This trip is short, for us, and primarily focused around the wedding of Sarah Heimel and Sarah Leismer. Departure is Monday morning, August 26. We will be coming home via the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The map of the proposed route is attached.
Saint Paul Sunday August 25
Thursday, August 15 Dickinson, ND
150 foot tall Pompeys Pillar
The weather was warm already as we left Bozeman for Dickinson ND. Travel is all on US interstates at 75 mph. A nice change of pace. We did have a few low mountain passes but most of the terrain was flat to rolling flat fields.
Clarks name on Pompeys Pillar
We made two planned stops for the day. First stop was at Pompeys Pillar National Monument. This is a rock outcropping that has had petroglyphs etched onto it for hundreds of years. Its most notable signatory is William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Clark and his team stopped here on the way back from the Pacific Ocean. Lewis had taken an alternate route in order to map greater portions of the west. They were to meet at the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers.
Roosevelts cabin
Pompeys Pillar is on the Yellowstone river. Here the river is a slow, meandering plains river compared to the gusher we saw going through Yellowstone Canyon back in early June. It is named for Sacagawea’s son whom Clark nicknamed Pompey.
Our second stop was at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora ND. The park has a north unit and a south unit. The north unit has more badlands type features, but both sections do have badlands and grasslands. We stopped at the south unit. It is closer to I-94 and contains the cabin built by Teddy Roosevelt on his first ranch here.
Part of the bison herd at Roosevelt national park
View of Teddy Roosevelt National Park
Teddy Roosevelt had two ranches here. He found the area restful and when his wife and mother both died on the same day, he came here to mourn and recoup. His passion for conservation had a strong foothold from what he saw and observed here.
Wild horses in the park
We watched the video and drove the 26 mile loop route. We were able to observe more bison, pronghorn, and wild horses. As we were finishing the drive, bison were crossing and walking along the road. We pulled in behind other cars to watch and wait until they were off the road.
When the bison were finished ambling off the road, we discovered our car would not start. It is about 6:30 at this time. We called AAA who sent out a truck from Dickinson, about 30 miles east. I believe the problem to be the starter, we will find out more tomorrow. The car was towed to a Midas shop just a block from the hotel we are staying at,
Waiting for bison, Bikers used cars as shield.
Friday we had planned to get up early and drive home. This is one day sooner than projected, we were initially going to spend more time in the Roosevelt park but just are getting tired. Now we will have to wait and see how long it will take to get the car repaired.
Waiting for AAA
Ed and Chris August 16 9:30 AM
Bozeman, MT, Wednesday,August 14
Bison at National Bison Range, MT
Black bear feeding on berries at National Bison Range
We left our Evergreen hosts after a great waffle breakfast and made our first stop at the National Bison Range about 30 miles south of Polson.
Pronghorn antelope
The Jesuits were invited here by the Flathed Indians in the late 1800s. The church is simple but contains a series of murals and frescoes created by one of the religious, Brother Joseph Carignano, the cook and handyman. We have included a picture or two.
St. Ignatius Mission, MT
St. Ignatius Mission church
After lunch in Missoula, we visited a smokejumper base camp. This is run by the forestry service to train forest fire fighters who are parachuted into a forest fire zone. They are frequently the first responders on the ground for remote fires.
At this location new recruits are trained. They learn how to pack their parachutes and how to jump out of the slow moving planes at low altitudes. This base also serves as a regular
Smokejumper camp-display of materials carried into fire
DC-3 used to drop smokkejumpers
This blog was not finished on the 14th of August. It is now being worked on while we sit in Theodore Roosevelt national Park. We stopped for a herd of bison that were in the middle of the road. We turned off the car to wait for them to pass. The car would not restart. AAA has been called and we are now waiting for the service person. Of course, this happened in an isolated area and it will take a while for them to get here.
Conclusion of the saga will come with tomorrow’s post.
Ed and Chris. August 15 7:30 PM
Polson, MT Tuesday August 13
Our 51′ Q class racing sloop
SAILING!!
We finally got out on a sail boat on our third attempt. One failure in Grand Marais MN was on a reconstructed Viking ship but the wind was too strong. We actually spent about 10 minutes on the boat for that effort. One failure in Lake Tahoe when again the wind was too strong and the trip was canceled. Finally today on Flathead Lake the conditions were just perfect.
After a great breakfast with our Evergreen hosts, we went to a park along the east side of the lake and did some preliminary catch up activities on our paperwork. We had reservations for the 1:30 sailing out of Big Fork, a town at the northeast end of Flathead Lake.
Our skipper, in the shorts
The Flathead Lake area is a major recreation site in Montana, between the lake, Glacier, forests and mountains. Big Fork is one of the towns featuring art galleries, a summer playhouse, restaurants, etc.
On Flathead Lake
View from Flathead Lake
The sail boat cruise operates out of Flathead Lake Lodge, a dude ranch with equine and water activities. As usual, we left extra time to find the location. It was necessary but came at the expense of not having lunch.
Our vessel was a 51 foot Q class racing sloop- I am sure you are as knowledgeable as I am about racing sloops. Our skipper was a young woman who has been captaining the ship for three summers and goes to college in Chicago in the off-season. She had her mother along for the ride today-we initially thought the mother was the skipper. Oops.
There were nine passengers and two crew. The wind started so slowly we had to be towed out onto the lake. Once out though, the wind picked up nicely to create a breeze for our faces and for the sails. The lake was relatively calm and the ride was smooth. We just had to sit back and enjoy. We did not have to wear life jackets-which they had on board. I was proud of Chris for accepting the situation and going with the flow.
One of the passengers was a photographer who is working on a book about conservation gardens; gardens that were once private and are now preserved in public hands. We gave him ideas for two others to consider, one in Oregon and one in Minnesota.
Dinner at Bigfork Inn
After the two-hour experience, we headed for “downtown” Big Fork. Our dinner location was not open until 5 pm so we stopped at Brookies Cookies and had an afternoon snack, a location recommended by our Evergreen hosts. After walking the town some more, we had a delicious dinner at the Bigfork Inn. It has been around since the 1930s.
This evening we got caught up on our blog postings and mailing some cards out.
Sunset view from our Evergreen hosts’ porch
Ed and Chris August 13 11 pm
Monday, August 12 Polson, Montana
Back in the USA! The border crossing was easy and the guard welcomed us home. First thing we did was to fill up the gas tank with gas that cost about $3.80 per gallon instead of the Canadian $5.50 per gallon.
Polson is at the southern end of Flathead Lake. Kalispell and Whitefish are two other local towns. The west entrance to Glacier National Park is close to the northeast corner of Flathead Lake.
Lake McDonald Falls in Glacier National Park-US
Flathead Lake is the largest naturally occurring lake west of the Mississippi and along with the Rockies, creates a micro-climate here that is usually warmer than this part of the country. Cherries are a big crop in the area. (The people making the pronouncement about Flathead Lake consider Lake of the Woods and Red Lake in Minnesota to be north of the Mississippi.)
Lake McDonald
We made a short detour to the Lake McDonald area of Glacier and took a short hike there. When we visited Glacier a number of years ago, we stayed on the eastern side in Many Glacier. Today, we did not take the time to traverse the Going to the Sun road. Construction was ongoing in two locations and a traversal going both ways would have taken way too much time. Plus, we saw it and this trip is about new places.
US 93 from the Canadian border to Polson is usually two lanes and frequently 70 mph. (We are done with kilometers but here where there are numerous Canadian visitors, the people who pass us are usually Canadian.) A group in Montana has taken responsibility to plant a white cross where a fatal auto accident has occurred. There are far too many of them. The Aug. 13 local paper describes another new accident where a six year old died on a section of road we had driven 24 hours earlier.
(On Tuesday, we counted 18 crosses in one 29 mile section of Montana state highway 35 going from Polson to Big Fork.)
Flathead Lake with one of its islands
We stop at a beach at the north end of the lake and again at a state park near the south end of the lake-it is 27 miles long-to relax and enjoy the view. Once again it is a nice day although periodic clouds come up. The temps are in the high 80s today.
We arrive at our Evergreen hosts in Polson slightly later than expected. The direction they gave us were fine, for some reason I had the location set in my mind-in the wrong location. So despite the directions, I had to call and discuss how to get there. The home is just off Flathead Lake and we spot deer in the wooded neighborhood.
I may sound like a broken record but once again we find gracious people waiting for us. We swap stories of our respective communities and past travel experiences.
We have heard from several sources, including Evergreen hosts in Victoria, Sequim, Cranbrook and here in Polson of ongoing efforts to return control of more western lands to American Indian tribes or First Nation tribes in Canada. I am sure we will be reading more about this as time goes on.
Ed and Chris August 13 9 pm
Cranbrook, BC August 10, Saturday and August 11, Sunday
Rogers Pass now heading east.
Our trip to Cranbrook from Revelstoke brought us back over Rogers Pass through Mt. Revelstoke and Glacier (Canada) National Parks. The drive was not rainy so the views were improved over the journey to Revelstoke.
Fort Steele Historic Site, British Columbia
Past Golden BC we entered into a broader valley with the Rockies on our left. The Kootenay river joined us, usually on the right side. The ride was uneventful and we stopped for lunch in Invermere.
School house in Fort Steele Historic Site
We had picked up a brochure for a restaurant in Invermere several weeks ago when we were in the Banff area. At that time it seemed appealing due to offering stuffed hamburgers, basically juicy lucys.
Garrison buildings at Fort Steele
The restaurant was on the beach of the lake in Invermere. Today we were not in the mood for burgers, stuffed or not. We went for quiche and salads and were quite pleased. Along with the restaurant was a cultural center with local art works so we could say we fed our souls and our stomachs at the same time.
Close to Cranbrook was Fort Steele Historic Site. Fort Steele had been a prominent town at the turn of the twentieth century
but when the railroad came through the area and made Cranbrook the local stop instead, Fort Steele dried up. That decision was influenced by the local legislator who owned land in Cranbrook. It has been restored as a historic site, including 60 restored buildings from the Fort Steele and some from neighboring areas.
A steam train ride and a walk through the site, talking to costumed re creators took up the latter part of the afternoon before we met our Evergreen hosts.
Our hosts live on an 80 acre site out of town and we saw numerous deer on their property. Once again we met gracious hosts and as we talked, we realized how varied people’s lives are. We tend to get caught up in our own world and these meetings help us re-discover the joy of travel, the kindness of strangers, and the still great number and variety of opportunities left to us in retirement.
Sunday
I am learning to relax. Instead of hiking and museuming ( a word?), we spent the day at Fairmont Hot Springs. This is a resort area about 90 minutes north of Cranbrook.
Fairmont Hot Springs pool
We went to church first in the town of Kimberly. Kimberly can be described in our minds as a Leavenworth WA wanna-be. Mining played out in the area and the town now has a ski resort and a downtown based on a German-Bavarian style. It is a nice effort but still relatively small and does not have the critical mass of stores, buildings, and ambience of Leavenworth in the Cascades.
At Fairmont, we had the Sunday brunch and spent most of the afternoon relaxing at the hot springs pool. The water in most hot springs has a sulphur component to it-smelly. The Fairmont and nearby Radium springs are sulphur free. Between soaking in the warm waters and relaxing on the grass surrounding the pools, our afternoon was quite pleasant.
Dinner was back in Cranbrook with our hosts and more amazing stories of adventure and travel.
We are coming to agreement that seven weeks out is a long time. We are slowing down, doing a little less planning, and getting tired sooner. We get back to St. Paul on Saturday the 17th and we are looking forward to it.
Ed and Chris August 13 8:30 pm
Revelstoke, B.C. August 9, Friday
Meadows in the sky, Mt Revelstoke National Park
Revelstoke is the base for Mt. Revelstoke National Park. The park has the Meadows in the Sky Parkway. A 25 km road ascends from an inland rain forest terrain to sub-alpine forest to the sub-alpine meadows which was our main goal. A small shuttle takes you to the top, about 6500 feet.
Meadows in the sky
Once at the top, several trails branch out to explore the meadows, covered with wildflowers at this time of the year. The flowers were brilliant in color and profuse in the open areas. The vistas are of the Columbia River below you, the Selkirk and Purcell mountains, and valleys in between.
We had left the hotel later than usual and worried that the top would be crowded. But even at 10 am, we were one of the early ones. When we left 2.5 hours later, the crowds had increased and parking was difficult. So much for our worries.
Meadows in the sky, Mt. Revelstoke
Revelstoke is another BC town whose development can be traced to railroads. There is a railroad museum in town so we visited it. On display, among other items, was a steam engine that had been used up until the 1950s. A volunteer who had worked for the railroad was present to discuss the engine-and allow children to ring the bell. (The whistle would not work without the steam engine going which does not happen now.) It was neat to see some of the rail cars and displays after we had seen the Spiral Tunnels the day before.
Engineer and his locomotive, Revelstoke train museum
Locomotive in Revelstoke
We went through the displays, watched the video, and talked to a woman from New Zealand. She and her husband were traveling across Canada for six weeks and were early into their trip.
Snow plow locomotive
The weather had gotten warm so we returned to the hotel and worked on the blog and laundry for a bit. Dinner was at a local restaurant, the Woolsey Creek Cafe. Revelstoke has musicians playing every night downtown during the summer and we planned to catch the last hour or so after dinner. Unfortunately, the “kitchen was extremely backed up and our food would be out shortly”. After hearing this for the third time, we wondered what happens when they are really busy. We ended up getting the food too late to make it worthwhile to go listen to the music. Food was good at least. I solaced myself with a chocolate mousse for dessert.
Ed and Chris August 13 7:30 pm
Revelstoke, Thursday, August 8
Spirit Island on Maligne Lake, Jasper National Park
One planned activity and three unexpected pleasant surprises for the day. Since Ed was doped up on anti-cold medicine, Chris got to do all of the driving today.
A boat ride on Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park was the planned activity. Maligne Lake is one of those turquoise green lakes fed by glacier rock dust. It is surrounded by three different mountain ranges. A boat ride takes you down the lake, allows you to walk around an island, and then return.
Maligne Lake Jasper National Park
Once again, the morning started up with lower level clouds so our first views of the lake were cloud covered and the mountain background invisible. The clouds lifted, however, and the views ended up being dramatic.
The lake is pretty much surrounded by three different mountain chains. It was “discovered” by Mary Shaffer who also promoted it as a place to be preserved as a park. We had heard of Mary Shaffer when we visited the Banff National Park. She was a wealthy American widow who did a lot of exploring in the Canadian Rockies. The Canadian government actually asked her to survey the lake area. (She had no formal surveying experience.)
First black bear in Jasper Park
Grizzly bear in Jasper
Three cubs crossing the road in Jasper Park
On the way up to Maligne Lake, we stopped at Medicine Lake. The Maligne river feeds the lake. An interesting fact about the lake is that each year by fall, the lake rascally dries up. (Does this have parallels to White Bear Lake?) The lake has a remarkable system of underground channels, sieves, what have you that takes the water out of Medicine Lake and the river reappears downstream flowing through a rock gorge.
Medicine Lake was not one of the unexpected surprises though. The first surprise was on the way to Maligne Lake, we saw a black bear feeding on berries alongside the road. Then we saw a grizzly bear feeding along the road. Finally, we saw a mother black bear and three cubs crossing the road in front of us. A very pleasant surprise to savor as we drove from Jasper National Park in Alberta to Revelstoke in British Columbia.
Spiral tunnels
Diagram of spiral tunnels
The drive to Revelstoke began with our journeying along the Icefields Parkway. Since we have driven it before, we were able to make the drive the 140 miles without any sightseeing delays. The views are still fantastic the second time through.
We went over the Canadian Rocky Mountains for the fourth time. This pass just west of Lake Louise is called the Kicking Horse Pass and is part of the Trans Canada Highway. Surprises number two and three came here among the steep mountain cliffs and narrow valleys.
We had read of the Spiral Tunnels but had not fully understood them. They were created by the Canadian Pacific Railway as part of its rail line crossing the Rockies. In essence, the rail line goes through a spiral loop inside a tunnel mountain in order to reduce the grade at which it will have to climb the mountain. I will include a picture of the diagram on display at the sight to better illustrate it. This was a big deal to the trains of that time (and now) and somewhat unique.
Takakkaw Falls in Yoho National Park
We arrived at the road side viewing site and were lucky enough to watch a train as it traveled through this area. We saw the long train in three separate pieces, before it entered the tunnel, as it exited the tunnel and as it made its way up to the mountain to enter the second spiral tunnel. The third viewing was through tree leaves so I am not sure you will find the photo clear evidence.
Rogers Pass area by Glacier National Park of Canada
Our Evergreen host in Victoria had mentioned that he was involved in the construction of one of the new bridges along this Kicking Horse Pass. We planned to take a photo and email it to him. There was still construction on the road and we feared somehow we had missed the bridge.
Finally as we reached the end of the 10 mile long route through the pass, we saw the bridge and pulled over to view it and shoot it. At the same exit was an entrance to Yoho National Park and Takakkaw Falls. Since Ed had been nursing a cold, we were not planning to doing any hiking in this park. It is a mountainous one, with 28 peaks over 3000 meters (about 9800 feet).
Takakkaw Falls was our unexpected surprise number three. It was only a five-mile drive in from the Trans Canada and a short hike to the falls from the parking area so we went for it. The falls are 1,000 feet tall and were quite impressive. We brought wind/rain jackets. The falls create a cold down wind draft and the mist blows into you as you view the falls from the base. The sky was too cloudy to provide any meaningful rainbows.
The drive to Revelstoke was still another 100 miles. The route continued through mountainous terrain and impressive peaks and Rogers Pass. Part of the Rogers Pass route was through “snow sheds”. These are buildings, pioneered by the railroads, to protect the pathway from avalanches. Given the steep slopes, narrow valleys, and heavy snowfalls, snow avalanches and mud slides are common in this area.
Snow shed on Trans Canada Highway near Rogers Pass
The railroads suffered severe losses of personnel due to avalanches over the years. We saw one shed near the Spiral tunnels for the railroad which included a man-made chute to direct the avalanches into a safe corridor. We saw a monument to a tragic one at the summit further along where the Trans Canada roadway was officially completed connecting eastern and western Canada.
Finally we drove through Glacier National Park of Canada and arrived at our hotel in Revelstoke. Quick to bed for healing purposes and thus this post is a day late.
Ed and Chris August 9 10:45 pm
Jasper, AB, Wednesday August 7
Columbia Icefield from where it ended 125 years ago
The Icefields Parkway is advertised (as so many others we have driven) as the most beautiful road in the world. Well, this time the advertising is close to the mark.
We left Jasper early, the better to get to the Icefields before crowds of people. Fog or low lying clouds were still abundant and the scenery often had an eery cast to it.
Chris and Ed at toe of glacier
The parkway usually runs down the valley between two mountain ranges. This has been a theme of several routes but the mountains seemed more varied and dramatic than other routes. The parkway goes all the way to Lake Louise but we had traversed the lower one-third when we were in Canmore. This journey completed the top two-thirds of the route.
Along the icefields parkway
The primary viewing of today’s journey was the Columbia Icefield, home to numerous glaciers that due to their location by a continental divide, flow to the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans. The water flow here feeds several large Canadian cities like Calgary and Edmonton. Diminishment of the glaciers will have an impact on their future water supply.
Along the Icefields Parkway
When you are in the parks here, there are numerous opportunities to spend your money. Raft trips, tramway rides, boat rides, interpretive walks, helicopter rides, etc We have tried to balance uniqueness and affordability. Today we rejected the walk with a guide on the glacier or the bus/snow coach tour onto the Athabasca glacier.
Instead we just hiked up as close as one can get to toe of the glacier. As we walked, we passed little signs indicating how diminished the glacier has become. Comparisons to 125 years ago are striking. The glacier creates a constant cold wind from the temperature changes. Trees that sprouted 125 years ago when the glacier was at the utmost (as we know, anyway) are relatively small, the cold wind and harsh environment shrink the growing period.
Athabasca Falls
Unless you are with a guide, you must maintain a safe distance from the glacier. Underground lakes, rivers, and chasms are under the snow, unseen. There were several signs posted of people who have lost their lives falling into chasms.
As we left the ice fields, we continued south to the point we had reached when we traveled the southern 1/3 from Canmore. The turning around point just happened to have locally produced ice cream.
Athabasca falls
Todays journey was only about 100 miles one way but with numerous stops for walks and photo taking, we spent seven hours. Part of the driving time we played guessing games. How soon would this impatient car pass the RV or slow car in front of them? Were those four speeding cars traveling together? Why do people buy/rent RVs if they can not get up enough speed to go over relatively minor hills? Will the next group of bikers be traveling in single file or double/triple file along the road.Etc. At least the number of speeding/illegally passing motorcyclists were reduced from previous days.
Athabasca falls up close and personal
Our planned evening walk was canceled due to rain. Hopefully tomorrow will be nicer. A boat ride on Maligne Lake and then we head over to Revelstoke, BC.
Ed and Chris August 7 10 pm
Jasper, AB, Tuesday August 6
Helmcken Falls in Wells Gray Provincial Park in British Columbia
Today’s theme was water, some planned and some unplanned. We left Kamloops early under sunny skies for Jasper National Park in Alberta. Our plans were to make a stop at Wells Gray Provincial Park. It would be about 30% of the way to Jasper.
Wells Gray is a large park, most of it devoted to wilderness area. It is the location of numerous waterfalls. We thought it possible that 2 or 3 of them would be easily accessible and that we could view them without ruining our timetable to Jasper. (We also lost an hour when we cross over into Alberta, time that we will gain back when we head home via portions of British Columbia.)
Dawson Falls in Wells Gray
British Columbia has an impressive number and quality of visitor centers and the one in Clearwater (just outside the park) did not disappoint us. The informative staff indicated that there were three waterfalls we could access via paved roads in about 2.5 hours.
The skies had become overcast so now it was a race against rain. Luckily, we pretty much won-for the time being.
Spahats Falls in Wells Gray
Spahats Falls gorge
We drove to the furthest most waterfall, Helmcken Falls. This is a 460 foot falls. Niagara Falls is only about 1/3 the height of Helmcken-but greater flow of course. Helmcken is one free flow drop, not like Yosemite which actually has 3 falls. No rainbow today with the clouds but still a great sight.
The second falls was Dawson Falls. This was a small falls with cascades. We were able to get close to the falls and the volume and velocity were still great even though we were in mid-summer. By now the clouds were drizzling.
The third falls was Spahats. It is about 200 feet tall and the volume seemed less. It is more difficult to get a clear shot of it, part of the creek leading to the falls is hidden behind overhanging rock. However, the gorge it has carved is quite deep for a small creek.
Cloud shrouded Mt. Robson
Lunch was at a small bakery in Clearwater that served great food. Then we continued our journey along the Yellowhead Highway. Unfortunately, the rains began just as Chris took over and along with fog and mountain driving, the journey was slowed a bit.
Our last stop on the journey was at Mt. Robson Provincial Park. Mt. Robson is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies and presents a massive presence-when you can see it all. Like our first day at Mt. Ranier, the top of the mountain was shrouded in low lying clouds. Unlike Mt. Ranier, we did not have a second day to spend so seeing 2/3 of the mountain will have to suffice.
Fraser RIver, another sea foam green colored river
Moose Lake in Canadian Rockies on way to Jasper
As we drove the last leg of the day’s journey, we crossed the Canadian Rockies one more time. Mt. Robson may have been the highest peak, but this route had many other peaks also. This road had some of the heaviest traffic we have encountered in non-urban areas; including plentiful truck traffic. With the rain and the traffic we only made two picture-taking stop although the scenery justified more. The first was a quick and better shot of the Fraser River while the second was at Moose Lake.
Jasper is like many other mountainous park towns, cute shops and galleries. Jasper does seem to have a larger train yard than others, this time the Canadian National vs. Canadian Pacific.
We walked the downtown and saw two laundromats. One had a coffer bar open to the public as well as laundry facilities. The other had an ice cream store inside the laundromat. Neat.
Ed and Chris August 7 8 pm
Chris Klejbuk and Ed Heimel travel adventure 
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