Fish Wheel	Shelley with fresh salmon	Norm & Joe with the Gertie Girls!	2003 Calendar

We left Dawson City on Thursday morning.  Even though it was a touristy place, it felf like real people lived and worked there, and it was one of the favorite places that we visited so far.  During the very beginning of our trip we passed areas that had been mined for gold using big dredges.  The tailings from these dredges were everywhere, covering the ground for miles.  Most of this area was completely devoid of vegetation...perhaps they used some sort of chemical in the mining process.  It all looked so sad.  This mining probably took place before there was an environmental consciousness.  The rest of the trip seemed to go on forever, although the distance was only 335 miles or so.  The roads were pretty good, and we drove at 55 miles per hour most of the way.  We arrived in Whitehorse around 6 PM.  Rather then check into a campground, we decided to spend the night at Walmart's.  This Walmart had a special RV parking area and it was jammed with all sort of vehicles.  What a sight!  [Whitehorse - Walmart - 60.44 N / 135.04 W

On Friday morning we left Walmart and drove to the Visitor's Bureau in Whitehorse.  They said that we could park the coaches there all day, so we did.  During the morning we went to the Museum.  They had some great exhibits about days gone by in Whitehorse.  I spent some time talking to two girls who worked in the museum.  One grew up in Dawson City.  Her father had 4 gold mines, only two of which are active.  She went to school there through 8th grade.  When it got really cold, they closed school.  When I asked what "really cold" meant, she said under minus 65 degrees.  She said that, for fun during the winter, they would drag their sleds up a mountain...it took about 3 hours, and then in a few minutes they would sled down.  They did that twice in a day, and that took care of their day.  Nobody locked doors then, and she could just wander around town.  Her parents felt that it was so safe and nothing bad could possibly happen.  However, after she finished 8th grade, her family moved from Dawson City to Whitehorse to give her a better education.  One of the Whitehorse high schools actually has a dormitory for the kids from the smaller towns around.  One of the amazing things about Whitehorse concerns its population - 22,000 people live here.  The population of the entire Yukon Territory is only about 31,000.  Amazing!!.  The two museum girls are both in college, one in Victoria, BC and the other in Prince George, BC.  Victoria is about twice as far as Prince George, but the airfare to Victoria is about $500 while its $900 to Prince George, which is a 22 hour trip by car.  Whitehorse is a town that has recently decided to preserve its history.  There are many old buildings downtown, lots built out of logs.  During the afternoon we talk a walking tour of the town and learned the history of many of the buildings.  Like most river towns everywhere, the town has seen frequent flooding until a dike was built to protect the town.  The Alaska Highway was built during the World War II to protect the US from a possible Japanese invasion.  There are several reminders of the large number of American troop that were here during 1942 and 1943.  These soldiers, as well as the large number of US tourists currently passing through, result in a strange mixture of certain things.  Even though Canada uses the metric system, many written pieces refer to distances in miles in certain places and kilometers in others.  We also learned that the Whitehorse airport services planes in far western Canada and one foreign country.  And the one foreign country is not the US.  It is actually Germany.  A large number of Germans come here to enjoy the mountains and outdoor life, not far different than they get at home.  After dinner we went to the Frantic Follies, a vaudeville type show with many skits and some Can-Can dancers.  it was great fun.  And when we stopped at Tim Horton's (like Dunkin' Donuts) to buy some bagels, most of the cast was there for a snack before their late show went on.  The bagels were to go with the lox that Shelley has made from the fresh salmon that we had in Dawson City.  We went back to Walmart for the night.  Again, the place was packed with RVs of every description.   

We got up on Saturday morning and drove over the Yukon River to a large wooden fishladder that allowed fish returning to spawn to go up 66 feet and bypass a waterfall and a hydroelectric dam.  Unfortunately, the Chinook salmon were about a week away from making their run, so there wasn't much to see.  We left and moved our attention to the Beringea museum.  This  is dedicated to the land bridge between Alaska and Siberia that existed 40-50,000 years ago.  There were real life-sized models of woolly mammoths and other displays that depicted life in Beringea (named after the Bering Strait) way back when.  We all took a try or two  at throwing a spear with an Atl-atl, a stick that sort of acts like a sling shot; if we had to depend on hunting with tis weapon we would all starve.  We then set off on the short 115 mile trip to Mukluk Annies.  This is one of those places that everyone goes to.  If you eat dinner at the restaurant, for free you can (i) spend the night camping on their property, (ii) wash your rig, (iii) dump your holding tanks, (iv) fill your tanks with fresh water, and (v) take an hour boat ride on a houseboat on Lake Teslin.  What a bargain, and the owners seem to be making a very healthy living here.  The only drawback to the place was that the owners are born again Christians, and Jesus was sort of stuffed down your throat.  On the boat, was a sign "Lifeguard on duty - Jesus."  Telsin lake is about 75 miles long and 2 1/2 miles wide, with depths up to 130 feet.  Unbelievably, there are very few recreational boats on the water.  Dinner at Mukluk Annies was reasonably priced and reasonably good.  Our waiter had only been there 3 weeks, but he was really homesick and he wanted to go back home to Kelowna, British Columbia  [Teslin, Yukon Territory - Mukluk Annie's - 60.13 N / 132.54 W]  On Sunday, July 24, we continued our trip south and east.  We drove through Teslin, Yukon Territory and continued down to Watson Lake.  There we found the Signpost Village.  People leave all sorts of signs made up of all sorts of materials.  These signs usually commemorate a trip through the area.  Somewhere I heard that there are over 50,000 siogns there, and they increase in number by about 2,000 each year.  We continued on to Liard Provincial park where there is a well know hot spring.  Although it was really pouring (and had done so for most of the afternoon) we all trooped up to the hot spring.  It was really yummy, and we all soaked up the hot water for a while.  [Muncho Lake, British Columbia - Laird Provincial Park - 59.26 N / 126.06 W].

Monday morning we loaded up our rigs and we were on our way. We drove to Fort Nelson, a small town not too far distant.  We saw lots of Stone sheep everywhere.  Some were walking on the road, and others appeared to be walking straight up the side of a hill.  It was amazing to see.  We also some goats and Joe almost hit a moose that had wandered onto the road.  We were  usort of tired when we arrived at Fort Nelson, saw we just set up our rigs and took it easy for the rest of the day.  Unfortunately the campground was a mess, with mud everywhere and the garbage strewn in the general area of the trash buckets, but no closer than that.  When we checked our voice mail we heard that we had an offer on our sailboat.  Its hard dealing with this from so far away, but hopefully it will go smoothly. [Fort Nelson - West End Campground - 58.48 N / 122.43 W ]   We planned to drive about 300 miles on Tuesday so we got a relatively early start.  We called Fletcher, our agent (for selling the boat)  and found that the offer was close to our current asking price.  So we made a counter offer.  The only hangup seems to be the source of a pool of diesel fuel under our boat.  The marina will check it out for us.  The drive ws relatively easy; the road was the best that we were on for a long time, and we could set the cruise control at just under 60 and just keep going.  We saw deer, a baby bear (as well as horses, cows, and a stray dog) along the way.  Dawson Creek is a town of about 10,000 whose main claim to fame is that it is mile 0 on the Alaskan Highway.  The highway was built during the 2nd World War by 28,000 men in about 8 months.  Its an unbelievable feat considering that it is about 1200 miles long, crosses mountains and valleys, and the temperature was as low as -80 degrees Fahrenheit, as high as 85 degrees, and the mosquitoes gained fames as Alaska's state bird.  As we neared the end of the day's travel, we noticed bright yellow fields everywhere.  We couldn't tell what sort of plants they were until we asked and found out that they were canola plants.  Imagine that!  We arrived in Dawson Creek and our first choice campground was booked, so we found another.  [Dawson Creek - Tubby's Campground - 55.46 N / 120.16 W ]  On Wednesday morning we drove into downtown Dawson Creek and checked out the Milepost 0 monument of the Alaska Highway.  We left Dawson Creek and headed for Prince George where we planned to pick up or car.  The trip was one of contrasts.  We went through farmlands where we could drive 100 kilometers per hour and then we went over mountains where the road went up and down and around and we needed to slow down appreciably.  The day was also one of contrasting weather, with sun, clouds, drizzle, and torrential downpours mixing in throughout.  When we had gone about 210 miles and still had about 40 to get to prince George, a bear ran out on the road a few hundred yards in front of us.  As we came to a stop about 50 yards from him, he took a look at us and ran off into the woods.  What fun!  After getting our car and settling in ast the South park campground, we went into Prince George for something to eat.  We stopped at Boston Pizza, a chain that is relatively common in the Pacific northwest.  We now know why it is not popular in the east.  The food just wasn't very good.  [Prince George - Southpark RV park - 53.51 N / 122.41 W ].

Moose crossing the road	"0" milepost Alaskan Highway sign	"0" milepost sign	Stone sheep	Tribute to Prospectors	Our Watson Lake signpost	Watson Lake Signpost Village

After leaving Prince George, we really feel like our Alaska trip is over, although we still have many miles to travel.  As we made the turn towards Jasper and the Canadian Rockies there was a sign that said "Next Gas - 206 kilometers".  Imsgine 112 miles until the next fill-up.  We had another strange day of traveling.  Again, the weather was all over, with sun to torrential downpours.  As we neared the border from British Columbia to Alberta, we came around a bend, and there in front of us was a panorama of the most beautiful mountains.  What a sight!  There are a large number of campgrounds in Jasper National Park.  The first was full, because it is a Civic Holiday here on Monday, making this a 3 day week-end.  A Civic Holiday is sort of a neat thing.  The government decides that there should be a holiday around the first of August, so they declare it a holiday.  I think we need one then in the states also. [Jasper - Wabasso Campground - 52.46 N / 117.59 W ]  

Our objective today was to see the Columbia Icefields.  We left the coaches and took the CRV for the day.  But first, not far from our campground, we stopped at Athabasca Falls.  This raging torrent was unbelievably spectacular.  Although we visited the falls in the rain, it was a really special waterfall to look at, and the erosive power of the powerful currents was on display. Then we proceeded down the Icefields Parkway, often called one of the most beautiful highways in the world.  There were 11,000 foot peaks everywhere, many capped with snow and/or glaciers.  The sights here are equal to any I've seen in the Alps.  Our 60 mile trip to the Columbia Icefields was interrupted by a black bear running onto the highway about 150 yards in front of us and then turning and retreating into the forest as we approached him.  At the Icefields we boarded a bus and then a special vehicle with large tires as we actually drove onto the glacier (down an 18 degree grade - a steep grade for a highway is about 8%) and then got off to wander around for 15 minutes or so.  At this spot, the depth of the ice was about 300 feet, while further up the glacier the depth was about 1,000 feet.  The Columbia Icefields, which feeds the glacier, has the unique characteristic of feeding glaciers that eventually melt and drain into three oceans, the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific.  I thought that was pretty neat.  The glacier is retreating about 50 feet each year, and current projections forecast that the entire glacier will be gone in 100 years.  That's pretty remarkable when currently the Icefield comprises about 130 square miles of compressed ice.  The driver of our bus delivered an impassioned plea for the environment.   We returned to Wabasso and had a relaxing evening, including a nap by yours truly.

Saturday morning, July 30, we planned to head south to Calgary.  As we drove down the road, there were lots of animals that crossed the street.  They were mostly Big Horn Sheep and moose.  Luckily, we didn't hit any of them!!  We drove past the Columbia Icefields and incredible mountains.  There were a series of mountains that reached about 11,000 - 12,000 feet, many snow capped, and absolutely awesome.  Pictures could not possibly do this sight any justice.  We also stopped at Peyto Lake, where the observation deck was at an altitude of about 7,000 feet.  The lake was an incredible blue green color and just beautiful.  While there, we met a solo bicyclist who had flown to Anchorage and, in 40 days, had biked from Anchorage to Vancouver island to Peyto Lake.  Just an incredible feat, especially considering the up and down mountains that he must have traversed.  We then stopped off to see Lake Louise and fill up with gas.  The Visitors Bureau staff told us that the August 1 Civic Holiday made this a 3 day week-end and, as a result, this was the busiest weekend of the year, and when we went to Lake Louise, we believed her.  The parking lots were all jammed, and we were barely able to escape without having to unhook our tow car.  Unfortunately, because of the crowds, we bypassed Lake Louise and Banff and headed for our campground in Calgary.  We passed an area with lots of congestion and lots of construction, and the mess was something we hadn't experienced for several months.  We finally arrived late in the afternoon.  [Calgary - Pine Creek Campground - 50.52 N / 114.02 W ].   

Big Horn Sheep on road	Norm by tire of a Foremost Truck	People on Columbia Icefield	Norm at Peyto Lake	Shelley at Peyto Lake

Sunday morning was a low key time for us.  We left the campground late morning and drove into downtown Calgary.  Since it was the middle day of a 3 day week-end, the downtown area was virtually a ghost town. But it was clear that Calgary is a relatively new city, with lots of open spaces and public places. We headed for the Devonian Gardens, one of the world's largest indoor parks, which was inside a downtown office building.  The gardens are sponsored by the Devonian Foundation, a charitable organization that sponsors gardens and arts in downtown Canadian cities.  There was no admission fee but the place was beautiful, and spotless also.  Then we found a farmer's market that was also a flea market of sorts.  Lots of stuff for sale at low prices, but nothing that we needed other than some cheese and fresh vegetables.  We came back to the campground, and at 6 PM our friends, Ernie and Shirley Verdade, (who live in Calgary and who we met in New Orleans last February) came to out coach for some wine and nibbles and then the 6 of us went out for dinner.  Probably one of the better food that we've had in a long time. 

Flowers at Botanical Gardens	Fountain & Serenity Garden	Turtles

Monday was forecast to be a hot day, so we cancelled our plans for the zoo and decided to go white water rafting on the Kanansikis River.  We had to drive about 65 miles to get there, back in the direction of Banff.  On the way there, we heard a new3s report discussing the hot dry conditions locally and the danger of forest fires.  The white water rafting was fun, but at Level 2-3, not nearly as exciting as the trips I had taken on the Lehigh River in PA.  After completing the trip, we noticed that the highway back to Calgary was stopped up with traffic.  We then heard that there was a big brush fire on the way back, and they were fighting the fire by dropping water from airplanes and helicopters.  Traffic was really slow going back, but we soon passed the area where the fire was (it was out by then) and made good time the rest of the way.