DAY 67: THURSDAY JULY 28, 2011 Last evening we returned to Hyder to watch for bears at the Salmon River. We saw two black bears, and one sow had her cub with her. As we watched a large male brown or grizzly bear came out of the woods looking for salmon in the river. We also saw a black bear and cub on the road back to Hyder. We went through Canadian Customs for the last time today as we left Hyder and Alaska behind. After a long day of driving in the rain we stopped at a Walmart in Prince George, BC. for the night.
DAY 68: FRIDAY JULY 29, 2011 Before leaving Prince George we fueled at a Flying J/Shell truck stop where diesel was 1.189/Liter; a good price for Canada. We drove through a portion of Jasper National Park on the Icefield Parkway and were surprised to learn that there was a fee of $21.00 per day just to drive the highway. We were able to find two camping spots in a small campground in the park, and after a lot of maneuvering got the motor homes situated between the trees with only about a foot clearance on each side. Ben and Bonnie went exploring all the way to Lake Louise and didn't get back until 10:30 p.m. Nancy and I went to "Ice Central" a sort-of welcome center with displays and information on the glaciers and the building of the Icefields Parkway. The Parkway construction was by the Canadian equivalent of our Civilian Conservation Corps.
DAY 69: SATURDAY JULY 30, 2011 When we got up this morning it was only 38 degrees which really seems strange at the end of July. I checked our GPS and discovered that our altitude was 5,266 feet, I guess that somewhat explains the low temp. We departed out campsite and traveled to Lake Louise where we had a nice lunch. It was very crowded as it's a four day holiday weekend in Canada and it was a beautiful sunny day, which isn't all that common here. After we passed through the outskirts of Calgary we proceeded south on Rt. 2 where we found a roadside "turnout" where we're spending the night. BTW, it was 82 degrees this afternoon, the hottest temperature we've seen so far this year.
DAY 70: SUNDAY JULY 31, 2011 We continued our journey south and passed through US Customs and into Montana at 10:00 a.m. The border crossing was very easy except we had to take the motor homes through the very narrow car lane. The Customs Officer exited and directed us through the two large concrete posts with what seemed like an inch clearance for each mirror. We got through okay, however when he directed Ben one of Ben's mirrors touched. Just before we arrived in Piegan (Saint Mary's), MT a black bear cub crossed the road just in front of us. We checked into "Johnson's of St. Mary's Campground" at about 11 a.m. and we all had a great fried chicken lunch at their cafe; it was real home cooking and lots of it. Later we went exploring and we checked out the Visitor's Center at the Glacier National Park. The admission to the park was $25 for a 7 day pass; however, with our "America The Beautiful-Senior Pass" entry was free. After checking out the Visitor's Center we drove the jeep about 5 miles into Glacier Park and we were very excited that we saw a black wolf, what a treat.
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| SIGN POSTED WHERE WE HAD LUNCH |
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| SIGN POSTED WHERE WE TOOK A REST STOP |
DAY 68: FRIDAY JULY 29, 2011 Before leaving Prince George we fueled at a Flying J/Shell truck stop where diesel was 1.189/Liter; a good price for Canada. We drove through a portion of Jasper National Park on the Icefield Parkway and were surprised to learn that there was a fee of $21.00 per day just to drive the highway. We were able to find two camping spots in a small campground in the park, and after a lot of maneuvering got the motor homes situated between the trees with only about a foot clearance on each side. Ben and Bonnie went exploring all the way to Lake Louise and didn't get back until 10:30 p.m. Nancy and I went to "Ice Central" a sort-of welcome center with displays and information on the glaciers and the building of the Icefields Parkway. The Parkway construction was by the Canadian equivalent of our Civilian Conservation Corps.
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| WE SAW THIS ELK IN JASPER NATIONAL PARK |
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| THIS GLACIER IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE "COLUMBIA ICE PACK" WHICH IS SO LARGE IT SPANS TRIPLE CONTINENTAL DIVIDES AND IT'S ICE MELT FED RIVERS FLOW INTO THREE OCEANS, THE ATLANTIC, PACIFIC AND ARCTIC |
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| FROM ICE CENTRAL YOU CAN TAKE A GLACIER TOUR IN A MODERN VERSION OF THIS CONVERTED BUS W/ICE TRACKS |
DAY 69: SATURDAY JULY 30, 2011 When we got up this morning it was only 38 degrees which really seems strange at the end of July. I checked our GPS and discovered that our altitude was 5,266 feet, I guess that somewhat explains the low temp. We departed out campsite and traveled to Lake Louise where we had a nice lunch. It was very crowded as it's a four day holiday weekend in Canada and it was a beautiful sunny day, which isn't all that common here. After we passed through the outskirts of Calgary we proceeded south on Rt. 2 where we found a roadside "turnout" where we're spending the night. BTW, it was 82 degrees this afternoon, the hottest temperature we've seen so far this year.
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| BEN & BONNIE ON THE ICEFIELDS PARKWAY |
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| VIEW FROM ICEFIELDS PARKWAY |
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| ANOTHER VIEW FROM ICEFIELDS |
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| ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF CALGARY-TODAY THE SITE OF A DOG SHOW |
DAY 70: SUNDAY JULY 31, 2011 We continued our journey south and passed through US Customs and into Montana at 10:00 a.m. The border crossing was very easy except we had to take the motor homes through the very narrow car lane. The Customs Officer exited and directed us through the two large concrete posts with what seemed like an inch clearance for each mirror. We got through okay, however when he directed Ben one of Ben's mirrors touched. Just before we arrived in Piegan (Saint Mary's), MT a black bear cub crossed the road just in front of us. We checked into "Johnson's of St. Mary's Campground" at about 11 a.m. and we all had a great fried chicken lunch at their cafe; it was real home cooking and lots of it. Later we went exploring and we checked out the Visitor's Center at the Glacier National Park. The admission to the park was $25 for a 7 day pass; however, with our "America The Beautiful-Senior Pass" entry was free. After checking out the Visitor's Center we drove the jeep about 5 miles into Glacier Park and we were very excited that we saw a black wolf, what a treat.
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| THIS AREA OF CANADA IS A LARGE PRODUCER OF CANOLA OIL AND FIELDS OF CANOLA LIKE THIS ARE VERY COMMON |
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