June 24, 2012 - Watson Lake, YT - Downtown Campground

We left Ft Nelson with overcast skies, but low 60’s.  More, trees, sky and road lie ahead of us. 

The road is the same as we have been on for the last several days.  It is paved, but badly washboarded in places, and some broken pavement in others.  It really isn’t “paved”, but is gravel covered with tar and packed down by the thousands of vehicles driving over it.  There were a few areas cut out and filled with gravel.  We have come to expect that, sometimes with little or no warning. 

There were several bears we saw, and one lone cub.  Mom was probably nearby.  We didn’t stop for the bear, but did stop for the buffalo and stone goats to take pictures.  There also was, of all things, a small herd of horses grazing along the road.  As with other areas, we noticed that all the rivers are running high and lakes are high too.  At one area along a river, the road was very low and we noticed that the mud line along the river was well above the road.  It appeared that within the past few weeks the road had flooded recently.  Several people had told us about horror stories regarding the rain, flooding and people getting stranded for several days.  This was the first evidence we actually saw of any flooding. 

We stopped at a small café in Coal River for a bite to eat.  We had a simple breakfast in the morning, and were a little hungry.  It is obvious that this café is in no hurry.  We waited for 20 minutes to have the lone employee come over.  Then it took her 20 minutes to fix two simple egg sandwiches.  We were in there an hour, and fortunately we were the first of eight more people.  Who knows when the last ones were served.  One couple walked out after waiting ten minutes with no visit from the waitress/cook.  The best part is we paid $20.00 for two egg sandwiches.  There was pair of riders who sat down adjacent to us.  A lone roder struck up a conversation with them.  They compared stories for maybe 5 minutes, then they all proceeded to get on their mobile devices and type for the next 20 minutes or so.  We both found it odd that they couldn't actually talk to each other.  I guess that is the modern way.

Camper Set Up in Downtown Campground - Watson Lake YT

We found a campground in downtown Watson Lake.  One doesn’t have much choice in lodging on the Alaskan Highway.  Two other campgrounds were closed and this one has it locked up.  This is maybe one of the most Spartan campgrounds I have stayed.  It is basically a gravel parking lot with hookups.  They do have very nice restrooms and showers, which are free, unlike many of the others we have found.  We were camped next to a couple we had me the night before.  We talked for awhile and compared routes, plans etc.  They were traveling in a Honda Insight, towing a teardrop trailer.  Just enough for two people to lay down side-by-side.

View Outside Our Camper - Watson Lake, YT

Another View of Campground - Watson Lake, YT

We stopped at the "Sign Post Forest" in Watson Lake.  It was started in 1942 when a construction worker put up a sign with his hometown, distance, and his name on it.  It has now grown to over 72,000 signs covering several acres.

A SMALL Portion of The Signpost Forest

A Description Of the "Signpost Forest".

An Example of One of the 72,000+ Signs

We plan to depart earlier tomorrow morning than we have been.  The GPS says that our next stop, Haines Junction, is 7 hours away.  So far the GPS time is about eighty-percent of actual drive time.  One has to take into account hills, slow vehicles, stopping for gas, pictures, etc.  Making it to Haines Junction tomorrow would be nice, but it is iffy.

june 23, 2012 - Ft. Nelson BC - 3G Campground

We left with the usual good weather we have come to expect.  We stopped at the visitors center in Dawson Creek and picked up some pamphlets.  To our surprise, the world famous sign marking the start of the Alaskan Highway had been stripped of all the additional signs travelers had attached to it.  The girl in the visitors certer said it had become too much.  So now all we have is the formal sign marking Mile “0”. 

Mile "0" of The Alaska Highway - Dawson Creek, BC

Another Sign for The Famous Alaska Highway

The road out of town was stained for miles in both directions with the remnants of animal strikes.  It gave us an uneasy feeling seeing that.  We did see two dead moose later, but that was it.  The ride was mundane, with the endless trees, road, and sky.

A portion of the Beginning of the Alaska Highway Outside Dawson Creek, BC 

A Small Herd Of Stone Goats Along The Road
It Appears They Were Eating Gravel.  Nothing Else Was On The Ground

A Few of the Buffalo Along The Road

One of Several Bears We Spotted On the Alaska Highway

Welcome To The Yukon Territory

We did have a bit of an awakening.  We were zooming along, and without warning, there loose gravel patches all over.  It didn’t even look like gravel, but we slowed down quickly to about 40.  The next 5 miles or so were touch and go on the gravel.  I told Don afterward, the tires of his trailer through the gravel looked like it was actually going through water, with the wake they were leaving. 

We were told about the “world famous” cinnamon buns around Liard Jucntion.  We stopped to gas up and treat ourselves to one of the cinnamon buns that were the “size of a dinner plate”.  We opted for one and were disappointed to see a CinnaBon knock off that was about the size of a can of Sterno for $5.00.  We also paid the highest price for gas anywhere at this stop - $1.75/lt.  That equates to $6.62/gal, if I did my math correctly.  Hey...when there is little gas around, you get it when you can.  Thank goodness we only took about 10 liters.

We stopped for the night at Ft Nelson, and we also stocked up on some groceries..  I asked several people if this weather is typical and the answer is “Yes.”  The days are mid to high 70’s and the nights are high 50’s, with clear skies.

June 22, 2012 - Chetwynde BC - Campground

We left Mt Robson in great weather.  There were no plans to stop, nor anything really worthwhile along the way to Dawson Creek.  We were cautious about the gas, but planned to stop every 100 miles or so. 

We ate breakfast in McBride, and exchanged some money for Canadian.  The exchange rate is almost even so it is no big deal.  We saw a biker in the gas station when we filled up, said hi and moved on.  The drive was spectacular.  All around was snow-covered mountains, forests, lakes and rivers.  We noticed that all of the waterways were high and overflowing their banks in some areas.  It was obvious that there has been either lots of rain, snowmelt, or a combination of the two. 

We were warned about the moose and antelope, but saw none.  We did see two bears about 50 miles apart, just munching on some greenery along the road.  We gassed up in McKenzie and moved on.  The next service is 150Km away and they give you plenty of warning.  We proceeded to Princed George to fill up, stock up on supplies and figure out where we would stop, since we are past the original target stopping location. 

Don’t you know we saw the biker from McBride in the parking lot.  He came over and struck up a conversation.  He was telling us some horror stories about both McBride and Dawson Creek.  He said Dawson Creek was shut down for four days ago and McBride was closed for a day just last Saturday.  The region had a very heavy snow for the winter, unusually warm weather, and rain.  The result was two feet of mud in McBride, and a similar situation in Dawson Creek from the rivers, streams, etc.  It sounded like the old story of “you should have been here last week”, that we hear often. 

We took off and decided to stay in Chetwynd, since Dawson’s Creek is just beyond what we care to do today.  No provincial park with showers is nearby, so we opted for a commercial campground.  It is marginally acceptable, but they have clean showers with plenty of hot water.  We have noticed a distinct difference in the length of the days.  Last night in Mt. Robson, the sun didn’t set until maybe 11 PM and it was beginning to get light at 3:30 AM.  I can only imagine what it will be like when we get to Fairbanks.

June 21, 2012 - Mt Robson Provincial Park, AB

Some Mountains Along the Icefields Parkway - Banff, AB

View of Lake Louise and Mt Victoria in the Background

The Two of Us Basking in the Sunshine - With Rain Gear Of Course!

Cruising Along the Icefields Parkway North of Lake Louise

Some Snow on the Walkway Going to Peyto Lake

View of Peyto Lake

Brothers On the Overlook at Peyto Lake

One of the Many Mountains Surrounding Peyto Lake

Another Lake Adjacent to the Icefields Parkway

View of the Road Ahead of Us and Mountains

Athabasca Glacier

The Bus to Travel Onto Athabasca Glacier

A Small Herd Of Mountain Goats Along The Icefields Parkway

Mt Robson PP
We were unaware of this particular mountain behind us until we stopped,
and turned around to take the picture.

We woke in Canmore to sunny skies and cool temps of 40 or so.  We ate at the motel and headed out up the Icefields Parkway, to Jasper. 

We intended to take our time as our next destination was only about 280 miles.  We stopped at a number of sights, including Lake Louise, Peyto Lake, Athabasca Glacier and numerous pullouts to take pictures.  I can’t believe I talked Don into walking up the trail to Peyto Lake.  It starts at maybe 6500 feet and goes to 6900 feet or so.  I told him I would walk up and take pictures.  I also said he would enjoy the view if he walked it.  We did it in about 25 minutes.  The view was well worth it.   Peyto Lake is one of the most colorful lakes in the Canadian Rockies due to the rock flour coming down from the snowmelt.  It is a bright aqua color and opaque. 

We saw a few elk and a small group of dall sheep along the road.  Gas mileage has been good and we are filling up frequently.  We arrived in Jasper and filled up again.  Most of the gas stations in Canada don’t have the swipe and pay credit card slots.  What a pain it is in some stations.  The gas went from 102.9/liter to 143.9/liter in Jasper.  We are actually on track with our original planned route/schedule.  We found Mt Robson campground and set up.  We really like state parks and provincial parks. 
They are usually quiet, clean, out of the main-stream of tourists, and do not pack the campers in like sardines.

As we discovered earlier in Glacier, the “season” doesn’t start for maybe two weeks and there are few people in the attractions.  The insects are all over in this campground and the mosquitoes are already on us like they haven't eaten for a month.  Thank goodness for Deet 100. 

The bears are an issue in this campground and there are no bear lockers.  We may have hoist our goods up a tree or put in the restroom for safe keeping.  We decided to merely separate oursleves from all the goods taht attract bears.

 We will head out to Prince George and beyond tomorrow.

June 20, 2012 - Canmore, AL - Motel

The West Entrance to Glacier NP

Paused Along Going-To-The-Sun Road
In Full Rain Gear

We found an awesome KOA just outside Glacier NP.  We had some rain and cold temps today.  We kept our raingear on all day.  We found out when stopping at the visitors center at  West Glacier, the Going-To-The-Sun Road just opened FOR THE SEASON yesterday at noon.  We were shocked that it was this late.  After talking to some rangers, they said it was about two weeks early.  WHAT!!!  You mean to tell me that the road doesn’t open until late June?  Wow…We were hesitant about the run on this road.

View of the Clouds and Mountains on Going-To-The-Sun Road

Stream From Snowmelt Crossing the Road Ahead of Us

Between the weather, traffic, bikes with trailers and anything else that could influence the ride, we just wanted to get it over with.  Fortunately, everyone was going slow and steady.  As we climbed the weather became cooler, and more snow appeared.  The rivers and streams are nearly overflowing their banks.  The snowmelt and rain has pushed them to their limits.  At one point, the edge of one river was almost even with the road.  We hit construction about 2/3 of the way up.  We had a 15 minute wait.  The construction was gooey mud and gravel.  We pushed on and kept a cool head. 

A Little Snow on the Walkway at Logan Pass - Glacier NP

We got to Logan Pass and pulled into the visitor center.  The snow was incredible.  One of the pathways going up the observation area had a tunnel of snow maybe 15 feet high.  Pictures will prove what I say.  We took many pictures, and took it easy on the way down.  It took us about 3 hours to do a 60 mile drive, but it was worth it. 

We had lunch outside the park and continued on to Calgary.  Hoping to reach Canmore, about 60 miles west of Calgary.  We made it and found no campgrounds with showers, which we sorely needed.  We decided to motel it tonight and eat out.  Our cooking is beginning to get old.  The weather is very good and temp in the 70’s, with clearing tomorrow and same temps.  We will go on to Banff, then north on the Icefields Parkway.  We finally decided to fill up our auxiliary gas tanks.  We are looking forward to good weather, good roads and Alaska – maybe three days away.

June 19, 2012 - West Glacier, MT - KOA Campground

It rained a little during the night in Big Arm, and temps are low 40’s, with overcast skies.  I checked the weather ahead and there is a mix of snow and rain in Glacier.  We are hanging tight, hoping it will pass by the time we get there.  We probably won’t make Calgary tonight.  Between the distance and the weather in Glacier, I see us being about 100 miles short of Calgary.  The weather looks good in Calgary.  We may motel it to do laundry, charge the lap top and relax. 

What a Sight In the Morning!

Just Relaxing at the Glacier KOA

Nope…guess again.  We are staying just outside Glacier at a KOA.  This is a NICE campground.  I have found that most KOA's are marginal at best.  It is obvious that some big money has been invested in this one.  On the far side, where the big rigs are put, each site had a patio set with six chairs, umbrella, etc.  Each one was landscaped as a house would be.  Patio paver blocks finished up the grilling area.  Each site had a huge gas grill for use by the occupant and shrubs and trees separated each site.  WOW - talk about a deluxe setting!

We are doing laundry here and everything else we planned to do in Calgary.  The road through Glacier was closed due to snow, so we made a good call.  It is raining on and off here, but the weather should clear.

June 18, 2012 - Big Arm, Mt - Big Arm SP

The winds stopped about 11 the previous evening.  We awoke to sunny calm skies.  We are packing up and we continue up to Montana.  We traveled around the eastern side of the park, exiting at Mammoth Hot Springs.  We stopped a few places to take pictures. 

We were fortunate enough to see a lot of animals.  We saw bear, antelope, mule deer, buffalo, beaver, coyote, and wolf.  Quite a variety considering we were only driving along.  Don forgot to get his National Parks Passport stamp.  We remembered it about 150 miles out of Yellowstone. 

We jumped on I-90 and continued towards Glacier NP.  Since the planned stops are all out of sync from our planned stops, we have to frequently check for campgrounds along the way.  We were going to stop east of Missoula, but it was too early, so we pressed on.  We stayed at Big Arm SP on Flathead Lake, about 100 miles from Glacier.  We had some light rain for two hours or so, but it looked bad all around us.

Big Arm SP - Enjoying a Beer

Flathead Lake, MT - Big Arm SP