HINTON, AB.  Driving here we saw Mt Robson near Valemount and the lighting was good enough to capture a decent photo.  The drive along Rt 93 near Jasper had wildlife along the road more than at any other time of our trip.  Betty shot those as I drove so that I could add them here.

Mt Robson

Along Rt 93 in Jasper NP the lighting kept changing in a frustrating manner.  Just as I saw a great scene and then found a place to pull over and walk back, the clouds moved in to block the light.  Consequently I have added below only one photo from that drive.

Scene Along Rt 93 in Jasper NP

We are at an RV park just outside Jasper NP for two days (8/28-29) before proceeding on to Banff NP.  No WIFI and a terrible RV park.  It was from here that we went to hike the Malign Canyon late on the 29th. 

Posted 

Posted Map of Maligne Canyon and Trail

Betty Before Her Banff Haircut

And Took Many Photos Also

View of Canyon at Beginning of Hike

Then You Descend Lower

And the Maligne River Carves a Zig Zag Path

Trail Had Steps Made of Very Slippery Rocks

River Continues to Bend

And Bend ...

Carving the Canyon

Trail Led Us Close to the River

Where We Got Some Closer Photos

Another Close Shot

A Sort of Bridal Veil Falls Along the Way

We Were Pretty Low Into the Canyon

It Began to Get Pretty Dark, So We Hurried Back

JASPER NATIONAL PARK, AB.  As we drove into Alberta from British Columbia, we saw everywhere all the wildlife that everyone on the tour had been searching hard to see on our tour.  If you want to see wildlife, come here. As I drove, Betty shot several images as me traveled into the park.

Black Bear

Bull Elk on Island

Mountain Goat.  Never Saw One in the Wild in Alaska.

Rams.  Never Saw One in the Wild in Alaska.

As We Drove in the Town of Jasper, Elk Everywhere.

Elk Cow Walks Through Traffic in Jasper.

VALEMOUNT, BC.  We are parked in a campground by the Canoe River.  It has been beautiful weather ever since we got here yesterday afternoon.  Must be a tourist town since it is so neat and clean.  Reminds us of Kerrville, TX.  We ate supper last night in a very nice restaurant, the Caribou Grill, having Alberta beef again.  We thought when we had it in Smithers at the tour farewell dinner that it was simply beef grown in Alberta, a nearby province.  Turns out that it is a class of beef considered the very best, and the two times that we have eaten it proves that to be correct.  Best beef we have ever eaten.

Pretty Campsite by Canoe River

View of Canoe River from Our Site

Today was spent on necessities rather than pleasure.  The Jeep battery finally completely died yesterday.  We had been jump-starting it for days, thinking the problem was related to towing it behind the motorhome, but the battery was over 5 years old, original equipment on the 2015 Jeep.  We went to the local auto-truck-whatever repair shop down the road named Travis Auto, and in under an hour had a new battery installed.  As with anything else you need done in Canada, it cost more than it would in America.  Over $400 CAD, which will be reduced somewhat by the credit card company due to the favorable exchange rate.  Should be around $320 or less USD, still more than it would cost at home.  While we were there, they were fixing a Chevy Blazer that needed hard-to-find parts.  They brought in from a junk yard a whole auto body like the one being repaired from which they pulled the needed parts.  Looked like a strange scene as we entered the repair facility.

Turnoff of Highway Leading to Travis Auto

Sight We Saw Entering Travis Auto

Confusing  and Conflicting Signs in Travis Window

 We then went to the local pharmacy to have them call Walgreens in America to refill an Rx about out.  We could not find a Walgreens in Alaska in our final days there, since we were in small towns where a pharmacy is hard to find.  Haines, a lovely little town, has no pharmacy of any kind.  We asked the people in Haines what they did for a pharmacy, and they said that they drive a long way (or sail or fly by bush plane).  Such is life in Alaska.  There are zero Walgreens or CVS stores in Canada.  I paid $84 CAD for 30 days emergency supply that at home would be a few dollars.  We then proceeded across the street to the small IGA grocery store.  We were able to get a few things, including Canadian grown cherries and blueberries.  American berries are likely out of season in the lower 48.  The cherries are pretty much like American-grown, but the blueberries are much smaller, more like the ones grown in Maine.

After lunch we plan to drive out for some photos.  Nice to have connectivity, a new car battery, and good weather.  The locals say the weather was bad just a few day ago here and in Alberta, where we go next.  Looks like timing is right for a change,  Hope this positive trend holds up.

PRINCE GEORGE, BC.  We are camped just to the west of Prince George in a typical Canadian campground, 30 amps of power, low water pressure, and severe potholes in the driveways.  Our site is called a drive-thru, but the hookups are positioned so that to use them with ease you must park the motorhome to the back, unhitch the Jeep and park it in front of the motorhome, then re-attach the Jeep before leaving.  Since we are leaving here tomorrow, we pulled on through and have used three sewer hoses to reach the sewer port in the back of the site rather than unhook the Jeep overnight only to re-hookup in the morning. 

For the first time since we left home in mid-May, today we used the campground laundry.  I was amazed at how much faster it is to use a laundry run on 220 volts instead of our motorhome 110 volts.  We have never trusted public laundries before, but we are just too beat to fool with a longer process onboard.  We really need rest after the arduous RV tour we took.  Tomorrow we drive to Valemount to stay in one place for a while. 

We have fallen behind on updating this blog, principally due to lack of internet connectivity on the tour.  We traveled to some nice towns and cities, but often to isolated back country places none of us had heard of.  We ended the tour with terrible weather and very muddy roads.  No place to drive a motorhome. 

We had a much nicer than expected farewell dinner last night in Smithers, BC, about 10 miles to the west of the tour's final campground.  It was the best prime rib I have ever eaten, with a large piece of cheesecake with raspberry sauce for dessert.  Huge portions, so we all over-ate.  It all ended amicably, as we had prayed.  Everyone at our table agreed that if they ever returned to Alaska, they would fly in and rent a vehicle for transportation.  Never again would they drive anything they own, especially a motorhome.

Very glad the long struggle is over.  Now I need to process the remaining photos that I took and eventually work on those Betty took.  Keep looking back at the former posts here since I shall try to add photos back at the time they were taken.

   

SMITHERS, BC.  As we headed east on Rt 16, we were pleasantly surprised by pretty farmland, the prettiest drive we had had in British Columbia.  When people think of British Columbia, they usually think of Vancouver, in the southwest corner of the province and very unlike most of BC.  We had driven up Rt 97 to connect with the Alaska Highway, and that is the worst part of BC.  We had come to assume that all BC was a mess, especially after driving in the wind and snow mixed with rain on our way back south to Stewart along the western border with Alaska. 

Below is a shot Betty got while we drove east toward Smithers, where we had our tour's farewell dinner.  The dinner was excellent, Alberta beef, something I had not tasted before but shall well remember.  Best beef ever eaten.  It was at our table that we discussed whether we should ever do this tour again.  Everyone said NO!  Why subject your rig to this abuse?  Do as everyone else in the world does:  fly into Alaska and rent an RV or any other vehicle you like.  You came to see Alaska, so spend your time there.

View of Farmland Heading East on Rt 16 Toward Smithers

STEWART, BC.  The past several days we have been without connectivity by phone or internet
as we drove through rain and snow flurries.  Winter has come early to Alaska and this part of Canada.  Will be very glad when this tour is over Friday night.

The reason the tour directed us here is that Stewart is just across the border from Hyder, AK where the Portland Canal is loaded with huge fish, which draw grizzly bears out of the surrounding woods.  We stood in the rain on the boardwalk in Hyder for quite a while but saw no bears.  We did see a lot of huge fish.  As we drove back to Stewart across the border, the border patrol lady asked if we saw any bears.  We said no, but we did see a lot of really big fish.

We were exhausted by this point.  We returned to the campground, where the tour leaders forced us to come stand out in the rainy community area that had a large fire pit in its center.  There was talk, of course, of all the big bears everyone else saw.  One couple said that they stopped at a small shop in Hyder and saw through the back window a large grizzly prowling around, even peering at them through the window.

Crude Bear River RV Park Where We Stayed

Boardwalk in Hyder, AK to View Bears

So Many Huge Fish and No Bears While We Were There

In Decent Weather It Would Be A Nice Place

ROAD TO STEWART, BC.  As we left Dease Lake, the weather was getting worse.  Snow now covered the mountains and there was snow on the ground on each side of the road.  Flurries were gathering on our windshield as we drove away.

Weather Getting Worse

Black bears were running out of the woods in glee now that the weather was finally cooling off.  It had been a record-breaking hot summer in Alaska. 

DEASE LAKE, BC.  We stopped at Jade City today on our way here from Watson Lake, BC.  There is a jade mine nearby that is half financed by the Chinese government.  Here we found a small craftsman's shop run by a man from Australia.  Next to it is a much larger gift shop selling quite expensive finished jade items.

 

Large piece of raw jade from mine

Craftsman at Work

Betty with Craftsman

Finished Jade Objects for Sale

HAINES, AK (Day 3).  It rained hard last night and began wet this morning.  Today it gradually cleared and closed as clear but very windy.  We drove around the waterway taking photos in good but variable light until late.

As summer in Alaska turns into autumn, the beautiful fireweed that grows everywhere along the roads (shown in prior posts) slowly turns to cotton as the leaves drop off slowly bottom-to-top until only a bit on top remains.  Then they know summer is over.  It all happened early this year, some say due to the unusually hot summer.  The local saying is, "when the fireweed turns to cotton, thoughts of summer are soon forgotten."

North of Haines

Close View of Mountain Peaks and Glaciers

More Peaks and Glaciers

South of Haines

South of Haines in Good Light

Beautiful Fireweed Fuschia Turns to Cotton

Fireweed Cotton Drifts with the Autumn Wind 

At Water's End South of Haines

HAINES, AK (Day 2).  Will leave shortly for a jet boat ride in the Chilkat River Bald Eagle Preserve.  Hard to get internet connection lately.

Only Clear Shot of Wildlife I Got Was of Trumpeter Swans

Betty Got This Shot of a Young Eagle in Flight