikes from the back of Dora and have ridden it around a bit.  How nice.  Additionally, I got out my little grill and cooked up a steak for dinner last night.  And the best news of all is that I don’t have to move until Sunday!!!

At the moment I am at The Great Outdoor Store or some such place where I was told I could find wireless.  Upon arrival, I went in to inquire and ended up speaking with a man whom I believe happened to be the owner of the establishment and asked if wireless were available.  While a bit taken aback by my inquiry since I don’t think it is really supposed to be available to the public, he quickly offered the picnic table outside with the most stunning view for my use. Did I mention that I had a hard time concentrating on the conversation due to the fact that he was incredibly handsome with the most gorgeous hazel/gold eyes?  Oh my goodness.  And not only that, but since I’ve been sitting here, he has come out twice to check on me.  Once to ask if there is anything I need and again to say he was leaving and that I was working too hard.  Oh my.  Of course all I could do was giggle and turn red and wonder if I had combed my hair this morning.

Anyway, I’ve got to get on with the day.  Perhaps I’ll come back tomorrow (with hair combed) to see if I run into Mr. Handsome With The Eyes again.

Cheerio!

OK, so much for being able to stay put for a few days in Jasper National Park.  Didn’t happen.  I think everyone, and their brother, decided to descend upon the Park over the past few days.  There are a total of 1,861 individual campsites within the Park.  None were available when I arrived, which was in the afternoon instead of the morning as I had planned due to the fact that I had to drive halfway to Edmonton to get my water pump replaced.  Anyway, upon arrival I was instructed to go to the “Overflow Campground”, which I did and found a spot in the shade with a nice view.  While it surely wasn’t even close to a prime spot relatively speaking, I was perfectly happy to call it home for 3 days or so while I explored the Park.  A broom closet would have been acceptable, if it meant I could stay put.  Didn’t happen.  The next morning I, along with 100 or so other overflow campers, was told I had to move along and find another spot in one of the regular campgrounds as many had now opened up.  My reaction to this news was not very Buddha like, but I packed up and set about finding one of these allusive available spots that would accommodate my size and girth.  With the help of a Ranger, I was able to locate one and headed that way immediately.  Once there, Wabasso Campground, I paid for 3 nights and set up camp accordingly.  It wasn’t long after I had settled in that a Ranger came by to explain that a mistake had been made and that I could only stay in this particular spot for one night.  Who believes it?  Well, clearly it wasn’t my time to be in Jasper, so I decided to make the best of the little time I had and move on down the road to the Lake Louise area.  Even with these inconveniences, the sun was shining and all was still right with the world.  I did some sightseeing and was appropriately awed by the beauty and this morning went on a 4-5 mile wildflower filled, high meadow hike before pulling stakes.  Good thing I got to the trailhead early as by the time I got back to the parking lot (10am) it was full, the overflow parking was full, and cars were strung out along the narrow road.  Goodness, are there any people left in any other parts of the Country?  Where are you guys?  Are you here too?

Fast forward to the driving of the famous and scenic Icefields Parkway which runs between Jasper and Banff, with the plan to stay in one of the many area campgrounds surrounding Lake Louise.  The drive was lovely although on the hazy side.  The rivers are greenish white from the glaciers and the mountains are high and rocky.  Traffic and people were everywhere, though I did finally see a bear.  A beautiful sleek black bear with the sun glinting off its fur as it loped across the road in front of me.  Wonderful.  He stayed in view for a few minutes until others had a chance to park, jump out of their cars with children and cameras in tow and proceed to chase after it into the woods.  Poor fella.  I am learning that August is definitely not the time to visit the more popular National Parks and perhaps I should be taking the road less traveled during this busy time.  Lesson learned.  Now to apply it while I find myself traveling during peak season.

You may have already guessed that there were no available campsites in the Lake Louise area either.  I did try to find a place to buy some groceries (i.e. diet coke) and some wireless and was successful, but had to work at it.  Since available parking was nonexistent, I parked on the side of the road and walked over to the shopping area.  The little grocery store was overrun with tourists paying $4 for an apple and $9 for a box of cereal, so I grabbed a 12 pack of diet coke, mortgaged my house to pay for it, and got out of there quick.  Some of you may have had a very rushed email from me today.  I was online at the Lake Louise Post Office and the minutes were ticking away so I sent quick emails and checked to see what the Instructor had to say about my first writing assignment which I had turned in a few days ago.  Also while on line, I tried to make reservations for my upcoming stay in Glacier National Park, MT.  Didn’t happen.   Only so many sites are available for reservation and those that are suitable for us are already taken.   The rest are all first come, first served.   I’ll try to time it so I arrive early in the morning for a better shot at a spot.

I am currently “camped’ for the night at a pleasant roadside rest area in Vermilion Pass on the Continental Divide, which also marks the border between Alberta and British Columbia.  5382 ft elevation.  Who knows where I’ll stay tomorrow night or when I’ll be able to stop for a few days without moving, but I hope it’s soon.  I’ve got my fingers crossed for Glacier NP, but I’m not holding my breath.

This is the Maligne River in Jasper NP.

And here is a view in the East side of the Park.  Sorry, but I can’t remember the name of the river.

And this is Mt. Edith Cavell.  The high meadow hike I took ran beside this mountain for much of the way.  Lovely.

Another long day yesterday, but it was beautiful as usual.  I saw a herd of lady elk and their babies, which was nice.  Also saw a few random caribou scattered here and there.  Still no bear or sheep.  Today I unceremoniously blazed through Dawson Creek, the start of the Alaska Highway. Perhaps I should have stopped for a photo at Mile Post Zero to commemorate the moment, but I didn’t.  Maybe I’ll look in my photo archives and see if I can fetch out the one of me there 7 years ago.

Have driven 1,648 miles so far.

Am currently sitting just South of Grande Prairie, Alberta and will continue a bit further south until I stop for the night.  Tomorrow will put me in Jasper National Park.  Yeah!  I am most excited about staying put for 2-3 days and hiking instead of driving.  Lovely.

The sun is shining and all is right with the world.

Stay tuned.

What a difference it makes to have a shortened day on the road.  Just lovely.  I left the pretty wayside lake just after 7:30 in the morning and pulled into Liard Hot Springs at around 3pm having stopped off in Watson Lake for a couple of hours in the middle. While in Watson Lake I visited the famous Sign Post Forest which now consists of over 6,700 signs and was started by  a US Army soldier who was here building the Alcan Hwy back in 1942 and it has grown from there.  I also walked the dogs, visited the visitor’s center/museum, got gas, and poached somebody’s wireless internet and had a fine time all round.

Below is just a section of the Sign Post Forest.  A friend suggested ahead of time that I make a sign to hang when I got here, but I neglected to do so.  Wish I had.  It would have been fun.  There are signs from all over the world.

Wildlife on the Alcan is abundant.  Brown and black bear, elk, sheep, caribou, and moose represent the larger species frequently seen.  Some friends drove this route in early May and had 14 bear sightings along with multiple sightings of all the others.  So, I’m back on the road after leaving Watson Lake lamenting my bad luck in the animal sighting department.  I mean, I had driven almost a thousand miles at this point and all I had to show for it was a pair of Trumpeter Swans, about 900 Ravens, and a Magpie.  Pitiful, but wait…what’s that up ahead???  It’s big and brown….no, it’s huge and brown….could it be?  Yes!

It’s a pair of Buffalo.  Who knew?

And a close up of one of the handsome devils.

And then an entire herd.

Apparently they were reintroduced a good many years ago and have thrived.  They wander wild all over the place, including the highway.

After dodging the bison, I made my way to the much anticipated Liard River Hot Springs, which has been a favored stop along the highway and prior to that was a favored spot among the native people.  The hot springs are in a natural setting and are accessible by about a 10 minute walk over a boardwalk and through a boreal forest.  The water temps range from 108-126 degrees.  How delightful it was to soak away the low back, neck, and shoulder pains from resulting from extended driving.

Oh, and on the way back to Dora, I had to dodge two more buffalo who were ambling around her front yard.

Off to Fort Nelson.

Roadside Rest Area between Teslin and Swift River, British Columbia

It was another too long day on the road.  I really must do something about this, especially since it is completely within my power to do so.  I pulled stakes at 7:30am and put them back down at 4:30pm.

Today was another sunny day full of gorgeous scenery including large mountains, large lakes, and one pair of Trumpeter Swans.  I’m pleased to report the roads did indeed improve as expected.  The Alcan is still no superhighway by any means as it remains a two lane road with shoulders, painted lines, frost heaves, and gravel sections appearing and disappearing at random for its one thousand five hundred mile length (Dawson Creek to Tok), but at least we seem to have left all of the serious “road damage” behind.  (I’m really going to try not to mention the condition of the roads again for at least a week)

There were two stops on the agenda today.  First was the Village Bakery in Haines Junction.   I had been told in advance that this is the place for internet, coffee, and plenty of big rig parking just across the street.  Thank you Bill.  I was able to post my first two “Nomadic Life” blog entries from there as well as eat what was referred to as a Bison Smokie.  For those of you unfamiliar with this tasty delight, picture a large pig-n-a-blanket.  The pig part was bison and the blanket part was sourdough and all was covered with cheddar cheese and served warm and gooey.  It was a lovely breakfast treat even though it is not on my new diet plan (don’t laugh) which now includes the drastic reduction of everything I love like fat, carbs, salt, more fat and definitely more carbs with maybe some more fat thrown in and the substantial increase of green leafy things, something called “whole foods”, lean meat, brightly colored vegetables etc.  The reason for an attempted change in diet is the result of a recent cholesterol test, which, while it didn’t throw me into the Land of Lipitor, did call for a change in the types of food I eat.  Sigh.

The second stop was in White Horse, the capital city of Yukon Territory and a major player in the famed Yukon Gold Rush.  If any of you are ever in the area, I recommend stopping by for a visit.  After walking around town for awhile, finding a geocache, and finding an ATM since I still didn’t have any Canadian money, I found a wonderful bakery called, Baked, which had high speed internet and awesome music.  You ask why I had to find an internet café so soon after just leaving one that morning?  Well, as it turns out I have signed up for a 10 week online writing course and today is the first day of class, as if I don’t have enough going on in my life at the moment.  I knew internet access would be spotty at best, so I planned my departure from Anchorage to put me in White Horse today since I would surely have access to the class from there.  With a latte in hand and David Bowie blaring in my ear, I wrote and posted the required “bio” about myself on the classroom Blackboard and copied and pasted the lecture and assignment to a word document so I could review it once I had parked for the night.

I am now parked for the night at a Rest Stop overlooking a lake somewhere between Teslin and Swift River, British Columbia so must go in order to read the lecture and ponder the assignment.

Sorry.  No photos today, but please stay tuned.

More Road Damage

Tok, AK to Kluane (pronounced clue-on-knee) Lake, Yukon Territory

With the exception of about 40 blessed miles of newly paved road, the 227 miles I drove today was as damaged and bone jarring as yesterday.   Forget Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, it felt like I was on something that was a cross between a jack hammer and a rocking horse and I won’t even bother to mention the headwind.   With my whole rig weighing in at about 28,000 lbs over a length of 56.5 feet, you can imagine my relief when I pulled into the campground and shut down the engine.  I don’t think the Ice Road Truckers have anything on me.  Ha!  Fortunately the roads are to improve drastically within the first hour of driving tomorrow, so I can hopefully stop talking about them, which I’m sure will be a relief to all of us.

The scenery today was lovely.  We paralleled the St. Elias Range of mountains for much of the day along with many river valleys and the braided rivers lying within.  After such a rainy summer in Anchorage, it is so nice to see the sun.

We are camping at the very acceptable Congdon Creek Campground on the shore of Kluane Lake, the largest lake in Yukon Territory.  The wind has it whipped into a froth, but the hounds and I enjoyed a walk along its shores nonetheless.  Lucky for us, our campsite is tucked back in the woods and out of the wind.  A sign posted near the entrance made me think of the recent and unfortunate bear maulings in Yellowstone.  I’m sure glad Dora isn’t a tent, but I’ve got my bear spray handy anyway.  Shhhhhh, don’t tell anyone I have bearspray because it is illegal in Canada.  While walking the dogs I sure did notice a great many soapberries as well as a great many soapberry bushes which are missing their soapberries.  I guess the sign is right.

It’s off down the road tomorrow with two stops on the agenda.   Haines Junction is first and White Horse is second.  They both have internet, so perhaps I’ll get to post these blog entries.

You can see the wind had Kluane Lake looking more like an ocean.

Soapberry bushes.

Stay tuned.

Anchorage, AK to Tok, AK

I awoke at 4:33am, could not fall back to sleep, so got up and started the day with coffee and the world wide web.    It wasn’t long before the sky turned blue and the sun began to shine.  Glory be!   Could it be?  This particular Anchorage summer has been seriously lacking in the sunshine department, so it was an unusual, but certainly welcome sight.   After awhile, I donned my jacket since it was a brisk 48 degrees outside and set about  finishing getting myself, the dogs, Dora, and Lil’ Pea ready for day one departure.

Devin and Pearl very thoughtfully came by to wish me well and wave goodbye.  I stopped for propane and the dumping of tanks and was on the road by 10am.  I am happy to report that, although it was a long day, all went off without a hitch.

Along the way, we stopped at the Matanuska Glacier for a quick hike and some lunch, again in Glennallen for gas, once more somewhere along the Tanana River Valley to stretch the back and legs, and finally arrived at the Tok River State Recreation Site at 6:30pm.  Yes, you counted correctly.  8.5 hours.  322 miles.

Whew, it was a long day and I think the major contributing factor was the road conditions.  They were narrow little two lane affairs without a shoulder or guardrail in sight wandering up and down hills and mountains and around sharp corners for a number of miles around the Glacier and then once we turned onto the Tok Cutoff Road, well they just gave up and went to Hell in a handbasket altogether.  I felt like I was on some sort of amusement park ride for roughly 200 miles and just in case any of us drivers didn’t notice our fillings bouncing out of our teeth,  every now and then the State DOT had placed large orange signs helpfully explaining, “ Road Damage”.

I’m told I have roughly another 200 miles of damaged roads to look forward to, so tomorrow may well be another go at Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.

Stay tuned.

Here we are.  All 28,000 lbs and 56.5 feet of us.

This is Mosely’s first “driving position”.  He sits here until he gets bored and moves over to the sofa with Misty.  They are only allowed on the sofa when we are in motion, by the way.

The Matanuska Glacier, former ice climbing stompin’ grounds of mine.

The Canadian/Alaska Border on The Alaska Highway.

That’s what I feel like on this eve of becoming a nomad… sans yellow brick road and singing munchkins of course.

I jump into the mobile life of a gypsy beginning tomorrow morning when I’ll pull up stakes, turn in my keys to this comfortable and stationary life, and head north into the Land of Anything Could Happen and Everything is Possible.  It still doesn’t seem real, this new life I’ve chosen, but I have a feeling, by this time tomorrow night, it will be very real in a loud and clear sort of way.

Loud and clear reality will find me about 320 miles north of here in Tok, AK, not too far from the Canadian Border, which I’ll be crossing on Monday.  Once in Canada, cell service is too expensive to use and internet service will be intermittent, but I’ll do my best to stay in touch as I move through the Yukon Territory, British Columbia, and Alberta before entering Montana and the lower 48 in about a week and a half or so.

That’s it for now.  There is still lots to do before Misty, Mosely, and I step out on the Road.