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Published: July 30th 2008
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In Search of the Midnight Sun - Chapter 1
July 22, 2008
Departure day dawned bright and sunny. The truck camper’s packed (or overpacked) and our great neighbors are willingly looking after our house and yard again. Thanks!
We arrived in Strathmore, AB in time to take Larry’s Aunt Jean out for supper. We camped at the Strathmore Rodeo Campground. It was nearly full of construction and oil workers. Diesel in Strathmore was $1.40.9.
July 23, 2008
Our drive from Strathmore to Jasper was only about 300km but it took us all day. We didn’t stop in Banff or Lake Louise, having been there several times before. The Columbia Icefields Parkway drive north to Jasper is one of the top 10 drives in Canada. We have only driven the Parkway once before and that was 36 years ago. At Bow Summit, the Bow Icefield runs into Peyto Lake making the lake a beautiful teal blue. The color comes from the glacial deposits in the icefield. We gassed up at Saskatchewan Crossing. That was a mistake. We would have had enough gas to get to Jasper but it would have been low. Saskatchewan Crossing was a real ripoff - diesel $1.75.
Our next stop at the Columbia Icefield was a bit disappointing because it was the only thing we remembered from 36 years ago and the icefield has receded so far back it is not nearly as impressive. Closer to Jasper we stopped at the Athabasca Falls. The falls have cut a canyon through the bedrock over millenia with potholes and natural looking archways in the rock. We camped at Wapiti Campground beside the Athabasca River.
July 24, 2008
We stayed two days at Wapati. We drove into Jasper to check out the golf course but at $150 each for 18 we decided to take a hike instead. We hiked about 3km (we’ll have to work up from there - ha) along the Athabasca. We saw a few rafters on the river. We’ve noticed a lot of rental RV’s on the road and heard a lot of foreign languages at the viewpoints and in Jasper, mostly German dialects. We figure in our campground there were easily 25% rental rv’s. The other thing that seemed strange is the amount of tents, truck campers and small rv’s. There are not many big motorhomes and fifth wheels. It’s definitely a different type of
traveller than the snowbird type we are used to. There are more families and young people and also a lot of motorbikes. We visited with a young Swiss couple camped beside us. Their almost 2 year old daughter made friends with Kelsey first.
July 25, 2008
We decided to get up early for our 400km trip to Prince George so we would have time for a golf game when we got there. When we opened the camper door at 7am, our little Swiss girl was looking up into our camper waiting for Kelsey to come out. Pretty cute. The PG Golf Course is nice but 95% of their pine trees are standing dead. It sure has ruined to look of their golf course, that and the sand bunkers which beat me up. We noticed a lot of rust colored trees on the drive and were told the Pine Beatle has devastated their forests here and it is moving west. We camped at the Blue Spruce Campground and would recommend it.
July 26, 2008
Awoke on our 39th anniversary to another beautiful day. We drove to Terrace where we will spend the weekend visiting family. Travelling west after Hazelton
we entered a more lush area of vegetation with huge cedars and ferns, a result of a more temperate climate from the Pacific flow. The salmon were running on the Skeena River and there were lots of fishermen lined up on the shore in places.
July 27, 2008
We spent a nice afternoon with family at Lakelse, 15km south of Terrace. The campground is beautiful with huge cedars and firs.
July 28, 2008
(Happy Birthday Dana!) We drove from Terrace to the Junction of Hwy 16 (Yellowhead) and Hwy 37 (Cassiar) about 90km. The Cassiar is 723km to the Junction with the Alaska Hwy. The road is fairly good but that may not be fair to say because as Saskatchewanians, our road tolerance is pretty high. It does have a lot of RV traffic to and from Alaska because it is a shorter route if you are travelling from BC or the western US. It’s a scenic route with a lot of wildlife. We saw 5 bears crossing or along the roadway. Larry was a little nervous about leaving Kelsey outside the camper while we ate our lunch. Speaking of Kelsey, she is travelling well. Being almost 15 years old, she sleeps almost the whole time we are travelling, waking up to enjoy the stops and evening camping. We bought expensive diesel at Bell Crossing - $1.63 a litre. We shared a hamburger and fries and two cokes for $20. It is a pretty remote area so that could account for the costs. It was a long day of driving but we finally made it to the Alaska Highway!
July 29, 2008 - to be continued - Chapter 2
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