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Published: June 29th 2007
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West Glacier
Snow at The Loop of the Road to the Sun It's been a while since we've been able to get on the internet, so this one's LONG!
We had one more Glacier Park hike planned (to Iceberg Lake in East Glacier), but with uncertain weather and forecast thunderstorms, we decided this morning (Sunday, 24 June) to cross the border into Alberta and head for Banff and Jasper. We found fewer people in East Glacier than West, perhaps because the Road to the Sun is still closed. By the way, it’s scheduled to open 1 July. The two sides of the park are completely different - the west side is very green, like the Cascades, while the east side is drier and somehow larger feeling. There are also more grizzly bears in the east part of the park.
We’ve been talking about US tourists and the way that a large majority of them act, and have been reading on the RV forums about people who believe the need to take guns into Canada to protect themselves in the campgrounds - from the behavior we saw, they’re sure not going to be hiking with them! At one campground, our estimate was about $20 million worth of motorhomes and campers. On
the trails, adults and kids are rude and loud - and they wonder why they don’t see wildlife? They are also impressively ignorant about the natural surroundings. Two grizzly bear attacks in the past two weeks demonstrate this - one photographer and one jogger were mauled. We know that the jogger was told that to run like prey in an area known to be frequented by grizzlies is forbidden. He did anyway.
HOWEVER, another thing we’ve noticed is the total absence of litter, so unlike Tennessee. We’ve seen this since we left home. Tennessee is just as beautiful as these places and Tennesseans are just as smart - why can’t we take care of our treasure?
Regardless of all the stuff we’ve read on the internet, crossing into Canada was a breeze. We crossed at Cardston AB early Sunday morning, and met a polite young woman who asked us questions about firearms, firewood, pets, our destination, number of people, and our return date. She asked about our bear spray, but didn’t look at it, and asked no questions about food. We were out of there in two minutes, but we were organized (surprise, surprise) and Tom had a
list of all our food, electronics, liquor, etc., which he handed to her with our passports.
Driving toward Calgary, we noticed diesel prices of 94.9, 101.9 and 103.9 - a liter! That translates to about $3.80 per gallon, US$. Be grateful for our prices in Tennessee. Alberta is very flat, wide open, and green - almost all in crops and cattle. They have amazing amounts of hay, but I just noticed that they’re baling along the highway on the sides AND in the center median. It’s a good deal for the farmers and the province. We’ve also seen cattle on the sides of the road - signs say “stock at large”.
Another note about diesel: coming up the east side of Glacier Park, stations are few and most have limits ($50) on quantity. We also noted that many stations in Alberta are closed on Sunday morning. Bottom line: stick to your resolution to drive only on the top half of the tank.
25 June - We left Banff National Park this morning - 32 degrees and it snowed on our hike yesterday as we walked the Johnston Canyon trail to the Inkpots, several small colored pools of spring water bubbling through quicksand. The trail itself travels along a small whitewater creek, probably runnable except for a few waterfalls. Again, an early start was good, since the “tourons” were out in force to see the falls. The crowd across the Canadian Rockies includes enough Germans and Japanese to be noticeable, but not bothersome.
Leaving Banff, we traveled up the Icefields Parkway - IF YOU’RE COMING IN THIS DIRECTION, DRIVE THIS ROAD!! It is unbelievably beautiful, with rivers, mountains, glaciers, caribou, etc., etc.
26 June - We stayed at the Whistlers Campground in Jasper National Park last night. Again, it’s a great place, but the parks and camping are pricey. Entrance fees to the parks are $17.50 DAILY, and the no hookup campground in Banff was $33 for two nights, while Whistler’s was $35 plus a $10 reservation fee for one night. We talked to a wonderful group of Canadian campers next to us last night, and they agreed that the average Canadian really can’t afford to use Banff and Jasper for their vacations. Other price jumps: $17 for a 20-pound propane fill and almost $12 for a sixpack of beer. (All prices are Canadian $.) Of course the beer is stronger, so you drink less or pay the consequences. Remember than the Canadian view of DUI is much harsher than the US - thank goodness. Diesel continues to be expensive, about $3.80 (US$) per gallon.
About Whistler’s campground in June: it’s a prime elk calving area, and we were told to expect visitors. We were visited, but by a young bull elk who wandered by about 10 feet from the back of Tom’s chair as we sat chatting. Tom’s first close encounter with wildlife came later as he attempted to cook cheeseburgers. I heard crows in a nearby tree, and as Tom walked around the other side of the camper to check something, I saw one of the birds head for the picnic table and warned Tom to check the grill. He came back around the corner in time to see a crow fly off with both slices of cheese, still in their plastic wrappers. Those guys knew when we awakened this morning, and sat outside hoping for some of our breakfast. No joy …
Today, we’re heading west on the Yellowhead Highway to Prince George and north to Dawson Creek. We need to be settled someplace by Friday, since Sunday is Canada Day, and all the parks will be full.
June 29 -- we're in Dawson Creek, and will start up the Alaska Highway tomorrow!
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