Back in Edmonton

We were up and out of Prince George by 9AM, the weather was not great, so we made it all the way to Jasper by 2PM. After a picnic lunch, we continued on to Edmonton and stopped at my Mom's place. Not too much else worth mentioning; today was mostly a driving day.

Homeward Bound

This morning we woke up to the constant drizzle of rain, but I was still enthused about wanting to head back and see the bears one more time. I drove out to the viewing platorm, but there were no bears there, and people were waiting for something to happen. I waited for half an hour in the rain, getting ready to leave, when a grizzly appeared.

I watched him fish. This one was a tad lazier, taking easy pickings of existing carcases rather than fishing, but he did go chasing along the stream bed a few times. As I followed him on the boardwalk, he finally seemed to take notice of the people above him, and climbed up onto the stream bank out of curiosity. It happened quite quick, and when he did, he was less than 10m away from me. I took some magnificent photos of him, struck by awe and too mesmerized by the moment to feel fear. It's only when he turned away that the spell broke, and I and the people around me broke the tension by staring at each other in amazement and finally breathing a sigh of relief.

I headed back to he motel; Carole and I packed up, and we began our drive, heading back along the branch highway. We continued along the Cassiar highway to its terminus, where it joined the Yellowhead. At this point, our journey finally seemed to be coming to a close; this highway would take us all the way back to Edmonton. We had a brief stop in Smithers, and at this point
decided that if we made it to Prince George tonight, we could be back in Edmonton tomorrow night. So we decided to press on, arriving in Prince George at 9:30.

A Lunar Eclipse, Bears, and Glaciers

The only common thread is that I got to see all three today.

I reluctantly fought to become conscious at 2AM as my alarm beeped away. I slowly pulled myself up out of bed, got bundled up, and went outside to watch tonight's lunar eclipse. Initially a bright white disk, for over an hour the Earth's shadow remorselessly ate away at the moon, and only once it was completely digested by the Earth's umbral shadow did it appear to bleed, turning a eerie brownish red. Unfortunately, BC was at the edge of the viewing zone, so it disappeared below the horizon before it could emerge from the shadow. I went back to bed at 4:30. If you want to see one, the next opportunity is on February 21, 2008.

Not surprisingly, getting up the second time at 9AM was not any easier. We had a slow morning. Our destination this morning was the bear viewing platform set up beside a stream in Tongass National Forest, where you can watch the bears come and feed on the salmon. We arrived just as a mother an her two cubs were feeding, but they soon disappeared. A black bear then came by and hung out, but didn't do very much, then left. We waited a while, then decided to go see the Salmon Glacier.

The road to the Salmon Glacier is an adventure in itself. Initially at sea level, it at one point begins a slope-hugging ascent of the valley, and doesn't relent for 25km, gaining about 1000m in elevation. Mercifully we were on the inside lane on the way up.

The lookout of the Salmon Glacier did not disappoint; it was a truly spectacular view of a massive glacier, and we spent a while there having lunch and going on a small hike of the area.

We slowly drove back down the road, this time on the outside, my knuckles white for almost an hour was we descended back down.

As we drove past the viewing platform area, we were told that a grizzly bear was there, so we parked and walked onto the platform. When you think of a grizzly bear catching salmon, the mind conjures images of the a bear on some rocks, snatching a salmon in mid-flight as it leaps heavenward to surmount the cascade in its way. Although this must occur, since this is the image strewn on postcards and posters everywhere in Alaska, the everyday reality is a bit more mundane.

The grizzly will stand in the shallow part of the stream, and eventually decide to run after some salmon it sees, but they get away. Then it turns around, chases some more salmon in the other direction for a while, and they get away. (Double click on the photo of the bear running; in the blowup you can see 4 salmon in the water ahead of it). The bear makes 5 or 6 passes before it catches one. The way it eats the fish, is, of course, pretty grisly.... sometimes will take a bite or two, then will release it live, and chase after another. Male bears tend to go after female fish, since they like to eat the eggs. (See my previous blog entry for my thoughts on the life of a salmon).

After a while, it was more amusing to watch the tourists as they stampeded up and down the boardwalk in tandem with the bear!

We then returned home, and went out for some of the best pizza we've had on this trip... who'd have guessed in a town with a population of less than 100!.

The Cassiar Highway - Part II

This morning we broke camp at Boya Lake and continued our drive along the Cassiar Highway. We encountered a few bouts of construction, but nothing to slow us down too much. The Cassiar Highway is a beautiful drive; narrow and quiet, but with stunning scenery. The gentle but weary Cassiar mountains eventually gave way to the more sprightly Coastal and Stikine Ranges.

The weather was quite erratic; beginning with scattered clouds, we could see profuse showers around us. Eventually they caught up with us, and we spent some time driving in the rain, then it became sunny, then we drove in the rain while the sun shone, being entertained with the occasional rainbow.

We detoured onto Highway 37A, the spur road to Steward and Hyder. An interesting anomaly, Hyder is a small Alaskan town that is right on the Alaska BC border, but can only be reached by BC.

The Cassiar Highway - Part I

This morning packed up camp, and waited for Victoria and Mike to drop by, at which point we went to a nearby deli for breakfast, and spent the morning chatting away. Unfortunately, though we did want to make some distance today, so we reluctantly left at 11, and began our journey back down the Alaska Highway, towards Watson Lake.

Just prior to Watson Lake, we turned right and began down a stretch of highway known as Highway 37, or the Stewart-Cassiar Highway. Compared to the Alaska Highway, it is definitely the road less travelled - seeming like a paved country road winding though forest and small
lakes and marshes. We could see the Cassiar Mountain ranges... they definitely seemed old and tired, with their moderate height and subdued slopes.

Farewell to the Yukon, but we shall return someday soon.

We stopped for the night at Boya Lake Campground, a fairly picturesque lake nestled within the Cassiars. Its waters had audacious aquamarine hues to it. Evening eventually descended, and I watched the moonrise over the lake, the nearly full moon reminding me of tomorrow's celestial event....

Back in Whitehorse

Today we drove from Moose Creek to Whitehorse. This evening we met up with a friend, Victoria, and her boyfriend Mike. Initally we didn't think we would meet up, playing a game of telephone tag, but this being Whitehorse, we bumped into her serendipitously in the Superstore parking lot. We then passed away an evening of pleasant conversation over dinner and beer.

The Dempster Highway - Part II

After a leisurely day in Inuvik, we spent the past two days driving back. We were originally going to camp in Tombstone provincial park, but unfortunately, the rangers closed the campground because some careless people left some food in their tent, and were subequently visited by a bear.

It really is too bad, as Tombstone is a beautiful area. Plus, it is now autumn up here, and the colours are changing. They were noticeably different then when we came up this way four days ago.

The weather on our drive back was quite fickle; sunny one minute, rainy the next. We probably saw more along the Dempster than anywhere else on our trip.

So we continued on, finished the Dempster Highway, and stayed at a small campground as we start our journey back to Whitehorse.