Kamloops, BC - Monday, June 20

Again we are having trouble finding a WiFi connection so we are a few days behind in posting.

During the night it rained heavily but this morning the mist lifted and the skies cleared. We stopped for a great breakfast in Jasper and then wandered the streets for a bit. This is a beautiful little town inside the park, surrounded by towering peaks of the Rockies. 

We headed west out of the park and immediately came across a huge elk beside the road. A bit further down the road Karen spotted a mountain lion stalking a female elk in an open field. We couldn’t find a place to pull off or turn around so we are not sure of the outcome of this encounter. Highway 16 into British Columbia is very scenic. We stopped at the view point for Mt. Robson, a majestic peak with a glacier. The sun stayed bright all day and the drive was very nice. We did stop a few times for road construction but we have had worse roads on this trip. Again, we covered more miles than originally planned and stopped at Chinook Cove Golf and RV Park around 3:00 PM. We were surprised to find the RV park full. We took a spot in the overrun section. With 15-amp power it was enough to charge our computers and heat some dinner. The full service area of the park is beautiful with green grass and full hookups. They offer a stay and play package for golfers that seems to be very popular. We will make do with our location, even though we feel like we are “white trash”. Tomorrow we will pass through Kamloops and find a place in Kelowna to spend a couple nights. Karen is looking forward to the wine tour. Charlie and I hope to hang out at the doggy swim area near town.   

Jasper, AB

Mt. Robson

         Views along the way:

Chinook Cove Golf and RV

Charlie resting at our campsite - notice OUR grass

Jasper Naional Park, AB - Sunday, June 19

The clouds returned overnight with rain, thunder, and lightening but this morning is clear. We will drive south on Highway 40 today. Jasper National Park is about 240 miles away. Along the way we encountered a deer with a fawn and a moose with a calf. We were going to check out the Provincial Parks on the way but about half way into the drive the sky turned black and ominous so we kept moving. About 2:00pm, we entered Jasper National Park. Since we are old, we received the senior discount and paid for one day in the park. On our drive into the park, we found a tour bus and a dozen cars parked in the middle of the road. That is always a sign of wildlife. Today it was two bull elk with large velvet covered racks grazing and lying beside the road. I can just hear one of them saying to the other “Let’s go down by the road and stop a bunch of cars. For real fun we could even chase the tourists a bit.” We made a quick stop, wove through the traffic, and moved down the road.

From our camping books, Wapiti Campground, inside the park looked like a good place to stay. They have full service sites but they were all taken by the time we arrived. We took a no service site near the river and will “rough it” tonight. We heard a little thunder as we set up for the night so Charlie headed for his safe site between the front seats. It’s good to have a brave dog to take care of us old folks. After some rain, the sun came out as we relaxed with no modern conveniences.  We are about as far off the grid as we can get. Next trip we need to remember to bring real books, not digital books on the computer. Tomorrow we will look for breakfast in Jasper (two miles away), check out the shops and museum before heading into British Columbia.

 Views from Wapiti Campground:

 

Grande Prairie, AB - Friday & Saturday, June 17 & 18

We awoke in Dawson Creek to clear blue skies. This is the first sun we have seen in nearly a week. It looked like a good day to start our detour around the problems on Highway 97. It’s good to be traveling without a schedule.

We made a stop in Dawson Creek to get a photo of the 0 Milepost Marker for the Alaska Highway. We also found a coffee shop/bakery with Cinnamon Buns (they failed our test) and very tasty Pineapple Upside-down Cake. We should have bought two pieces. We took a back road suggested by our host at the golf course and it worked out well. It was scenic and traffic was lighter than the main road to Grande Prairie, AB. After a stop at the Grande Prairie Information Center we decided to spend the night here. It is much larger than we expected. The oil industry is big here and farming seems popular also. The size of the town was confirmed when we found another Costco. We will pass by this one for a change.

Tamarack Campground is a very nice park on the southern edge of town. It’s on Highway 40, our escape route south. The sun is shining and despite the wind it is warm. We decided to spend a second night here so we can recline in our zero gravity chairs and dry everything out. The campground is busy but we will still enjoy the day of rest. Today is Karen’s birthday. After nuking the cinnamon bun for her birthday breakfast, I suggested again, a fun day at Costco. She thought staying at the campground was a better idea. My new idea is a slow drive through the Okanagan Valley and multiple stops at the wineries along that route. That seemed to be a more acceptable plan. That won’t happen for a few more days. Birthday dinner will be reheated leftovers tonight and a promise for a better meal when we hit the big city of Kamloops.

0 Mile Marker

                    Lounging the day away: