FRASER RIVER VALLEY, BETWEEN QUESNEL AND HOPE, BC
I really wanted to use a dateline listing the towns of Likely and Horsefly but that would have required a 60 mile round trip to check them out. Anyway, the drive from Quesnel to Hope along CA97 parallels the Fraser River Valley and is quite spectacular, especially in sunlight.
The Big Horn Sheep - - and a couple of friends - - spotted us as we headed south. The train shot was taken from a rest area along the road. One nice thing is that on CA97 you have plenty of pull-outs from which to shoot spectacular scenery AND passing lanes every two miles or so. Since the road is very up and down plus quite twisty and the main industry around here is lumber you need to zip around the much slower trucks.
But back to the railroad shot. It seems back in the 1800's when railroad building was the 'in thing' that two competing rail companies built tracks on opposite sides of the river. We actually had trains running in both directions when the shot was taken.
Spending time in a coffee shop in Hope, BC before heading to and across the US border into Washington State and the Pacific Coast Highway.

FYI

QUESNEL, BC
We seldom, if ever, have a Big Mac Attack...unless the McDonalds has a billboard sign on the highway advertising free wi-fi. So, for the price of 2 coffees (yes, we're seniors, thank you) we got the net and you're reading the outcome. By the way the town we're in is pronounced Kweh-nell regardless of how it is spelled. Cheers.

SHINE A LIGHT ON THE BEAR, NOTES

ON THE INSIDE PASSAGE HEADING TO PRINCE RUPERT, BC
Want to get away from it all?? This lighthouse perched on a rock outcropping somewhere within the Canadian portion of the Inside Passage offers those with a solitary bent the perfect way to spend some time. No neighbors and not much else; maybe not even a way to get off as the boat in the far right of the picture is partially sunk although anchored to what appears to be a dock. ***click on the pic to enlarge it

I've enhanced the colors a bit to make things more recognizeable as this was taken under very foggy conditions, a strong wind and blowing rain.

(BELOW)
The black bear youngster below was out foraging in the grass alongside the Yellowhead Highway as we drove from Prince Rupert, BC to Smithers. It's raining so his/her coat is wet and matted but with a bear this young and no momma bear around we believe that the cub has no one to take care of it. Normally, young cubs spend at least two years with their mother learning how to hunt and survive. This shot was taken as the cub made its way across the highway; fortunately the driver of the lumber truck coming up behind us saw the cub and stopped until it got across and into the bushes. ***Click on the pic and take a look at it full sized.
Today (Monday, 9/25) we're creating blogs from the Smithers Guest House / Hostel in Smithers, BC. Last night it was blog-away from the Black Rock Rooster Hostel in Prince Rupert. We're not sure where we will be tomorrow night but if the rain continues it will be someplace warm and dry rather than a campground.

FANTAIL TRAIL OVERLOOK, KLONDIKE HWY.
One last (maybe) shot of the spectacular scenery along the Gold Rush route we drove almost every day. This shot, with fresh snow on the mountain in the center and swriling storm clouds, is/was a hint to those still in Skagway for the summer that it was time to go. It was taken on Thursday, Sept. 21, my final day of work.
Also interesting to note are some the pine trees which have only limbs basically pointing south. The reason?? The winter winds which blow out of the north at up to 50mph taking temperatures in mid-winter to -30 below literally freeze the sap in the trunks and 'kill' the growth of the branches .

Tough job

ABOARD THE MV TAKU HEADING INTO KETCHIKAN, AK
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 24. It's hard to believe right now, but we've escaped the cluthes of Skagway....but not the weather. The summer job is over; the next journey begins. Two nights and nearly two days on the Alaska Ferry System boat MV Taku has allowed us to wind down a bit and watch the rain, fog and low clouds from a dry and warm seat on the main observation deck. For exercise there were forays outside onto the rain and windswept deck to shoot photos of whale fins and whale tails but no 'whole' whales and the occassional lighthouse. The next best "hobby" was watching the unfortunate individuals who drew watch duty at the head of the boat when we headed into the harbors for docking and off-load / on-load of passengers and cars.
The individual in yellow didn't take his eyes off the churning waves on this one hour shift as we headed into Ketchikan, AK...and in a 30mph headwind with stinging rain this could not have been a fun job. Of course, this individual might have been low man on the totempole or a goof up. In any case, there were enough harbors to keep a number of these folks busy.
And just when you thought the ship had everything you needed, the cook in the cafeteria would break out into his Elvis personation and then practice between work shifts with a karioke machine. Free at last, free at last

Sunny Day

WHITE PASS, JUST INSIDE THE CANADIAN BORDER, Saturday, Sept. 16
My gosh, a sunny day. Actually the third sunny day in a row. Things are winding up in Skagway so it figures that we would get some good weather. I asked a Border Guard at Canadian Customs about what it would have been like to have about three months of this weather. His answer: "We probably would have spent a lot of time peering through the smoke from forest fires. So, I guess the gloomy weather through what took the place of the summer months does have an upside.
How friendly are the folks of Skagway?? A wedding invitation posted on the door of the Post Office invited the entire town to the ceremony and reception afterward for a couple from town.
The top photo is from one of the pull-off areas just past the summit of White Pass. This is an area we've been looking at for some time as there is a trail - - vaguely recognizable in the center of the pic at the bottom of the small cliff we're looking down from.
The bottom photo is of one of the waterfalls along the trail. It winds alongside this melt-water stream all the way (we guess since we didn't go more than halfway up) to the top of a ridge from where you can see - - more mountains.
Our favorite coffee shop, Haven Cafe, is closing today so we are spending the late afternoon on our computers. There are "Sale" signs in most of the shops on Broadway, which is the main street in Skagway. Bargains galore if you need T-shirts, hats, jackets, and lots of other things which fall into the classification of souvineers asnd are mostly tacky.

Foggy times on the trail

MONTANA MOUNTAIN RIDGE NEAR BIG THING MINE, Carcross, YT
Last week, and for nearly the last 15 years, whenever we hike I am designated SHERPA - - the one who trudges along with the backpack, takes pictures and carries energy bars or Snickers as the GUIDE hustles along ahead on the trail.
Here, with three trusty companions checking out three different directions, the GUIDE takes a moment to try and figure out if we've gone far enough up the trail and are cold and soaked enough to turn back. Sorry, but the command is "onward and upward."
As noted in an earlier Blog, I always think about how to get back while the GUIDE is thinking that if we hike high enough we may get above the clouds and who knows what might be there.
Anyway, I liked the picture and the patience of our friends' 'trusty friends' (left to right) Fibber McGee, LocoBones and Dingo.

The long and winding road

SKAGWAY, AK, Sept. 9
Views like this one of the Klondike Highway heading towards Skagway and the Pacific Coast Range mountains separating Alaska and Canada will be a vision of the past soon. This portion of the highway is one we (LH and I) drive nearly every time we do tours - - very familiar and very spectacular. It's one we'll miss as the days wind down and our 'servitude' in Skagway comes to an end.
Unless Florida has grown a mountain range with 7,000' peaks and glaciers, we will only be able to recall scenes like this from memory backed up by the photos we've taken.
Since we stayed in Skagway to watch the rain instead of camping out in Whitehorse, we've spent most of Saturday sitting in Haven Cafe (7 blocks from our cabin) with a lot of other summer time refugees working on the internet, reading, chatting and drinking coffee.

Snow and fish

CHILKAT EAGLE PRESERVE, Klukwan, AK, Sept. 2, 2006
This Imature Eagle (young, about 2-3 years old since he is only mottled white) is keeping an eye on two First Nations (Tlingit Indian Nation) individuals in a row boat just below the tree he is in. They were netting salmon and he was looking for easy pickings. In November, about 3-4,000 eagles show up along the river in this eagle preserve.



HAINES JUNCTION, YT., Sept. 3, 2006
Fresh snow on the St. Elias Mountains north of Haines Junction. The mt. range is in Kluane National Park. We've already seen light dusting on mtns. near Skagway, but this snow is letting everyone in the area know that winter isn't far off. There were mountains with a much heavier covering, but when we got outside from breakfast the clouds had dropped down to obscure the 10-14,000 peaks.

Time Change

SKAGWAY, AK, SEPTEMBER 1
We went out to breakfast this morning which is what we usually do on Friday to celebrate the end of another week. There was a sign up in our favorite cafe: "The End Is Near....26" This wasn't a biblical reference but one which meant that the last cruise ship docks in Skagway on Sept. 26.
It was almost as if a different feeling is not sweeping town with the end of the season growing near but nobody dared talk about things until September rolled around. Now conversations begin with: "How many days to you have left" or, more to the point, "When are you leaving" The jobs which seemed never-ending are now russing to conclusion. People share sympathy with those who will be left behind to clean up, lock up and turn out the lights when the last tourist leaves.
After two days of solid rain the sign in the cafe might well be a warning to build your ark now while you have time...as the forecast for the next 5 to 7 days doesn't look much better