Whitehorse, Yukon May 31, 2007

Dropping anchor here for a couple of days. Whitehorse is on the Yukon River which still has a bit of snow around the edges. The Yukon, Jack London's The Call of the Wild, Sargent Preston of the Yukon (for those of you old enough to vaguely remember!). It always seemed that was at the end of the world, well...maybe it is! Whitehorse is in the middle of developing it's downtown riverside area with a riverwalk & parks. When it's finished it should be very nice. Went out for pizza last night. 12" pizza & 2 beers = $35.00 (Canadian)! But Canadian & US are almost on a par. When we get back to the States, Alaska, it will seem cheap. Mike & Jim decided to spring for a fishing license today & spend the day trying to catch our supper. Chris & I will have better luck at the grocery store!
Barb

On the Alaskan Highway 97 to 1

The hot springs was great last night, hated to get out but the mosquitos threatened to carry us away. Beautiful provincial park. Tonight 120 miles south of Whitehorse, overlooking a lake with some ice still on it and snow covered mountain p;eaks in the distance. The weather remains sunny and pleasant for the most part. Had to yield the road to a caribou today, bison along the side of the road. The cat keeps getting better and better as a traveler, although she got out after a couple cowbirds this morning, no trouble catching her. Saw a black bear but too far for a picture. Will be spending the next few days in Whitehorse hopefully with Wifi service.

Monday May 28

Fort Nelson, BC. Getting there, only 1400 miles to Fairbanks! Running into fewer and fewer places to get on the internet. We are really getting into the wilderness now, there are signs on the highways letting you know how far to the next gas stations. Roads are good and not heavily traveled. We have seen lots of wildlife. First ever grizzly bear along with her two cubs, got some very nice pictures, from the car of course. Starting seeing Moose yesterday and Black Bear all along since leaving the Banff area.

We drove hwy 93 from Banff to Jasper which goes right thru the heart of the Canadian Rockies. It is labeled as the most scenic highway in North America and I can believe it. You are right in the middle of the mountains with peaks rising all around you. the passes were about 6800'. Unfortunately the pictures just don't do it justice. We stopped at the Columbia Ice Fields and took an ice explorer ride to the glacier where we could walk on it. The Athabasca Glacier. It was a perfect day, sunny and about 50, the ice and snow just glistened.

Going on to the Laird River Hot Springs Prov. Park tonight for a warm dip.
Barb

Thurs. May 24,2007

Well the price of diesel was .97 per liter today, can't complain. What a day - took the picturesque route to Lake Louise, saw a very large bull elk (is that the right term?) in full velvet, were about 20 feet away. Later saw a grizzly sow with 2 cubs, we were very far away from it. Yesterday we saw a black bear and 2 cubs got pics, but very hard to see them, maybe we can blow them up. Did you all know that Lake Louise is still frozen this time of year. What a surprise. We had 1-2 inches of snow last night, made the already beautiful mountains even better today.
On to Jasper tomorrow and then just plain north from there. Hope you are all doing well, especially the new 16 year old in the family. Way to go Marshall.
Betty

may 23, 2007

Just to make you all feel better about your gas cost/mileage. Gas here is $1.24/liter which translates into just under $5.00/gal! And don't ask about out mpg, sufice to say it is NOT double digits!! Barb

Canadian Rockies

Arrived in Canmore south of Banff today. Bright sun. Some rain yesterday. Will stay here for 3 days, then head further north. 2 mule deer right outside the rig this morning, elk along the road as well a big horn sheep today. More pics to follow. Met up with Buswells today, will be together for a while at least. Later
Betty and Tom
Tues. May 22

May 22 - Canmore, Alberta

The Canadian Rockies are quite breathtaking. Most of them are still snow covered on the peaks and shining against the blue sky. Since I just took the pictures this morning, I'll post some the next time I manage to find an Internet hot spot. They may get fewer as we go North. While we were leaving Radium Hot Springs this morning, a herd of Big Horn Sheep, about 10-12, walked down the road, totalling stopping traffic. The attendant at the gas station said that was pretty common and the sheep think they own the town! We are going to spend a few days here and check out the sights at Banff and Jasper. There is a gondola ride up the mountain that sounds like fun. Barb

May 20,2007

In Glacier today driving & hiking around the Lake McDonald area. Stopped at the old Lodge but it wasn't open yet. The spring run off has made all the small creeks into roaring rivers with lots of rapids and waterfalls. Just gorgeous! Off to Canada tomorrow on the way to Banff. BTW, if anyone wants a great campsite here, check out Mountain Meadow Campgrounds. Heavily wooded, terraced sites but with all the amenities! Barb

Glacier

Spent last evening and today tooling around the west end of the park. Beautiful. Will have to come back later to cross over the road to the sky. Hey Jess, I asked Barb to email me a picture of the damaged whale so I can see what to look for. The weather has been great, just sprinkles last night for a short while and it is raining now. Will cross the border tomorrow and then be using the first hot springs just southwest of Banff. Will rejoin with the Buswells on Tues. in Banff. Have seen elk, mountain goats, deer, and other fauna, lots of spring flowers. As for the comments from the east coast very funny, the border folks won't bother us. Will see if we can add any pictures from my files for this edition.

May 17, 2007

I don't know about the teaching, I'm learning as we go too! Have visited several Lewis & Clark camps, they wintered over at Ft Maden on the Missouri River in a very small triangular fort. It held about 50 people and our guide said the rooms, which had 2 beds, housed about 8-9 men. Two got the beds and the rest slept in an upstairs small loft and then they rotated for the beds. And of course, they didn't wash during that entire time! Must have been very pleasant!!

We also found an old train trestle today that incorporated a lift bridge over the Yellowstone River, very similar to the one in Duluth. The trestle is fenced so you can walk over it and at the end is the only train tunnel in ND, built in 1913. Once the lift was built, it was raised once to test it and it was never used again even thou the bridge was in use until 1986. Prior to building a car bridge in 1955, this trestle also was used for cars with an attendant on duty to make sure the cars & trains didn't hit each other.

May 17,2007

Will be leaving ND tomorrow into Montana. Have had a slight change of plans, will not be going to Washington until the way back. So far great weather, in the 80s today. Lots of Lewis and Clark history and pictures. The next lesson on the blog will be to do pictures, Barb is an excellent teacher. Later, Betty/Mom/Grandma.

Day 1 - Gordon,Wi - Grand Forks, ND

Finally on the road!! Smoke from the Ham Lake Fire in the air over Superior/
Duluth area. We are driving Hwy 2 over to Washington, then up thru BC but in no rush to get anywhere. Rain & cool to start, then sun & warm and now clouds & cool again. For the next couple of days we will explore ND! Mike & Barb