Day 4 (Thursday, June 9, 2016)

We headed for Coeur d’Alene.  I needed to add Idaho to my state checklist and Andrew had been there ages ago for work and talked about how pretty it was.  There was an entry into Canada near and it was also a different route to Alaska from the last time.  Talk about a splendorous city!  We didn’t stay long but we finally got a hike in; we literally looped around what I guess was a peninsula, rugged hills to our left and the lake to our right, officially called Tubbs Hill.  The park was also home to three Osprey nests, their lives being documented with web cameras (https://cdaid.org.osprey-web-cameras ).  We’ve always loved checking on the Ospreys at Patoka so it was really neat seeing them even more up close and personal. 

And then it was into Canada.  It is hard to describe all of this natural world.  Raw, unadulterated, crisp, clear.  Mountains tall and even taller, some covered with trees and some bare, some with a sprinkling of snow, some with tons of snow not yet melted enough to rush to create the glacier rivers/plains below.  Some recovering from prior fires, with bare blackened trunks, the green emerging from the black as a testament of rebirth.  No trash – people really do spend the extra time to use the litter bins available. They have litter bins and bathrooms available often, usually at viewing areas, but they sort of blend in with the surroundings.  No cell service, which was weird at first for us as we like being connected, but then you realize being “unplugged” is okay too! You tend to focus more on what you are experiencing around you, or read a real book.  J  Our route took us predominantly through several National Parks and there was a literal lack of civilization-no electric poles, very few if any houses, and fences designed to keep animals away from the roads – for their benefit as well as ours!  They even built “overpasses” for them so they would not be limited to one side of the road or another.   We stopped at Columbia Lake, a spring fed lake that was the most amazing shade of green/blue, then watched as an eagle soared above the water.

“Signs, signs, everywhere are signs.…”-that song was stuck in my head all day.  Our first “unusual” sign was for what we thought was bison!  We were excited to perhaps see some native bison in their natural habitat.  As the sign got closer, we realized the sign was actually for dump trucks entering the highway ahead.  We had to roll our eyes and emit a short snicker.  Other signs on our journey to Jasper (British Columbia, that is!):  game crossing (why discriminate between different types!), cow crossing next 8 miles, fire trucks entering highway, elk (signs were different, with some having only one elk, some having three!), deer, big horn sheep, Dall sheep, then a flashing sign for said sheep (which means we’d be more likely to see some, but we didn’t see any), flashing bear (They also had warning signs that said not to stop or get out as bears had been out and about near the roads, but we didn’t see any!), moose, rock slide area, avalanche area, etc.  Love it!

We supped next to a glacier river with the most amazing mountains encircling us.  It is hard to describe!  Andrew left his food on the table to grab something from the truck and a large blackbird nearly had a meal!  It then just watched us from a short distance away, waiting, but it never did get a second chance.

With only a couple hours left for our camping destination, we happened upon an accident.  The road was completely closed from both directions until a helicopter arrived to transport the victim/s where they needed to go; they could then clear the road and allow traffic to flow again.  To luck for the accident victim/s, the small town of Lake Louise (again, in British Columbia-there is a Lake Louise in Alaska that is one of our destinations) was just down the road so it appeared personnel got to them fairly quickly.  That got us thinking about the hit and miss of cell service and accidents or even break downs.  We landed up following a charter bus that kept belching smoke every time it accelerated and it would brake for everything.  Then it would go really, really fast just when there was a passing zone so we couldn’t actually pass it!  Success-we finally got to pass it.  Ironically, we stopped to use the restroom and switch drivers, and even commented that we had better be quick or we’d get behind that bus again.  Guess what--we were quick but not quick enough, and we had to follow that belching bus for miles again until it finally slowed enough at the right time for us to pass!

We arrived at Whistler’s Campground right outside of Jasper, a little later than planned due to the accident and to luck they had openings.  There are many camp grounds in the area, but many don’t open until near the end of June!  When we were paying at the entry gate, the attendant told us to keep our camp site very clean as they had black bears in the campground that very morning, AND to watch out and avoid the female elk, as they are giving birth in the campground and can be a bit aggressive.  We sort of drove to our sight a bit shell-shocked at that information!  As we were setting up, the “neighbors” told us that they were actually “chased” back to their vehicle by a female elk and someone earlier was walking their dog and was chased as well.  We got set up and in our tent pretty quickly. J  At one point I needed to use the restroom, very conveniently located close, and, lo and behold, there was an elk across the road.  Well, what to do!!  I had to go so I ran for it.  I must have looked very funny upon leaving the restroom, glancing in all directions and then making a run back for our tent.