May 22, 2013 - Updates and Changes to our Itinerary

Since my first entry, we have now changed our tour from 20 days, starting in Toronto (flying there from Edmonton and catching the bus there) to actually catching the bus at its first stop in Edmonton. We have added 9 days to our trip with stops across Canada on the way to Toronto and in the US for stops on our way back from Niagara Falls (where were were going to leave the tour) I`ve begun my scrapbook already with maps from Google and pictures of stops (overnights) from the Internet. This will not surprise a few of my friends...ok, many of...

May 21, 2013 - Snowed In

It was a lazy day today. Woke up this morning to a weather forecast that said there would be up to 8" of snow in the mountains we planned to cross today. So ... decision was made to hunker down ... read a book ... work on computer ... have a drink (or three) ... see some local sights, etc. Did all the above and got a haircut, too. Lots of pictures of dead animals for you to see this time ... sorry about that ... would rather shoot a few pics of live animals. The guy who owns/runs the local museum is a real hoot. He has been collecting cars,...

May 21, 2013 - heading home

Our next night was spent in a small beach town just north of Wellington, called Otaki. The rain was about and the temperature dropping, so a quiet night and a wet bike ride, then off to the ferry the next day and a very relaxing crossing over to the south. One more night in dear little Picton town and one more fun evening at the best little Irish bar in New Zealand. Yesterday we high tailed it down the eastern coast all the way to Christchurch to spend a night with my daughter and her boys. Had a beautiful coastal bike ride part way out to...

May 21, 2013 - Rocky Mountaineer Trip Days 1-3

14 May 2013, up at 5am to catch the Rocky Mountaineer from Vancouver. We follow the Fraser River. boarded by the Coastal Mountains, very green countryside where Alfalfa, Raspberrys and Gin Seng are grown. Breakfast on the train starts with fruit and croissants, juice, then an omlette with cherry tomatoes mushroom farmhouse sausage which to us was fried kabana baked potato pieces and as much coffee or tea as you wanted.the scenery is starting to change more heavily timbered, mountains higher and covered with snow. Before you know it, its...

May 20, 2013 - Offically Heading Up the Alaska Highway

It's all official now ... we are on the Alaska Highway ... mile 0 in Dawson Creek BC. Exciting day seeing a giant beaver, a giant bridge, a giant woodpecker. What could get better, eh? Landed in Fort Nelson BC for the night ... after about 350 miles ... that was enough. Another hot springs planned for tomorrow ... with a trip through the northern Canadian Rocky Mountains. Oh yes, saw a couple of towns that were family names today ... almost felt like home.

May 19, 2013 - Thinking about the guest house

As I sit in the dining room at the hostel I notice that Christen, the Australian who lives and works here at the hostel has become the main attraction. She is special in that she gives off an energy that makes you want to sit next to her close your eyes and hope some of it flows your way. I don't usually come to the dining room as after being at site, I spend as much time as possible outside when I am here. But I am seeing today what I have been missing. This is not the hostel of yesteryears when everyone is chatting and sharing the 3...

May 19, 2013 - The Uncharted Journey Begins

Today we began our venture in uncharted territory ... places we have never experienced before. Most of our trip so far has been in areas of the US and Canada that we have visited before ... some new sights ... but territory we've experienced before. Beginning today it feels like the real trip to Alaska begins. Drove from Hinton AB to Grande Prairie AB, a city of 55,000 ... didn't know there were that many people in AB. As you can see from our pics, we saw some beautiful territory. We finished the day in Saskatoon Island Provincial Park...

May 19, 2013 - Fête des patriotes.

C'est une fin de semaine de trois jours, on croyait bien voir mon fils Martin et son épouse Chantal s'inviter pour une journée mais il faut croire que la température les a découragé. = Jeudi j'ai commencé mon ménage de printemps à l'intérieur de la roulotte, il me reste que quelques petites choses à laver et j'aurai fini l'intérieur, il me restera le plus difficile et le plus long soit l'extérieur. Le proprio est venu faire la réparation de mon égout, au lieu de changer le tuyau brisé, il a creusé sur deux autres terrains et me poser un...

May 19, 2013 - We saw our first bear today

9-17-2013 Crooked River (Bear lake) provincial park to Dawson Creek. This morning it was a chilly 40 degrees, I guess this is why they still have snow on the ground here at Bear Lake. While we were traveling today we saw our first animals which was exciting! We first saw a large red fox w/ a huge white tail, about 1 hour into the trip. And then we saw our first grizzly bear by the side of the road! To be honest, He looked like he just woke up and was a bit dazed. He looked kinda skinny too. Then on the other side of the pass we saw a large...

May 18, 2013 - Mtns, Sheep & Hot Springs

Our final day in Jasper Nat'l Park ... we visited the Jasper Tramway location to look over the settlement of Jasper ... we visited Maligne Canyon / Falls ... both areas we experienced when here in '88. Along the way to Miette Hot Springs we got some great mountain pics and saw a small herd of Bighorn Sheep near the roadway. Miette Hot Springs was a destination and a pleasure ... enjoyed the wonderful warm waters of this popular hot springs in NE Jasper Nat'l Park. We spent the night in Hinton AB and planned for all new experiences when we...

May 18, 2013 - Bear lake is Awesome!

9-16-2013 Lac La hache Campground to Crooked River (Bear lake) provincial park/ just north of Prince George. Another day of beautiful scenery. Lots of cattle ranches and rolling hills. We saw baby cows galore, so cute and little, prancing all around their Mamas. Lots of neat old ranches with old barns made out of logs. That is the first time I have ever seen a barn made out of logs before. About an hour into our trip we stopped off at the Caribou Wood shop on the west side of the road. They advertise 20 flavors of fudge to choose from....

May 18, 2013 - Camping in the rain

9-15-2013 Rosedale-to Lac La Hache Provincial Park We drove up the Frasier river Canyon today. The weather was partly sunny as we drove through 7 different tunnels, one after another. That was fun and different. I can’t say that I have ever been through 7 tunnels in a row. When leaving the Frasier river canyon, the terrain totally changed from a heavily wooded wilderness to an arid terrain like eastern Washington. This happened about Lytton and the Thompson river canyon area. Then about milepost 100 it changed again to rolling grasslands...