Jasper National Park Ice Fields

 On Friday the 26th we traveled from Hinton to Dawson Creek BC 286 miles. Along the way there was a scheduled stop at Jasper National National Park Icefields.

We were taken by bus up the mountain where we boarded a six wheel drive ice cat.

Ice Cat

The weather on the mountain was cold, windy, raining and absolutely miserable. We spent about 5 minutes on the glacier before we were soaking wet and got back on the bus,

Sean

This is Sean our driver, he was the best part of our visit. He was funny and very knowledgeable about glaciers. He had a running commentary about the history and specific glacier behavior.

           

This is us leaving the ice fields  on our way to Dawson Creek and mile 0 of the Alaska Highway

Dawson Creek BC, Mile 0 Alaskan Highway

I have to admit the history of the Alaska Highway was something I knew little about. In the early part of the 1900's and for the next 40 years there were proposals after proposals sent to Ottawa and Washington and each time rejected. The reasons too much money and too few people would benefit from such a massive investment.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1943 both the Canadian and US governments found the national security threat from Japan was too great and a massive effort to build the road from Dawson Creek BC to Fairbanks AK. Canada would supply the land and the US would supply material and manpower.

The museum in Dawson Creek mentioned the completion of the road in nine months had been recognized as one the World Wonders and compared it the the Great Wall of China.

If you are at all interested in WWII history this is little know history of a great achievement.

We have been traveling on the Alaska       

Alaska Highway

Highway (aka AL-Can) for the past three days and have put 888 miles behind us.
The two lane highway is for the most part smooth and easy to drive. The speed limits range from 80 to 100 km/hour. Once we got into the mountain with the twisty, up and down turns speed limits dropped to 50 to 70 km/hour.
In some places the were passing lanes and those really helped reduce congestion.

Alaska Highway

Caribou, cow & calf

 The best part of the last couple days has been the opportunity to see wildlife along the side of the road.
We have seen caribou, bison, a couple of black bears that we were unable to photograph.

Caribou

This guy was walking on the shoulder

We saw this moose as we walked on the path to the Liard Hot Spring in the Provincial park.


Tomorrow Wed. 7/31 we will drive to Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory and the get a few days to explore the area.

Challenges, First World Problems!

With all the fun and beautiful scenery the trip has not been without its problems.
 I make this post not to complain, only to document the events. We are more than blessed to have this opportunity to travel and live our adventure.

When we returned from our bus tour I found fresh water dripping out underneath the wet bay. We did not have a water hookup and were running off the freshwater tank. Not being able to quickly diagnose the problem we turned the pump off and only used it as needed. Turning the pump off stopped the leak and we were not in danger of running out of water.  So we called it a night.

The next day was a free day for us so I had an opportunity to figure out the leak.  I quickly discovered the water was coming from the right side of the bay above the pump. There is not real access to the plumbing as it is all hidden behind a bulkhead. I started taking things apart hoping to gain access. I finally got it loose enough to find the leak, mostly by feel, I did not have a visual on the leak. The leak was coming from an elbow crimp on a manifold on the top right of the bay. I did not have a crimping tool and even if I did I didn't have enough room to get it in position to crimp the joint. I did have a tube of semi solid marine epoxy that you could mix up to seal the joint.  After several tries I was able to reduce the leak by @ 90% with only an occasional drip.  After six hours I figured enough was enough and we would have to live with it until another day.

The next day was a travel day. As we were leaving the campground we had some confusion on directions and I could not make the turn. In an effort to quickly fix the problem I tried to back up knowing there was significant risk of damaging the tow bar.

Yes, my worst fears were confirmed, self inflicted. I was able to unhook the car, get the coach turned around and jury rig the tow bar and make it work. We were able to travel 286 miles to Jasper/Hinten. The next day was a free day, so we had the opportunity to come up with a solution.

During our trip we stopped at the Jasper National Park icefields to visit the glacier. While waiting for our scheduled time Beth was making lunch when she discovered we did not have any water. The pump wouldn't run.  ** see below

As if that weren't enough, when we arrive at the campground, Beth was starting to make dinner when I heard a loud scream.  She had opened a drawer and saw a mouse!  Off to the local hardware store for mouse traps. As of today, 7/27, we have trapped five mice and I believe there is at least one more. I got the sixth mouse on August 1 rst. Haven't seen any more evidence of mice. Hope that was the last.

We were not having one of our better days.

Not comfortable with the jury rig, on our FREE day I spent several hours calling RV dealers and part suppliers only to find our best option for replacement was $1400,00 and three hours away.

Beth insisted the we should try to get it straightened, I thought that was a fool's errand. While I was trying to track down a new tow bar Beth called a collision shop and explained the problem. He said the he couldn't help and that she should call the welding shop down the street.  She called, explained the problem.  He said he wouldn't know until he saw it.
I loaded the tow bar in the car and off to the welding shop. He wasn't sure he could straighten the bar but was willing to try. After @ 15 minutes he brought it back. It was straighter and maybe usable, but far from satisfactory.  As I was walking away he mention the he could replace the bent bar. I asked how much and how soon.  We were leaving early the next morning. The price was right and the four hour timing was perfect.  It was 4:30 pm when I got the call that the tow bar was all done. When I got there I could have been more pleased. The craftsmanship was excellent and when the owner commented that cash would reduce cost and I stated I only had US, the savings were really nice.  Best part of all:  When I hooked it up and as we headed out the next day, the tow bar worked like new.

Beth, 
You were right, I was wrong, thank you for continuing to pursue what I thought was a fool's errand.  
Love, Keith

** while waiting for the tow bar to be repaired, I determined that the water pump indeed had failed. I was able to track down a replacement and get it installed, were back in business.

Bamff National Park

Gondola Base

I feel like I am way behind in posting. It has been a couple of very busy days. Backing up a few days On Sunday the 21rst we traveled from Fairmont Hot Springs total of  112 miles and arrived in the early afternoon.
After setting up the rig in the National Park we decided to go downtown and explore.


We stopped by the visitor center and they suggested the Bamff Gondola ride. There was a free shuttle up the mountain to catch the gondola so off we went. It was a beautiful day the views from the gondola and the top of the mountain were spectacular. When we arrived at the top there was a nice visitors center with several observation decks, a museum explaining the history of the area, two restaurants and of course a gift shop.

View of City of Bamff 

One of the things that has been a bit surprising but maybe shouldn't, is the number of people that are here and everywhere we go. There are tour buss after tour bus filled with people from all over the world. People watching can be a full time job and very interesting. The park service does a very good job of controlling the crowds.

After spending a couple hours at the summit we returned to the base to discover that we had missed the last free shuttle. No worries, the local public transit took us back to the city for $2.00 a piece. Returning to downtown we found a nice  restaurant and finished the evening with good pizza and beer then back to the coach to rest up and prepare for our epic bus tour the next day.

We woke up Monday morning it was cool and cloudy. When we walked down the hill at 8:15 for our schedule departure at 8:30 the bus was already there and people were starting to board. This bus tour was an all day affair, we were scheduled to visit seven different venues and not return until the mission had been accomplished.

Entrance to one of the tunnels

The first on the list was the Spiral Tunnels, railroad tunnels cut through the mountain in a spiral fashion to facilitate changing it altitude for train in and out of the Bamff Valley. Frankly I was a bit disappointed there wasn't much to see as there were no trains while we were watching.

Upward and onward to Emerald Lake.  it was a beautiful spot we had a chance to walk around an do a little exploring.

The pictures are a bit decieving there are people everywhere.Tour busses have preferential parking close to the venues.


If your driving your own car or RV there are off sight parking with free shuttle buses or a nice long walk

Next stop, The Natural Bridge at Yoho
National Park. This was an interesting rock formation. The river came down and water would drop into rock hole and come out the bottom

On to Lake Louise which is a glacial fed lake and very popular.

This is representative of the crowds we experienced everywhere we went.

Hotel at Lake Louise was beautiful
but unless you were staying there
you were not supposed to be on the
grounds

 

Finally the picture that you cannot leave Lake Louise without.

 We had lunch at the Lake Louise ski resort a few miles away.

 Moraine Lake was our next stop. This pile of rocks were part of the moraine that was left at the glacier receded. There was a trail on the back side that allowed us to climb to the top and get a great view of the lake.

 We were told that the color of the lake is created by the reflection of the sune off what they called rock flower.
Rock flower is very fine rock ground up by the glacier and suspended in the water. The lake changes color depending on the angle of the sun.

You just have to have a smiling picture in front of the beautiful lake.











The final stop of the day was         

Johnson Canyon  and the lower falls. The walk to the lower falls was supposed to be a 1/2 mile walk. After walking for 20 minutes along a narrow trail mostly uphill  I am not sure the Canadians know how long a 1/2 mile really is.

The trail as we approached the falls. Another very busy place!

 The lower falls, if you look to the right side of the picture you will notice a cave opening. The cave allows you to go through to the backside of the waterfall. People were waiting 15 to 20 minute to go into the cave.

     

The entrance to the cave.

So we got in line.

The backside of the falls were a little underwhelming, but we were glad we waited.

 
So our bus tour was done returned to the campground @ 6:30 PM. It had been a long day we enjoyed the experience and the people we shared it with.   

Our Alaska Tour Route

This will be our route through Western Canada and Alaska. I know Gary posted this on Facebook, so I thought I would add it here as well.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Fairmont Hot Springs

One of the many mountain views

Hello all, It has been a few days since my last post, we have been mostly busy and a little lazy. On Sunday the 21 rst we traveled @ 225 miles to Fairmont Hot Springs Resort and our first taste of the Canadian Rockies. The trip was uneventful, but it did take a little getting used to mountain driving.

Our Campsite

We stayed in a nice private campground. The sites were a little tight  and getting around with a 40 ft rig was a challenge. That evening our leaders (Wagonmasters & Tailgunners)  provided avery nice group meal consisting of pulled pork, coleslaw, chips and cookies. It was a good opportunity to mingle and get to know one another.

Hot Springs Pool

Monday was scheduled to be a free day that we could explore the campground and surrounding area.The options available were kayaking, hiking rafting and the hot springs pool. When we woke up in the morning there was a drizzle and 52 degrees.  The weather got worse from there, the rain got heavier and the temps dropped into the high 40's.  The weather put and end to our hiking plans, we hung around the coach resting and reading debating whether to the hot spring pool or wait until the rain stopped to avoid getting wet (?) . We finally packed our stuff and struck out in the cold rain to visit the hot pool. It was actually quite relaxing and worth the trip in the cold rain.

More mountain views.

Coeur D'Alene Part 2 7/18/19

We have had a quiet couple of days, spending time relaxing and preparing for the next part of our journey. The slide topper that was damaged in North Dakota has been repaired and is good to go.

We're staying at Blackwell Island RV Resort on the Spoken River on the north side of  Lake Coeur D'Alene
The resort has all the amenities and is very clean.

It has been cool here in the 60's and low 70's with a little bit of rain each day but not enough to slow us down.

On Wednesday we had our first organized activity as a group. We went on boat tour of the lake. It is a beautiful lake with much to see and lots of history dating back to the early french fur trappers. As you can see from the pics the weather was almost perfect until it started to rain out of nowhere. The rain did not last long and and did not affect our enjoyment.

Enjoying the ride

The Fantasy Group

 

It's a big lake!