Washout on the Icefield Parkway

Location: Pocahontas Campground, Jasper National Park, Canada

It rained hard all night and didn't let up this morning. We decided to push on and head north to Jasper National Park regardless. We knew that the rain and clouds would mar a lot of the spectacular views on the Icefield Parkway, but were hoping for another viewing on our return trip to Lake Louise. This part of Banff is famous for their wildlife, particularly bears. We didn't know if the wet weather would keep the bears under cover. Much to our surprise we spotted a bear not too far into the drive. He was hanging out, in the rain, munching on vegetation. Fortunately, I was able to catch a picture without having to leave the car. (I was scared). This area is a natural wildlife migration path. Unfortunately the parkway goes right through it. The solution was to build a really cool migration overpass, complete with natural landscaping, so that the bears wouldn't get killed crossing the road. See picture below.
When we were in Calgary on the paddle boat at Heritage Park we learned that the reservoir was extremely low because they were anticipating huge runoff from the upcoming storm. The reservoir is fed by the Bow River which originates in this part of the park. About an hour into the drive we noticed the river rising as runoff from creeks and streams was gushing down the mountains in muddy torrents. At one point our road was submerged and covered with debris. Yep, I got a picture of that too. We made it to about the half way point at Saskatchewan Crossing and decided it was a good time to stop and have a cup of hot soup. No sooner had we started again, when a quarter mile up the road the rangers were turning everyone back because the Icefield Parkway was flooded and covered in debris. Mmmm. We really didn't have a lot of options at this point. We could either head back for Lake Louise and hang out there for another day or head East and try a round about way to get to Jasper. The round about route would take about 7 hours. Yeah, we did that one. We learned later that the road back to Lake Louise was also closed. Don't really know what our options would have been at that point.
So, after a really long day driving in torrential rain seeing a lot of hard scrapple mining and oil towns, (Rocky Mountain House, Drayton Valley, Hinton) we finally made it to the very Eastern edge of Jasper Park. The campground we stayed at last night was completely surrounded by an electrical fence to keep the bears out. Tonight we are on our own. (Lisa, I'm definitely not leaving the BBQ grill out tonight!) And guess who is accompanying me to the bathroom whenever nature calls?! The good news is that even though it's currently rainy and heavy cloud cover at 10 pm, it's still very bright out. So weird to go to bed before sunset.
Miette Hot Springs is just up the road a couple of kilometers so guess what our plan is tomorrow. Heck, let it rain. The Icefield Parkway is still closed and we have no idea when it will open. We figure we're not going to drive around again so we'll wait it out in Jasper. Hopefully, the storm will abate soon and we will be able to enjoy the drive back to Lake Louise. Depending on how long we are holed up we'll plan our route back to the USA accordingly.

The Beauty of Banff

Lake Louise Campground, Banff, Canada

Sleeping in a parking lot must not have been too bad since we slept in until 9:30! It was close to 11 by the time we were exploring Banff. One of our first stops was the very illustrious Banff Springs Hotel. Dang! I had no idea this 125 year old "lodge" was such an iconic landmark. We took a self-guided tour and learned that it was styled in the spirit of a Scottish baronial castle. The thick limestone blocks were quarried from nearby Mount Rundle and hundreds of Italian stone cutters and Scottish masons were employed to complete the project. We also enjoyed seeing the early pictures of the lodge in various time periods and the upper crust "summering" here. In the 1920's it cost them a $50,000 letter of credit to stay here for 3 or 4 months.
We had hoped to explore Banff on bike, but unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate so we were relegated to hoofing it. We walked to Bow Falls in a light drizzle and had the path to ourselves. Very romantic.
We took a peak at the nearby hot springs but decided to keep heading north and check out some other campgrounds on our way to Lake Louise. While we didn't get clear blue skies and forever views we did get some mystical cloud formations on mountain tops. We took the lesser traveled parkway rather than the main highway to Lake Louise and stopped periodically to read about historical points along the way. We haven't seen any wildlife yet (bears, moose, elk or wolves) but we did learn some interesting things. Did you know that Canada had interment camps during WWI? Over 8,500 mainly poor immigrants (mostly from the Austrian-Hungarian Empire) were interned in 24 camps throughout Canada. In this area they were forced to do hard labor and this highway is a tribute to their endeavors. Kinda made me a little sad.
We eventually arrived at Lake Louise and even though it was still drizzling, it didn't put a damper on our enjoyment of it. The turquoise blue waters still shone through and there were some hardy souls canoeing the lake. Their red canoes against the azure water in the mist looked amazing. We walked through the massive and very French Lake Louise Chateau. The architect certainly took advantage of the great views when he built this hotel. I particularly liked the "high tea" area where the bistro overlooked the lake.
Once we left the village of Banff the campground situation improved immensely. We have the added advantage that this is still considered off season so we have an abundance of campgrounds to pick from. Tonight we decided on a tent camp ground close to the village of Lake Louise. There are only a handful of people here and we've got a nice roaring fire going. (Thanks Ned.) Time to pop a nice bottle of Ravenswood Old Vine Zinfandel and snuggle in with my honey.

Discovering Western Canada's Heritage

Banff National Park, Banff

When I was much younger, I'd get up early to watch Sunday Mornings with Charles Kuralt. Specifically, I'd watch the last few minutes of the show when the tv screen came alive with just nature scenes. There'd be no talking, no roll of credits, just a beautiful lake or marsh with the sound of ducks quacking as they flapped their wings and took off. It was heaven. I wanted so badly to be there rather than watching it on tv. Well, this morning we were transported to this world.
The early morning sky woke me up about 4:30. Everything was calm, the sky blue with a great band of orange streaked as far across the horizon as you could see. As the sun began to rose every bird was singing out a unique call, the bullfrogs were croaking and in the distance the coyote were howling. Ned and I got a front row seat just sitting lying in bed, watching and listening to it all. We fell back asleep and when we woke to full sunlight, the prairie dogs were scampering about. This is why I love road trips, it's all about finding my Charles Kuralt moments.
Our big outing for the day was Heritage Park Historical Village. We had about a 2 hour or so drive there and gosh did the skies open up on us. We decided it was a good time to stop at a small coffee shop, get out of the rain and connect via wifi. By the time we arrived at Heritage Village it was early afternoon. Since this is mainly an outdoor recreated village we didn't know if the weather would cooperate. Turns out the sun came out and it even got quite warm.
If you're ever in Calgary I highly recommend making a full day of Heritage Park. It's touted as Canada's largest living history museum. Basically, it's Canada's version of Williamsburg, Va. There are recreated villages spanning Western Canada's History from 1860 to 1910. We walked through an aboriginal village, fur traders settlement, early pioneer settlers homes and a 1910 village. We rode a steam train, were pulled in a wagon by draft horses and even took a paddle boat on Glenmore Reservoir. Each settlement had knowledgable actors telling us about their craft or trade. My favorite was visiting the newspaper shop. We got to see a real linotype in action! Amazing how labor intensive typesetting used to be. 70% of the buildings in the park are actual historic structures that have been moved there. The other 30% are historically accurate reproductions so you really get an authentic experience. The Aboriginal Village had people from the Blackfoot Nation and they sang songs and drummed in their "tipi" as the fire roared inside and the smoke came out on top. (Chirs & Vic, campfire in your teepee next winter!). Ned really enjoyed the wagon driver. He grew up in rural Canada driving draft horse teams and was very knowledgeable about a working village and farm. The real steam engine was a hoot too. They actually fill it with 1800 gallons of water every morning out of the authentic water tower. (Dad, yes they even sold fudge. You would have like it here.) What a fun day!!
We left the village just as rush hour traffic was in full gear so we decided to sit outside, enjoy the great weather and share a dark beer over fish tacos and salmon.
We are just now arriving in Banff National Park. The drive from Calgary into the Canadian Rockies was jaw dropping spectacular! However, the campground leaves a LOT to be desired. It's basically a parking lot. Tomorrow are plan is to explore the park and at least find a decent camping spot. Since it'll be light until at least 11 tonight we're off to explore the town of Banff. First glance it seems like Newer South Lake Tahoe and Jackson Hole combined. At least they have wifi!! Stay tuned!

Alberta the land of riches and tornadoes

Kinbrook Island Provincial Park, Tilley, Canada

Knowing we had a long drive today across the rest of Saskatchewan and into Alberta we tried for an early start. The real story of the day was the dramatic sky. Unlike where we live in Nevada City, which is situated in an evergreen forest, the prairie is wide open. You get a fantastic 360 degree view and can see for miles and miles. Today we saw storms brewing and abating with dramatic colors. By the time we reached Medicine Hat, it was quite warm, perhaps in the 80's and we thought the best way to explore the city was on bike. Medicine Hat has 92 kilometers of paved bike trails. What is so amazing about this is that the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan have very few paved roads so these paved bike paths seemed like such a luxury. All the roads in Alberta are in much better condition, with a conspicuous lack of potholes, and there is an abundance of asphalt such as in parking lots and side streets. We really enjoyed biking through the city, along the river and seeing several beautiful stately homes. Medicine Hat also has the distinction of having the world's tallest teepee, for whatever that is worth. While the other provinces seemed to be about making a living and not a lot of emphasis on aesthetics Medicine Hat at least seemed like a town that was working to present itself well. Heck, we even found a health food store and I could load up on Kombucha again!
We left Medicine Hat late in the day and headed for a provincial park, situated on an island lake about 90 minutes east of Calgary. When we pulled in a fellow camper told us of a tornado that had been spotted and was headed our way. Interestingly enough, a few hours earlier Ned had asked should we be concerned about the look of the clouds where we were headed. He said it looked like a tornado in the distance. They definitely had a funnel shape. While we were a bit concerned about the impending storm, we did hop on our bikes to take some great photos of the storm and wild cloud patterns in the distance. The park has a cinder block building that houses a laundry room and showers. Rather than set up camp we decided it was probably more prudent to hang close to that building (and I used the opportunity to get caught up on laundry). Another camper listening to the radio said that the likelihood of a tornado had lessened (from a warning to a watch) so we set up camp and enjoyed the beautiful, but dramatic evening. We saw a rainbow and at 10:00 at night, with still bright skies, the clouds parted and it felt like 7:00 pm. We lied in bed and watched the sky in the distance flash with lightening, but there was no thunder and no rain. Just incredible gusts of wind. It was about 11:00 before the night finally enveloped us. Amazing. I wish I could have put today on a time lapse video and showed what we experienced. Hopefully the pics below give some idea.

Debi the Dudley Do Right Does Moose Jaw

Buffalo Pound Provincial Park, Moose Jaw, Canada

What is it about Canadian roads - eh? In both Manitoba and Saskatchewan there appears to be one main road through the towns and all other roads are either dirt or gravel. Even many of the parking lots for stores, gas stations, motels, etc. seem to not be paved. Ned and I have driven through some pretty off beat roads in some of our poorest states, (need I say Mississippi, Alabama or Arkansas?) and they all have more paved roads than we've seen so far in Canada. Makes me really appreciate the infrastructure in the U.S. Just sayin'.
Our drive out of Crooked Lake Provincial Park took us through the very picturesque Qu'Appelle Valley with rolling green hills and the eponymous river running through it.
We headed out this morning without having breakfast. Our master plan was to take Ned out for a scrumptious Father's Day brunch. It took us about 2 hours to reach Regina where we assumed there would be a plethora of choices. Well, yeah there are choices if what you want is every fast food chain that exists in the U.S. We drove through several neighborhoods and let's just say the city doesn't rate aesthetics high on their list. We did eventually find Korean, Japanese, Russian, Chinese and Middle Eastern eateries, but it seems that not one single breakfast restaurant could be found. We finally came upon a Humpty Restaurant which was basically like the worst Denny's ever, but with rancid food. I kid you not. I would describe my mushroom and spinach omelet, but if you're reading this while eating breakfast I wouldn't want you to lose your appetite. (Brown juice running out of plasticy eggs?) We also knew we were in trouble when the waitress brewed a special pot of decaf coffee for us, and it looked like tea when she poured it. Poor Ned, I promised him I would make it up to him before the trip was over and he'd get the Father's Day brunch he deserves.
So, after that little sojourn we decided to tour the Royal Canadian Mountie Museum. The architecture of the building was stunning, but I'd only rate the museum as so-so. We visited all 6 galleries and watched the movie, but mainly got the impression that it was more about chest thumping and recruiting. It just seemed to lack substance. Heck, the Potash Interpretive Center was way more instructive than this. We did enjoy ourselves and there was some history given, but not in a deep or compelling way.
Next stop Moose Jaw. With a name like that I was expecting it to look like Deadwood, South Dakota or some other frontier town. Nope, another city that seems like one big strip mall. We did check out the few blocks of the historical downtown and seriously thought about taking the underground tunnel tour, but decided we'd had enough of cities and just wanted to head back to nature.
Buffalo Pound Provincial Park is located about 30 minutes outside Moose Jaw and was our destination for the night. After inquiring at the tourist centre the best route there we headed off in ignorant bliss. Yep, a few miles out of town and we were on a very rough road. Some enterprising private campground owner posted a sign mimicking the Provincial Park and called his campground Buffalo View. We fell for it and turned down a rutted out, long and steep drive into something that looked like a Canadian version of Deliverance. The owner kept asking us if we were planning on staying (while he was feeding a half dozen or so deer and the peacocks were running around), but we just shook our heads, turned around and skedaddled out of there. Finally, headed towards the real Provincial Park the road wasn't much better. Basically, it was a flooded farm with a high dirt road down the middle. There was plastic being held up by wooden stakes that was supposed to keep the water from flooding the road. I was scared to death that we were going to land in the water and be stuck. I'll include a picture.
We eventually, safely, made it to a really nice campground. We got a great spot tucked away and are making good use of our awning with the picnic bench dragged beneath it. This afternoon it's been periodic rain and sun. Ned grilled up a nice meal of bratwurst and asparagus, accompanied by a Scottish style heavy ale from Calgary. So nice to sit outside to eat and still be dry. We have the added bonus of very few mosquitos too. Tomorrow we finish our drive through Saskatchewan and head for Alberta.

Saskatchewan - Potash Capital of the World

Crooked Lake Provincial Park, Grayson, Canada

At the showers this morning we met up with another couple that owned a Eurovan exactly like ours. Of course we struck up a conversation and found out they lived in British Columbia and were on a 6 week road trip as well. Nice to know there's other gypsy travelers out there.
Our destination today was a small Provincial Park in Saskatchewan. Looking at the map we knew we didn't want to take the usual route of Transcontinental Highway 1, so we found a couple of back road scenic highways and hoped for the best. Since we don't have any cell connections or GPS we relied solely on our Triple A map. For the most part the map was correct, but for the record there's some roads the map shows as drivable which are pretty rough. After a couple of wrong turns we ended up in a "town" called Spy Hill. I dare you to find it on the map! Anyway, imagine our surprise when we saw a sign along side a dirt road going into town saying "Home of Jeff Odgers 36 San Jose Sharks". Who knew?
It was a great day for a drive with lots of dramatic sky and cloud formations. I'd even say it looked like a Pixar animation, the clouds were so perfectly white and fluffy against the green hills. You can tell this area of Canada had a very late spring. The crops were just planted and were but a few inches high, nothing like the knee or waist deep crops we saw across the midwest and throughout Minnesota.
At one point on our drive, a bit late in the day, we drove past an interesting area that had restrictions signs posted, an out of place huge mountain called K2 and then a very tall looking under-construction concrete skyscraper that seemed completely incongruous in this vast prairie. Normally we have access to the internet so as we drive we are always investigating things that pique our curiosity. Absent this connection we were creating all kind of stories about the nefarious nature of this very ambitious looking project. As luck would have it, we soon entered the town of Esterhazy and Ned spotted a very charming looking building with a statue of Potash Pete out front. Turns out this was an interpretive center for the potash mining in the area. Ah ha! We had to go in a check it out.
We were greeted by a very charming gentlemen and immediately swept up in a tour he was giving to 3 other people. For the next hour or so, John Nightingale, gave us a very detailed and thorough talk on potash mining. We learned about how the shafts were built, the different kinds of potash mining, the infrastructure of the mining operation and how potash was processed and distributed. And yes, Saskatchewan really is the potash capital of the world. You could tell John was an engineer and took a great deal of pride in what he was showing us. After the tour Ned and I continued to talk with him and it turned out this very humble man, now retired, who began as a mechanical engineer in the mines during the 1960's, was at one time the President of the company! Turns out the mountain we saw was actually tailings and the incomplete concrete structure was the new head shaft called K3.
We finally did make it to Crooked Lake Provincial Park, which is basically in the middle of nowhere, but a beautiful little campground. We are enjoying our spot on the lake and equally enjoying being snug in our camper as the wind occasionally picks up and a downpour happens. Last night the sun didn't go down until 10ish and was up really early, maybe 5? Today we picked up an hour so even though it's only 8 now, it's still really bright out and I'm bushed. It's great being this far north in the summer, but I bet it's a different story in the winter.

Oh Canada!

Birds Hill Provincial Park, Winnipeg, CA

The sunset last night at Itasca State Park was a deep red orange that filtered through the trees. It set the tone for the quintessential campground experience. It was a packed campground and the guitar playing, sing-a-longs, smoky fires and teenage horseplay went on till at least midnight. We didn't mind and got a chuckle out of the very sincere folk singing guitar player belting it out. Ned was cracking me up doing a bad imitation, only to have the folk singing guitar player continue playing sounding exactly like Ned. We had to bury our heads in the pillow to keep from laughing so loud.
Reluctantly we left Itasca State Park and once again headed north. We had about a 5 hour drive into Winnipeg, Canada. It was gorgeous driving though the unplowed prairie, but I couldn't help thinking what this area must look like 9 months of the year covered in a blanket of white and several degrees below zero. We decided that since this very Northern part of Minnesota has such a short summer season that everything just goes crazy at once - mosquitos, flowers, birds, etc.
We entered Canada on a very obscure road and noted that the entry into the border wasn't open after 10 pm. Some very enterprising American had set up an RV park on mowed down grassland not far from the border with a sign that said "Canadians Welcome". Gotta love that Yankee entrepreneurial spirit!
We finally reached Winnipeg and I wanted to explore the city on bike. There's a section appropriately called The Forks where the two rivers (Red and Assiniboine Rivers) meet. The Forks area was originally settled by the Cree Indians then French trappers and traders and finally pioneers. Today it's a big city park that has numerous bike trails, restaurants, a market center and outdoor areas. We had a great time riding our bikes through the area and reading all the interpretive signs. When we went up the observation tower to get a view of the city and rivers we noticed huge black clouds lurking ominously on the horizon and decided we should high tail it back to the car. We arrived JUST in time before it absolutely down poured. We decided it was a good time to find the campground for the night.
Birds Hill Provincial Park is only about 15 or so miles outside of Winnipeg and it could be a million miles away. It is unlike any campground I've ever seen before. It has a little bit of everything; bogs, prairies, woods and 200 different species of birds. The most unusual thing is that it is laid out like a city, with campground circles (12 different areas) that hold at least 400 campers. It doesn't feel so much like camping as living in the future. What a contrast to last night's quaint CCC buildings. The shower building is a totally green structure with grass roof, state of the art plumbing and radiant floor heating. Each circle has it's own bathroom with a wifi connection. (Ned snapped a picture of me seeing if I can connect to the wifi for posting tonight's blog. My data plan no longer works in Canada so I'm at the mercy of wifi connections). By the time we got settled in, the skies cleared up and we took advantage of the sun by going on another bike ride. This park has miles and miles of paved bike paths that wander through the various areas, including around 3 manmade lakes. It was a little sad to see a lifeguard at each beach with hardly anyone there.
The campground host is very sweet and much friendlier than any of the campground hosts we've come across in the States. U.S. hosts generally just leave you alone or come around on their golf carts to make sure you've paid. This lady, Mary, rode her bike to our spot, was impressed we were from California and wanted to make sure we had everything we could possibly want. She even came back later to give us tons of brochures and little collector pins that say Manitoba and The City of Winnipeg. How cute is that!
Today's menu is bbq pork chops (that we picked up from the smoked meat shop) and grilled asparagus. When Ned first put them on the grill the skies were blue and within minutes things changed and another deluge of rain came. I got a great pic of my hubby grilling with his rain poncho. Ahh Californians, what we'll do for BBQ. Fortunately the downpour only lasted about 5 minutes. I have absolutely no idea what's in store for tomorrow, but I'm sure Ned will keep me laughing no matter what.