Our 2019 Adventures

We left Dawson Creek this morning at 7:45 am.  Temp was 40F and light drizzle after an all night rain.  Weather forecast is for rain for the next 3 days including our next destination stops. 2 hours into this ride, the light rain turned to sleet.  Temps were dropping and soon hit 36 F.  We slowed down but continue our trek north. Checked our Weather Channel App and it showed pretty much the same info:  Cloudy, rain high in the 40s.  Well, that does it for us and relying on this reputable report.  Soon temp dropped to 34F and snowing has now gotten stronger. A sloshy mess is also building on the roads.  Within minutes, the temp dropped to 31F and we found ourselves in a winter blizzard and looking for a place to stop. 4 families, which later we found were all from the USA, pulled into Pink Mountain.  This mom & pop shop RV park,with a single gas pump up front.  The 4 large rigs, including us, seemed to fill the entir...

Two days drive and amazing how the landscape has changed.  We continue to see lots of hills and some distant mountains but nothing like the ."Rockies".  The view is still beautiful but at least this co-author is still in owe of those majestic beauties. Last night we stopped in Grand Cache.  An interesting town with like so many, having a history of fur trappers and coal mining. The one thing we have failed to mention since we have been so busy with our surroundings, is all the animals we have seen on the roads thus far.  Since leaving Jasper National Forest, we have seen many Elk both males and females.  Deer, especially bucks.  The co-pilot was lucky enough to see a bear as we crossed a bridge.  Lastly, a Bighorn Sheep or Ram.  All of these animals were close enough to the road to be almost touched but never captured on "film".  It is tough to be traveling at 60 miles per hour and attempt to stop fast enough to take a picture when you ha...

The Canadian Rockies I showed several beautiful scenic pictures.  Part II, also shows scenic pictures, in addition to our stop at a Provincial campground.  This campground was in Jasper National Park. These parks are equivalent to our state parks but that is where the similarities end.  They are large with hundreds of full service sites.  The sites are spread out very well, and private.  The dumping station consists of several islands and the restrooms have flushable toilets. During our evening walk, we became aware of the one of the many fringe benefits of this park.  It is full of wildlife.  There were Elk cows all over the campground.  By the time we got up this Wednesday morning, we had 3 females in different spots around our campground that were still sleeping.  Evidently they are late risers.  We understand from the literature, that the elk feel very secure in the campground.        

The Canadian Rockies - I We left Calgary on Trans-Canada 1.  This led to Lake Louise and the Icefield Parkway Hwy 93. Banff National Park was next on the route.  The drive from Banff to Jasper, AB has been labeled “the most scenic road in the Northern Hemisphere”.  We can now understand this label. There is nothing that can be said to describe or narrate such beauty.  We think Mother Nature has said it best:               Athabasca Glacier   Driving through these mountains has been an awesome experience.  These images have been etched into our minds forever.

We arrived in Calgary, AB on Wednesday the 18th.  Our intention was to spend a week here.  Now it appears that we have to stay even if we wanted to leave early.  A weather front has moved into the area bringing much needed rain to Alberta.  This should help with the forest fires of Fort McMurray in northeast Alberta.  The real danger, however, that is keeping us here, is the snow falling at higher elevations.  Banff, Jasper and Grand Cache are getting snow and several inches are expected this weekend.  These are the exact towns we need to travel through.   We explored downtown Calgary today.  Learned much about this town's creation when we visited Fort Calgary Museum.  It all began in 1875 with the establishment of Fort Calgary post by the North West Royal Mounted Police (NWRMP) on the banks of the Bow and Elbow Rivers.  The RCMP was needed to control the whisky trade between fur trappers and Indian tribes. ...

Well, as you all know, We left West Yellowstone, MT and drove north to Shelby, MT.  This was one of the longest drives to date.  The drive was beautiful like all the other roads of Montana.  Here you see goats on the side of the road.   However, MT-69 as scenic as it was, we found that it was under construction and we had to wait for a "follow me" pilot truck to escort us through the mess.  And a mess it was.  At least 8 or more miles were nothing but mud.  Since it had rained the night before, the road was unpaved and full of pot holes.  By the time we got out of this mess onto I-15, our teeth hurt. The little oasis of a campground on the outskirts of Shelby, was great.  We spent 2 nights at this park, relaxing and being entertained by "Prairie dogs" that have taken over the grounds. In the early morning of the second day, we found a few Pronghorns running on the hill seen below and we were not able to capture on ...

Within Yellowstone III and Last Day Started off the day with a treat.  We decided to take one of the off the beaten path roads: Riverside Drive.  It runs along the river and parallel to Yellowstone Road.  Within a couple of minutes, we saw the Buffalo Procession along the water’s edge.  Moms, Dads and babies, all making their way in and along the water.  We stuck with them for a while, just observing.  They truly seem to be. gentle giants, when unprovoked.  They deserve the honor of being recently named the “Nation’s Mammal”.     It is really interesting to see how prevalent the herds of buffalo are in Yellowstone.  Very often, we were stopped by buffalo walking in the road.  We had so many opportunities to drive right next to several of them.  They were either resting on the side of the road or crossing over the road. We headed for the Tower Juncti...