Alaska - Part III Lake Louise, Alberta to Dawson Creek, BC

Lake Louise, Alberta to Dawson Creek, British Columbia Canada













May 29, 2009
We left Lake Louise at 10:15 am. Our starting mileage was 23,080.2. We headed to Jasper on the Icefields Parkway, route 93. We left the Banff National Park and entered the Jasper National Park for another $18.10 fee. The scenery was just spectacular.











The pictures we took seemed to be enhanced because we are here early enough that the snow is still on the mountains. We saw a big horn sheep in JNP and saw three elk after passing the town of Jasper where we caught the Yellowhead Hwy (Hwy 16). We crossed into British Columbia at 3:00 pm PT (where we changed time zones) and arrived at 5:00 pm in McBride, BC at the Beaver View RV Park. We were greeted by a delightful British woman who told us where to find the bears along our next leg of the trip. We did our laundry while the mosquitoes almost carried us away. Our mileage was 23,324.0.

May 30, 2009
We left our campground at 9:10 am PT and got gas in McBride. We were traveling along the Yellowhead Hwy toward Prince George when we saw two black bears. We also spotted two deer as we were traveling the heavily wooded forest to Prince George. We took route 97 out of Prince George headed toward Dawson Creek where we saw a grizzly, a black bear and a moose. The moose was huge!! Too bad we were by it before we could get a picture. We walked back to find him, but we obviously scared him deeper into the forest. We arrived at the Mile O Campground at Dawson Creek, BC (Good Sams) at 5:45 pm PT. The fee was $25.00 CAD. We signed up to stay two nights. Dawson Creek is at the beginning (mile O) of the Alaskan Highway. We feel that we are just now beginning our journey.











Today it took us 8.5 hours to go 387.6 miles and our mileage when we arrived was 23,713.3. As of today, we have traveled 3,256.3 miles in 10.5 days. We are ready for a respite which we will take tomorrow. We ate in and watched a movie (No TV reception) and went to bed early.












May 31, 2009
The inside RV temperature this morning was 54 degrees. Not too bad, but we may purchase another blanket before we leave here. We slept until 8:30 am this morning, very unusual for us. Staying on the go, go, go has tired us out so we stayed in most of the day today and worked on our journaling, emailing, backed up Ed’s computer and loaded printer software, sent a letter regarding Ed's prep school reunion, mapped out our trip for tomorrow, etc. Afterward, we went out for dinner at a nice steakhouse named Mr. Mike's. We both had sirloin with a cajun creole sauce with shrimp and scallops. It was great. When we returned to the LD, the neighbors invited us over for a glass of wine. Two couples, one was the present president of the Canadian Wildlife Federation and the other a past president. We may see them along the way since they are headed up to Whitehorse too.

Alaska - Part II - Great Falls, MT to Lake Louise, Alberta

Alaska - Part II - Great Falls, MT to Lake Louise, Alberta Canada


May 26, 2009

Left Great Falls and crossed into Alberta Canada about 2:00 pm MT. We went west at Macleod onto 785 and went 5 miles to Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump. It was very impressive.


It is a spot where the Indians ran the buffalo off a cliff to kill them in mass for food and clothing. The facility was very well done. We stayed at the Buffalo Plains RV Park about one mile away. Very windy!!

May 27, 2009

Stopped in Nanton Alberta to get supplies and arrived at Lake Louise Trailer Campground at about 5:30 pm MT. We took a short hike beside the Bow River. It was gorgeous, tall pines and boiling river. We heard of a grizzley sighting and hopped to get a glance, but no such luck. We cooked in, watched a movie, and off to bed.

May 28, 2009

We got up to sunshine but very cold weather. The inside RV temperature was 45.9 degrees, chilly to say the least. We mailed a few cards at the Post Office and bought some wifi time, had lunch in the village at Trailhead Café. We headed up to Lake Louise where we took a 2.5 mile hike around the lake. It was beautiful, still icey. Then we stopped in at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise for a glass of wine and bruschetta. The hotel overlooks the lake. We headed back to the village to get on the wifi hotspot to pay mother and dad’s bills as well as ours. We still have to maintain the necessary obligations even on vacation!!! Then back to the campground for dinner and a movie. So far so good...and the water pump is humming away!!! YEAH!!

Alaska - Part 1 - Birmingham, AL to Great Falls, MT

Wednesday, May 20, 2009
We left home today at 2:40 pm CT. The mileage on our Lazy Daze was 20,457. We left Birmingham on Hwy 78 toward Tupelo and crossed the MS line at 4:40 pm CT. We arrived at Wall Doxey SP at 6:30 pm. We traveled 211 miles today.

Thursday, May 21, 2009
Still driving Hwy 78 we got through Memphis but there was LOTS of traffic and it was very slow. St. Louis traffic was no better. We traveled the beltway, I-270, thinking it would be less traffic, but it wasn’t. We traveled I-270 to I-70. We took I-70 to exit 15b at Independence, MO, just south of Kansas City, where we stayed overnight on Hwy 291 at Walmart/Sams. We arrived at 6:16 pm. We were so tired. We had driven 561 miles which took 11 hours. Today we averaged 55.31 miles per hour and about 9.4 miles per gallon.

Friday, May 22, 2009
Shopped at Sams and Walmart then got gas at Sams before leaving at 10:30 am. We got on Hwy 291 N to I-435 to I-29 N (beltway around Kansas City). We stopped in Souix City, IA for gas then drove on to Souix Falls, SD where we got on I-90 W. We stopped for the night in Salem, SD, about 30 miles west of Souix Falls at the Camp America CG right off I-90 at mm 364. We arrived at 6:15 pm. We had driven 414.3 miles today in 7.75 hours. The road was mostly flat so we got 9.72 miles per gallon. We have driven 1,187 miles since we left home Wednesday at 2:40 pm.

Saturday, May 23, 2009
We woke up to rain this morning. We left the campsite at 9:45 PM. We discovered there was a Cabelas at mm 332 so we headed out and bought a few items. The time changed to Mountain Time along I-90 between Salem and Kodaka, SD. The rain stopped but it was still overcast. This is where we entered the Badlands National Park. It was 3:00 pm MT. It took about an hour to drive through the smaller loop but it was amazing.
We stopped in Rapid City at the LaCross St Exit 57 to find the Walmart to stay the night.

Sunday, May 24, 2009
We woke up to no water today. The fresh water tank was 1/3 of the way full, but the pump wasn’t working at all. We went back a few exits where we had seen a flying J and filled up the gas tank and took showers. Taking a shower at a truck stop is quite an experience and expensive $8.50 ea. Along I-90 at mm32 is Sturgis, SD, the motorcycle capital of the world. We stopped and took pictures at how dead it was without all those bikes, but could imagine how crazy it would be with 100,000 bikes driving through that little town. The western side of SD is much prettier than the eastern side green, hilly and lots of trees. We crossed into WY at 10:45 am MT. We stopped at mm 205 at the Buffalo Jump exit to inquire, but Buffalo Jump is closed until June 1 so we will see that on the next trip. The rain picked up as we were on our way. We just kept driving on I-90 and crossed into MT at 2:15 pm MT. We felt like we were home. This side of the state is definitely prairie, but it is very pretty. It’s green, flat, with lots of sagebrush growing and cattle and horses grazing. We feel fortunate to occasionally see small herds of antelope, our favorite animal. They have patches of white that makes them easy to spot. We will be staying at the Walmart in Billings. We know we can always stay at a Walmart parking lot for an overnight, usually along with many other RVers. Last night there were about 10-12 RVs and 18 wheelers. We always check our list off the Walmart website to make sure they allow overnight parking. Without any facilities, you can see how important it is to keep your water pump running. We will have no water tonight, but are hoping to get it fixed in Billings or we will drive on to Great Falls to get it fixed at one of their RV Service Centers. We’re here in Billings at Costco at 4:10 pm MT. Woohoo!! Gas is $2.40 a gallon. Tomorrow is Memorial Day so no RV Service Centers will be open.

Monday, May 25, 2009
Today we had lunch with Harry and Mary Gottwals and were then on to Great Falls. Coming across Hwy 87 was absolutely beautiful and the weather was sunny and warm. We arrived at 7:45 pm at the Great Falls Walmart. We are hoping that one of the two RV Service Centers here in town will be able to accommodate us tomorrow to get our water pump working!!