2 moosies

ALONG THE ALASKA HIGHWAY - - We're still going through pictures we took while we were out of internet range. This mother moose sheltered her youngster while we patiently waited for her to move enough to get a shot showing a bit more of the two. No such luck.
UPDATE: The feline referred to as Pico in the previous blog is really Peeko. I probably made the same mistake last year too.

The usual suspects

WHITEHORSE, YUKON TERRITORY - - We've been out of wi-fi territory for a bit so this is a catch up. Firstly, we've stopped in Whitehorse, a town of 22,000, which we got to know quite well last summer as it was our escape valve from Skagway. We're staying in our favorite (indoor) place: a hostel called Hyde-On-Jeckll. So picture 1 is of the welcoming committee - - Pico the cat, who, we would like to think, remembered us from previous stays. The real reason is probably the sunbeam-warmed blanket on the end of the bed that the she immmediately curled up on.
Leaving from Liard Hot Springs Lodge this morning we encountered several groupings of wood buffalo. This not-too-friendly fellow in Picture #2 stood by the side of the Alaska Highway eyeing us but fortunately not moving. Last year on our way North we saw a total of one buffalo. This year we have lots of buffalo in lots of pics.
On the way to Liard from The Shepherds Inn we encountered these fluffy fellows (Pic #3) who looked like their coats had been blow-dried. They are stone sheep and are rather scarce unlike their more viewed cousins, the mountain sheep variety. More later.

Alaska Highway, Mile 72

SHEPHERDS INN - - On a road like the Alaska Highway with towns, settlements and small groups of houses along the way it's better to have a mile-marker as your address. And so, here we are at Mile 72 and the Shepherds Inn. This is a slightly rustic motel and gas station about 20 miles from the 'real' civilization of Fort St. John.
The deal here is that everyone is made to feel at home by the nice folks who run the place. You find that out along the route as tourists and work crews and locals are the lifeblood of staying solvent. The economy in this general area is based on oil/gas/timber so having those folks know that home made pies/baked goods and good coffee are available plus plenty on the plate of whatever you order makes this place quite popular.
I called to check on making a reservation when we were three hours away. "Do you need a credit card for the reservation," I asked. "No, just give me your name and I'll see you when you get here," was the friendly reply from the manager. And that's the way it was.
No pics today on my blog because the only live animals I might have taken pics of were white-tail and mule deer. Now I did get a chance to see lots of skeletons and half decayed bodies of elk and (we think) some moose as well but they weren't very photogenic. Animals killed in winter get plowed to the side of the road along with the snow and don't show up until things begin to melt.
And for today's brain teaser: Why do they call it the Alaska Highway if 75% of the route is in Canada??

Asleep at the wheel

JASPER, ALBERTA - - Most folks in northern Canada and Alaska have dogs. Some are guard dogs, some are watch dogs and some are slackers. This guy has obviously figured it out that his master won't be back for awhile and he's grabbing some sack time...asleep on the wheel.

Don't mess with me

JASPER, ALBERTA - - This female elk kept us amused as we ate dinner. She was foraging across the street from the restaurant and didn't want to be bothered. We saw three individuals walking / jogging along the sidewalk nearby and she mock-charged them all. I got close enough with my 200mm lens to be safe and still get a bit of the evil eye. A freight train is parked on the railroad tracks behind.

What I want to be when I grow up

COLUMBIA ICE FIELDS VISITOR CENTER, BETWEEN LAKE LOUISE AND JASPER

Now this is a BUS! As you can see by the relative size of our Honda Element versus the Glacier Bus the Element needs a to start eating Wheaties. The custom-made bus fleet are outfitted with huge tires with tractor-style lugs to better grip the ice/show of the Columbia Glacier. Right, you ride the bus to the glacier and then out onto the glacier. But there were no busses running today - - because it isn't tourist season yet. Although you can't see it in the picture a snow squall was blowing hard across the glacier on the other side of the road. It was that sort of day on our drive up the Ice Fields Parkway, a 142 mile spectacular route through the Canadian Rockies...snow, grey skies, visually fantastic but hard to pick up the feeling with a camera.

History lesson

BOW VALLEY PARKWAY - - This statue in a remote area along the Bow Valley Parkway honors the Ukrainians who were interred in a camp there during World War I (1915-17). This is but one of many camps in Alberta and other locations in Canada where refugees from the Baltic States were sent...much the same way Japanese individuals in the U. S. during World War II were sent to interrment camps.
We've passed the memorial numerous times in the past six years and there were always flowers or decorations or loose change (on the pedestal at the area around the right foot) or other items to show that despite the remote location people stop and think and care.

slim pickin's

BOW VALLEY PARKWAY, NEAR LAKE LOUISE, ALBERTA - - This was just one of three youngsters scratching for anything green alongside the roadway. The males in the group were on top of a ridge just above where there was more grass. With warming temperatures and the snow thawing, the amimals move toward the roadsides where the dormant grasses sprout first.

Taking it easy

BANFF, ALBERTA - - Some days you just have to relax and take it easy. Here we are slacking off at a view point along the bow river. Sun, snow, sweet time.

Rocky times ahead

CANMORE, AB - - Gone are the days of grain fields waiting to be sown and beef cattle grazing on spreads that stretch as far as the eye can see. Now we're into what we really travel for: high snow-covered mountains; fresh cold air and people roaming around in hiking boots and heavy jackets.
The Trans-Canada Highway from Moose Jaw to Canmore went from flat lands to rolling hills to a countryside covered with snow and back again to no snow on the ground but plenty on the Canadian Rockies. We can look out the window of the Mountain View Inn, where we are staying tonight, and see part of the Three Sisters Peak - - one of the easier peaks to identify here.
Canmore, along with Banff and Lake Louise, is an area in transition: there's enough snow to keep the ski slopes open until at least the beginning of May, but there's also a hustle on in the businesses to change from winter to summer tourist mind-set.

Photos?

MOOSE JAW, SASKATCHEWAN - No I haven't forgotten to post pictures...just haven't seen much of anything interesting yet. There were lots of big grain elevators in our ride from Jamestown, ND to here along with fog and some rain. We had pheasants on the side of the road, Canada geese, mallard ducks, lots of dead deer and some unidentified road kill but only the pheasants were photogenic and you can't stop in time to get a shot. Check Lydia's blog for one interesting spot we did stop.
Now that we're in Canada the scenery should pick up as we head to Banff and Lake Louise.

Fargo North, decoder

JAMESTOWN, ND - - Actually we passed Fargo, ND 100 miles back on our way here. Jamestown is a small burg on I-94 about halfway between Fargo and Bismark. Tomorrow, we head off-Interstate and drive up scenic(?) SR 52 to the Canadian border at Portal, ND. and head toward our target town for Saturday night - - Moose Jaw, Saskatchawan.
For those of you who might wonder what ND is like...it's like, flat and windy and as we look out the Super 8 Motel window, it's gathering up nasty, dark clouds and raining.
One plus: the I-94 speed limit is 75...and the wind was gusting to 40mph. Unfortunately, it was a side wind or we would have rigged the sails and gotten really good gas mileage.
On our way through Minneapolis we stopped at our favorite REI store and spent 70 minutes there...at a cost of $4 per minute.

Alaska, one more time

Ann Arbor, MI
April 16

1,000 miles behind us and, from looking at road signs, we've nearly been around the world. Places like London, Paris, Rome have all flown past...of course it was the interstate and we were rolling from our Ormond Beach home to see friends in Michigan. Two days of being blown around on the interstate makes a day off just to stroll around Ann Arbor very worth while. And then it's on toward Wisconsin, North Dakota, Canada and on and on.
We've been honing our wildlife spotting skills by picking out gas prices on station signs just off the interstate...at 60+ miles per hour. We started out in shorts and by the time we got to Atlanta it was cool enough for jeans not to mention the 30mph winds. We actually changed the route of the early part of the trip because of the wind/rain/thunderstorms/hail which would have made driving on our initial route to/thru the Carolinas pretty nasty.
There aren't too many adventures in the Heartland, but we're looking.

Short timers

April 13
It's that time..well, almost. We hit the road for Alaska on Sunday. This time we should clock close to 5,500 miles on our way to Denali National Park. The trip will include a couple of stops at the homes of some friends and a lot of interstate pavement we've seen before and some we've not. Then it's into Canada and Banff and Jasper and Dawson Creek which is Mile Zero and the starting point of the Alaska Highway. 1,100 miles later we pass through Kluane National Park in Canada's Yukon Territory and from there on to Anchorage and then Denali it will be all new territory we are covering.
We're ready. We're almost packed but can probably stuff a few more things into our (faithful) Honda Element. And the cats?? To put it mildly....they ain't happy that something is going on. Sort of like traumatic stress syndrome, kitty style.