Canada, the northern route

Alberta: July 18-July 27

into Canada

I crossed into Canada at the Chief Mountain station, named after the mountain whose picture I published in the last post. If you saw the documentary 'unBranded' (about guys taming some mustangs then riding from Mexico to Canada) this is where they end their trip (useless trivia!). Even though you need to show your passport; I had to request a stamp. 

This was my first time back into Canada since a trip I took in 1985. That trip took me into New Brunswick and around the Great Lakes as far as Winnipeg, Manitoba. But I'd never been into Alberta until now. I was excited to see the Canadian Rockies and they did not disappoint. Waterton National Park, my first stop, is essentially a continuation of Glacier and just as beautiful; they are jointly named the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.

Waterton Lake next to the town and Prince of Wales Hotel

the quaint streets of Waterton

After a night in one of the campgrounds called Crandell Mountain, I couldn't resist getting a room in the town of Waterton. Everything in Canada, from hotels, camping, food and gasoline is more expensive, even with a favorable exchange rate. Toss the budget out the window!


A couple of things I like about Canada right away:
1. They no longer have pennies;
2. The dollar coin is, of course, known as the loonie...the two dollar coin is called the toonie! excellent;
3. Often call gas stations 'gas bars' (a bar for your car);
4. Roads and highways are often called 'trails', at least in Alberta.
5. Old Dutch potato chips.

great beef jerky, essential stop

Alberta, Waterton to Jasper

And so I found myself driving north on what is known as the Cowboy Trail (Rte. 22), which takes you through great ranch country with the Rockies always in view just to the west. Along the way the small town of Longview has this beef jerky store, and it's the best I've ever tasted. They make it right there behind the counter. I don't know why, but I've become a big fan of jerky. I never ate this stuff until about 5 years ago. I blame it on Fatman's jerky in Roswell, N.M., which is also very good.

a great drive, check out those rocks

After getting the FJ serviced in Calgary (the city has some similarities to Denver, but it's further east of the mountains) I drove west into the Peter Lougheed Provincial Park and some of the most dramatic views yet.

on the road to Canmore

Those blue skies turned gray and wet for a couple days, however, before driving into Canmore, a picture-perfect town full of healthy people riding bikes or returning from a power hike. Even the view from the Safeway parking lot was awesome.

this is how they roll in Canmore

welcome to Banff N.P.

From Canmore I drove up to Banff National Park where there was actually a line of cars to get into the Two Jack Main Campground. Here we go again.


My very close neighbors in this campground were Mike and Nicole who both work and live in the nearby town of Banff. Mike got around to asking me if I had any of that great Colorado weed with me and I replied that crossing the border with some of that stinky stuff probably wasn't a good idea. He then whipped out some of his "B.C. shit". It was okay, but it was no "Colorado shit".

sweet

The next day I went into Banff to buy a can of bear spray. A couple of doors down was a bakery/candy shop. They had the door open so the aroma of chocolate was irresistible (good thing I wasn't nearby last night!). I took this picture of the shiniest candy apples, ever.

further north in Banff, this lake was pretty enough

I had wanted to stop by Lake Louise to see that iconic lake. When I got to the town of the same name there was a line of cars just trying to get into the town, let alone to the lake. Damn, a total drag. Instead, I continued north to another campground called Waterfowl. This was the best campground that I stayed at in Banff, actually offering some separation between sites. And the nearby lake wasn't too shabby, either.

further north

welcome to Jasper N.P.

Banff soon turns into Jasper where the awesomeness of nature continues. In the center distance of my "welcome to..." photo is a glacier. This is where the Glacier Center is, a large learning facility that has some very large (huuuge) parking lots. These were all basically full including one that had an untold number of tour buses. Which means an untold number of people. In the picture I took of the glacier itself, you can see a line of people hiking up to the glacier as well as several of the glacier buses that carry people up to the glacier. I  didn't have the patience, so it's onward.

a very busy glacier

of course, there is a line to enjoy this view

Once I got near the town of Jasper it was time to look for a campsite. There are several campgrounds, including one called Whistler's which, with 781 spots, is said to be the largest in North America...all full! Seriously?

a rainbow over the large camping field...at 9:30pm

They sent me and many others to a very large field north of town that had pit toilets and drinking water for $12US. I was told that these parks see a lot of tourists just from the relative closeness of Edmonton and Calgary, add to that all the Americans, and add to that a serious amount of Asians. And a short summer season to see it all.

north Alberta, Jasper to NWT

Looking at my map to see how far it was to get to the town of Grand Prairie where you normally turn west to begin the drive up the Alaska Highway, I noticed that I could simply continue driving north instead and arrive at Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. A dream destination for me since I was about 9-10 back in the late '60's!

heading north

I can remember looking at a map of Canada back then and seeing way up there both the Great Bear and Great Slave Lakes and the little dot called Yellowknife. It seemed impossibly far away growing up in New Jersey. Although it is the capital of the NWT, even now there are only about 20,000 people. Today, the road is paved and there is a big new bridge over the MacKenzie River (replacing the ferry about 4 years ago...I wish I had gotten here sooner!), so it's not quite the adventure it might have been back in the day. Still, I don't personally know anyone else who has ever been there, so there's that. 

The town of Grimshaw where the "mile zero" picture was taken is about halfway up the map photo and it's where I spent a night at the Queen Elizabeth Provincial Park campground. Very pretty and quiet next to a large lake, this remote spot was actually visited and dedicated by the Queen and Duke in 1978...there's a plaque that tells me so.


NWT and Yukon: July 28-August 7

a big sign for a big land

The drive from Jasper was beautiful, first through rolling hills and pine forests (think logging) and then farmland almost up to the NWT borderline and then more pine trees and flat land. And then, the biggest friggin' sign! There's a visitor's center in the background right of the photo (Vi and Eric were very helpful). NWT has their own string of campgrounds, one of which is right behind the v.c., but just up the road is another, larger campground at Luise Falls. These campgrounds aren't cheap, about $20US, but with lots of space, hot showers, electricity and even an excellent front-load washer and dryer, it was worth it.

Luise Falls

Evelyn Falls

I checked out two waterfalls, Luise Falls, which is right next to the campground and Alexandra Falls, about a 30 minute walk upriver. The video is of Alexandra. I'm also including Evelyn Falls which was up the road some distance. But, you get the idea, NWT has a lot of waterfalls.




A beautiful Saturday takes me to the small town of Hay River on the south shore of Great Slave Lake. I pulled into the ESSO station where the cheerful, grizzled man at the pump tells me "this is where the best fishin' is, the best huntin' is, where you can ride your snowmobile without a helmet, winter starts in October and runs for 8 months and is the best season, where the sky is the color it's supposed to be and it's full of oxygen and I can go out my backdoor and not hear or see another person." Whew!

Hay River Fisherman's Wharf

the fish and chips

Saturday is fish and chips day at the Fisherman's Wharf in Hay River, really just a series of about 10 kiosks strung together next to the river. Vi at the visitor's center recommended I try it. She wasn't wrong, it was delicious whitefish out of the lake for about $13US.

Great Slave Lake, near Hay River

You can drive right up to a beach and see the lake, which is, of course, gigantic. And windy. But, check one off the bucket list!

turn right at this sign

Next, it's north to Yellowknife. After visiting Evelyn Falls and going over the Mackenzie Bridge, the northern drive really begins. Then it's another 4 hours over mostly good two-lane road. Only the last hour, or so, is on the slow side as the road suffers from a fair amount of heaving. I also got slowed down almost to a stop at one point as the temperature dropped almost instantly by 20 degrees and a serious rain and hailstorm overtook me.

wood buffalo on the way to Yellowknife

Then, as I was finally driving out of the storm a herd of 35-40 wood buffalo materialized out of the fog wandering along the highway. I only managed a passing photo over my shoulder.

Yellowknife's modern downtown

By the time I got to Yellowknife and the Fred Henne campground right outside of town it was back up to 70. August 1 is some sort of national holiday in Canada, and while no one could agree on what it's supposed to be about, they all agreed another paid day off/3-day weekend was a good thing and so this campground was almost full when I got there. Otherwise, the trip up to NWT and the route I took through the Yukon was blessedly void of crowds.

Yellowknife was only founded in the 1930's, thanks to a gold discovery. Since the '90's, though, it's been diamonds that have caused the town to grow. Even DeBeers has a mine somewhere out there in the wilderness. The short video below was taken at the high point of what is known as Old Town, where most of the cool stuff is.

Following are a number of photos of my time in and around Yellowknife.

one of many houseboats around Old Town

float planes around Old Town

a small weekend festival, Old Town

same festival

selling bannocks, traditional fry bread, Old Town

the fairways are of packed dirt and sand, the

greens of artificial turf, like miniature golf

on a drive east of Yellowknife

one of the ice roads crosses this lake

There is a road called the Ingraham Trail that ends at Tibbitt Lake some 30+ miles east of Yellowknife. That is the end of the end of the regular road. At one of the lakes on the way to Tibbitt there is the sign in the photo. They use this ice road, and others, to supply those remote diamond mines in the winter.

Bullocks, Old Town

Another place Vi, from the visitor center, said I needed to try was Bullocks, an institution in Old Town. And, I had to order the fish and chips. This was my favorite meal of the entire almost 3 month trip.

I sat at this counter across from the "kitchen"

fish and chips and a Kokanee...perfect

They don't open until 4pm and it can get crowded fast. It's a very small place. I got there at 4 and grabbed a seat at the "bar", which gives you a front row seat to watching Kim prepare the food. She takes care of everything herself, frying the fish - or sautéing, if you prefer - along with baking the bread at the same time. Getting there early gave us time to chat.

me taking a "bite" for the camera...classic

Reviews of Bullocks warn you of the rude and in-your-face manners of the staff, but Kim and my server Jessie couldn't have been nicer. Kim likes the fast pace and was looking forward to staying the winter. Compared to her stint in Kandahar serving all the soldiers, she said, this was a breeze. The whitefish was the cheapest option at $21US, but you can get salmon or halibut if you like, for upwards of $50, if I remember right. Kim also let me try a small cup of her buffalo stew and fresh bread. I would eat that every week if I lived there.

Kim, and my dinner

Did Yellowknife live up to my 50 year old dream? Well, back then I envisioned it as an old west kind of town and those days are mostly over. But it's every bit as pretty as I imagined, the people were nice and the food was great. I don't know if I'll ever get back up there - it's a long-ass drive - but if I did I'd try to stay a week, or so. And eat at Bullocks several times.

the road west across the NWT

Okay, time to move south and west. It's the same road back down to the Mackenzie Bridge and then west all the way to Fort Liard and the Blackstone Campground, about 8 hours along mostly very good packed dirt roads. You need to keep an eye on the gas tank as there are big gaps between fill-ups. I was glad for my extra gas cans on the rear bumper.

the Liard River runs by the campground

I'd almost move here just to get the plate

The campground is another of the official NWT campgrounds but it's remoteness means I was one of only maybe 4 other campers. Very quiet. Unfortunately, the hot showers I was so looking forward to were not working!

The host, a young guy, was telling me how much he loves the winters up here. He loves the silences and the call of the wolf, the stark icy beauty and the northern lights and riding his snowmobile across the frozen river and into the trees. This attitude was common of the locals I met along the way; winter is not something to be endured but embraced.

NWT and Yukon

another herd of wood buffalo, south of Ft. Liard

The one road out of the NWT drops south into British Columbia and intersects with the Alaska Highway, about a four hour drive.

a young moose, near Toad River, B.C.

An hour west on the A.H. and it gets mountainous again, a pretty, meandering two-lane road without much traffic. I saw my first moose of this trip along the road near the small town of Toad River, where they charge bigtime for gasoline, almost $4.10/gallon.

Stone sheep

A bit further on I saw this Stone sheep, a smaller sheep species and primarily found only in the northern area of British Columbia. I got lucky.

from my Muncho Lake campsite

my only caribou of the trip

The Muncho Lake Provincial Park is a great spot to grab a campsite on the shore of that lake. This part of the world is just overflowing (pun?) with large lakes and rivers, like the Liard, that I never heard of. Yet, they dwarf a lot of the famous ones to the south.

The next morning, I saw this caribou running along the highway all by itself. I had thought I'd see caribou north in Alaska, but this turned out to be the only one I saw the entire time. So, I included the photo even though it's obviously quite blurry.

one of the black bears

This stretch of the highway had more wildlife, including a ton of wood buffalo and two black bears. Wood buffalo, by the way, are a distinct subspecies and are larger than the American bison, making the wood buffalo the largest mammal in North America (I may have grabbed some of that from Wikipedia 😉). The video is a shaky one of driving through a herd in north B.C.

more of the beautiful Liard River in B.C.

Yukon sign...it's no NWT sign

Finally, I made my way into the Yukon, another milestone, and the town of Watson Lake. Per the usual, they have an excellent visitor's center here. The best information I got was a pamphlet that listed all of the official Yukon campgrounds. They only charge $9US and they are often in the best locations.

the Watson Lake Sign Post Forest

The Sign Post Forest is probably Watson Lake's main claim to fame. It was started by a G.I. in the 1940's during the construction of the Alaska Highway. It was actually there before there was even a town.

driving up the Campbell Highway

Yukon has less than 40,000 people with about 25,000 of them living in Whitehorse. A couple thousand live in Dawson City and even less in Watson Lake. Meaning, there is a boatload of open country up here and my drive north from Watson Lake on the Campbell Highway, mostly dirt, saw the fewest vehicles of the trip. Once, I went 1-1/2 hours without seeing anyone. You want to have plenty of gas and a good spare tire.

Francis Lake campground

One of those great Yukon campgrounds is on the shore of Francis Lake. I was surprised to see several spots already taken, but they were all locals taking advantage of good fishing weather.

near Ross River

Two of those neighbors, Neil and Judy from the tiny nearby town of Ross River, invited me over for a drink. Neil runs trap lines for marten and has some claims in the area for gold mining, though he hasn't yet found any. Together, they run a small B & B in Ross River called Itzi Mountain Lodging (ItziMountainLodging@hotmail.com). If you want to experience being away from stuff, try staying at their place. Trust me, Ross River is out there...but I was able to buy gasoline!

bridge crossing on the Klondike Highway

I'll be back, Dempster

The Campbell Highway meets the Klondike Highway at the town of Carmacks, where the Yukon River also goes by. After a rainy night in the Tatchun Creek campground I caught the Klondike on up to Dawson City. On the way there, you pass the turnoff for the Dempster Highway. From there it's one way up to the Arctic, or it will be in another year or two. After having driven the Dalton in Alaska, I have to someday come back up here to drive the Dempster. It's a must.

main street, Dawson City

Dawson City is smaller than I expected with fewer tourists than I would have expected. Except for the paved main street, the other roads in town are dirt with raised wooden boardwalks and many of the buildings are painted in bold primary colors.

Dawson City and the Yukon River from an overlook

Dawson City was at the heart of the Klondike Gold Rush and is known for having been the home of both Jack London and Robert Service.

approaching the ferry...it's free

an expansive view from Top of the World Highway

And it's here that you can drive your vehicle onto a ferry and take the short 5 minute ride across the Yukon River to begin the Top of the World Highway over to Alaska.

Alaska border crossing in the distance

It takes about two hours to get to the border with Alaska. Of course, that's for the next post.