The Middle of Nowhere

This is what Google Maps showed us today!   Yikes!!  Thank goodness for paper maps!

From TripleG Hideaway campground we headed to Liard Springs Provincial Park where we camped, soaked in the hot springs, and enjoyed the park

There I spoke to a nice family from Argentina —parents and 2 kids touring the US in an RV for 2 years!  What great memories those kids will have!

Today we drove to Teslin in The Yukon.  Here we are camping in an ugly gravel parking lot on a beautiful lake!  Go figure!!

Scenery along the road today was spectacular.

And also interesting!

Seen this week:  5 black bears and a moose along the roadside!

On the (smoky) AlCan!

 Yesterday we made it to Fort Nelson along the Alaska-Canada highway.  There is evidence of forest fires in the recent and distant past.  This road was closed in a couple spots not too long ago and we could see why.

We had a great dinner at the restaurant at our campground (Triple G Hideaway) with some folks we met in Dawson Creek who are camping near us   The food was excellent (buffalo blue cheese burgers…mmmm)   Some BC firefighters were eating in the restaurant too   I admire the challenging and dangerous work they do.  

Today it was more smoky here.   We ran errands and planned the next few legs of our trip.   We head west tomorrow in search of hot springs and clearer skies!

A Fork in the Road

 After Mount Robson our next stop was Crooked River Provincial Park near Bear Lake, British Columbia.  No bears to report but some fierce mosquitos!  

The lake had 3 different kinds of waterfowl, 2 of which were new birds for me.  The red-necked grebes were nesting and some pairs had little ones swimming along or riding on the parents backs.  Their calls were somewhat frightening in the middle of the otherwise quiet night

We took a nice walk on Bear Lake Trail and Crooked River trail.  More beautiful wildflowers!

We had to decide which route we are taking to drive to Alaska:  the AlCan (wildfire risk?!?) or the Cassier Highway ( grizzlies in campsites!?!).   

We chose and drove to Dawson Creek BC, the start of the AlCan highway

Tomorrow we head to Fort Nelson to camp a couple days before moving on.  Probably no WiFi there so Got Bliss will sign off until we have “some bars” (not bears) 

New birds for me - red-necked grebe, Wilson’s snipe,  and lesser scaup

Flowers and Birds and Bears, Oh My!

Thursday we drove north through Banff and Jasper National Parks into Mount Robson Provincial Park.  The scenery was spectacular and our photos don’t really do it justice but here are a few anyway

Mount Robson is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies.  The 2 days we were there were very cloudy so we didn’t get a clear view of the peak.  Other parts of the park were very nice including Yellowhead Lake near our campground 

On our way out of Mount Robson we did a short hike to Overlander Falls

From there we drove through Prince George and north to Crooked River PP.  On the way we saw our first black bear by the side of the road. 

New birds for me this week:  Mountain chickadee, tree swallow (so blue!!), red-naped sapsucker, western wood peewee and orange-crowned warbler.   I even whistled the chickadee into our campsite!!!

Flowers: 

Yet more colors of columbine.

? Help?

Heading north

 We say adieu to our sweet campsite at Quinn Creek Camground near Golden British Columbia.   Highly recommended if you’re looking to camp in the area!!

Yesterday we hiked to Wapta Falls in Yoho National Park.  Another spectacular waterfall!!

Today we will drive through Jasper National Park then camp a few days in Mount Robson Provincial Park where we will be “offline”.  I’ll catch up with Got Bliss when we’re back on!

Danger in the Wetlands?

 Our campground owners are super nice folks!   They have helped us with a couple travel glitches and worked out their schedule so we can stay an extra night.  Thank you!!!

Today we had “stuff” to do and needed to start planning the next leg of our trip.  So we didn’t hike but we did walk down to the wetlands that are part of the owners property (with his permission of course). 

On the walk down we saw this sign in the woods:  

As we got closer to the water we heard music!   It was coming from this little speaker!  (Play video and turn sound on)

Besides being nice they have a sense of humor!!

Emeralds are a Girl’s Best Friend

This morning we got up early.  (Heavens!  We even set an alarm!). We headed back to Yoho National Park to hike around Emerald Lake.  We were advised to get there early to get a parking place (hence the alarm) and so we were on the trail about 8:00.  

The first amazing thing we saw was a momma loon with her babies on her back.  

The hike was flat (hurray!!) and about 3 miles.   The first half was on packed gravel with amazing views of the lake and surrounding peaks

Once we reached the other side of the lake the trail became muddy with lots of roots to negotiate.  The trees shaded the trail and the views, while stunning, were less frequent.  The reflections showed more of the green color the lake is known for as well.  

Wildflowers were abundant in this area, too

You Master Gardeners feel free to identify these beauties!!

More Hoodooos and a Bugaboo

 Our drive to our next stop was breathtaking as we drove over Crowsnest Pass then north along the west side of the Canadian Rockies.  

Our first hike in Yoho National Park was to some slightly different hoodoos.  The hike was labeled “moderate” but my legs found it challenging.  The views at the top were worth the leg discomfort for sure!

Our campground manager suggested a hike she described as “easy” which we decided to do today.   The hike was shorter but not a lot easier otherwise.  But again, great view at the top of Lower Bugaboo Falls

New birds for me this week:  western kingbird, black-billed magpie, yellow-headed blackbird , and western peewee

How Do You Hoodoo?

 Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park was an amazing surprise on our travels.  Set on the Milk River in southern Alberta, are the  sandstone formations that the Blackfoot people called Spirit Rocks  

The rocks do have a spiritual energy that is hard to describe.  From the visitors center here is a little history of that phenomenon and how they came to be called hoodoos.

The Blackfeet carved petroglyphs depicting important spiritual symbols and also a history of a battle scene with other First Nation groups.  

Buffalo and bear claw petroglyphs 

One of the battle scene petroglyphs 

Next it’s on to the Canadian Rockies for Got Bliss? for a few days!

Braving the Dusty Roads to Canada!

 We left North Dakota on Wednesday morning and stopped briefly in Williston to get a rock chip in the windshield repaired.  The nicest people work at Expert Auto Glass there in case you ever need that kind of help!

We saw fields of yellow blooming plants that we discovered are canola   Who knew?? 

We drove west on US route 2 in Montana for hours until Google maps advised us to head north to reach our destination for the day:  Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park in Alberta Canada.  The road quickly turned from pavement to dusty gravel.  Very very dusty.  

The road was rough and unfortunately the solar panel on the back of the camper came lose and bounced around on the ground a couple times before we were alerted by another driver.  The panel seems to work fine thank goodness.  My buddy Magyvered the attachment so that panel will not budge one inch.  Tiny bungee cords to the rescue!!

We drove at least 50 miles on dusty, rough, isolated roads   We crossed into Canada at the Aden crossing where the Canadian customs agent wondered why we ended up there instead of the main crossing in the area further west (and on paved roads.)  We told him we blamed Google maps but that now we had a good story about our travels!

When we arrived at our very nice and blessedly shady campsite everything was coated in dust   I started to understand the agony of the folks who lived through the dust bowl    But the park here is lovely  and we have enjoyed hiking among and learning about the hoodoos which are what the sandstone formations here are called   More on those in the next blog!

I Want to Stay in a Covered Wagon!

 The first night of our trip we camped at a very nice little state park in Minnesota with views of a lake across from our campsite.  It was clean, quiet, woodsy and birdy!

The next night we stayed at Fort Ransom State Park in North Dakota. The fort was established in the 1870s to “protect settlers and workers on the transcontinental railroad”.  The state park there has campsites, a house and small cabin where visitors can stay AND a covered wagon you can stay in!!  It’s refurbished with comforts like electricity, air conditioning, and a king bed.  Everything a happy pioneer woman could want!

Also we saw THIS last night while we were sitting by our campfire. 

New birds for me on this trip:  red-eyed vireo, orchard oriole, and least flycatcher.

Epic Bliss

Got Bliss? is headed west.    We say adieu to our garden, wildflowers, bird feeders and pets.   We say Until Next Time to friends and family. We say hello to travel and adventure. We aspire to camp our way to Alaska, to avoid wildfires, to see bears only from afar, and to enjoy all the beauty nature has to offer with reverence.  

It’s a more open-ended agenda than any other trip we’ve taken before. (Cue the Star Trek theme song?).  We have planned a starting route that will take us to the Canadian Rockies and from there we will take the journey one leg at a time. 

Today we are still packing up and organizing.  Tomorrow the epic adventure begins!