Wandering to Jasper National Park

Jasper National Park, Alberta (48 degrees, chilly, occasional glorious blue skies)

We are now traveling the Cassier Highway and it's one of the prettiest roads we have traveled on this summer. You pass many pristine lakes and small towns. It's quiet, isolated and so lovely. We stayed a couple of nights at Mountain Shadow RV Park and just relaxed.  The name of the campground aptly describes it's location and beauty.  The numerous lakes in the area look so inviting. and we wished we had our kayaks to paddles in this stunning area. 

Mountain Shadow RV Park, Iskut BC

Stewart BC Visitor Center

From here we traveled to Stewart BC. It a small town which straddles the border of British Columbia and the even smaller town of Hyder Alaska. To see this area it's best to camp in Stewart but plan on spending most of your time in Hyder. We came here in hope of seeing grizzly bears feasting on the salmon which come here to spawn. Alas, we saw lots of salmon but no bears. 

TIP:  You do need to cross the border with your passport in hand, but it's an easy crossing.

Salmon Glacier

The highlight for this area is the spectacular Salmon Glacier. We have seen lots of glaciers this summer and we were not too convinced this would be worth the effort. Our friend Barry, however, had arrived earlier and said on a scale of one to ten...it's an eleven!  Really....really!  It's that awesome. It takes some time to reach the glacier and travel on rough roads but our Jeep handled it easily.What really makes it so spectacular is how close you can get to it.

TIP:  Traveling to Stewart is out of the way but in our opinion well worth the extra miles and effort. 

We bid farewell to the friends we have traveled with on this adventure (We met up in April with Barry and Jann and May with Bob and Becky).  We have shared lots of laughs, hikes, meals, boat trips, glaciers, brews and so much more. Our plan is to visit the Canadian Rockies and exit Canada from there into Montana. Our friends have visited this area before and need to leave sooner. We wish them safe travels and look forward to meeting up again soon.

L to R (me, John, Jimmy, Barry, Jann, Bob, and Becky)

Our next stop is Hazelton, BC to visit the beautiful First Nations K'San Historical Village and Museum. It's a reconstructed village of People of the Gitsan. We arrived at the museum and signed up for a guided tour of First Nation Houses. 

Our guide was awesome and she told us many stories of their culture and how she is now trying to connect more to her heritage. You cannot take photos of the inside of the houses. There are beautiful displays of ceremonial robes and everyday items. It was a fascinating tour and one we would highly recommend. The campground where we stayed was within walking distance of the Village. 

After a quick stop in Prince George for some restocking it on to a highly anticipated visit to Jasper National Park in Alberta Canada. There has been a lot of smoke reported in the area Jasper/Banff area due to some nearby forest fires, however, a recent snow fall and lots of rain caused most of the smoke to dissipate. Our timing was excellent. The drive was so pretty and we stopped at two waterfalls along the way. What a great way to stretch our legs. Both waterfalls only required short hikes to enjoy them. The Milepost guide has been invaluable to pointing out these places. Without the guide we probably would have driven right past them. 

Mount Robson

Rearguard Falls

Whistler, our Park Canada campground is a gem. After checking in we quickly drove out to the Athabasca Falls while the weather is cooperating. It's a very busy place to visit but worth the hassle. It's been a bit of a shock getting used to large crowds after being in such remote areas for several months. The falls were roaring and plunged into deep canyons. There are sidewalks wandering all over the area to see the falls from many angles. It's a really beautiful area. 

TIP:  Campgrounds in the Jasper/Banff area need to be reserved well in advance. I made these reservations the first day they became available. I tried to change on of them two month prior to our anticipated arrival and it was very difficult. When we checked in they told us the campground had been sold out for months

Athabasca Falls

We will be exploring this area for a few days. Check back soon for more of our wandering

Campground Reviews:


Moutain Shadow RV Park Iskut, BC, 5 stars, flat sites on gravel and grass, well maintained, quiet RV park with full hookups, walking distance to a beautiful sake on property, nice trail, very limited WiFi, no Verizon signal, owners are very nice and show great pride in their campground.

Big Bear RV Park, Stewart, BC, 3 stars, full hookups on gravel and grass, worn out, muddy with lots of pot holes, very limited WiFi, no Verizon signal, great location to see area, busy campground with lots of caravan tours coming in and out.

K'San Campground, Hazelton, BC, 4 stars, across street from Village, full hookups, large open gravel sites, excellent WiFi, good Verizon signal, very friendly, quiet and peaceful, river nearby and nice trail.

Whistler Campground, Jasper National Park, Alberta,  5 stars, 50 amp full hookup sites on asphalt, well spaced, great location, make reservations way in advance, no WiFi, good Verizon signal, will be closed 2019 season for renovation

Wandering the Yukon - Dempster Highway, Northern Lights, Hot Springs, Great Food, Wildlife and More

Whitehorse, Yukon  (45 degrees, lots of rain)

Driving over the Top of the World Highway in the rain took its toil. Cleaning up the jeep and motorhome took a lot of time and effort. We had planned to stay at Tombstone Territorial Campground on the Dempster Highway but again rain was predicted and its a very rugged pot filled road. We were feeling a little beat up and decided to pass and take a road trip in the jeep instead. 

The Dempster Highway extends 457 miles towards a small Inuvik community and basically follows an old dog sled route. We drove about 62 miles of it. We have seen a lot of Alaska and wondered how different this road would be and whether it was really worth the effort.  It is!  Even though we were out there on a very rainy day it was so beautiful. What was especially interesting was the vast stretches of tundra. 

The campground, Tombstone, is about 45 miles in with primitive sites and very popular. There are some sites which would be great for big rigs. The sites are first come, first served and from what we have heard you would want to arrive early to snag one. There are a few pull out places further north which could be used if not available. The Visitor Center was very helpful and the warm fire and hot tea were so appreciated.

From Dawson City we headed further southeast to a small town called Pelly Crossing. This was just a stopover and it turned out we were in the right place at the right time to see the Aurora Borealis late at night.  I had downloaded an app on my phone which alerted me conditions were favorable for seeing it. John set the alarm clock for 1 a.m.  He got up to look out and rushed back to wake me up. What a cool phenomenon. It was like a thin lacy green ribbon streaking across the skyline. One minute it was visible and the next it was gone.  A few minutes later it would streak across again. We woke up our friends Bob and Becky and together we watched it in awe for quite awhile.  What an experience. Our pictures are terrible but we will remember this night forever.

From here we went to another hot spring outside of Whitehorse. The drive here was so pretty as we drove by many lakes and forests. The Yukon has a raw beauty all its own. We like it.

TIP:Be sure to stop at the Five Finger Rand Overlook. Take the stairs down to the overlook for a beautiful view.

Five Fingers Rapids (over 230 stairs each way to see it but well worth the effort)

The campground at the hot spring was very peaceful and nice. Although the hot spring is dated (a renovation is planned) it was very clean and felt great. It's also very reasonable and the staff are helpful and courteous.



Next to our campground was the Yukon Wildlife Preserve. We spent the afternoon on a pretty day walking around and getting some up close looks at the wildlife.  There is a van trip you can take but we would have had to wait quite awhile to take it and opted to walk instead.

Male Elk

Thin horned sheep

Mountain goat

Lynx

Red fox

Arctic Fox

Caribou

Male moose

Our friends Randy and Fran passed through the area and we all met at the Klondike Rib and Salmon for a delicious dinner together in Whitehorse. It was a long wait but the food was so well prepared and so yummy.  Randy and Fran told us all about a NOMADS project they had led for three weeks. They sure accomplished a lot with  a very limited amount of volunteers.  

TIP:  Go early to the restaurant 

Campground Reviews: 

Pelly River Crossing, Pelly Crossing, Yukon, 2 stars, free ($0-wow), maintained by a First Nations in area, no hookups, no water or dump, free firewood, dirt sites with trees and privacy, somewhat run down, a few can accommodate a big rig, near river, campers nearby "celebrating" late into the night, good Verizon signal

Hot Springs Campground and Hostel, Whitehorse, Yukon, 3 stars, 30 amp pull thru, no water or sewer, dump and water available at campground, level, gravel sites, close together, in pretty birch tree forest, poor Verizon signal, poor WiFi, walking distance to hot springs

Caribou RV Park, Whitehorse, Yukon, 3 stars, 30 amp/water pull thru, no sewer, dump on site, great RV/Car wash on premises, slightly run down, owner  is very friendly and helpful, very limited WiFi (check email only), no Verizon signal, 

TIP: Be sure to make reservations for dinner at the Wolf Den, a Swiss/German restaurant next door. We enjoyed an excellent dinner together.