Day Eight - Watson Lake to Haines Junction

Saturday May 31st 2008
Drive to Whitehorse and to Haines Junction YT
369 miles – estimated 7 hours of driving)

Before we went on this trip, Nick and I discussed how interesting it was that people look for chain restaurants when eating out in new places. By the time we got to Whitehorse we were ready for a chain restaurant, something where the food wood be familiar and up to a certain standard of edibility. That’s not to say that other places weren’t decent food. But familiarity was something that was desired. And that’s how we ended up at Pizza Hut in Whitehorse. We used McDonalds on a semi-regular basis, but that was more to keep our food costs down. This time, Pizza was what we wanted.

I believe this is the drive where Nick put one of Cosby’s radio/humor broadcasts on the car transmitter. I laughed so hard I actually had to pull over and wipe tears from my eyes.

Haines Junction is one of my favorite spots ever. The drive was much shorter than expected so when we got there we had time to look around. And you cannot beat the scenery of the St. Elias Mountain chain. The hotel was clean and fresh and the dining room was astonishing. One of the best meals we had on the trip was here.

ALCAN Motor Inn
P.O. Box 5460 Haines Junction, Yukon Territory, Y0B 1L0
(867) 634-2371
For Reservations Only:

Receipts:
Belvedere Hotel – Watson Lake YT
Watson Lake Super A Foods (grocery) – Watson Lake YT
Petro Canada - Watson Lake YT
Pizza Hut – Whitehorse YT
Shell Canada – Whitehorse YT
Madleys Bigway Foods (grocery) – Haines Junction, YT
AlCan Motor Inn (dinner) – Haines Junction YT

Day Seven - Fort Saint John to Watson Lake

Image: Muncho Lake BC
(Muncho Lake is one of the most scenic places on earth. I must go back soon.)

Friday May 30th 2008
Drive to Fort Nelson to Watson Lake
556 miles – estimated 11 hours of driving

When I planned our trip I started with smaller drives and expanded as it went on. Also there was just the problem of distances from point a to point b. And of course the costs associated with taking longer and the time too. In the end, there were some seriously crazy driving days. But on the whole it was do-able.

Nick and I both had our mp3 players and headphones. It was quickly apparent that we weren’t going to agree on what to listen to. Frequently, I just wanted to watch the scenery. I just don’t seem to have the craving for sound all the time that others do. He had loaded his player with tons of old radio programs and seemed to enjoy them.



Considering that we were heading North to Alaska, we put one of Jack London’s short stories on the radio transmitter. It was one about the dog Diablo. It was a bit grotesque and disturbing and that was the end of Jack London stories for the trip.

We stopped at the fabulous Fort Nelson hotel for lunch. This was a very picturesque place with big log construction and interesting diners.

Dinner at the hotel’s dining room was not so grand. The town and hotel seemed a bit run down. Still, a clean room and a bed was all I really needed.

Belvedere Hotel
Box 370, Watson Lake: Yukon Y0A 1C0
Central Reservations Office: (867)536-7712
$119 Reservation via phone May 21

Miscellaneous thing to look up on the internet:
Umbrageous
Crepuscular

Receipts:
Best Western – Fort St. John BC
Safeway (gas) – Fort St. John BC
Fort Nelson Hotel (lunch) – Fort Nelson BC
Esso (gas) – Fort Nelson BC
Belvedere Hotel (dinner) – Watson Lake YT

Wildlife & Birds:
3 Caribou
Black bear - juvenile
Mule deer
Bighorn sheep
Bison

For more photos see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157605435409999/

This was our first up close and personal with caribou. They are gorgeous and their movement is very light footed and swift. It looked like dancing up the hill, not running.

Day Six - Westlock to Fort Saint John

Thursday May 29th 2008
Drive from Westlock to Valley View to Grand Prairie to Dawson Creek to Fort St. John
391 miles – estimated 8 hours of driving

I’m so used to the interstate system of the United States that I thought that Canada would have it too. WRONG. The population density just doesn’t support the need for it. So two lane highway with lower speed limits was the norm. Alberta is a sea of grass dotted with lakes, ponds, and stands of deciduous trees mixed with conifers. It is gorgeous, green and fragrant with the clean scent of trees. I LOVED it. I’m sure that May/June is a good time to visit and January isn’t.

I started noticing all of the “Licensed” restaurants on the road to Fort St. John. I believe they use the phrase to denote those that are allowed to sell alcohol. Another interesting difference was the inclusion of “high balls” as opposed to "cocktails" on the menu.

This was the hotel that had the overpowering scent of air sanitizer/scent. It was a bit nauseating. Dinner at Mr. Mike’s Steakhouse was expensive but yummy.

Best Western Coachman Inn
8540 Alaska Road
Fort St John, British Columbia: V1J 5L6, Canada

For more photos see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157605346199000/

Miscellaneous thing to look up on the internet:
What are engine brakes?
What is domestic garbage?
When did Alberta burn?

Receipts:

Best Western – Westlock AB
Shell Gas – Slave Lake AB
McDonalds
Mr. Mikes Steakhouse – Fort St. John BC

Wildlife & Birds:
We drove the interesting way up to Lesser Slave Lake where we saw Bonaparte’s gulls, assorted terns and 2 coyotes.

Day Five - Edmonton and Westlock, Interview Edmonton

Wednesday May 28th 2008
University of Alberta interview and back to Westlock
112 miles – estimated 2 hours of driving

University of Alberta was one of my few afternoon sessions. Nick came with me and was able to spend the afternoon running around the campus, enjoying the river running through it and coffee. For lunch we stopped at the student union which is this tall, long, narrow, mall/dorm combo. It is really fun. I think the ISU Rendezvous building is modeled after the UofAlberta model, but it just isn’t even close. Of course we don’t have the same number of students either.

For more information on my interview at UA see: http://librarybanter.blogspot.com/2008/10/university-of-alberta-edmonton.html

This time for dinner we drove around Westlock and discovered JD’s Roadhouse Café. There were tons of vehicles in the parking lot and we KNEW this was the place. The food was good and I was introduced to the concept of fries with gravy. I didn’t try it but it seemed to be a standard offering, judging by the nearby diners. It’s probably fabulous, but the last thing I need is another high calorie food craving.

Best Western Westlock
10520 100th Street
Westlock, Alberta: T7P 2C6, Canada

Receipts:
University of Alberta Parking – Edmonton AB
Subway – Edmonton AB
JD’s Roadhouse Café – Westlock AB
Sobeys grocery (cookies, salami, cheese,…) Westlock AB

We shopped at Sobey’s grocery, and stocked up on stuff for the trip North. They had the most amazing selection of meats and cheeses in their deli. We packed up and got ready for the days of driving ahead.

Day Four - Airdrie to Westlock, Interview Calgary

Tuesday May 27th 2008
University of Calgary interview, drive to Westlock
266 miles – estimated 5 hour drive

We began the day with a drive back to Calgary. Nick’s GPS helped us to find the library on this enormous campus. While I did my interview and library tour Nick did homework. Afterwards we headed for Westlock. On our way we passed a sign for the “Devonian Gardens.” This cracked both of us up. They would surely have prehistoric ferns and possibly dinosaurs, but I don’t really remember what the Devonian era had.

For more information on my interview with the UC library see: http://librarybanter.blogspot.com/2008/10/university-of-calgary-alberta.html

The Best Western in Westlock has a parking lot dotted with electrical outlets. I’m sure this is to run car heaters in the winter. The girl at the desk recommended we have dinner there in the hotel diner. That was a BIG mistake. I think that was our worst meal for the whole trip. ICKY!!

Best Western Westlock
10520 100th Street
Westlock, Alberta: T7P 2C6, Canada

Miscellaneous thing to look up on the internet:
Tipping in Canada?

Receipts:
Best Western – Airdrie AB
University of Calgary – Calgary AB (parking)
McDonalds – Calgary AB
Mac’s Convenience (gas) – St Albert AB
Best Western dining – Westlock AB

Wildlife & Birds:
Lots and lots of Franklin's gulls

Day Three - Golden to Airdrie

Monday May 26th 2008
Golden through Yoho through Banff to Calgary to Airdrie AB
185 miles – estimated 4 hour drive

The next morning I called the dealer in Calgary and made an appointment for the car in the afternoon. We headed out, driving up, over and through the Yoho and Banff national parks.




These are gorgeous parks with some of the most amazing peaks. Every foot of the drive was astounding. I loved that they fenced in the forest so that the deer/elk wouldn’t stray on
to the freeway. They also have made these wonderful overpasses for wildlife right over the freeway.

Hour after hour we drove a precursor of things to come. What I hadn’t counted on was the difference in speed limits. In the U.S. it seems to run 65-75 mph on the interstates. Sometimes it would drop to 45 when there was a lot of twisting over the mountains. In Canada the regular limit is around 50 mph and occasionally it would get to 70. But overall it was slower than south of the border.



Eventually we were onto the plains of Alberta and then into Calgary. Surprisingly, the Calgary dealer was ready and waiting for us. It was going to cost 100 dollars for the evaluation, but what choice did we have. We still had over 3000 miles to go and it wouldn’t be good to have a worse breakdown and not know it because the light was already on. In a surprisingly short time, like 10 minutes, they had diagnosed the problem. As Doug suspected, it was an air intake sensor. We could probably still drive, but again, if something else went wrong we wouldn’t know it. So we bit the bullet and said to go ahead and fix it. We expected to be there forever, but no. They had the car finished in 45 minutes. So by 2:00 in the afternoon we were on our way again.

I had called and canceled our original hotel reservations near Banff and made new ones in a Best Western in Airdrie (between Calgary and Edmonton).

For more photos of this leg of the journey see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157605305716337/

Canceled: Best Western Siding 29 Lodge
453 Marten Street, Box 1387s
Banff, Alberta: T1L 1B3, Canada

Best Western Regency Inn
121 Edmonton Trl
Airdrie , Alberta T4B 1S2,Canada

Receipts:
Best Western – Golden BC
Yoho Trading Post (gas) – Field BC
Friends of Yoho (magne) – Field BC
McDonalds – Mountain Road ___ AB
Heniger Toyota – Calgary AB
Ricky’s All Day Grill – Airdrie AB
Extra Foods (milk, yogurt, coffee, oj) – Airdrie AB

Wildlife & Birds:

Big horn sheep
Because Canada uses salt on its roads many ungulates, such as Big horn sheep, will come down to lick the sides of the road.

Black bear
This was my first Black bear sighting. I noticed a big round black rock in the distance. It didn’t look like it belonged in the scenery so I pulled out my binoculars and sure enough, it wasn’t a rock. WHOOO HOOO! Bear!!!


We also saw Elk and Red-tailed hawks

Day Two - Missoula to Golden BC

Sunday May 25th 2008
Missoula to Kalispell to Golden BC
412 miles - estimated 8 hour drive

Drove north out of Missoula. Nick did a little homework, but not much. Mostly reading the old journals of various explorers who visited Soda Springs.. Montana’s Flathead Lake was GORGEOUS. We crossed the Canada border with no fuss at all. We drove north towards Golden BC., this drive along the west side of the Canadian Rockies is stunning.

Canada is like a whole other country, but not really. The candy in the convenience stores is slightly different with familiar brands and British brands mixed together. The gas is in liters so the price listed looks cheap but it really isn’t. Really strange. We stopped at a cafe in Skookumchuck for lunch, the waitress wasn’t exactly on the ball, but the food was good. As we continued north the ‘check engine’ light became lit. It wasn’t blinking so we kept driving. The car sounded fine. I checked the book and it said to take it to the dealer, and implied that it could continue to be driven. When we got to Golden we checked into the Best Western (I got a free night here because of all the other nights I had stayed with them on the sabbatical). I tried to call a local mechanic, to no avail. I thought I was late, but the truth was, people don’t work on Sunday. I called Jessica’s husband Doug, he’s worked on so many cars for my family I thought it was my turn. He said the car would be okay for driving and that it was probably a just sensor.

We used the AAA guide for the first time to find a restaurant called Eleven22. Problem was, the street address was 1122 also. We had a bunch of fun recreating the “Who’s on First” routine when Nick kept asking me the name of the restaurant and I kept giving him the alleged address. The food was AMAZING, but the most fun came from the table next to us. A dozen or so 13 year old girls were celebrating a birthday. They had ordered fancy non-alcoholic drinks, lots of food and desserts. They were very grown up, but not really. Awhile later a group of older women 50’s/60’s, came by and talked to the youngsters. They were every bit as silly as the 13 year olds, especially since they had been having grown up drinks.


The food here was amazing! Dessert: Raspberry Trifle for me and Ginger Cheesecake for Nick.

Recipe ideas that came from these desserts include:

Raspberrys in puff pastry, filling of creamcheese with whole fresh berries
Or maybe wrap the filling and berries in pie crust and deep fry them
Or dust with powered sugar or dip in chocolate…

Mint chocolate cheesecake
Regular chocolate cheesecake with a hint of mint
Options mint flake topping, candied mint leaves, mint cookie crust, mint glaze layer

After dinner we walked around the hotel area so that I could make my 10,000 steps. The scenery was gorgeous; there was a lot of trees, huge mountains and a small stream. “Cats to Cattle” was the sign on the feed store, but most amusing was the sign on the van “Golden Homemaking & Companionship: Helping Hands for You.”

For more images of this leg of the trip see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157605276619777/

Best Western Mountainview Inn
1024 - 11th Street N, Box 2400
Golden, British Columbia: V0A 1H0, Canada

Receipts:
Super 8 – Missoula MT
Exxon – Kalispell MT
Town Pump – Polson MT
Skookumchuck service (lunch) – Skookumchuck BC
Eleven 22 Grill & Liquer – Golden BC

Wildlife & Birds:
Bald eagles
Magpies
Crows
Ravens
Red tailed hawks
Canada geese
American kestrels
Mallards
Starlings
Brewers blackbirds
Red winged blackbirds
Calliope hummingbirds
Robins
Turkey vultures
Yellow warbler
Swainson's hawk

Day One - Pocatello to Missoula

Saturday May 24th 2008
Pocatello to Missoula MT
363 miles - estimated 7 hour drive

Nick and I packed up the car and headed for Missoula. We left late enough that stopping in Dell for lunch made sense. The Calf-A serves homemade and local food, including maple bars, I could only eat part of one, which Nick thought was a pretty good deal. 363 miles and not quite 7 hours later we had arrived in Missoula. This was one of only a couple of days that Nick was able to do homework (read). The road wasn’t too curvy, or bumpy. I took Nick to dinner at the fabulous Chinese restaurant (China Garden) I had found the last time I was there.

Super 8 Motel - Missoula/Brooks Street
3901 S Brooks St: I-90 Exit 101 So. 5 M.
Missoula, MT 59804-7395 US

Receipts:
Maverick gas – Pocatello ID
Yesterday Calf A – Dell Mt
Bonner Town Pump - Milltown MT
Albertsons (groceries) – Missoula MT
China Garden – Missoula MT

We ate breakfast out of our own coolers most of the time, protein drink for me and orange juice, coffee and yoghurt for Nick. It was an excellent way to reduce our costs.



Wildlife & Birds:

Gold eagle
Bald eagle
Magpies
Crows
Ravens
Red tailed hawks
Brewers blackbirds
Red winged blackbirds
Barn swallows
Cliff swallows
Bank swallows
Northern harrier
American kestrel
House sparrows
House finches
Lazuli bunting
Starlings
Mourning doves
Rock doves
Western meadowlarks
Robins

Nick and Squirrel 1

Nick and Squirrel 1
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

This bold squirrel taunted Nick the day before we left for Alaska. Nick tries to keep the squirrel population safe from the traffic on the road by relocating squirrels to better locations. It's only a side benefit, of course, that we use less seed in our bird feeders if the furry freeloaders are gone.

In any case this bold boy told Nick off and then while we were gone it chewed on our porch railing, allowed Shanna's friend Sam to swat it's tail, and otherwise took over the yard while we were gone.

There are more pictures of Nick and Squirrel on this set at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157605258802501/

Boating at Massacre Rocks with Nick and Barkley

DSC03489
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

Birding from the boat, I love it! Barkley is a great, big, funny, fuzzy, dunderhead. On the boat he would walk around in circles from back of the boat to front of the boat. If he wasn't circling he was on the front watching the water or curled up napping.

We saw so many birds it was great. The most fun was the young grebe, that wanted the float off of Nick's fishing line. He chased, circled, poked and tried to eat the big orange ball. We also saw Bullocks orioles, marsh wrens, northern waterthrush, and all kinds of grebes, eared, horned, clarks, and western grebes.

It was a lovely day.

Photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157605200477430/

The road home, Lakewood to Pocatello

DSC03251
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

Weather is always a fun thing in April. I checked weather and road conditions and decided to leave as early as possible cause snow was on the way. Allegedly the freeway through Vail was supposed to be fine, and the weather there was supposed to be fine. Of course, it wasn't what I would call fine.

On the other hand, the snow falling on those mountains, thick with pine and spruce trees was a gorgeous sight. And as long as it was drifting flakes it was fine. The water and muck on the road being thrown up by passing trucks was not fine. (Have I used the word fine enough?) I drove over mountain passes and through snow, rain, sleet, and eventually sunshine. I chose the route up through Price to Salt Lake City.

Before I got to SLC I started calling sisters. Eventually, Rebecca and Hannah met up with me for dinner at the Olive Garden there in SLC. I really needed the break. I then finished the last bit of trip for home, another circuit finished.

Road home: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157605110793107/

Golden Colorado: fifth stop on the rocky mountain circuit

DSC03187
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

I had to leave early in the morning again. Funny thing, when you set up appointments at 9:00 in the morning, you have to get out really early in order to 1. find a parking place and 2. find the library. Colorado School of Mines has a beautiful campus with confusing parking. I ended up just parking on the street and hoping that with school out for spring break I'd not get a ticket. It wasn't a red or yellow zone so maybe.... I did notice that I was parked on the street not only near the library, but near the Geology Museum.

After visiting the library, which was interesting and informative, I crossed the street and spent a very pleasurable hour looking at all the minerals, rocks, gems, jewelry and other informative displays at the museum.

I headed back to my hotel where I remained ensconced working on work like a good girl and avoiding all stores. I decided to just do the really long drive and not stop at Fruita, so I canceled that hotel. after the shopping, I felt guilty spending any money unnecessarily.

Colorado School of Mines: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157604987869998/
Geology Museum: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157604992435715/

Boulder and Denver Colorado: 3rd, & 4th stops on the rocky mountain

DSC02941
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

What can you say about Boulder that hasn't already been said? It's beautiful, environmentally conscious, with lots of great shops and restaurants. The University of Colorado Boulder has an enormous library with 1/2 floors. My meeting was on the 4.5 floor. The librarians recommended a fabulous Italian restaurant near Pearl St.

Next a short drive to Lakewood, it's close to Denver and close to Golden too. The hotel was great, I had a corner room with lots of windows, a nice desk, and a really solid internet connection. I spent the rest of the day uploading photos, catching up with email, and transcribing notes.

In the morning I went to the Auraria library. This library is the academic library for the University of Colorado-Denver, the Metropolitan University and the Denver community College. That's a lot of responsibility for one set of librarians.

After the visit I wanted to go do something fun/different. I had done so much driving and birding that now was the time for shopping. I called Nick and with his help (he had an internet connection) I went all over town to various specialty type stores. I got clothes and jewelery and accessories and souvenirs and spent waaaay too much money.

University of Colorado - Boulder: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157604914584281/
University of Colorado - Denver: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157604987220408/

Fort Collins Colorado: second stop on the rocky mountain circuit

DSC02882
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

I LOVE Fort Collins. First the hotel was excellent and reasonably priced (Best Western Kiva Inn). Then the place is simply covered with ponds and walking trails for birding. And then it has restaurants and shops and a University. It was a great place to spend 4 nights. Of all the places I visited this was one where I'd be willing to move.

From this central location I visited both University of Northern Colorado - Greeley and Colorado State University - Fort Collins. I didn't get to the public libraries, not for lack of time, but because of birds. The weather was gorgeous spring and the birds were calling. I got to see wood ducks for the first time ever. They are soooo cute. And then there were tree swallows, great horned owl w/babies, grebes, teals and all kinds of birds. I also spotted a beaver and a muskrat during my walks.

On Saturday I drove over to Estes Park and through parts of the gorgeous Rocky Mountains. This was my first encounter with Big Horn Sheep. On Sunday I circumnavigated Rocky Mountain National Park. There was snow in the passes so I wasn't able to take a shortcut through it. I drove for about 10 hours through amazing country. I used a backroad to get to Boulder. While driving I was able to change my reservations for that evening to Boulder, instead of Estes. It was a perfect choice, I was able to stay at the Best Western, 10 minutes from the University.

Photos
To Fort Collins: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157604837446521/
University of Northern Colorado: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157604832782212/
Colorado State University: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157604886506205/
Around Fort Collins: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157604886506205/
To Boulder, the long way round: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157604903601774/

Laramie Wyoming: first stop on the rocky mountain circuit

yhblackbirds01
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

It's a long drive from Pocatello to Laramie but it goes swiftly when there are clouds in the sky (keeping the sun from beating down) and when the stereo functions. Tuesday April 29th I headed for Laramie. I saw a lot of pronghorns. Actually, I've seen lots of pronghorns everywhere. I think I've seen them in every state I visited. I also saw the largest flock of yellowheaded blackbirds ever. I mean there were hundreds of them. It was stunning.

Wyoming gets so much snow that they build corrals to keep it in. I know, I amuse myself too. :)

The next morning I loaded up the car only to be pestered by an unusual birdsong. A dusky flycatcher, which I had never seen before was serenading me goodbye. The interview with Univ of Wyoming went well and I said goodbye to Wyoming and headed for Fort Collins Colorado.

Photos
Drive to Laramie: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157604817663276/
University of Wyoming: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157604832297920/