Oh, Canada.....

From Skagway the puppers and I headed back into Canada. After driving down the Cassiar Highway we headed over to Jasper National Park and then headed south down the Icefields Parkway. I am again reminded of friends and other folks who responded with disbelief upon hearing that I was driving all the way to Alaska. Canada has so many beautiful places to see and visit. I am so glad that Nan and I had time to travel over this way. Several areas of the Parks were closed and or flooded back in June and the group avoided the mountains on they way north. We definitely saw several areas that were probably underwater in June. 

Cassiar Highway was beautiful and had the added advantage of not being the Alaskan Highway which we had already seen.  There were several sections that were being resealed and then there was the lower section that was getting its own electric power lines put in.  These are going to be giant power line towers and that means moving big trees. Lots of big trees.  Means the help of a helicopter to move the wood.....  We also got to camp on night in the same park as one of the formal caravans.  There were a lot of big rigs...

For anyone that doesn't want to go that far or can't see themselves driving all the way to Alaska, if you can make your way to Glacier National Park in Montana you really at least need to make the drive up past Banff and on to Jasper. It is worth the gas.

During one of our pull offs along the Cassiar Highway.   We watched this couple fly in to the air strip in the middle of nowhere to take their break.....

One of our boondocking spot was next to a forest service road.  The spot wasn't all that nice with the evening rain and the mud and all but Herschel, Remi and Stuart were thrilled with the morning sunshine and the opportunity to hike down the road.....past the bear scat and all.

Busy beaver didn't have much to work with here...no open water.  But they made the best with what they had, a deep ditch and lowland.

"Let me check this smell out again...beaver, you say!"

The sides of the road are beginning to show off some fall colors and the summer blooms down in this part of the country are just about over. Nan also noticed the frost on the lawn in the morning in one of the parks this past week.

This is what campers without RVs have to do to dry out their sleeping bags.  And apparently at least one of these campers had to dry her bikini, too.  

Once we headed into the National Park there were many stops along the highway and more photo opportunities.

Are you tired of water and mountains, yet? 

Here is another pic of a cyclist.  There were three riding together this time.  I am thinking she got the tent.

The Community Garden in Jasper.

Notice the tops of these mountains. There may have been glaciers in these valleys but the tops of these mountains have not been ground down by ice and stone.  

Our stop in the Honeymoon Provincial Park.

We headed out early in the morning trying to see if any of the wildlife might be more willing to appear.   We saw the bear fresh bear scat on the road but nada on actual animal sittings.  Well, I take that back the day before while taking a break in one of the pull offs I watch a goat scramble across the highway right next to the rest area.  I watch a few cars slow down to watch and then I watch a truck and trailer buzz on by.  In general, Neither Nan or I could figure out why so many folks were in such a hurry to zip down the highway and go over the posted speed.   Heading out early in the morning did cut way down on the traffic.

It is called the Icefields Parkway...

It is the season for the fuzzies.....

"This trail is nice but...."

 "Some people are out kayaking..."

"And in my opinion if won't you won't stop and kayak,  I at least need to take a dip.  Isn't that one of the reasons we don't have carpeting in the rig?"  Herschel reminds me.

On the road between Lake Louise and Banff the highways are double lanes and the fencing on the side is high enough to keep the deep and the elk from jumping over and getting on the highway.   The parks have added several bridges with a grass and trees (and high fences along the sides) so that the wildlife can make it across the highway safely.  The write up I read stated that using night cameras they have determined that the animals are using them.

A small wildfire up in the hills.  There were signs telling motorists not to call the smoke in.....hope that there weren't any other  smoky places that did need to be reported....

The provincial park that we stayed in said that there was this nice trail  to Dog Lake. Stuart was all excited to take a walk....

But we found another victim of the June rains and high water.

There were about five feet in the middle of the bridge with no bottom.... :=(  The missing part shows up better in another picture but the river shows up best in this one.

Stuart noted that the bridge was closed but pointed out that the river was not.

He was willing to swim across but couldn't get me to agree to go with him.

Walking around the different camping "loops" we found the loop next to us "CLOSED" and  also missing some road and a few camp sites. More evidence of the amount of water that came through earlier this summer.

And, yes, the water is really this color. I will miss all the colors of the rivers that we have found in Alaska and Canada but the USA does have interesting sites to see and visit between here and Ohio so the journey will continue....