It’s Tuesday June 7th, 2022 and we are off on our trip to Canada and Alaska! The planning was a process, taking over nine months. Today we are heading to Valley of the Rogue State Park in Oregon just over three hours from home. Unfortunately after 20 miles away we realize the need to turn on our yard watering system! John drops the trailer, I make lunch and he’s back within an hour. Great way to start, plus we are starting a week later than planned due to both of us having colds.

It takes us five nights to get to the Canadian border at Osoyoos Lake, on Highway 97. Two of those nights were visiting family just outside of Portland. At the border were asked about eggs, fire arms and how long we were staying. Our Arrive Canada app, and passports were all ready when we arrived at the gate. Took about 3 minutes to get through at the Osoyoos checkpoint.

Stopped in Penticton, BC to change the truck speedometer, exchange 300$ for Canadian money at a bank ATM, and eat lunch. The goal was to get to Lac La Jeune Provincial Park. We purchased gas in Merritt and figuring out the conversion for what a gallon of gas was, it was quite extensive (there’s an app for that). We made it to the park around 4pm and had a frustrating time figuring out what sites were available, until we found the camp host (“look for the metal posts”). By 5:30 it was pouring, which was to be the norm for our summer in Canada and Alaska. Next stop was Ten Mile Lake PP, 1,295 miles and seven days from home at this point.

At this point in the trip we were wanting to charge our devices and take some longer showers. Prince George was the next destination for two nights, and only 45 miles. Checking into MamaYeh RV Park, site 19, was easy and close to town. Only downfall of this park is the water is super high in iron, but the internet was good. Days are now getting long with sunrise at 4:45 and sunset at 9:45! Hit the museum on Tuesday in St. George, and Wednesday hiked the trails, visited downtown, and picked up groceries, purchased a 5$ tennis racket bug zapper (best invention ever), and gas at Costco. Headed out, but first drained the hot water tank, then filled up at the Sani dump in Prince George with water. Headed towards Tyhee Lake PP on the Trans Canada Highway. Drove through beautiful scenery. It’s amazing that the population of California is more than the whole country of Canada. Settled into our campsite # 49, a pull through with electric around 4 pm. Chatted with the camp host, and also with a motorcycle rider that both told us about the Tombstone Campground in the Yukon. As we have gotten further into our trip, and our bumper sticker RVing to Alaska is seen, people would give us advice and also information on places to see. In the morning, I awoke to a swollen eye from that mosquito bite, so fun. As we headed on the 37 towards the Stewart Cassiar Highway the landscape became even more breathtaking. We stopped in Gitwangak, a Native reserve, to look at the totem poles.

Made it to the Stewart Cassiar Highway towards Meziadin PP, 1759 miles from home and day 10! This campground has 66 sites, the lake is beautiful and there are more campers here than we have seen in a while, and we have our first warning about grizzly bears. We made it into site 7 after trying site 8, set up. and enjoyed the 78 degrees with thunderstorms threating afternoon. At 3 am there is a buzzing in my ear and it won’t leave me alone. Lights go on and the bug zapper comes up. John and I end up killing about 40 mosquitoes, before we are able to sleep, and I contemplated going home! Lesson learned to keep the door closed and even spray it with Deet, and not to go outside without spray on. Thank goodness for that bug zapper! This would be the norm unfortunately. After coffee outside, chatting with the neighbors and having breakfast we decided to take out the kayak. it was perfect, and best moments without any mosquitoes! We were told that this campground is the worse for mosquitoes. Yep!

Sunday we took a trip into Stewart, BC to check it out and also to Hyder, Alaska for our first physical moment into Alaska. So beautiful, and the day was perfect with our first view of a glacier – The Bear. We explored Stewart, lunched at Temptations Bakery, visited the visitor center, walked the boardwalk, and checked out the local campground. We drove into Hyder, looking for camping also but nothing was open. When we came back through the border, we did the Arrive Canada app out on the bay, and were asked more questions at this crossing than the first one.

Decided to spend some more time in Stewart, less mosquitoes and more visuals. So we moved to Rainey Creek in Stewart as soon as we awoke and were in our new site#14, by 11 am for the next two nights. We had breakfast at Temptations (best food), and then ventured into Hyder to check out the Salmon Glacier on a very cloudy day. Our second day we hung out in town, going to the museum, and had dinner at the King Edward Hotel in town. It was mostly mosquito free, so sleeping was caught up. Their tourist season doesn’t really start until the bears come to eat salmon around August, and then it’s supposably very busy.

16 days into our trip. Woke up at 8:30 am! left around noon and headed up the Cassiar in the rain. Hardly any traffic except for logging trucks and RVs. Had lunch at Bell2, a cool resort which was currently all rented out to a mining firm. Saw our first black bears on the drive, ending for the day at Kinaskan Lake PP in site 13. In the morning we took a short hike and decided to push on towards Dease Lake. Fortunately, we saw the sign for the Lion’s Club Campground on the Tanzilla River. No one really was there, except for a picnicker, but two others came in that night. One of the highlights of our entire trip was taking a walk out to the river after setting up, and seeing a Lynx, and I had my camera with me! Woke up in the morning to sun, but 42 outside and 49 in the trailer. Our first propane tank ran out at this point. We continued on the Cassiar to Boya Lake, after getting gas and water at Dease. We had learned to get water when we can. Also at some point our sink cupboard broke off the hinge, so it now lives on my bed.

Made it to Ta Ch’illa (Boya)PP, a spectacular bright and blue lake around 1:30 on June 24th. This will be a three night stay in site 32, as it has just flies, it’s sunny and we have a lake view! We had neighbors close, with interesting conversations, mostly all from British Columbia. We kayaked each day, sometimes twice as there were islands to see, played games, watched videos, and hiked around the lake. It was in the high 60’s, with occasional thunderstorms and a Canada Jay that followed us around. One of my favorite lakes.

We’re 3 weeks into our trip, and have gone 2138 miles. Picked up some water, and we were at the crossroads of the Cassiar and Alaskan Highway by noon, where we got gas. Another thing besides having water is getting gas when you’re about half empty. This part of the Alaskan Highway going to Whitehorse had 10 miles of gravel and dust. We stopped at the Continental Divide for lunch, crossed the Teslin River, and got gas and groceries in the town of Teslin. The river was very high and camping was limited. We continued on towards Whitehorse, camping at Squanga Lake Campground #3. Now in the Yukon and it’s around 5:00, and a warm 80! In the morning we headed to our first reservation, a day early at Caribou RV Park. We were glad to have reservations due to this being close to town and a lot of RV tours stay here. We spent two nights here, doing laundry, going into town to shop, get gas, propane and see the sites. We would return to Whitehouse on the way back.

On our way in the morning around 8:30 headed up the Klondike! Decided that we would shoot for Tombstone Campground (recommended by folks met on our travels) on the Dempster Highway. We got gas at Pelly Crossing, there were three stops of road construction and we saw a fire fighting plane also on the way. It was mostly a dirt road on the Dempster and we got to the campground around 6:30 and literally got one of the last campsites! Woke up on July 1- Canada Day! Notable also; there are only 4 hours of dusk light, items in the trailer need attention (loose stuff), and lots of dust. Also there was smoke in the air, but we managed to go on a guided nature hike, and attend a great campfire program. Stayed here two nights.

Day 25, July 2, and up early to head to Dawson City and to our reservations at Gold Rush Campground for 3 nights. We were assigned site 17, and after making lunch, walked to the visitors center. Signed up for the Dredge Tour #4 for the next day. In the RV park I did laundry and had great discussions with a few people that were doing the PanAm Route. Also met Kim Trotter and found that we were on the same timetable with about the same route. This campground is great for location as we could walk everywhere. We rode the ferry numerous times, took in a few activities and visited numerous places, We ended up extending our stay another day because 3 nights was one night too short. Continued to enjoy the area, although it was hot, did more laundry and bought supplies. While we were here there was a major fire and the road up to Dawson City was closed. It opened after 3 days. The Yukon is rich in First Nations, having 14 First Nations groups. Dawson City is the home of Tr’ondek Hwech’ peoples. This area is one of my favorites, and happy 4th of July to our daughter Mariah!

Left Dawson City on the ferry over the Yukon, heading on the Top of the World Highway. We chose to camp just across the river at the Yukon River Campground. Picked one site, backed in then decided that we would move one site up to site 39. We like the amenities of a RV park but feel more at home and calm in a non hookup campground. Since we are camping along the Yukon River, the mosquitoes were out in force. We took the hike to check out the paddle wheel graveyard, saw a Ptargmigan along the way, hung out in the campsite, then walked up to the ferry to watch it do two trips. Later that night a tremendous thunderstorm came through the area, and when we a woke in the morning saw that a tree had fallen on the table in the campsite we had previously chosen just missing the camper parked in that site!

Leaving for our journey into Alaska today continuing on the Top of the World Highway. It was gravel, some pavement but not many cars. We went through the border with ease, watched the time change, went back to miles and took a picture at the Alaska sign. By lunch we were at Walker Fort BLM camp and enjoyed an afternoon of thunder but nothing more in site #20.

Took the rest of the Top of the World Highway, stopping in Chicken, a cute spot and would have liked to have stayed there for a night. The road be came scary to drive in my opinion, but John handled it well, even the washboard hairpin turns. By 2:30 we were back on the Alaskan Highway and settled into Tok River SRA site #14. By that night the campground was almost full, and the sky was smokey from the fires. We left the campground around 10 am in the rain, got gas in Tok and headed to Fairbanks. Stopped in Delta Junction for lunch, and arrived in a smoky Fairbanks just in time to get a site on a busy Saturday night. Ended up in the overflow area of Tanana Valley Campground, but first we headed to a car wash to wash the truck and trailer.

Chose to leave the area in the morning as fast as we could and try our luck up at Chena Hot Springs arriving around 11:30. We had heard about this camping area from some campers so wanted to check it out. The sun was out when we arrived and we easily found a campsite. Decided to stay two nights in site #5, taking in the resorts location, its hot springs, the ice house, a restaurant and the greenhouse tour. We even ran into two people from Santa Cruz, CA who we shared a mutual friend with, small world.

It’s now day 35 and July 12th and we are off again back to Fairbanks as we have a reservation for two nights at Rivers Edge RV Park. It has full hookups and a laundry facility which I booked back in January specifically so that we could refresh both our clothes and our trailer utilities. We visited the Museum of the North, which is at the University of Alaska, and has a tremendous natural and cultural history exhibit. AND it also has screaming internet, allowing the downloading of a lot of movies and shows, our nighttime entertainment when we aren’t playing games. We also took in the Discovery Riverboat Cruise the following day, a three hour adventure on a paddleboat, visited REI and purchased groceries. Tomorrow we head for Denali National Park where we will almost hit the mid point of our trip.

It’s July 14th, our son Ian’s birthday, and we are heading to Denali National Park until July 22. Five nights at Riley Creek Campground and 3 nights at Teklanika Campground, with reservations made back when the period opened to do such. Check in for the campground is at the Mercantile at Riley Creek Campground. There is a store, restrooms with showers and the dump station. We were assigned any A campsite and there were three good ones. We chose A20, and set up. Its interesting, as the letter is what your equipment will fit in and they let you choose which one which you occupy to make it yours. We walked to the Visitor Center from the campground, got the lay of the land, walked the campground, saw a Trinity Brewery sticker (our hometown brewery), had dinner and settled in for the night. The weather for our stay for Denali was usually an extra blanket, rain gear handy, long pants, layers and hats. Learning how to navigate the shuttle bus took some getting use to, the busses and schedules were posted and understanding where you could go and where to get off was at times confusing. We took a nature hike one day, took the bus to Savage River a couple of times, hiking there and getting off to hike in other areas. We did catch a glimpse of Denali one day. Another day we headed to Healy and had lunch at the 49th State Brewery, walked around Denali and the Nenana Walkway, drove up to the Grand Denali Hotel, and drove out to Savage River to walk the Mountain Vista Trail. Our final day at Riley Creek CG we hiked the Horseshoe Trail, which was beautiful, and got ready for our three nights at Teklanika CG.

Day 42, and Tuesday, July 19th, and we are headed for Teklanika CG. This is a one drive in and one drive out campground and they are very strict at the check point. You must again register that day at Riley Creek and while I was there, I ran into Kim Trotter, whom I had met earlier in Dawson Creek. They were just getting to the park. After getting our passes, we dumped, took showers and filled up with water. The drive out to the campground was stunning, and at this campground you can pick any site. We settled on #39, set up and then caught the East Fork shuttle at 4:30. Our bus driver was awesome and pointed out a lot of sights, like Dall Sheep and even stopped to give us a view. We got off at the end of the road, and walked across the East Fork of the Toklat River. Can’t go to much further as the landslide cuts you off. We had our first sunny day in the morning and walked to the river. We then got back on the shuttle to hike up to the landslide. We saw bear, moose and caribou, and a cloud rainbow! When we headed back we had to wait in the Shelter Bus, because it was cold, windy and the wait was going to be about 30 minutes. The next day we took the bus towards Savage Creek and got off on the side of the road to hike to the river but were stopped by deep creeks, but we did see a Short-eared Owl. Back on the bus that we flagged down we took it to Sanctuary CG and got off to walk around. Flagged down another bus and this time took it up to Sable Pass and walked back towards camp, hooked up with another bus and got off at Igloo Creek, then got on another bus and took it back to camp. We wanted to make the most of that day, 7 hours hopping around via bus.

Had a lovely time in the Denali NP, and now it was time to head south to Talkeetna. The drive out of the campground was beautiful and after going back to dump and take showers we headed south in the rain for 152 miles to the Talkeetna Camper Park. Its a cute little campground, with the train depot right behind us and an easy walk into town. I had reserved a place here in advance specifically because it was a three day weekend stay, they had laundry and it was a close walk to town. Its a cute downtown with a lot of shops, a brewery, ice cream shops and places to eat. We visited the museum and took in the two movies, had lunch and spent the afternoon relaxing and doing laundry. We also bought online tickets for the Hurricane Turn Train for the next day, Sunday, July 24th.

Up early and into town to get lunches and to shop before the train departure at 1:15. We packed food, wine and beer for the 4.5 hour round trip. It was such a fun adventure, not many people, fantastic conductor and narrator and to see parts of Alaska off the road system were priceless The train has a dome car which is fun to be in, they also stop to pick people up and drop them off. There are historical stops along the way including a stop at famous Illustrator Shannon Cartwright’ s cabin. It was a fabulous adventure!

Day 48 and we are heading towards the Kenia Peninsula, ultimately to Homer and Seward. The drive was rainy and long. I was taken with Wasilla and it’s mountains, and Anchorage as well. It was on this drive that John tells me he is all congested and thinks his cold is coming back from June, which delayed our trip by a week. We continued through Anchorage and along the Turnagain Arm which was spectacular. It was going on 5:00 and there was a campground ahead so we stopped, finding a spot at Bird Creek. There were about 12 sites left, and I had been texting with Kim Trotter who also was coming in this direction, and by the time they arrived there were 2 spots left @ 7:30. We wake up in the morning to a clear blue sunny day! However, John is feeling worse and we decide to take Covid tests and he is positive. We drive in later that day to Anchorage for medicine and supplies, him staying in the truck while I venture into Target. Turns out Alaska is currently a hot spot for Covid. Trotters and us stay another night at Bird Creek, but never get together for obvious reasons. The next morning John feels good enough to drive and we continue on. Around 2:00 we decide to start looking for a site as the area is very busy with fishermen and other activities. Luckily there are non-reservable sites and we take #14 at Johnson Lake, an Alaskan SP, unfortunately no water and the campground is busy as there is a lake. It was a sweet little campground and we ended up meeting TinCanAdveture whom we follow on Instagram and it was fun chatting with her even at a distance.

Up early to head to Homer to hopefully snag a site on the spit. It’s 72 and not a cloud in the sky and Homer spit is packed! We both have the same feeling, toooooo crowded. We drive into one last area and chat with some other Airstreamers and they tell us there might be a place after 2, but it’s just a parking lot so we head out. We had seen a KOA on the hill so we head there, and luckily they have a site for two nights with a stunning view. We are ready to relax and take in the view! The next day we head into Homer with our masks and look around, getting pastries at 2 Sisters Bakery, vowing to come back, look at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Museum, walk the wetlands, visit Bear Creek Winery, get lunch at 2 Sisters and head back to camp. It starts to pour around 6:30 and we are in for the night, planning our journey towards Seward in the morning.

It’s Saturday and we are having rain, so decide to forgo any camping on the coast and after getting gas at Cooper Landing we find Trail River Campground around 2:45 and take site #81. The campground is on Kenai Lake which is huge, but no sites have a view. It would be great kayak here, but the weather isn’t welcoming. We decide in the morning to get up early and head to Seward to get a site at the Iditarod Campground. During the night I have a dream I have Covid, so decide to test in the morning and end up testing positive for Covid. I thought I would escape it.

We arrived at the campground around 11:00 and snagged a waterfront site and it was sunny!! Well I was feeling lucky! After I paid for the site right there in the campsite and we set up, the camper next to us told us he had to get his site 6 months ago, so with that comment I looked at my reservation I just had made and found out it was for the site against the road, and not the one on the water we were set up in!!!! I hurried up and decided to see if the site were were in was available and as luck would have it, it was! Misery diverted. And then I also purchased it for a 5th night, but of course I lost all the money from the original reservation. In the course of an hour I went from happy to embarrassed, to pissed, to thrilled!! After lunch we relaxed! We then walked to the other campgrounds, had shaved ice, looked at the SeaLife Center, watched the boats come and go and saw a whale in the bay from our chairs at our site. Over the course of the next five days we drove around the area, going to Millers Landing, hiked to Exit Glacier, finally visited with the Trotters over dinner who arrived in Seward, took a boat ride with them to see the bay and glaciers up close on the only entirely sunny day, did laundry and walked numerous times around the town. We also were camped next to another Airstream with the owners from Noe Valley, and also a couple we were camped next to at the Homer KOA were also in the campground and we met some fellow Airstreamers – Living in Beauty as well, small world. It was a fun 6 days and five nights and now it was time to head back up the peninsula towards Hope on the Turnagain Arm.

We knew Hope might be busy because it’s close to Anchorage, so we get an early start for the 73 mile drive, and it is Friday, day 59. We are off first to do our routine, dump, fill, showers, fill and dump. We get to Hope around 12 and head for Porcupine Campground, which turns out to be all reserved. As we drove to it we passed an RV park, called SeaView, so we head in there and luckily they have a recently cancelled spot, available only minutes before, as there is a big bike race this weekend. Off to site 12 we are headed, and we pay for the weekend. And as more luck will have it, the sun comes out and we walk to have a delightful lunch at Seed of Change, a little pop-up trailer. SeaView is a cute small campground, with a restaurant and also a bar and is filled with fisherman and bicyclists. The bike race was on Saturday, 100 miles and began at 9:15, with the first rider finishing at 5:45pm. We loved the vibe of the area, enjoying the restaurant for takeout fish and chips, the music from the bar, the walk to the Turnagain Arm, and the cuteness of the town. We really did not want to leave Hope.

It feels like our time in Alaska was coming to and end as we made our way to Anchorage for groceries, and gas. After leaving Anchorage we drove to Matanuska Glacier Area Recreation campground. It was about 184 miles and we were able to get the last campsite which was quite the feat to get into/ We took a hike and see in the distance the glacier.

Off in the morning, August 8th, we went in the rain, not knowing where we were heading. We did have reservations for Jasper, beginning on August 24th which is 1700 miles away. We drove into the Wrangell- St. Elias Park and visited the visitor center, then drove up to look at a boondocking site, but the rain was a deterrent. Instead we continued driving and stopped at the Eagle Trail State Recreation site, close to the Tok cut off. Had rain all night, and in the morning we stopped in Tok, got water, groceries and gas, crossing into the Yukon after 32 days in Alaska. Now on the Alaskan Highway we saw moose, swans, and eagles! And around 6:00 pm landed at Lake Creek Campground taking site #14 and it was pouring! In the morning we had a nice little pond around our trailer, and it was cold. Leaving around10am we saw snow in the mountains and heard that Denali was having very cold temps, so glad we went when we did. We stopped at the Thechal Dahl Visitor Center which has an excellent display on Glaciers, then in Haines at the Kwanlin Dun Cultural Center, stopping around 4:30 at the Pine Lake Campground, site #37.

Left Pine Lake without seeing the lake, but had decided to make reservations at the Hot Springs Campground and Hostel in Whitehorse, and arrived around 2:30. Worse dump station ever here as we had to dump and get water before we took our site. It is right next to the Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs, but it was way to expensive, although its a beautiful facility. Instead, after unhooking, we drove to the Yukon Wildlife Preserve and walked the 3 mile loop around it. Had great views of wildlife. At one point we had talked about going to Atlin, but decide to skip it for another time, same with Valdez earlier. Next morning we were off to Teslin and thinking we would camp there, but it was full and we headed towards Watson Lake. We took site 51 in the second loop around 5:00 and decided to stay the weekend. Spent Saturday exploring the town, the famous sign forest and enjoying the weather.

Back on the road, we drove past the notorious Beaver Dam break that had cut off the Alaskan Highway for a couple of days, and arrived at Laird Hot Springs around 2:45. There were about 7 sites open as this is a popular park and we took #20. We set up and went to the hot springs. Its an interesting place as the campground is surrounded by a high electric fence, but to get to the hot springs you have to leave the fenced in area. After dinner we walked around the campground, went across the street to the overflow area to see it and it was almost full. I think this is a busy campground because the hot springs are really nice and they are part of the camping fee.

After a morning hot springs dip we headed to Muncho Lake, our first BC campground since June 26th, and only 40 miles away. Once we got to the overlook of the lake we saw how gorgeous it was and so blue! The Strawberry Flat campground had 15 sites and we took #6 for two nights. After lunch we blew up the kayak and were in a bit of choppy water by 12:45. We went all the way down to the Northern Rockies Lodge. Decided we should have dinner here and take advantage of their good wifi! The next morning we were on the water by 10 am and it was like glass, and nice temp. We went to the little island across the lake and walked around. Later in the afternoon we were back in the water around 4:00 to look at the other side where a waterfall comes in. Sunset that night was around 9:15- the days are getting shorter!

August 17 and difficult to leave Muncho Lake, and we have only a month left to travel! We drove most of the day and ended up at an abandoned campground at the Prophet River Airstrip. We were in site 1 and had the place to ourselves. A bit apprehensive to stay here, but we enjoyed the quiet. Next stop was Dawson Creek and Northern Lights RV. We chose to find a place with hookups, laundry and also a place to have the truck serviced, get a hair cut, and enjoy the warmth! After 5 loads of wash, we also washed the truck and trailer, grocery shopped and visited the visitor center. It was a solid two days of catch up and downloading! Onward into Alberta.

There is a lot of road work and now it looks like we never washed our truck! At around 2:00 our check engine light comes on! And since we just had our car service two days before we are a bit in shock. Luckily we hit Grande Prairie, but it’s a Saturday at 3:00! We are hungry for lunch but there is a Chevy dealer there and that becomes our priority. Luckily, and I mean luckily like scoring the site in Seward, the dealer has people working and they will help us. We both had noticed that the truck seemed to be missing a consistent sound in the engine. If they can’t fix it we can camp in the car lot. We disconnect and it turns out, after an hour and lunch, we have a faulty spark plug. Lucky for us, especially if we had been in a remote area! After hooking up we headed down highway 40 and found the campground Kakwa with only 6 sites. We took site 6 and walked around looking at the river and a fracking delivery system. Even though it was a small campground our neighbor ran their generator all night and started chopping wood at the crack of dawn. Day 75 and off we go!

August 21, and we are heading towards Alberta for our next set of reservations in Jasper and Banff NP. A stop in Grande Cache to call our kids, visit the visitor center and get lunch is first on the agenda for the day. And we still have 3 days before reservations begin, and decide to check out Pierre Grey’s Lake PP, just off of Hwy 40. It’s a pretty lake area and we stay for two nights. There was rain, thunderstorms during that time, but we managed to put our kayak in the largest of the five lakes, right by our campsite in Joachim Campground #18J. Nice walking areas and a little island to walk to where the osprey lived.

Tuesday, we packed up everything and got on the road, stopped in Hinton to do all the important stuff (gas, shop and get water) before going into Jasper NP. We bought our National Park Pass and chose to try our chances at Miette Campground and lucked out, although site D21 was tight to get into, it worked. After getting set up, we took our chances and drove up to Miette Hot Springs, parked, looked around and got back into the truck due to the long long line to get in. Our campsite neighbor told us later there always is a long line to get in. We had a nice chat with him, he gave us firewood and we brought him homemade coffee in the morning. The drive was gorgeous on our way to Whistlers CG #15EE, where we would spend the next .4 nights. We were in our site by 1:00 and decided that we could do the gondola ride we saw from our campsite. After making reservations online we headed up to the parking lot, and rode the gondola up to the top and took the hike to Whistlers Summit. Amazing views and so many lakes around the Jasper area. After getting back down we drove around to look at the lakes and settled on Edith lake for a kayak ride in the morning. That night we had to have a conversation with the neighbor about generator hours, there are 781 sites in this campground! Our campground was one of the less noisy ones.

Day two, and Edith Lake was perfect!, then went into Jasper and had a fabulous lunch at the Raven Bistro, and drove up to Pyramid Lake which was packed. Day three we secured tickets for the Curly Philips boat on Maligne Lake. Ninety minutes of unbelievable scenery and its topped off by Spirit Island. We had a tailgate picnic and then hiked to Moose Lake. On day four it rained all morning. Around 12:30 we drove up to Maligne Canyon and hiked the trail. There are six bridges that overlook the canyon and we hiked to four as the boat naturalist told us those was the best parts. It was busy, but when we finished we had coffee at the restaurant where the trail starts. Hit Jasper on the way back to camp to shop. Jasper was one of my most favorite places!

Sunday, August 28 and day 82! Left around 9:30 to do the usual at the dump station, which is always full, and headed south on the Icefields Parkway. Did not realize this would be such a spectacular drive. The glaciers were so visible and majestic from the road. Stopped at the Stutfield Glacier, and then had lunch at the Crowfoot Glacier parking lot. We were headed to Kootenay NP for 4 nights camping at McLeod Meadows CG #K3. The drive down highway 93 was beautiful, and did see a grizzly up close on the side of the road with claws as big as my hand! We settled into our site easily, very underused campground and had a beautiful sunset.

Day 2 in Kootenay NP, from our campsite, we hiked the 3 miles round trip over the two bridges to Dog Lake, saw a couple of hikers along the way. There were ducks and we heard an Osprey, but nothing else. The lake appears to be very shallow. Spent the rest of the day in the campground. Day 3 we headed to Radium Hot Springs to spend some time in the pools. There are three pools, one is glacier fed, one a regular pool and the other a hot springs pool. It was a thirty minute drive from camp and a nice way to spend a couple of hours. After that we headed in Radium, had lunch, hooked up to wifi, got gas, propane and groceries. The campground here is very dry compared to where we are staying. I also would have done this park after Banff. Day 4 we hiked the Marble Canyon trail, hiked to the Paint Pots area, and had our last campfire of the season, as Banff doesn’t have fire pits.

When I made the reservations for Banff NP, I wanted to make sure we were not in the US over Labor Day weekend, not realizing that Canada celebrates theirs the first Monday in September, crazy! Always have to be aware of other countries holidays! It’s September 1, Thursday, Day 86 and we’ve been gone 3 months. We arrived at the Tunnel Mountain Village 1 campground #J59 for 5 nights, did a quick setup and then took the shuttle into Banff. Best transit system, and what a beautiful town. Had tacos, a drink, found wifi and explored downtown. We also bought a shuttle ride for Lake Louise on Saturday at the downtown Visitor Center. The Bow River that flows through this area is beautiful.

Day 2 we wanted to check out the potential areas for kayaking and took the truck to look at 2 Jacks Lake, then went up to Lake Minnewanka where there was a boat ride and bought tickets for that. Looked at Johnson Lake, then drove to Canmore. Had lunch, ice cream, found a bookstore!, walked along the river and hit the grocery store. A nice pace town away from Banff. Day 3, we were heading to Lake Louise with our pre-purchased shuttle tickets. We drove to the ski parking lot and got on the shuttle and by 9:40 we were dropped off at Lake Louise. It was a tad bit smokey, but manageable. No wind, a warm day and because it was Saturday, and Labor Day weekend there were some people. We hiked up to Mirror Lake , then Lake Agnes where the Tea House resides. 4 miles round trip. We had snacks at the Tea House that we had brought. Then after the hike we found Deer Lodge past the hotel and had a late lunch. After that we caught the shuttle to Moraine Lake, it was small and crowded. Took the shuttle back to the ski area to where our truck was and drove back to camp. Glad to have had that shuttle ticket! Day 4, it was time to take the boat ride on Lake Minnewanka. It was a 9:00 am trip, a bit hazy in the sky due to some fires up by Jasper. It was an interesting voyage, just not scenic. After the cruise we drove to kayak on 2 Jacks which was impossible, super crowded, so we headed to Vermilion Lakes. By 11:15 we were out on the lakes for about 90 minutes, looking at all the little inlets on the lake. The wind came up a bit and we headed back to camp to relax, and think about where we were headed to next. Day 5 we took the shuttle into Banff, waked around town, and took in Cave and Basin NHS and the boardwalk trail. Hooked up with the shuttle and took it to the Fairmont where we enjoyed a cocktail and early dinner. Then took the shuttle back to camp, and unfortunately we missed the Bow Falls, the gondola, and hoodoos – next time!

Day 91, Tuesday, September 6th and we are heading towards Waterton Lakes. Unfortunately there are no available campsites when we arrive and instead decide to stay in Pincher Creek at the Veterans Memorial Campground for 2 nights. The next day we head back to Waterton for the day. We visited the Prince of Wales Hotel, drove into Waterton, had lunch at the Lakeside, visited the visitor center, had coffee at Welch’s and took a cruise with the Shoreline Cruise Company on the lake. Enjoyed the cruise on the lake.

Left Pincher Creek and headed south into British Colombia, spending our last night in Canada at Yahk Provincial Park. We crossed the border in the morning at Eastport Idaho. There were fires everywhere so we kept driving to get out of the smoke. Ending for the day in Lewiston, Idaho at Hells Gate Campground, in their last site. Then it was on to Maryhill Campground in Washington, where we ended up in their overflow area the next night. I think we were anxious to get home, and out of the smoke.

Four nights left and we drove to see family for a night, then down through Oregon for two nights at Baker Bay Campground, on Dorena Lake in Cottage Grove, Oregon. Our final night was at Blue Heron RV Park in Hornbrook, CA, on the Klamath River about 4 hours from home. It will be good to be home after 100 days.