Canadian Rockies - Lake Louise, AB

We reluctantly left Jasper and headed south on the Icefields Parkway for Lake Louise. As we drove south the scenery remained spectacular and the temperature rose. (Our trip down the Parkway is covered in a separate post-dated 8/15/08.)

We camped 2 nights at the Lake Louise Trailer Park. As we checked in, the ranger warned us about the bears and the electric fence. It seems that an electrified fence surrounds the tenting area in this park. This is to protect the tenters from the bears.

Resident Bear Removes Stone Shield from Front of Toad

Our campsite had electricity so Kathy was able to watch some of the Olympics. It is interesting seeing the athletes compete in a part of China that we have visited.

Lake Louise was known to the native people of the area as “ Lake of the Little Fishes”. It was given its present name in 1884. It honors Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, the sixth child of Queen Victoria.

Lake Louise is much smaller than Jasper and on our first drive to survey the area we could not find the village. That is because there isn’t one. The “village” is one small mall where the visitor center is located.

The visitor center was very well done. We enjoyed two videos. One was about the park, while the other had to do with the geological process of mountain building. The mountain building video was so well done that we are hopeing to buy it for the grandchildren.

Lake Louise Visitors Center

Inside the Lake Louise Visitors Center

For supper Keith decided to try Laggan’s Bakery and Deli. This was a mistake. Keith ordered a chicken pie and cheese roll. He was served a beef pie and vegetable roll, neither very good. Kathy ordered a Ruben sandwich. It was on the smallish side, and made with ham. We rate this establishment at ¾ COWS (well, after all, the food didn’t poison us).

The next day we set out early to visit Lake Louise. To reach the lake you must go by Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, which is located on the lake. The chateau was built about a hundred years ago by the railroad, to attract passenger business. It was, and remains, quite elegant, and quite expensive, at two to six hundred fifty a night. There is ample free parking, and there is public access to the lake in front of the Chateau.

The Post Card View of Lake Louise

Chateau Lake Louise

Lake Louise springs from Victoria Glacier whose melt water carries the silt and rock flour that give the lake the opaque turquoise color common to most of the area’s water.
Lake Louise’s waters are too cold for swimming but ideal for canoeing so Kathy decided that Keith should rent a canoe, and paddle her around the lake. We enjoyed a pleasant interlude, at $45 for the half-hour.

Paddling About the Pond

Our next stop was Moraine Lake, which is about 10 miles from Lake Louise. The road to the lake offered spectacular views, and the lake was every bit as beautiful as Lake Louise, with fewer people. In the winter the access road is closed to auto traffic and used by snowmobiles. Canoes at Moraine Lake were only $40 for a full hour, but we did not rent one.

Stone Monolith Seen on the Road to Moraine Lake

Ski Trails Across the Valley

Moraine Lake

A Happy Camper Spotted at Moraine Lake

We enjoyed a very pleasant lunch of onion soup and Ruben sandwiches (3COWS) at the Moraine Lake Chateau, while sitting at a table that overlooked the lake. The onion soup was unusual, being made with a milk base. A chipmunk joined our table briefly, but did not eat with us. On our way back to the parking lot, we passed a large, rugged hill that was being used as a climbing wall by the more athletic tourists.

An Extra Guest at the Table

A young, Athletic Tourist Climbs the Rocks

Rock Climbing Becomes a Family Activity

Our next stop is Banff, where we have reserved an electric site for three nights. Kathy is glad to have the electricity, so she can watch the Olympics on our new flat panel TV.

Canadian Rockies - Jasper, AB

The town of Jasper is located in Jasper National Park, at the north end of the Icefields Parkway. Since we planned to be in the area for a week we bought the seasonal Canadian National Parks Pass for a whopping $116.00. This pass allows us to drive the Parkway from Jasper to Banff (approx. 150 miles).

Jasper was named for Jasper Hawes, who was an employee of the Northwest Company. He operated a fur trading post in the eastern part of the park. By the time the post was abandoned, the name Jasper was used to describe the whole area. The area is surrounded by mountains and teeming with wildlife.

Entering Jasper Townsite

Mt. Edith Cavelle, Seen From Downtown Jasper

We stayed for 2 nights at Whistler’s Campground and enjoyed dry (no services) camping.
We decided to have a campfire and were a bit surprised to find that you must pay an environmental tax of $8.80 per day for the privilege of burning wood. We paid the tax and enjoyed two wonderful campfires. Signs were everywhere warning of bears and other wildlife. The only evidence we saw was this bear trap.

Bear Trap Located at the Entrance to Whistler Campground

Since we only had one day to tour Jasper we decided to head downtown. Keith remembered Jasper as a stop on a year 2000 cross-country train trip, with a pretty good Chinese restaurant acrss the street from the station. We had lunch at this restaurant, and it was pretty good (3COWS).

A Good Chinese Restaurant Located
Opposite the Train Station in Jasper

Main Street Jasper is filled many interesting stores. Kathy shopped and shopped some more, while Keith explored the train yard and did some people watching.

Jasper Retail Therapy District

Antique Steam Locomotive at Jasper Train Station

Heavy Freight Rolling Through Jasper

After two nights in Jasper, we departed south on the Icefields Parkway, headed for Lake Louise and Banff. Stay tuned.

Reunion Journey, Days 13-17 Stewart BC to Jasper AB

Departing Stewart, we drove back up through a canyon, then turned right back onto the Cassier Highway. We continued to see spectacular mountain views on southern portion of Cassier, until we turned left onto Yellowhead Highway, which travels east-west from Prince Rupert, on the Pacific Ocean, to Edmonton, AB and points east.

Typical Mountain Scenery at the
Southern End of the Cassier Highway

Part of Trans-Canada system, the Yellowhead is an excellent two-lane highway. Immediately on leaving the Cassier, the scenery changed from rugged mountain views to much more pastoral scenes. It felt like rolling through western Pennsylvania, with broad, tilled valleys set between low, rounded mountains.

Rolling East on the Yellowhead Highway

The evening of our arrival in Prince George we celebrated our “official” post caravan farewell dinner at Earls, a somewhat eclectic restaurant on the outskirts of town. It came highly recommended by our campground owner,who gets a small kickback from each customer he sends their way. It really was very good. The menu was varied, with a few Asian dishes, as well as numerous western entrees. Keith had a Thai green curry (3COWs), while Kathy enjoyed a Caesar salad with chicken (also 3 COWS). Kathy couldn’t help remarking on the stylish dress of all the young female wait staff; Keith was to busy looking to comment.

The next night, our last night together as a group, we shared a picnic in the rain under Norm and Hal’s awning. It was an enjoyable meal, but it was sad to realize that our time together was almost over.

Our Post-Caravan Farewell Picnic. Left to Right are

Kathy, Rick, Carol, Mary Ann, Joe, John, Julie, Hal, and Norma

The next day we said good-by to John & Julie, Rick & Carol, and Hal & Norma, all of whom headed south toward Vancouver. We then did a few errands (groceries, Kathy hairdresser, etc.,) after which we enjoyed a pleasant lunch with Joe and Mary Ann at the Camelot restaurant (2-1/2 COWs).

The next morning we departed for Jasper, traveling with Joe and Mary Ann. This part of Yellowhead travels through the Frasier River Valley, southeast to the foot of the Rocky Mountains. We continued to see pastoral scenes, interspersed with views of Rocky Mountains to northeast. It rained most of our trip through the valley. Looking up, it was clear that the precipitation was falling as snow at higher elevations.

Following the Yellowhead Highway Through the
Fraiser River Valley, East of Prince George

More Agriculture Allong the Yellowhead

New Snow in the Rocky Mountains

A Comfort Break in the Shadow of the Misty Mountains

We enjoyed a late breakfast in McBride, with Joe & Mary Ann. Past McBride, the road begins an easy ascent up to the Yellowhead Pass, where we entered Jasper National Park and the Province of Alberta, crossed the continental divide, and set our watches ahead an hour as we passed into the Mountain time zone.

Yellowhead Lake

Climbing East Toward Yellowhead Pass

There are numerous impressive mountain views as road climbs and descends from the pass.

Typical Mountain Scenery In Jasper National Park

Descending Into Jasper Town

On arriving in Jasper, we drove into town for gas, while Joe and Mary Ann registered at campground. On our way into campground, we spotted this interesting pair. Note the passenger on the back of the Wapiti.

Wapiti and Friend

For dinner, Kathy prepared meat loaf, which we shared with Joe and Mary Ann, as they prepared to depart for points south. Tomorrow we will tour Jasper, while they drive south to Calgary, on their way to meet their children in Yellowstone NP. We shall miss them, and all our other old and new WIT friends, from past and present caravans.

Kathy, Joe, and Mary Ann Enjoy Meatloaf, Corn,

and Baked Potato, Served Under the Awning

Reunion Journey, Days 10-12 Cassier Highway

The Cassier highway travels about 500 miles south from Watson Lake, YT to the Yellowhead Highway in central BC. Along the way are many breathtaking mountain views, punctuated with animal sightings, if you are lucky. The northern end of the Cassier is narrow and winding, but further south the road improves. Almost the entire length is now paved, with a few exceptions, mostly in the northern half.

Cassier Highway, Part of the British Columbia Great Northern Circle Route

The Northern End of the Cassier has Several Unpaved Stretches

A construction Detour on the Cassier

At the entrance t the Cassier near Watson Lake is a sign showing the Circle Route. In traveling the Cassier and the Yellowhead from Watson Lake to Prince George, we completed the circle, which we began almost two months ago on our northbound journey from Prince George, through Watson Lake to Alaska.

Roadside Map Showing the

British Columbia Great Circle Route

Our first day on the Cassier we saw a couple of mountain sheep, and several varieties of wildflowers along the side of the road. Kathy loves taking pictures of both, as shown below.

Mountain Sheep

Pretty Yellow Flowers

Pretty Pink Flowers

Pretty Blue Flowers

Our first night on the Cassier we camped at Mountain Shadow Campground in Iskut, about 200 miles south of Watson Lake. This is an exquisitely beautiful site, nestled in a lush valley at the foot of the mountains.

Mountain Shadow Campground

Our second day on the Cassier the road continued to improve, and the mountain scenery became even more spectacular. The critter gods were smiling, and we spotted several bears, including a mother and cubs, which we were not able to photograph. We did, however, snap this fellow, ambling across the road ahead of us.

Cassier Highway Rolling South From Iskut

Bruin Takes His Time Crossing the Cassier Highway

About 130 miles south of Iskut we turned off on Rt. 37A, for a short trip to Stewart BC / Hyder AK. Along this road we saw a cub browsing among the flowers on the shoulder. Judging from number of nearby vehicles and photographers, we think the mother was out of sight over bank. Cub seemed fully acclimatized to vehicles; browsing unconcerned and totally ignoring the ignoring paparazzi. Just past the bear jam, we passed the appropriately named Bear Glacier.

Bear Cub Munches Flowers,
Totally Unconcerned By Surrounding Paparazzi

Bear Glacier

Stewart and Hyder are twin towns astride Alaska/BC border, at head of Portland Canal. The Alaska State Ferry System used to serve Hyder, but no more. The primary attractions in Hyder are Fish Creek, where bears congregate to eat spawning salmon, and the nearby Salmon Glacier.

The salmon have been few and far between this year. This is being attributed to unusually cool, rainy weather throughout southern Alaska. No salmon, no bears. We made two separate visits to fish creek, evening and morning, with no luck. Our friends Rick and Carol had more patience than we, so got some good bear photos; see their photos at:

http://rick-carol-journey.blogspot.com

Rick and Carol at Fish Creek

We saw Salmon Glacier 3 years ago on our 2005 Alaska caravan, so chose not to drive our own vehicle up the steep mountain road this year. This may have been a mistake. Our travel companions drove up to see the glacier, and reported the road much improved this year. For what it’s worth, we attach herewith a couple of our 2005 photos.

Salmon Glacier

Mountain Goddess Spotted at Salmon Glacier

We did find a bear in Stewart, in front of King Edward Hotel. We attach a photograph to prove it.

Bear Spotted in Front of the King Edward Hotel

Our group enjoyed a good dinner at in the hotel dining room; Kathy had prawns, and Keith halibut & chips (3COWS).

Speaking of finding bears in town, the locals are complaining that the poor salmon run this year is driving the bears to seek food in town. Several bear attacks have recently been reported in BC.

Tomorrow we depart Stewart for Prince George, with an overnight stop in Smithers. In Prince George we disband our informal post-caravan caravan, and go our separate ways. Keith & Kathy will be headed for Canadian Rockies, with stops at Jasper, Lake Louise, Banff, & Calgary. Tune into our next exciting episode, same time, and same station.