August 2005

Peyto Lake on the Icefields Parkway near Lake Louise...the blue is caused by the "rock flour" from glacial melt...it is so fine it remains suspended and changes the reflectivity of the water. All the glacial lakes here have this unbelievable blue color!

This trip through the Canadian Rockies is winding down, but has exceeded our expectations in every way. For fellow RVers, we can HIGHLY recommend spending at least a week in Jasper's Whistler's Campground...especially this time of year. We were fortunate to have chosen that spot to spend a week, never knowing that we would experience the elk rutting season at its very beginning. The campground (full hookups...30 amp, water, sewer...all very well positioned...large sites, too...no problem with a 'big rig.') is in an area where elk have lived for generations, so they treat the RVs no different from the trees around. Most RVers, likewise treat the elk with respect and give them "their space" and don't harass them, or stress them at all. Observing the elk was our daily entertainment. By the end of our stay, we noticed a change in the behavior of the elk...the males began appearing singly with several females and their offspring. Then the "bugling" began and we could see the alertness that the males exhibited when they heard it...their call to battle! The roundup of the females had begun! You have to be there, to really appreciate it.

The number of things to do in the Jasper area is long, but with the good weather we had, we were able to see much of what we had on our list of "must sees:" Maligne Lake (the second largest glacial lake in the world), Maligne Canyon, Athabasca Falls, Sunwapta Falls, Mt. Edith Cavell and its glacier, etc. The list of wildlife we saw were bears, elk, moose, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, and lots of small creatures.

(L-R:Mountain Goat, bull moose, female moose, female elk nursing, bull elk "babysitting" 4 young elk, bull elk...click on thumbnails to enlarge)

(L-R: Maligne Lake, Jasper Townsite, Angel Glacier...which we, as Texans, believe should be renamed "Longhorn Glacier"...agree?)

On the way to Jasper from Vancouver, BC, we took the Yellowhead Highway (Route 5) which was an excellent choice. Folks on the RV forum had suggested we make a stop at Wells Gray Provincial Park along the way (about a 5-hour drive from Vancouver...so it was a nice stop.) For those of us who are waterfall buffs, it's known as their waterfall park...three gorgeous ones are very easy to see in what is a huge, but mostly wilderness, park. We made one more stop along the way in Valemount to see Mt. Robson, and were lucky enough to also see the Chinook salmon jumping at Rearguard Falls...the last hurdle on their 800 mile trip from the ocean to their spawning areas. Three days later, when friends of ours went by, not a single Chinook was seen jumping...oh, well...

(L-R: Spahats Falls, Helmcken Falls, Dawson Falls all in Wells Gray Provincial Park, BC)

After a week in Jasper, we traveled down the Icefield Parkway on a perfect day...not a cloud in the sky. We stopped at every pullout for the views. Too many photos later, we arrived at Lake Louise's campground for the next week. Again, the campground is lovely, but our power is marginal (30 amp...but at least at our site, has been off and on periodically. We're too lazy to move...we just deal with it and go and reset the breaker) and the roads into the campground are so full of potholes that it's not a question of avoiding them, but which ones are the more shallow ones to go into. We have no water or sewer hookup, so we'll leave by the end of the week. Other than that, it's a lovely place to stay for a week or so. We're just down the road from the Chateau Lake Louise and the teeny village, so we're very convenient. We've again seen everything on our list of "must sees" and more. We hired a guide to hike into Lake O'Hara, which is in the nearby Yoho National Park. This is a "restricted area" which has a limited number of spaces for hikers each day which makes for a wonderful private experience. Again, the day was lovely, and our guide extremely pleasant and knowledgeable. We arrived home thoroughly exhausted!

Hoary Marmots and little Black Bear

Moraine Lake, my favorite photo spot!

(L-R: Lake O'Hara, Lake O'Hara view, Lake Louise, Emerald Lake)

We've been enjoying the trip, but have missed our cellphones, internet, and satellite TV! (Ah, wilderness...NOT!) I guess we're not made to totally tune out the world. We just heard about the hurricane hitting New Orleans, but that's about it. We get the BBC news a bit on a snowy channel every now and then. Our last 'net fix was at a tiny library in Jasper, and hopefully I'll get to upload this tomorrow on the wifi that is available at Chateau Lake Louise...for a price!

If you've not considered a trip to the Canadian Rockies...in particular the Jasper to Canmore corridor, you need to plan a trip now...and plan to spend a couple of weeks here...that's not too much! This "end of season" is a good time to come...the days are pleasant (60-70's) and nights are cool. Tourists are still much in evidence, but if you take some of the trails, you'll immediately be away and in your own solitude. (Also, the bugs are gone...or mostly gone.)

Cruise to Alaska aboard the Holland America "Volendam" Aug. 3-10, 2005

Holland America's "Volendam" entering Glacier Bay, Alaska

Margerie Glacier calving, Glacier Bay, AK (sorry, no sound effects...just imagine a crack of thunder!)

August 3-10 we sailed to Glacier Bay for an extremely memorable trip! I'll post more photos later, but these will give you an idea of our weather!

Small black bear eating a salmon outside Ketchikan...yes, we were this close with a naturalist (who had pepper spray...in case.)

Vancouver, BC has been our "headquarters" for 2 weeks, so we've been seeing sights here. Yesterday we traveled to Butchart Gardens on the island of Vancouver (1 1/2 hours by ferry). The photo speaks for itself...

We're off on Monday heading towards Jasper, Alberta, but this is our last "wifi" hookup, so we wanted to post a few photos...so far the trip has been great. We've spent the last two days touring the Vancouver sights with some new friends we met on the ship who were from Australia.

All we can say is that the cruise to Alaska was more than we expected...lots of whales, eagles, and bear sightings...dreadful weather for 2 days, but Skagway, Glacier Bay, and Ketchikan were gorgeous, so what more could we have asked for. Stay tuned... more later when I have time and ability to upload!