Our Grand Alasakan Adventure

August 17, 2014 ? Day 89
A new day has dawned to rain, rain and more rain.  Is it ever going to stop?  Well, not for a while.  Went out to breakfast at the Sweet Tooth Caf?, it was okay, I think I could have made a better breakfast.  Made it over to the National Park Visitor Center in time for the 9 AM Ranger lead program.  It was a walking tour of Skagway.  Ranger Jason was knowledgeable and eager to share his love of history with us. He related how William Moore had the foresight to purchase the land Skagway sits on and wanted to name the town Mooreland, but the stampeders came in by ship too fast, too many and took over the town since there wasn?t any lawman around, still isn?t from what I have seen. Also about ?Soapy? Smith (who was from Colorado originally), he was the resident con man.  Then there was Frank Reid who was the town do-gooder (but was wanted for murder in Montana).  Reid wanted Soapy and his gang out of town and Soapy wasn?t going to stand for it and they ended up shooting each other and both dying.  We found our way out to the Gold Rush Cemetery quite by accident and let me tell you, it is one creepy, spooky place.  First off it is cloudy, cool and raining, the cemetery sits on a hill, lots of trees, headstones all over the hillside, some with cracked, weathered wooden grave markers, some with wooden fences around them, some with newer stone markers.  All but 3 people buried there were from 1898-1899.  Found Soapy and Reid?s grave sites.  Soapy?s has no special grave marker but Reid?s is a big stone marker.  Walked up to the Lower Reid Falls, the water is running very fast through there.  Decided this was one thoroughly depressing and spooky place.  It brought home, as nothing else has, the terrible ordeal these people went through in trying to get to the gold fields.
Since it was still raining we headed back to WeBe for lunch and a power nap. During the nap the wind decided to return also. After dinner the rain seemed to be letting up so we went back out to the Dyea Flats to see if we could see any bears.  Ranger Jason had told us early today there were a couple out there last night.  Thought we might even walk a little of the Chilkoot Trail.  As we got in view of the tidal flats at the estuary of the Taiya River, we thought we saw some bears. We hurried over there through the scary, dark forest with its moss covered ground and lichen covered trees.  Didn?t have time for the trail or the Slide Cemetery, where all the people (100+) who died in an avalanche on April 3, 1898 are buried.  Instead we watched 2 grizzly?s eating grass and daisies on the tidal flats for nearly 90 minutes.  They were about 100 + yards away from us, one even stood on his hind legs and looked around a few times.  As the light was fading, headed back down that potholed road to WeBe.  Watched the Island Princess cruise ship leaving port, carrying happy, buffet-besotted tourists on to their next port of call (Jim came up with that last line). Still very windy but at least it isn?t currently raining.  On to the M.V. Columbia tomorrow afternoon and our voyage to Sitka.
TTFN
Soapy Smith's grave marker- all the other pics I wanted to share were too big to download, I guess you will all just have to come to our house when we have our vaca picture night.

Dyea is where those who climbed the Chillkoot Pass began.

Click to expand...

We didn't see bears there so actually started the Chillkoot trail.  We climbed upward for about half a mile and tried to imagine how difficult it must have been for those people who were carrying huge loads and had to step in the same footsteps as others before them and not being able to leave the line or they would lose their place.  I sure wouldn't have wanted to do it, but I guess the gold seekers were willing to do just about anything to find some of the yellow stuff.  It really was an amazing time!

ArdraF

August 18, 2014 ? Day 90
Happy 4th Birthday to Mason (our grandson)- we hope your day was filled with joy, we miss you.
Cold, cloudy and windy here in Skagway.  Need to get WeBe packed up and ready to be put on the ferry for our ride down to Sitka.  After breakfast I went in search of some gas for the Blazer, newspaper and an ATM machine.  Found gas, found 1-2 day old newspaper and the search for an ATM was a little more difficult.  There are 2 ATM?s in Skagway, one at the entrance to Wells Fargo Bank, which was out of order.  I assumed the grocery store would have one but they told me to go to the bank.  But the bank said to try Radio Shack.  Finally found Radio Shack and some cash but I also found the cupcake shop right across the street.  It was Mason?s B-Day so we had to celebrate too, right.  Headed over to the ferry terminal and checked-in WeBe since they had to measure the length and width and since there wasn?t another ship today we could leave it in the queue.  We then headed over to the Jewel Gardens for a little look see.  We thought it was a tad expensive for what they had ($12.50 PP).  Nice flower beds but not everything was labeled, but they did have some nice vegetables gardens with some veggies I had never seen in their planted state.  They did have a ?Rose? and ?Lily? house which made us think of my sister?s farm (we love being there).  Hope we get to be at the ?Farm? later this fall.  We did have lunch at Poppies, their restaurant.  They use their own grown veggies.  Jim had a salmon salad and I had a beet salad, both were very good.  Then back to the ferry terminal to wait our turns for being loaded on.  I did get nervous when they waved me forward (I was behind Jim), I had to sit and wait for the dock workers to see if he was going to scrape bottom on the ramp, this ramp moves and I thought it was going to move right out of its holdings.  Then I had to wait while he backed it up into the space and again I was sitting on a moving ramp.  When we met up at the Purser?s desk he told me he had to go back down to the car deck at Haines.  The only thing we could think of was they were going to move WeBe.  We got underway on time and sailed away from the mainland of Alaska (kinda sad after all this time).  Looked for waterfalls and explored the MV Columbia.  Arrived at Haines and went to the car deck, the attendant told us to wait in WeBe he might be moving us.  Very interesting the workings of the ferry.  We watched as the deck crew directed each oncoming car, motorhome, trucks, trailers and motorcycles to their position, according to their final destination.  We got the hand signal we were being moved, it was pretty easy thing to do.  Then we stood and watched the goings on and it was truly fascinating.  Where WeBe had been parked there was now an 18 wheeler, talk about maneuvering, these drivers were really good.  Great people watching too, because after their vehicle was secured they walked up the staircase next to where we were standing.  Some people are really strange. Finally gave up and headed up to the dining room because Jim was hungry.  Nice view from the back of the ship, Jim had cod and I had prawns.  The ship was about an hour late leaving Haines.  I wonder how many vehicles they put on just in Haines.  Went back to our cabin after dinner and sang Happy Birthday to Mason even though he wasn?t with us and had our cupcakes, we are really sorry to have missed his birthday.  Grabbed the newspapers and went to the lounge area to read and watch the scenery.  Lots of glaciers and waterfalls.  Our cabin this time is much bigger than going to Kodiak.  We have facilities which is very nice but still with upper and lower berth. 
It has been an exciting day and tomorrow will be even more exciting, a new town, we hope we like it as much as we think we will.  But then, we like the small coastal towns and Sitka has the Russian influence.  Stay tuned and I?ll let you know what we think.
TTFN

August 19, 2014 ? Day 91
For as windy as it was in Skagway our cruise down to Sitka was pretty smooth.  Jim commented he heard the announcements a couple of times during the night that the car deck was either open or closed.  I assume it was around the times going in or out of Juneau.  I on the other hand didn?t hear all that much but slept crummy.  We didn?t think we would arrive Sitka till noonish but surprise, we arrived about 9:30 AM.  Good thing we got up when we did.  Gathered our belongings when the announcement came we could go to the car deck.  Once again a fascinating thing to watch.  The car that was parked behind me, the folks brought down their suitcase and then left again, not to return for about 15 minutes.  The car deck crew was looking at me to get in my car but I wasn?t going anywhere fast.  The Air Stream parked behind WeBe was moving so I thought I would make sure Jim got it backed out okay, I needn?t worry, the car deck crew are excellent at their job.  Well the poke a-longs finally showed up with more belongings and the crew were waving them along.  I actually pulled out onto the ramp just before Jim and WeBe did.  Drove 1 mile to Starrigavan Forest Service Campground, site #9 and only $6 per night because of Jim?s Golden Age Passport, some advantage to being 62.  The campground sits in a rain forest and you know it, lots of trees with moss hanging off of them, moss for ground cover, just plain old heavy vegetation.  The heavy clouds did not help either.  The campground host told us Sitka has had 20-25 inches of rain in the last 2 weeks, I told them to prepare for more because the Freas family was on site.  Very helpful host, they even delivered wood for us to use in our campfire.
Headed in to town to scope out the area, we actually drove from one end of Sitka to the other.  Our campground is at the end of the road. Lots of road construction too.  Went to the Sitka National Historic Park (got my stamp), watched the movie, saw some totem poles and read about how the Tlingit people and the Russians warred with each other in 1804. Sitka was the capital of Russian America and is the site where the Russian transferred ownership to the United States.  We hope to learn more when we take a ranger lead walk either tomorrow or Thursday. Came back to WeBe and took a nap since we didn?t sleep much last night.  Walked out on the estuary to see the Pink salmon coming in to spawn further up the river.  Thousands of fish were in the stream and sad to see so many dead ones floating in the water or washed up on the rocks.  Walked over to the Old Sitka State Park and read the placards they had posted about the history. Back to have some dinner and start a fire, it is supposed to be fairly nice the next couple of days.  Great fire and had some s?mores too.  It is going to be dark in here tonight.  Should be good sleeping so we are ready to tackle all the highlights of the pretty little town.
TTFN

We too loved watching the ferry loading and unloading.  The first time up there were several logging trucks and a fleet of school buses destined for Fairbanks, plus the usual assortment of trucks, RVs, and cars.  And you're right, those deck hands really know their jobs!  We haven't been to Sitka so I'm looking forward to your next post.

ArdraF

Well Sissie  you made it on and off the ship!!!    Good for you guys.

August 20, 2014 ? Day 92
You are not going to believe me when I say we woke to sunshine, yes actual sun.  It was just barely filtering in through the trees.  I will say the day turned out beautiful, sunny, warm and barely a cloud in the sky.  It was a welcome change.
Ventured into town this AM ready to play tourist some more, the SS Westerdam was in port so we had company.  Parked the car at Totem Square and began walking our first stop was to the Russian Bishop?s House.  It was built by the Russian-American Company for the first Russian Orthodox bishop to reside in Alaska in 1843.  It was occupied until 1969 and then sold to the Park Service who took about 16 years to restore.  A two story house with the first floor as a museum with artifacts, the second floor was the residence of the presiding bishop.  There were the private quarters with Bishop Innocence?s office, bedroom, guest rooms, dining room, formal meeting room and a private chapel.  In the formal meeting room the bishop would sit on the sofa and whoever was visiting sat on chairs. The private chapel is still used for special occasions today.  Another interesting fact was the bishop?s bed was quite short and he was 6 feet tall but in those days they slept almost sitting up because they thought it was easier to breathe.
Then onto Saint Michael?s Cathedral, this is a Russian Orthodox Church.  From what we understand the church did not split up until the 11th century when the Catholic Church split off and the reason for this was the Western Church had a tendency to invest more and more authority in the Pope.  The Orthodox Church has never had a worldwide, centralized government, instead, each local church governs itself in accord with all the other local Orthodox churches.  The Orthodox Church has not had any liturgical reforms.  Some may get confused with it being a Russian or Greek Orthodox Church.  There is only one Orthodox Church but identifies itself according to the language in which it services are celebrated.  All very interesting and what a beautiful church, lots of ?icons? or pictures, gold and silver chalices, candle holders and many other artifacts.
Stopped in the Sitka Lutheran Church which is rather non-descript after visiting the Russian Orthodox Church.  We were told the Russian?s didn?t want the Lutheran Church to take away from the Orthodox Church so it had to be plain.
Walked up the hill to Castle Hill which is where the Russian?s signed over Alaska to the US on October 18, 1867.  The reason the Russian?s sold Alaska was they needed cash because they lost the Crimea War and the fur trade was not financial rewarding for them.  At the time Russia and the US were allies and England had looked into acquiring Alaska to expand their presence in the Northwest.  Russia wanted the US to have it and not England.  So Alaska was sold to the US for 7.2 million dollars in 1867 which worked out to about 2 cents an acre.  Nice view of Sitka Bay, boat harbor, mountains and town from here.
Took our time and wandered the streets and shops of Sitka past the Russian blockhouse which was used as a lookout.  We had hoped to see the New Archangel dancers but missed the show today. We will have to try again tomorrow since they only perform on days a cruise ship is in port.  It is traditional Russian dance performed by local women in authentic costumes.
Finally made our way to McDonald?s since they have the best WiFi connection in town.  Caught up on emails and such.  A stop at the grocery store before making our way back to WeBe and some dinner.  Then we made a great fire, no s?mores tonight since we had ice cream earlier today.  The campsite has a little odor to it tonight, the smell of dead fish.  If you remember me telling of the thousands of spawning salmon in the river by the campground.  Once the salmon spawn they die and it is not right away but may take a few days.  Then they wash up on the rocks or float downstream.  I know it is all part of the cycle but so sad to see.  We have kept our eyes and ears open for the bear because of all the spawning fish so close to us.
TTFN
Totem Pole at Sitka national Historic Park and a view of the harbor from Castle Hill

August 21, 2014 ? Day 93
Up and out of WeBe early, there is road construction on the main drag and we have to meet Paul of Gallant Adventures for a whale watching trip.  Looked like the road construction was behind schedule, not much completed yet, more people standing around drinking coffee than anything else.  Made it to the boat harbor without difficulties and met up with Paul.  We waited a few minutes for some folks getting off the SS Amsterdam (Holland America).  It was a family of 7 but they split up and we had the 2 children and the soon to be son-in-law.  Nice kids, they were pretty quiet.  We saw all kinds of wildlife, sea otters, stellar sea lions, seals, and about 12 whales (all humpbacks).  We were in a 24 ft boat so we could get pretty close.  One time we thought the whale was going to come up right next to the boat.  He wasn?t too far off, we felt the spray from his blow hole.  Visited the St Lazaria Island while we were out, there were some beautiful rocks, caves with some walls that looked pink and puffins (tufted and horned).  We took some time today to just watch and not take a ton of pictures.  Finished off our 3+ hour tour in time to make it over to the Harrigan Centennial Hall to see the New Archangel Dancers.  A 30 minute performance of traditional Russian dancing performed by women (because the men didn?t come here to dance-that is what we were told today).  Very enjoyable, some toe tappin, hand clapping music with some gypsy thrown in.
Stopped in the Bayview Pub for some lunch and the service was horrible.  It took close to 40 minutes to get some fish and chips and a burger.  To top it off, it wasn?t all that great.  Wandered through town a little more, stopped in the quilt shop but came out empty handed.  Went back into the Russian American Store where everything sold in there is made in Russian.  Bought me a Santa but known in Russia at Grandfather Frost.  Walked up the hill to see the Russian Cemetery, didn?t see any real old headstones.  Over in the Lutheran Cemetery we saw Princess Maksoutoff?s grave.  She was the captain?s wife and known to have sort of civilized the town.  Finally we found the US Coast and Geodetic Survey House.  This house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Known locally as the ?White House? the building was constructed in 1901 as the magnetic observatory nearest to the magnetic North Pole.  You can figure that one out, I just spout off facts to you.  At the last place to visit today was Building 29- it is was one of the few log structures surviving from the Russian era of Alaska history.  Built by the Russians in 1835, spruce logs, sawdust installation system and heavy squared beams support the structure.  Most of the logs have been resurfaced but there is one wall exposed for those to see.
Okay, I think we have had it for the day, we both feel drained.  Back to WeBe but this time we had to stop for quite a while for the construction.  Still didn?t see much progress.  Campground host did come around and say the plan for tomorrow included paving in front of the campground so the road would be closed for several hours.  I built a fire (we had so much wood to still use) and Jim fixed dinner. Then we sat ourselves down and watched the fire.  Just finished a cup of tea and I think I am ready for bed.
TTFN
St. Michael's Cathedral from 2 different angles and Mt Edgebumbe Volcanoe

Great pictures.  I love the totem pole.  Very cool

August 22, 2014 ? Day 94
Took our time getting up and functioning, had a great breakfast of sausage and pancakes. We need to pack up WeBe because we were moving to a different campground with hookups right next to the ferry terminal.  Not a difficult transition.  Once all set up at Sportman?s RV (not one I would stay at again, but it did have hookups) we made our way to town and specifically Sitka National Historic Park for the ranger led Totem Walk.  Ranger Ryan was our guide and there were just a few of us today (no cruise ships in port).  There are 4 types of totems, Memorial, Ridicule, Crest and historic.  The Memorial is usually simple square pole with just a single figure on top that denotes the clan of the person who died, the back would have a hollowed out area for the remains of the deceased.  The Ridicule pole was intended to put someone to shame, it usually had a shrimp or crab denoted because they are bottom feeders.  It has to be a pretty significant offense to earn a Ridicule Pole.  Then there is the Crest pole, this is usually telling about the history of the clan.  Then the final one is the telling a story.  Most totem poles are Haida but a few were Tlingit.  Only the carver and the one who commissioned it knows the exact meaning. 
Stopped at the Mariners Wall, a brick wall with memorials on each brick to those who have gone before us either sailed or loved the sea. So sad to see so many who died at a young age or a family who died together.
Then we made our way over to McDonald?s for a salad and their internet. Even there we had good people watching. Got stopped for road construction again, the paving seems to be going slower than they expected.  Jim went out fishing for a while once we were back at WeBe.  He caught some nice salmon in the ocean before they moved up stream.  He also caught sculpins.  He met a couple who took his picture for him of the fish.  She is a professional photographer and he a retired federal worker.  Nice folks who were backpacking and planning to sail on the Taku with us in the morning. Since they were backpacking we offered to pick them up at the campground and give them a ride to the ferry.  Made some brownies for our journey tomorrow. Generally got ourselves organized for the ferry ride to Prince Rupert. 
TTFN
pic- a whales tale

August 23, 2014 ? Day 95

Rained overnight but stopped about the time we got up.  Had to set the alarm so we would get to the ferry on time.  Didn?t really need to set it because neither of us slept very well  Had a simple breakfast and closed up WeBe, Jim was going to drive the motorhome to the terminal and I was going to go pick up Barbara and Mike, the 2 back packers Jim met the day before.  We all reconvened at the ferry terminal.  Jim had us checked in and said our goodbyes to the back packers or rather we?ll see you later.  We are on the MV Taku, a smaller ship than the MV Columbia that we were on from Skagway to Sitka. The Taku maybe put on a total of 20 cars, trucks, RV?s and trailers.
We boarded around 8:30 AM and had the keys to room 25A.  We were able to pull straight on to this ship. And we departed Sitka at 9:15 AM.  Nice little town, I enjoyed our visit.  The first part of the trip was getting through what is referred to as ?the narrows?, a very narrow waterway that is best done with a high or higher tide.  There were times I think we could have walked on shore from the ship.  We saw bald eagles, a deer, several waterfalls and a rare red headed merganzer.  Lots of pine forests with rolling hills, some pretty islands with rock bases and trees coming out of the rocks.  Skies are cloudy but it looks as if it might clear some later.
Took a walk on the deck before lunch because we were planning a nap after lunch. Nap felt really good but we did set an alarm so we wouldn?t sleep too long since it is an inside cabin.  Back up to the upper deck to watch for whales and we were not disappointed.  Saw maybe 20+ whales, a couple of pods went by and it was just one spout after the next, one even breached for us, it was pretty special.  Spent the rest of the afternoon watching whales, we met up with Barbara and Mike for dinner in the cafeteria.  While eating dinner another pod of whales came by and we saw something we have only heard about, ?bubble feeding?.  This is when a group of whales use their blowhole to make a curtain of bubbles so the smaller fish don?t escape and then they open their mouths and come to the surface catching all the smaller fish in their mouth.  It was amazing to see not once but twice.  After that it was hard to sit back down and eat. Jumped up a few times to see if the whales were going to give us another show but not, just the flip of their tails.  Into the bar the 4 of us went and ordered some wine and just chatted the night away.  Very nice folks, they are on their honeymoon.  Off to bed around 10:30 PM and we will once again set the alarm, just in case. 
I forgot to mention that the clouds did give way to sunshine for a good part of the afternoon.  It clouded up when we made a stop in Kake, AK. The funniest thing we saw while waiting in Kake, which is a town of about 500, was several towns folk pulled up to the ramp for the ship, ran down the ramp and a little while later they ran up the ramp with carry out food cartons and jumped back in their cars and roared off. It seems the Marine Ferry are these small towns ?fast food?.  But we did check the sky before bed and there were stars, real stars, haven?t seen that in a while.
TTFN
pics- Jim and his salmon he caught on Sitka and if you closely at the pic you can see several whale spouts "bubble feeding"

August 24, 2014- Day 96
A very lazy day at sea, still making our way to Prince Rupert.  Cool cloudy day eventually changing over to rain and heavy rain at times.  Lots of rolling hills, islands and at one point we saw a beautiful old lighthouse on one of the islands. We played cards, read, watched for whales.  We did have a stop in Ketchikan but it wasn?t long enough to get into town, see something and get back out to ship.  There were 3 cruise ships in port at Ketchikan.  Got to Prince Rupert about 5:30 PM Alaska time (6:30 PM Prince Rupert time).  By the time we waited to go through customs, we made it to the Prince Rupert RV Park we were starving.  The site was not easy for us to level WeBe and I was just about ready to give up and move on, but Jim was the cool calm collected one and he got it level.  Made some dinner, drove through town (took 5 minutes) and came back to WeBe.  Made a nice cup of Sleepytime tea, played Yahtzee and got my butt beat.  Decided I had better just go to bed.
TTFN 

August 25, 2014 ? Day 97
Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband.  Thank you for the 30 years of wedded bliss.  I know there are times you wanted to throw me to the wolves but it has been a great 30 years and here is to hopefully 30 more, God willing.

Today was the height of laziness, we didn?t get out of bed until 9 AM Pacific time. Rained all night, very heavy at times, cool, cloudy with mist or rain all day. Went to Tim Horton?s for donuts, what a treat.  Tried to find a place to get my nails done but the only shop was booked.  Went by the Visitor Center and walked along the area they call Cow Bay here in Prince Rupert.  Everything is bovine related.  It is a cute idea.  Looked at a couple of restaurants for possibility for dinner, it was hard after being full from donuts.  Stopped at a bank to get change for laundry since we needed Loonies (Canada?s $1 coin).  Back to camp to do laundry and I would have to say this campground?s laundry is the worst I have ever seen, but it is done.  Worked on computer looking up possible stops on the way home and looked at a couple of National Parks/Monuments in Washington State.
We have thought about our grandson, Mason, today since it was his 1st day of 4 year old preschool, hope the day went well.
Went to Dolly?s Fish Market for dinner tonight, a local place we had been told about.  Very happy to have followed up on that tip, it was really good.  Jim had seafood pasta and he said it felt like the never ending bowl.  He finally gave up.  I had shrimp which was very good.  Stopped at the Safeway on the way back to WeBe and acquired a couple of pieces of cake to celebrate. Since we were full from dinner we only had a little of the cake.  After indulging in cake and wine we read each other a little poetry from Robert Service.  I think that maybe a first for us (reading poetry to each other).  Now it is time to get down to business and play a little cards (I?m feeling lucky tonight).
TTFN

Happy Belated Anniversary wishes. I can't believe it's been 30 yrs.  Love you

Love the bubble feeding and the ferry carry out stories!  Glad you had a nice 30th and belated happy anniversary.

ArdraF

August 26, 2014 ? Day 98
We went back and forth as to whether we should head up to Hyder-Stewart and finally decided it was now or never.  Hyder is in Alaska and Stewart is in British Columbia and are separated by about 6 miles.
This meant we headed north again but that?s okay, the road home always seems to have some extra twists and turns.  This was one of them.  It rained most of the night and I can tell you the ground is saturated and it wasn?t any fun getting WeBe ready to go.  We took BC Highway 16 also called the Yellowhead Highway to BC 37 or known as the Cassiar Highway.  It rained on us till early afternoon and Jim promised me some sun and it made an appearance, yeah. Part of our drive today followed the Skeena River through her skinny and deep areas to the fat and shallow parts.  It was interesting to see how different she can flow.  Lots of people on the river today. Went over Rainbow Summit, a whole 160 meters (about 500 feet). We have noticed there is Fall in the air here, lots of trees with yellow leaves, even a few red.  What surprised us was some of the trees had lost most of their leaves.  The Fireweed is all but spent, just a few sporadic tops still blooming.  We saw Woolly Caterpillars trying to sun themselves on the road, not very smart of them.  We saw a roadside sign that said ?mushroom buyer?, that was a first for us. Jim even saw a ptarmigan that had begun to change from summer brown to winter white.  Going over the Hanna Creek Bridge we could see many bright red sockeye salmon swimming up river to spawn.  Most of this happened before we turned off the Cassair to drive the 40 miles to Stewart.  All told we drove 282 miles today. 
What a beautiful 40 miles it was too.  Although we saw heavily forested areas today this drive funneled into a canyon with waterfalls and several glaciers.  Bear Glacier was the only named one and the biggest.
Made it Bear River RV Park in Stewart, we chose this one so we didn?t have to go through customs again with WeBe.  Okay campground, but not any internet service that is reliable.  We haven?t been able to connect yet.  Set up and headed over to Hyder to Fish Creek.  This is where the US Forest service has built an elevated boardwalk along the creek, this is for bear watching.  We had called a few days ago to see if there had been much action and the response was yes, but the last couple of days the bear viewing was non-existent ( they call it the salad days- when the bears are tired of fish, they eat berries and leaves). But we took our chances coming here, seeing wildlife is not a guarantee. Drove over to Fish Creek, about 5 miles out of Hyder and parked.  There is a gate there where you pay an entrance fee ($5), but Jim had his senior pass, so we didn?t have to pay anything, yeah.  Walked part way down the boardwalk and there is a grizzly munching on berries right along the edge of the river.  It didn?t make a lot of sense to me since the river was teeming with salmon.  Well, let me say she entertained us for 2-2 1/2 hours. She was a double tagged bear which means if she is caught in town again she will be put down (the 3 strike rule).  She ate berries, she scared the fish and was successful in catching an eating several.  The Forest Service person (who reminded us of my brother-in-law, Roger) told us she was putting her paw on the fish to squeeze out the salmon eggs to eat and then leave the fish.  She did eat some of the fish but not all of them.  At first she was less than 50 feet from us but at one time she was less than 10 feet (we were safely on the boardwalk), she never seemed to acknowledge we were there with a lot of other people.  While waiting in the customs line to re-enter Canada we had a rainbow.  On the Portland Canal there was a large floating raft of logs.  We did see several logging areas today.  The logging trucks here go down the road that the campground is on. Luckily they aren?t working tonight. Ready for a cup of tea.
TTFN
pic is Bear Glacier

August 27, 2014 ? Day 99
Horrible night for sleeping plus we set the alarm for 6 AM so we could get out to Fish Creek in hopes of seeing the wolf that has been there the past two mornings.  But we were not so lucky, no bear, no wolf.  Gave up after a couple of hours and drove out to Salmon Glacier.  Drove 16 miles up a washboard, potholed road, often driving through the clouds.  Yes, it was cloudy and misting. But it was pretty cool to drive through a cloud and catch a glimpse of the glacier.  It is a huge one way up the mountains.  Lots and lots of blue ice and mountain peaks around it with ice caps.  Other folks must had the same idea to look at the glacier since there wasn?t any wildlife to see.  As we were driving down the hill I kind of hit a brick wall, I couldn?t keep my eyes open.  Went back to WeBe and had a bite to eat and off to nap for me.  I felt much better when I woke up about 90 minutes later. Puttered around here for a while and talked with a lady in the Winnebago Caravan, it is a WIT sponsored Alaskan Trip, they are on their last few days of a 50 day trip.  She told us to wander up to the little shelter around 4 PM when they gather around for happy hour.  I had put a roast in the crock pot in the AM so started boiling potatoes to make mashed.  Jim and headed to the WIT group about 4:30 PM, they invited us in and they said they were having a great trip.  We met the Couch?s who used to be the WIT Central Reps, when we said we were from Colorado they wanted to know if we were from the Columbine?s and we proudly said yes.  They were searching for a couple of names and they remembered Sue and Bob Reinert.  They commented the Columbines was a good group and we couldn?t have agreed more. (Hi to Anne Dugdale and Sandy Sandley, don?t know who else might be reading this, but Hi).  Back to WeBe to eat the feast I had prepared, we needed our strength to go back and fight the crowds bear watching.  Well, some of the same people from this morning were still watching for a bear, nothing all day.  Half way down the boardwalk one of the Forest Service guys said there was a bear at the end of the boardwalk.  Mad scramble of cameras, tripods, camera gear and humans all trekked to the end of the boardwalk and there was a bear.  It wasn?t until she got a little closer we knew it was the bear from yesterday, but now we had a name for here, Mira, and she is about 12 years old.  Watched her eat her way up the stream, as she ate a couple of dead fish you could hear the ripping and tearing of the skin and crunching of the bones, she was that close.  Finally she made her way under the boardwalk and over into the trees on the other side of the pond.  We could see shrubs moving for quite a while, then it all stopped and nothing.  Maybe she laid down for a nap, who knows, that was when we decided to call it a night.  Back to WeBe for some tea, a rousing game of Yahtzee and now I am ready for bed.
TTFN
pics are of Salmon Glacier- I love the one of the whole in the cloud with a glacier underneath

August 28, 2014 ? Day 100
Happy 100th Day, yeah!!!
Slept in a little and out to Fish Creek by 9:15 AM.  As we passed the Portland Canal there was a layer of fog sitting over the water and in the far distance we thought we saw something but not sure what it was, slowly it became clearer, a logging ship was out there barely visible through the fog, a ghost ship we named it.  Stood, walked around for a couple of hours, no bears, no wolves.  Gave up and headed to car, we just started driving down the road and there is a black bear.  Gave it the respect treatment and stayed way back, but was able to get off a couple of pics.  Since it was too far past the boardwalk we didn?t think it would be worth it to drive back, park and try to catch another glimpse, so we continued back to town.  Made it through customs, they have to be sick of seeing the same cars and same people a few times a day. Decided to help the local economy so we stopped at the ice cream store/DVD rental place/pool table place for an ice cream.  While licking our cones a local lady asked if we were here last night, ?yes? we said, then she broke our hearts when she said ?did you see the Northern Lights last night??  I had mentioned to Jim that there had been a solar flare and maybe just maybe if it cleared up we might see something.  At 10:30 PM Jim looked out and saw stars but nothing else. The local had stated she saw them around 12:30 AM.
Sadden we made our way back to WeBe and fixed lunch.  Tried to nap but the owners of the campground decided it was time to fix some of the potholes in the driveway.  So we cleaned WeBe really well. Then Jim went over to pay for our last night of camping and the employee asked him if he saw the bear in the campground last night.  Why are we always a day late and a dollar short.  Since it had started to rain again and today was supposed to be sunny, we put together a puzzle the kids had given us at retirement.  We really enjoyed the afternoon, thanks kids.
Fix an early dinner so we could wander back out to Fish Creek. When we got there we heard there had been 2 recent bears around but one basically came out, walked across the grass and back into the shrubbery.  The other one was way down in the creek and even those with 400 power lens said it was too far. So we watched, we walked and I got bored and started reading my murder mystery on the Nook.  I had been reading for quite a while when I heard grunt sound and lots of water splashing under the bridge, more than fish swimming.  No one was down at this end of the boardwalk but me, so I got up and walked up about 10 feet and there about 10ft from me was a grizzly munching on salmon.  Snapped off a couple of pics before I realized it was Mira, the same bear of the last 2 nights.  Since everyone (including the busload of Asians) were at the opposite end of the boardwalk I was able to spend a brief amount of time just enjoying the scene before me.  Then the Forest Service guy radioed there was a bear and everyone came running, jocking for the best position to snap that picture.  Followed her down the river a bit before she snagged a salmon and walked up through the shrubs, under the boardwalk and to the privacy of the trees to eat her salmon.  Jim was standing next to me because he anticipated her going under the boardwalk, but he gave his spot up for a short Asian woman who then used her elbows to jab at me to get more ladies in there to look with her.  Well, I stood my ground, I was there before them but I didn?t appreciated getting jabbed numerous times.
I couldn?t find Jim, I turned every which way but no sight of him.  Later he explained he moved further down the boardwalk and that was when he saw a grizzly swim through the pond, he had the precious few seconds before anyone realized there was another bear and swarmed.  We were told this was Dog Ear Bear because one of his ears is all chewed up from a confrontation with a dog a few years back.  Watched as both bears a mere couple of feet apart pass each other and go about either eating a fish or going to look for a fish to eat.  Mira slowly made her way across the other creek and into the shrubs just like last night so we turned our attention to Dog Ear who moseyed down the river, eating a few salmon and then moving on.  It was close to 9 PM by now, the rain continued to fall and the fog was on the stream.  We decided to call it a night and took one last look and there in the fog shrouded river Dog Ear faded into the night.
On our drive back Jim had asked if we could go down the logging truck road, I agreed since I was driving we made the turn and down we went, still raining, getting darker by the second and then there was fog coming off the Bear River.  Driving through the fog with twists and turns, eerie if you ask me.  Then suddenly the road curved and you were looking at a wall of thousands and thousands of stacked logs.  Between the logs, the dark, the rain and the fog, I was creeped out and couldn?t wait to get back to WeBe for a drink.
TTFN
pic- Mira with a fish, black bear in road and the ghost ship

Wonderful pics of the glaciers!!!

Thanks on the glacier pics.

August 29, 2014 ? Day 101
Today was a travel day from Stewart to Smithers, BC- 205 miles. Cloudy all day with rain off and on, a few times we saw a little blue sky but then back to clouds. Lots of the glaciers and waterfalls we passed going into Stewart were shrouded in clouds this morning.  Once we got back to BC Highway 16 (Yellowhead Highway) it was new highway for us.  Aspen and cottonwoods are still changing, even shrubs and bushes along the highway are changing colors.  Some traffic but not too much, a few hills or what they call mountains but nothing too high.  Made it to Smithers around 2 PM, found the Smithers Municipal Campground down by the Bulkley River.  We had made a reservations but were not given a site number and the Park Attendant wasn?t going to be back till 5:30 PM.  So we picked a non- reserved site but didn?t level or finish with hookups till we know for sure we can stay here.  Drove into town, they have a couple of stoplights, looking for a book store and a place for me to get my nails done.  We were looking for an audio book we could listen to.  Well we got skunked, no audio book and no available appointments for nails.  So we wandered around downtown, which is very nice and then stopped in DQ for a Blizzard.  Went back out to WeBe to see if we could get on internet, yes we could, yeah since the last few days internet was non-existent.  Looked up some campgrounds for future nights and made some reservations and then made about 10 phone calls to nail shops in Prince George.  This is also a long holiday weekend for Canadian?s, so most shops were closing early for the holiday.  But I did find one person who would stay late for me.  Now we just need to get up early and on the road so we can get to Prince George. 
The pavilion across from our campsite seems to be setting up for something, being nosey I hope we find out.  But it looks like a band is going to play.  Park Attendant finally made it back and we were in the right site, so we set up, opened the awning so it could dry and what did it do, yep, it started to rain. Had some dinner and went for a walk, the band had started playing and we were enjoying the music.  Found out the pavilion was being used for a wake.  We decided we like might have liked the person since we liked the music they were playing for them.  With the clouds it is pretty dark and it is only 9 PM, our summer is coming to an end.  Time for me to beat Jim at cards.
TTFN