Day 55- Banff

 August 5

Before we began this trip Summer had said one of the things she was looking forward to was waterfalls.  We have seen many, stopped for photo's by some, but they were always at a distance.  Takakkaw Falls is one of Canada largest falls so it only made sense to go.

It was about an hour and a half drive to get there.  I mentioned yesterday and how trailers and large vehicles are not allowed due to tight switch backs and the lack of signage on the highway.  Turns out they have a campground and a large vehicle parking at the base.  

The drive up was nice.  Tree lined on each side, many times following the river from the falls.  There was one switch back that the truck was even to long to get around without backing up.  Although Ford Super Duty's have some of the worst turning radius's for trucks I've ever driven.

The parking lot was small but we managed to get a spot just outside and walk up.  Along the river were several picnic tables.  Summer remarked that we would have had a nice riverside lunch in stead of eating in the truck on the way there.  One person had a portable cooking burner and another had an instapot.  Several people were also sitting on rocks at the rivers edge enjoying their sandwiches.  

There is a paved trail up to the base of the falls.  It was a quick walk.  We went as far as the pavement went.  We were close enough that we got wet from the spray.  There were unofficial paths to get closer to the base with some people climbing up higher.  As we walked back I stopped at several places for pictures while the girls kept going back to the truck.

After the falls we headed to the Banff Gondala.  It takes you to the top of the Sulfur Mountain with views of six mountain ranges as well as the town of Banff.  Because parking was full at the Gondola lot we had to take a free shuttle.  As we drove in there were three deer standing in the middle of the round about munching on the shrubs.  

Once there we got in line.  They are pretty efficient at getting you off and on the cars so we were not waiting ling.  The ride is roughly 8 minutes to the top.  For the adventurous there is a path that you can hike to the top.  It takes roughly two hours at an easy pace.  I was surprised at the number of people that decided to hike.  We did see one couple while we were on the way up where the woman was obviously evaluating her life choices that day.

At the top was a large building with three levels with an outside patio.  Unfortunately the cloud cover did not give the best views.  It was still impressive though.  There was a stairway to an observation deck on a seperate peak.  I wanted to walk up it but the girls were starving as it was about 5:30 at this point.  

They had several food options.  A coffee shop, a formal sit down restaurant and a buffet.  We checked them out and everyone agreed that the buffet would be best.  It was a touch expensive at $44 for adults and half that for kids.  But your also at the top of a mountain and we were seated at a floor to ceiling window overlooking a mountain range.  

The food was pretty good.  The kids ate well so I didn't feel like the money was a waste.  It started to sprinkle off an on as we ate.  We talked about finally walking to the other peak.  Summer didn't want to go and I was feeling way to full to walk the steps up so I said I'd stay with here.  Davan and Libby took off while Summer and I sat at the table for a while longer and then checked out the displays and gift shop.  While we were still at the table we could see the girls near the top of the other point when it started to rain.   Once they got back to us they were pretty wet.  Luckily they wore a sweatshirt with hoods to keep them relatively dry.

We decided to go back down.   Since it was raining and you go outside to get in line everyone was just standing around.  I figured we would be able to get right on.  Unfortunately there was a line and it extended outside so we were standing in the rain.  At this point it was not to bad.  I brought a coat with a hood and the girls had their hoodies.  It wasn't long before they stopped though, presumably due to the lightning.  I sent the girls inside to keep from getting totally drenched and I kept our spot in line.  After a 10-15 minute wait it started back up again.  It ran another 15 minutes before they had to stop again.  Luckily we were inside the building as it was windy and the rain was going sideways.  It was closed a lot longer this time.  Maybe 30-45 minutes?  The storm finally blew through and we were at the bottom in no time.  

We were back to the truck about 9 and had the hour drive back to the camper.  

I was in Banff when I was 15, so about 30 years ago.  It is nothing like it was back then.  I remember a sleepy mountain town.  Today it is a zoo.  Bumper to bumper traffic, sidewalks as full as in New York.  I was glad we were forced to park on the opposite side of the town and have to take the shuttle.  

While we hung out at the camper I tried to plan out next day.  I had hoped to canoe at one of the lakes but you need at least one person 16 or older and they wouldn't allow the 4 of us in one canoe.  The weather is also supposed to be questionable so anything sonic might be ruined anyways.  Might have to go into Calgary and find something to do.  We are museum'ed out so that's not going to be an option.

Day 54- Banff

August 4

Hipcamp site

Not really Banff, more between there and Calgary.  Because Banff is so popular and the reservation sites for the Parks campgrounds open a year early everything was booked, not to mention a camper my size has limited sites in government campgrounds.  There are also surprisingly little privately owned campgrounds anywhere close.  I think the closest was about 2 hours away.  Or Calgary.  

When I'm staying tonight is about an hour from Banff.  Not sure if I explained what Hipcamp is, but it's very similar to AirBNB's.  Anyone with a little land can basically rent it out.  Usually it's farmers.  Some are rustic and some have full hook up's.  The majority I see usually have power and maybe available water, but no dump station.

Tonight's place is out in the middle of no where.  It's a working cattle and horse farm.  They simply leveled off a space, ran power, have septic and a well.  Pretty a nice place actually.  It's a 10 mile drive off the main road and we saw several deer on the way in and we had a bunch of horses walk up to the fence that is right outside our window.  We have two neighbors tonight with space for another two campers.  They have cleared off a walking/mountain biking path through the property with several geocaches to find. 

I'm thinking I should do a Hipcamp for the mill.  I have power where I keep my camper and can fill water from the hose.  I can move my camper to the side when rented out. Could be some good money during Fair time.

Anyways, we actually got moving pretty early this morning.  We were packed up and rolling by 9:30.  Our first stop was The Enchanted Forest.

Every time we go to a visitors center or check into a RV Park Summer always comes back with a collection of pamphlets.  I'll give her credit, she does read though them.  Last night she got her fill and showed me one for the forest and asked if we could go.  We had to back track about 20 miles, but why not?  It looked like a quick little activity and the price was reasonable.  

The name kinda says it all.  You are walking on a path in the forest and there are displays for almost all the popular nursery rhymes.  The original owners started back in the 1950's,  The wife made all the figurines by hand out of concrete.  I will admit, because they were hand made and not molds, some of them were a little wonky and most of the people ones could be creepy under the right lighting.  However, the current owners have keep good care of everything despite them being 70n years old.  They all had fresh, bright paint.  The husband cleared the path's using only a hand saw and shovels.  It started out as a hobby that exploded in popularity.  It is a pretty cool story.  They also have Canada's tallest tree house.  

It was a neat little side stop and I'm glad Summer found it.  They also had an adventure park.  The girls asked about it, you could do it all or just sections.  It's all in the trees, an obstacle course, zip lines and climbing walls.  Depending on what you want to do you could spend 15 minutes to 3 hours.  Plus they start in 30 minute blocks.  The girls didn't want to wait around for all that.

The road was really busy today.  With everyone displaced from Jasper and it being a holiday weekend the entire area was packed.  The entire drive today was bumper to bumper,  Luckily it flowed well with no accidents.  

I contemplated stopping at a few places.  The first was a walking suspension bridge.  However it was really hazy today.  I thought maybe it was smoke from the Jasper fires but it didn't smell like smoke out.  We ran into rain in Canmore so must have just been haze.  In any event I didn't want to spend $150 and not be able to see anything.  

The second was Takakkaw Falls.  I decided not to as there was a huge line of cars to leave.  I figured with it that busy I didn't want to deal with the trailer.  Glad I didn't because the road has many switch backs and trailers are not allowed.  Not sure why that is not on a sign somewhere before you turn in.  Or I just missed it.  With the road so busy I was trying to pay more attention to the people around me.  

We did stop at the Spiral Tunnels just to get out of the truck.  This is a train track that spirals back and forth going up and down the mountain.  It used to follow the same straight route of the road we drove on, but at 4.5% grade it took several engines to push the cars up and lots of derailments going down.

Before long we were in Canmore.  The rain started just as we got to town.  The girls wanted taco's for dinner but we needed lettuce.  So after spending $100 at the grocery store we were on our way to our campsite.

I'm not sure our itinerary while we are here.  I focused so much of my energy on Alaska by the time I was done with that I was wiped out for planning the rest of the trip.  I figured we would just wing it once we got here.  Banff is the kind of a catch all for the entire area.  There are several other national parks all connected.  From the far west, to the far east of the area is a roughly 3 hour drive.  

I think we will do the above things I mentioned above.  The suspension bridge has other activities, one of which is an alpine slide that Summer said she wanted to do.  I'm also thinking the Banff gondola and Lake Louise.

Day 53- Revelstoke

 August 3

Boulder Mountain Resort

I didn't sleep well last night.  To much on my mind.  I couldn't decide if I wanted to pull the tire off the trailer and go have them fixed or just air it up and drive it all into town.  

I opted to just take it all in as it's a 30 minute drive each way.  I had my alarm set for 7 but didn't get up until 8.  We were rolling by 9:30.  

I already had a tire shop picked out.  We got there and explained the situation.  They wouldn't take the tire off the trailer so I had to take it off.  Honestly I was probably faster anyways.  I just drive up the ramp and zip the lug nuts off with the impact.  

Since I  brought two unmounted spares, they put one on the spare rim and plugged the original.  Turns out my repair was holding.  They found a thin nail.  It was very close to the no-go zone on the tread so got lucky I guess.

I promised the girls Starbucks if they could get moving in the morning.  By the time the repair was done, Starbucks and gas we were finally on the road by noon.  

I was thinking about adding a day onto tomorrow's stay but I never reserved it because I was not sure if we would end up doing that.  Unfortunately he booked out for tonight so we had to do something different.

Lots of places said Revelstoke was a good place and since it was only about 3 hours away I started looking for a place to stay.  Unfortunately, this is a holiday weekend up here, plus everyone heading to Banff that was in Jasper, everything is booked.   One place had an overflow but it was first come, first serve.  They were full by the time we got here.  The place we ended up also had overflow only but they had water and electric at least.  Although it was double the other place.

A national Park campground showed one spot open.  We drove up there and we were told that is their emergency hold back and wouldn't e released until 8:30.  Apparently people will book anything, even if they don't fit, just to get a spot knowing they have this emergency spot.  So people game the system and people like me get turned away.  Kinda dumb.

I finally decided to take the overflow spot.  Despite being not an actual spot, the place itself is nice.

I took a short nap and then made the man which that Summer has been begging for.

After dinner we went downtown.  They have nightly live music.  Tonight was Celtic.  It was excellent.  We also got ice cream.  

We are now back at the camper.  Girls are taking showers and going to bed as Summer found an activity she wants to do in the morning. It opens at 9 so I want to be there early so we can do with with enough time to not feel rushed to get to our next overnight.

Day 52- Kamloops

 August 2

Hipcamp site

Today was going to be a very long drive.  About 7 and a half hours.  Despite that we didn't get on the road until 11:30 or so.  We seem to have trouble getting going early, not like at the beginning of the trip.

Everything was going fine until maybe 100 miles from our overnight.  Out of the corner of my eye I see smoke and chunks coming out from under the trailer.  I get pulled over and the tire I had changed out a few days prior had blew.  Looks like the sidewall separated where it met the tread.  Luckily no damage to the trailer.  

Luckily I had all the tools so I had it off in no time.  However I had never repaired the original tire so I had to get out the plug kit and fix it.  That was a bit more difficult than I thought it would be.  All in all we were on the side of the road for about 30-45 minutes.  If I didn't have to repair the tire I could have had it swapped out in 15.

The landscape coming into Kamloops really reminded me of Arizona with all the browns and reds in the rocks and mountains.  Sparse ground cover.  I was waiting for a tumbleweed to roll across the road.  The ponds had some sort of white stuff covering them.  One was so covered it looked like ice.  Not sure if salt deposits or what.

Unfortunately the repair was not holding very well so we had to stop every 30 miles or so.  Since Summer wanted manwhich for dinner we had to make a quick stop at the grocery store for buns.  Got a few other things since I was there.  

It was now about 8pm.  Our campsite was about 30 minutes outside of town and we just wanted to eat so we stopped McDonalds.  They have a Big Mac with no meat!  How much do you hate life to want to order one?

We finally got to our site about 10pm.  We were pretty much in someone's farm field.  There was a stream next to us.  It was kind of nice.  I wish we had gotten there early.  Inside the camper was hot though.  about 90 degrees.  If we had gotten there earlier I would have set-up the generator so we could turn on the a/c, but not at that point.  We just opened the windows and turned on the exhaust fans.  It cooled off before too long.

Day 51- Vanderhoof

August 1

Riverside Park Campground

I had set my alarm to go off at 7 am so I could try to catch a bear fishing.  I finally got up at 8.  Libby was up and wanted to go with so we headed out.  When we got in the truck the clock said 9.  For some reason my watch didn't change back after we got back into Canada.  We had to leave the campsite at 11 so that didn't leave us much time for bears.

It took us about 15 minutes to get out there.  We waited about an hour.  No bears.  The rangers said they only had one brief view of one out on the road.  So I guess at least we didn't miss any by being an hour late.  

We were packed up and rolled out by 11:30.  We had to dump the tanks and get gas.  It was a little after 12 by the time we actually got on the road.  

Today was a long drive.  Over 7 hours.   After pit stops it was about 8 hours total.  It was as sunny day so at least we didn't have the rain and gloominess.  We also finished the Cassier Highway and got on the Trans-Canada Highway.  We drove out of the mountains so the scenery was not very exciting.  WE did see the world's largest fly fishing rod, so that was neat.

We got to the campsite about 7:30.  By the time we checked in and got the camper parked it was 8:15.  I was not feeling up to making dinner so we were going to go out.  Most places were closed but there was a bar and grill that was open until 9.  We didn't even set-up the camper.  Just unhooked and went.  

We got there about 8:30 but they said the kitchen was already closed.  It was looking like fast food would be the only option.  Libby wanted chicken fingers and since there was an A&W just up the street we decided to go there.  Unfortunately the lobby was closed and it was drive through only.  

I remembered driving past a hotel that had a restaurant so I took a chance.  They were open until 9 as well but the girls inside said they would serve us.  The food was pretty good.  

After we got back to the camper the girls went for a hike and I tried to figure out the brakes.  

I have ruled out any issue with the truck.  In town had a NAPA so I was going to see if they had a trailer simulator I could buy to test the 7-pin plug on the truck.  Luckily I saw a Ford dealer up the road so I went there instead.  They were 5 minutes from the service department from closing.  One of the tech's came out with a simulator and tested it for me.  Everything tested fine.  No charge, so that was nice.  

Earlier in the day I realized I was getting the lightest amount of braking.  However when I manually applied the breaks I got the trailer disconnected warning.  This is different from the trailer wiring failure warning I was getting before when the brakes didn't work at all.  With some research a few days ago I did find someone with the same symptoms.  He found a frayed wire in the brake assembly.  He cut all the power wires to the brakes and reattached until he found the one that caused the symptoms to reappear.  I could do that but I don't have the special watertite connectors they use on trailer brakes.  I might see if a NAPA has them net time I see one.  Until then I'm getting by fine.  The truck has really strong brakes and it would only be emergency stops at highway speeds that would be a problem, I've already gone down several 7% grades with no issues, so I'll just keep my distance.  

Day 50- Stewart

 Rain, Rain, go away, come again another day.

It had started raining when I went to bed last night and continued through the night.  I have my alarm set for 8:30 and since the rain was coming down pretty good I figured we might as well sleep in.  

I finally got up about 10 and woke the girls.  We left the camper a bit after 11.  We decided to visit the Visitors Center first.  Got a few stickers for the camper.  The rear baggage door is pretty much full.  I will probably want stickers from Jasper, Glacier, Yellowstone and Mt Rushmore.   I wish I would have put them on the larger baggage doors on the side.  Not sure if I explained but I put them on a baggage door because if I ever sell the camper, I can take the door off and replace it with a new one.  Then I can hand the door on the wall or something.

After the visitors center we walked out to the Estuary Boardwalk.   It would probably be really cool if the clouds were not so low and covering up the mountains.  It was still a nice walk and we had a good time though.

After we went back to the camper to have lunch.  We then headed off to Hyder which is in Alaska.  The border is uncontrolled going into Alaska but you have to go through customs coming back.  

Hyder is a town of roughly 100 people.  It's more or less a ghost town.  During the gold rush there was a combined population of roughly 10,000 people between Stewart and Hyder.  

Our first stop was the Fish Creek Observation site.   It is a boardwalk built to safely observe the bears fishing for salmon.  We parked an a park's person rushed over and told us there was a bear putting on a good show catching fish.  Of course when you want kids to hurry they do everything to take as long as possible.   By the time we we got in the bear had wandered off into the bush.  It did come back out several times to the rivers edge but didn't go for anymore fish.  It eventually walked out to the road and crossed over to the other side.  

We decided to leave and continue on.  We wanted to also see Salmon Glacier.   The road was very poor.  It was a dirt road basically on the side of the mountain.  Before to long we had gained enough elevation that we were in the clouds.  It also rained off and on.  The drive was supposed to be roughly 20 miles.   I should have reset the trip meter.  The tourist board had created an auto tour.  You picked up a booklet at the tourist center and there were signs that corresponded to the excerpt's in the booklet.  I did see them at the beginning but I was so busy trying to avoid the pothole's forgot all about them.  

Shortly after we left the observation center we did see a bear just hanging out on the side of the road eating berries.   We stopped for a moment and then just idled up.  It decided to go off into the bush.  A while later Libby saw a Hoary Marmont.  We stopped for some photos.  He was just hanging out on a rock.  He was cautious of us being there but didn't run away.

We continued on until we got to a look out with other people parked at it.  We really didn't see much but the valley was obstructed by clouds.  I figured the glacier viewing was farther up the road as the pictures and distribution made it seem like you would be at the base of the glacier.  We continued on.  At one point we saw a clearing down in a valley of sorts.  There was a single truck parked there and wondered if that was the glacier viewing area but again it looked obstructed and not like the photo's we saw.  After a while and some grumbling from the girls I looked at the map in the booklet.  It seemed like we had gone too far.  We turned around and started back.  The clouds had burned off a bit and we finally started to get some views of the glacier.  We came up to the turn out and decided to go down to where the other truck was.  Once down here we met a couple who had just returned from a hike.  They said that roughly 4 kilometers down was great views of the glacier.  They even said we could drive a ways to shorten that walk.  So off we went.  It was a trail better suited for the jeep but the truck did fine.  I really need to ditch the street tires and get something a little more aggressive.  Not that it's even close to an off-road truck.  It was fun though.  we had to cross two little streams and some loose, rocky trials.  We got to a point I didn't want to risk going any farther and not be able to get out.  We decided to hike from there.  It was all down hill, a bit steep, a lot of loose rock and some spongy wet areas.  

We finally got to a point where the vehicle trail ended.  If we were more experienced, and better equipped hikers we probably could have gone farther.  The views were amazing though.   The Salmon glacier comes down a valley between two mountains and at the bottom it flows to both sides.   We were on the end of the right side if you were looking directly at it.  We hung out for a bit before heading back.  Davan and Libby had no problem heading back up the mountain and beat us back.  Summer and I lagged behind a bit.  I'm not really in the best shape for hiking up the side of a mountain and to be honest, neither is Summer.   It started raining a bit and we got back to the truck just before it started raining relatively hard.  Perfect timing.  

We made the drive back to the Observation area.  Libby and I walked it hoping to see a bear.  No luck.  We didn't hang out long as it was getting late and we were all starving.  

We tried to go tot the Mexican place again.  Everyone looked at the menu online and found something they liked.  Once we got there it was packed and found out that we needed a reservation!  Who would have thought that in Stewart, BC, a town or roughly 100 people you would need a reservation!.  To be honest, it's kind of a tourist town.  There are a lot of hotel and motels and two campgrounds fully booked.  We decided to go back to the camper for dinner.  After we ate I wanted to go back to the observation deck to hopefully see a bear.  

I didn't see anything after dinner.  If I can get up early in the morning I might drive back out there for a last ditch effort.  We will see.

Despite the weather I think we had a really great day.  Our accidental over-driving turned into a great experience I don't think many get to ejoy.  I love these kinds of happy accidents.  A sunny clear sunny would have been better but we didn't let the rain ruin our day!

Some interesting tidbits about Stewart/Hyder.  I had planned to include this while I wrote but it's currently 12:45 am so here they are.  :)

Stewart is Canada's most Northerly, ice free port.

Salmon Glacier is the worlds largest road accessible glacier

Stewart had had 6 major motion pictures filmed here.  I have personally watched one called Insomnia.

I know I mentioned 100 people living here above but I'm getting to tired to find and fix it but the town of Stewart has roughly 500 people living here and Hyder has around 100.  They are considered sister cities despite being separated by a boarder.  The road we drove today is still an active mining road.   

I think that's all I have for tonight.  Time for bed.

I just got done uploading photo's.  It's a bit of a process so I hope everyone is enjoying them.  I'm usually up well past midnight writing the blog and uploading photo's.  I try to put them close to the paragraph I speak about them but sometime's I'm to tired and they are just placed in random.

 Anyways, the photo's of the salmon reminded me that I wanted to talk about them.  I've learned so many amazing things on this trip.  Salmon are pretty cool.  When they are in the ocean they are silver in color.  Once they return to the streams and rivers they change before spawning.   Depending on what kind they are, they will change color.  Also theirs mouths will change from a typical fish shaped mouth into a hooked upper jaw.  Also some will develop a hump on their back.  Different types of salmon have different life spans but they always return to the same stream or river they spawned from.  It's kind of mind blowing to think that they know exactly where to go from ocean to stream.