Hot Time in the Old Town

Our first two days' of travel have been hot... in more ways than one.  We thought that loading the camper with temperatures in the mid-90s was hot.  While traveling the plains of Texas, temperatures soared to 113 degrees.  When we arrived in Amarillo the first evening, the temperature was still 108 degrees.  We wimped out and opted for a motel room.

Yesterday we drove across Monarch Pass, a beautiful area outside of Salida, Colorado.  The temperature at the pass was a mere 52 degrees.  We were excited to have our first night of camping, and maybe even don sweatshirts.  Then we hit the downhill side of the 11,312-foot pass.  We smelled smoking brakes on our brand new truck.  One of the brakes was so hot that David blistered his finger checking them.

I sit in a motel in Montrose, Colorado, this morning.  David has taken the truck to the dealer to have the brakes checked.  We are hoping it was just paint burning off rather than anything serious.

Great news... I just heard from David, and the brakes are fine.  North to Alaska we go!

Let the Next Adventure Begin!

Dear Friends, I am happy to report that we leave tomorrow for our next great adventure!

We plan to return to Canada and Alaska during this trip.  Do you remember Morgan, our young friend who traveled with us for three weeks last year?  Well, this year we're meeting her entire family of five ... plus two friends of theirs... in Whitehorse in mid-August.  Together the nine of us will travel up my favorite road on the planet... the Dempster.  We're especially excited to travel new territory now that the road has been completed from Inuvik to Tuk on the Arctic Ocean.

We invite each of you to join us for the fun.  Surely we will find lots of animals and maybe even see some northern lights.  Our house sitters are settled, and we are certainly ready to go.  Can't wait!

Staat Stats

We made it home on August 15... two days after Harvey began brewing off the coast of Africa and ten days before it hit the Texas coast (for the first time).  Stats for this trip include the following:

Days on the road:

• 118 days on the road (four months minus four days)

Miles traveleld:

• 15,918 miles by road
• 1,159 miles by ferry

Number of Islands/Provinces/States visited:

• Islands:  6 (including Vancouver, Haida Gwaii, Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, and Juneau)
• Canadian Provinces/Territories:  6 (including British Columbia, Yukon, Northwest Territory, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba)
• States:  12 (including New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Alaska,  Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas)

Wow!

Thanks to everyone for following along with us on this year's adventure.  We'll be posting more... David has a post he wants to add about taking the BC and Alaska ferry systems for those of you who might be interested in doing the same.  Of course, God willing, we plan to travel again next year.  Until then, may God richly bless each of you.

The Stowaway

We broke camp at Minnesota's Woodenfrog State Campground early in the morning, ready to start our way south. We stopped by the trash bin, and while David was dumping the garbage, I noticed movement just below the truck's windshield wiper.  It was a tiny chipmunk with a very long tail.  The little critter disappeared under the hood.

I quickly turned off the engine and popped the hood.  I told David that we had a stowaway chipmunk.  The two of us searched for the little stink, with no luck.  David assured me that he had probably hopped to the ground and scampered away when I turned off the engine.  I wasn't certain.  He had disappeared right around the windshield wiper housing.

Within minutes of driving, it began to mist.  Then it began to rain in earnest.  I had no choice but to turn on the wipers.  I cringed at the thought of that chipmunk trapped in the windshield wiper mechanism.

Since we had such an early start to our day, we stopped for breakfast.  Surely if the chipmunk were still in the truck, he would run for dear life.  Later we stopped for gas.  No sign of the little guy.

That evening we stopped to camp in southern Minnesota at the Forestville State Park.  While David was inside, checking on campsites, I was shocked to see a familiar tail scurry across the windshield.  Then he disappeared once again into the windshield wiper housing.

David was as surprised as I had been when I told him the news about our stowaway.  We drove through the campground to find a site, then returned to the park office to register.  I turned the engine off and waited for David... and the chipmunk.  Sure enough, the little critter came out of the housing again.  This time, however, he launched himself off the hood of the truck and onto the road.  He dashed about 15 feet, then turned around and took a good, long look at the truck.  Within a few seconds, he disappeared into the forest.

Now I was worried if he could survive in his new home.  Thankfully, I saw several other chipmunks in the area later that evening.  They weren't as tiny as ours, but at least I knew that he had a chance.

I can't imagine how that chipmunk survived his ordeal.  He had been transported over 400 miles above a noisy, hot engine.  Who knows what he went through when I had the windshield wipers going.  Without a burrow, he would now be exposed to additional predator dangers.

I sure hope the little guy makes it.  One thing is for certain... that chipmunk will never stow away in a vehicle again!

Voyageurs National Park

Voyageurs National Park

We crossed into the Lower 48 on Sunday at Warroad, Minnesota.  It felt great to be back in the old U.S. of A.  We had four days to play before our scheduled visit to David's mom, sister, and her husband.  What to do?

While studying the Minnesota map, we had found an intriguing green area... Voyageurs National Park.  We had never heard of it.  Our road atlas indicated that it is one of the least visited of our national parks.  The park is situated on the northern border of Minnesota and Canada on Lake Kabetogama, just west of the Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness.  David had once dreamed of being a park ranger, canoeing the boundary waters between the States and Canada.  It looked like the perfect spot for us to end this year's camping adventure.

By the time we arrived at the Rainy Lake visitor's center, it was closed.  We quickly discovered that there were no campgrounds within the park accessible by car.  In fact, the only way to get into the park is to travel by boat or plane.  The nearest campground to us outside the park was Woodenfrog State Campground near Kabetogama. We drove there and found a lovely state park, heavily wooded and with lots of room between sites.  It was the perfect launching place to discover more about the area.

Voyageurs National Park is named after the French-Canadian canoemen who ferried trade goods across these waters during the late 1700s and early 1800s.  The surrounding landscape includes boreal forests that meet and mix with northern hardwood forests.  It is home to a wide variety of wildlife, including bear, eagle, beaver, otter, moose, and the elusive timber wolf.

We visited the Ash River Visitors Center the following morning to learn more about the park.  The ranger suggested we either rent a boat or take a water taxi to Kabetogama Peninsula.  Unfortunately, the park's water shuttle service was booked until Thursday.  The park's shuttle drops visitors off at the only motel lodging within the park... the historic Kettle Falls Hotel.  The shuttle also offers visitors access to the peninsula's 52 miles of hiking trails.

We spent the rest of the day visiting a few boat rental places, finding the best deal at the Arrowhead Lodge.  Then we took a much-needed hike on the Echo Bay trail loop.

The following morning, we arrived at Arrowhead Lodge and rented our aluminum fishing boat.  The kind owners suggested that we head toward Cutover Island, circle around, and visit the Ellsworth Rock Garden.

As we left the marina, we saw two children diving from one of the floating docks.

On one of the little rock islands, we spied pelicans, gulls, and several cormorants drying their wings.

Birds gather on a rock island, Voyageurs National Park

We docked at the historic sculpture gardens about an hour later.  Jack Ellsworth built these gardens between 1944 and 1966.  He took a 60-foot-tall granite outcropping, created dozens of rock and wooden sculptures, and accented the area with flowers.  After his death, the gardens fell into disrepair.  Deer now graze on the remaining lilies, however, the park has acquired the grounds and has begun restoring the gardens.

Ellsworth Rock Gardens, Voyageurs National Park

Arrowhead sculpture, Ellsworth Rock Garden

Teepee sculpture, Ellsworth Rock Garden

We had the option of renting the boat for a half or full day.  After about three hours, the skies made the choice for us.  Heavy clouds began to gather and the wind began to rise.  We made it back to the marina just minutes before it began to rain.

What a great place!  Voyageurs is definitely a park we want to visit again.  We can just imagine having a water taxi take us and kayaks out to one of the island campsites so that we can paddle around, looking for animals or fishing.  Or perhaps we can entice friends and family to join us and rent a houseboat for several days.  Or maybe we will even stay at the Kettle Falls Hotel and hike the trails along the peninsula.  

Voyageurs is just our kind of place... cool temperatures during the day (even in August!), few visitors, and lots of water. 

Lilies, Ellsworth Rock Garden

August Long

Sunset over Lesser Slave Lake

August Long is a civic holiday in Canada, celebrated the first weekend and following Monday in August.  It is the busiest travel holiday in Canada.  Most services are closed, including all government offices, as well as many local businesses.  Additionally, because Canadians love the outdoors and most enjoy camping, campgrounds are booked months in advance for this weekend.  We didn't know August Long existed.  We do now.

We had our first inkling that something was amuck while traveling across Alberta.  We stopped to camp at Lesser Slave Lake.  The area was beautiful but incredibly crowded (and buggy).  To top it all off, David ended up with a touch of food poisoning.  Needless to say, while the scenery was lovely, we did not enjoy our stay.

Sandpipers on the shore of Lesser Slave Lake

We packed up the next morning and headed to Prince Albert National Park.  We were told that we would only be able to stay one night because the entire park was booked through the holiday weekend.  What holiday, we asked?  It was then that ranger informed us about August Long.

David and I have been caught in Canadian holiday weekends in the past.  We have learned to find a campsite, hunker down, and ride it out.  This time, however, we didn't have a campsite.  So we drove.  We spent two hours looking for a campground in Meadow Lake Provincial Park.  By the time we arrived at the site, we were too tired to do anything more than stroll around our little camping circle.

The following day, a lady at the visitor center in La Ronge told us that Missinipe (pronounced Miss-nippy) would certainly have sites available.  We found the Churchill River campground at the end of the road near Otter Rapids, but soon we had to move to another place when a kind camper explained their reservation system.   It felt like we were camping to musical chairs, and we were the last rig standing.

Otter Rapids on the Churchill River, Saskatchewan

Not knowing where to camp next, we decided that our best bet was to make the States as soon as possible.  We left Saskatchewan at 4:30 Saturday morning and crossed Manitoba diagonally.  We passed so many lakes and beautiful countryside, but we didn't dare stop.  By the time we arrived at the Watchhorn Bay campground, it was 5:30 in the evening.  We had driven over 600 miles.  We were relieved when we drove through the campground.  One site was empty.  Unfortunately, the camp host had stepped away from her desk.  We waited.

When she returned, we told her our plight.  We were exhausted and desperate.  The campground, however, had no overflow sites.  She told us the empty site was one that had been reserved for the season.  Although the family who had reserved it had pulled their camper because it needed repairs, the camp host would not allow us to stay in it.  We asked if we could simply pop the top on our rig for sleep and not utilize any of the campground's amenities.  She said no.  She also told us that Manitoba did not allow boondocking.  All campers must be in designated campgrounds.  She apologized and sent us on to Ashern and their city campground, which showed openings on her computer.  When we arrived at the Ashern campground, however, we found that it was completely reserved for a wedding... as was the town's only motel.  Again, we drove on.

Finally, we saw a sign for the Twin Lakes Provincial Park.  It was thirty minutes off the main road, but we decided to take the chance since the GPS indicated that only other town we would encounter with motels was Winnipeg, over two hours away.  When we arrived at Twin Lakes, we found a note on the camp host's door that she would return at 8:45.  We waited the additional twenty minutes.  Thankfully, this camp host always left one site open for travelers like us.  David paid for the site.  When we went to set up camp, however, another rig was already there.  The camp host quickly explained to the young people that we had rented the site and sent them on their way.

I can't explain our gratitude and relief.  We had driven nearly 700 miles in one day.  Needless to say, we were exhausted.  Only three hours separated us and the U.S. border.  After our experience with August Long, those beautiful Stars and Stripes will be a welcomed sight, indeed!

The Alaska Highway... an old friend

Mucho Lake

I remember well our first trip up the Alaska Highway in 2010.  It was such an adventure.  Every turn was a complete unknown.  Now it feels like an old friend.  We have our favorite stopping spots.  We treat ourselves to spaetzel and schnitzel at the Wolf's Den in Whitehorse.  We know that the best wildlife concentration is between Liard Springs and Toad River.  Contact Creek always has the cheapest gasoline.  We love strolling along Muncho Lake.  And to keep from experiencing a complete sugar overload, we enjoy splitting just one of the enormous sticky buns at the Tetsa River Lodge.

After leaving the Dempster, we felt more than a bit melancholy.  We were heading home at the time of year we normally are heading north.  We had already missed the salmon runs in Valdez and Haines because we were too early. Now we would miss the fall colors.   We would also miss the bird migrations and first snowfall.  In many ways it also felt like we were being pushed home.

Around Liard Springs, we finally saw some wildlife.  We stopped to photograph a herd of wood bison.  Nearby, we also saw a sow with twin cubs, but she disappeared into the forest before I could roll the window down.  Further south, we saw stone sheep grazing.

Stone sheep grazing

We planned to spend several days enjoying Muncho Lake.  I was missing Roxanne so much... this was one of her favorite spots.  We took a stroll, and I could almost see her bounding before us on the trail, looking back to see if I would give the signal so she could dive in the lake.  Tears were stinging my eyes when we heard distant thunder.

We decided we better turn around.  We barely made it back to the camper before the skies opened up, and it began to rain.  It rained all night.  And during the night, we saw something we had not seen in a very long time... darkness.

We stopped by the Northern Rockies Lodge the next morning and learned the forecast predicted rain to continue through the next several days.  So we drove on...  The rain followed us nearly to Fort Nelson.  Here the terrain changes quickly from mountains to pasture land.  By the time we arrived in Dawson Creek, we were surrounded by fields and fields of canola and their stunning yellow flowers.

Canola fields near Dawson Creek

The next day, the rolling hills gave way to prairie.  It felt comforting somehow to be back in farming country. Both David and I come from rural backgrounds, and we reminisced about childhood days.  The scenery looked like a beautiful quilt pattern with patches of yellow canola flowers, rows of olive-green wheat, and all dotted with enormous rolls of caramel-colored hay.

With reports of dozens of forest fires and road closures in British Columbia, we turned east.  We would take a different route home this trip, traveling through Saskatchewan and Manitoba before entering the Lower 48 somewhere in Minnesota.  From there, we would spend a few days with David's mom in Missouri before heading home.  We looked forward to this new route... we had only skirted Saskatchewan once a few years ago, and we had never been to Manitoba.  A new adventure certainly was waiting for us.