Seattle, the end of the adventure

Seattle was always a planned stop. Lizzie lives there. At one time there was some thoughts of spending time exploring the Olympic National Park or seeing other places outside of Seattle. Visiting places in the Seattle area will have to wait for another vacation. We toured Seattle for a couple of days and it was great. Seattle is a fun place to visit, especially when the weather is nice. Judy Washburn rejoined us for this last bit of travel time.

After picking Judy up from the airport we visited Gasworks Park. This park was once an old coal fuel plant. They started to tear down the old buildings after a fire destroyed the plant. Then they realized these old buildings were a piece of art. Seattle is full of outdoor art. The remaining buildings became a Seattle attraction. There was a big hill on the other side of the gasworks art; kite fliers enjoyed the water breezes coming up the crest of the hill. This park faced Lake Union.

Our next stop was to visit the Chittenden Locks (Ballard Locks are their local name). It was fascinating to see the locks in action. They were very busy with traffic from the Puget Sound to Lakes Washington and Union. Boats were constantly traveling out toward the ocean or coming in. This process was so interesting that we came back the next day to watch the boat procession again. Some of the fancy yachts were impressive. I think listening to the CD book about building the Panama Canal peaked our interest in locks.

The highlight of our Seattle tourist activities was taking the Duck Tour. The ducks are vehicles built for storming Normandy beaches and islands in the Pacific during WWII. In the water or on land these vehicles do not travel very quickly. The soldiers unlucky enough to be on them during WWII felt like sitting ducks, hence their name. After WWII, production of these vehicles ceased; all ducks in use were built in the 1940s. Our driver kept us entertained with Seattle trivia and music while we visited all the tourist spots. The picture of GasWorks Park was taken from the duck while it was floating on Lake Union. After the trip we all agreed it was a great way to spend our time.


The duck starting and stopping point was across the street from the Experience Music Project Science Fiction Museum. I could not resist taking a picture of these riveting building. Frank O Gehry designed the building and Paul Allen paid for it. With the combination of a large budget and a genius architect, it was not surprising to see that this functional building is also a work of art. In the background of the picture, the bottom of the Space Needle is visible.

This picture displayed my favorite piece of art from the outdoor sculpture garden. We toured the garden on our way to Pike's Market. Having been to Seattle before I wanted to revisit this food and crafts mega-market.


That night we ate at Tutta Bella, an excellent local Italian restaurant. Their pizzas were amazing. They had some interesting foods on their pizzas; one I want to try to recreate at home. Lizzie works there; she knew to order this seasonal special pizza. Here was our group at the restaurant.

We had heard about the troll under the bridge from the duck tour, another piece of outdoor art in Seattle. We were determined to find said creature. Without Lizzie to direct us, we did not know what to look for. One of our last Seattle stops was to visit the troll and pose for an end of journey picture.

Whistler

British Columbia continued to display its beauty as we drove to Whistler. We were back in the mountains. The roads were much more crowded as we headed south towards Whistler. We were not the only car on the road. Construction was in full swing as they were enlarging the bridges from 1+ lanes to 2 lanes. One had to be cautious before crossing the bridges on this part of the highway.


Remnants from the Olympics were seen all over Whistler. The Olympic symbol was proudly displayed. The signs guiding tourists around the city were plentiful. This town was a tourist site filled with condos, a beautiful marketplace, a museum, and all season outdoor activities. Whistler offers a lot of activities for children. Bike lanes were crowded with families biking, roller blading or skate boarding.

The Squamish Lilwat Cultural Centre (Aboriginal Museum) was beautiful. This was in sharp contrast to the previous First Nation museum we visited. The architecture of this museum was striking as well as beautiful. The place offered exhibits about the culture of these two groups. Whistler was important to both the Squamish and Lilwat aboriginals. Clothing was displayed. If one was lucky enough to get on a tour, then jackets and head dresses could be touched as well. Crafts were taught. Culture was emphasized, not history. The museum was built three years ago, in time for the Olympics.


The mountains leaving Whistler were as beautiful as the ones we saw on our arrival. This place was stunning. I can see why skiers love the steep slopes. The road from Whistler south towards Vancouver was improved for the Olympics. At many points along the road south there would be three or four lanes of highway. Improving the roads for the Olympics must have been a national priority. Our drive south was easy.

We decided to stop at Alice Lake Campground on our way toward Vancouver. This place offered flush toilets and showers. When we arrived all the signs stated the campsites were full. We pushed our luck and asked if something was available. We procured an RV site for the night with electrical outlets. Since most of our previous campsites had been setup for RVs, we were not worried about setting up our tent on RV space. Sandy and I were experts at attaching the tent rain fly to trees, rocks or local brush. There was no way we could pound our tent stakes into the hard surface. Having the electrical outlet box allowed us to recharge all our computers, cell phones and camera batteries. We were roughing it with modern conveniences. The shower felt wonderful. This place was packed, probably due to its proximity to Vancouver and the upcoming weekend. It was fortunate that we arrived on a Thursday night. When we left folks were waiting in line for campsites.

Kamloops and Nairn Falls

The Yellowhead Highway took us through the only desert area of Canada. (The Yellowhead name comes from an explorer who had yellow streaks in his hair. The First Nation people called him Yellowhead. Thanks Bill for researching that question.) The scenery from this highway was quite a contrast from the glacier topped mountains we had seen the previous day. Kamloops is in the desert area. Kamloops hosts the Secwepec Museum and Heritage Park. This First Nation museum was very different from other native museums. It was housed in an old school complex. The museum told of how the First Nation local tribes banded together to try and save their land. A representative from first nation groups met with Queen Victoria. English settlers had talked very lovingly of the queen; this chief thought she would hear what the aboriginal people had to say and return their land. History tells us that did not happen. We learned about the early 1900s Catholic Church schools where First Nation children were forced to attend. The school's attitude towards the students was that they were free laborers. It was not a good experience and many older natives have bad memories of those times. There were several exhibits about archeological digs in the area. Two rivers converge in Kamloops. All the early peoples used the rivers as the primary mode of transportation. Having an intersection of two large rivers meant this area played an important role in the history of the First Nation people as well as the early explorers.

Shortly after we left Kamloops we were back in the forested mountains. We stopped for lunch at a roadside park next to a lake. The lake had beautiful rushes at one end. It was a peaceful respite.




Nairn Falls campground, our destination for the night, was striking. The rushing river next to the campground made beautiful music. One of the campsites (already occupied when we arrived) was overlooking the river; that is the first picture on the left. The next picture was from the end of the river hike (with Sandy standing by a tree). The last picture showed the beginning of Autumn colors.
The campsite was not without its flaws. Sandy and I wanted to have a sink with running water that night. There were several hikes around the campgrounds: to Nairn Falls, to One Mile Lake, and down the river. We started with the hike to the lake. That was a big mistake. The hike took off up hill. The trail kept climbing up over a crest to another crest with no end in sight. Eventually we turned back before getting to One Mile Lake. The hike was advertised as a 2.2 km hike; it felt as though we had walked for three miles before turning around. A side trip from that trail to Lumpy's Epic also did not achieve a destination; it was another trip up without any overlooks or explanation as to why it was Lumpy's Epic. There was a sign on a tree in the forest noting it was Lumpy's epic but no further details were offered. The trail along the river was beautiful and easy. After finishing the river hike, we were out of time to check out Nairn Falls. The campgrounds were well maintained and the location was beautiful. The hikes did not display a map or offer much explanation as to the destination. We should have checked with the local park manager about the hikes before starting. Live and learn. We all survived. The campsite overlooking the river was prime real estate; We would loved to have camped there. We did camp 50 feet away from that campsite. We were in the first tier campground not the box seat site.

Between Alaska Marine Highway and Clearwater

We arrived in Prince Rupert at 5 am PST. Any touring of the museum in Prince Rupert had to wait until after 10 am. To pass the time we stopped at a Tim Horton's (a Canadian fast food chain). I had seen Tim Horton's all through Canada and had never been in one. This T.H. had breakfast items only. We had our caffeine fix and a bagel. It was decent but the other ferry passengers were overrunning the joint and the bagel selection was limited. Then we found an internet cafe in the Safeway. It was always pleasant to catch up on home news via the internet.


Prince Rupert is known for its totems and the Museum of Northern B.C. To pass the time we found the museum and took pictures of the museum building and nearby totems. The museum was as beautiful inside as it was outside. The writeup and scenes of local First Nation tribal life were informative. Traveling on the rivers was the primary mode of transportation; models of the boats used by the natives were displayed. The aboriginal artists from this area, upper western B.C., were well represented. The recent history of Prince Rupert was also shown via photographs taken by a family who migrated to this area.

From Prince Rupert we drove East toward Prince George. The road followed the scenic Skeena River. I thought that I saw some river otters swimming; it was an unconfirmed sighting. We had our picnic lunch along the rushing river.

Outside of the town of Telkwa we camped at the Lake Tyhee Campground. At every new campsite we took a picture noting the number of times we had put up the tent. Sandy is holding up her fingers noting the campsite number. The loons on Lake Tyhee serenaded us at dusk.

Houston, B.C. housed the world's largest fly rod. The signs noting this world's largest object were posted along the road before we reached the campgrounds. The morning after Lake Tyhee we raced toward Houston. We had to stop and take pictures of the rod and its history. The name of the town was great; Houston we have landed another world's largest.


The road continued on to Prince George, our next stopping point. All the towns along this route (Highway 16) had impressive flower displays. One had a flower decorated volkswagen at both ends of the town. Prince George had an old truck planted with flowers by the Visitor's Center. Prince George also had Mr. P.G. Mr. P.G. was made from septic tank parts. It was originally made of wood and displayed in a parade. The original Mr. P.G. rotted; therefore the remade version was made of metal. Prince George is the largest town in this area. It is a major hub of transport, commerce, services and culture. In 1981 it was the second largest city in B.C. The manager at our hotel recommended we eat at Mr. Jake's restaurant. Locals always know the best places to eat. We walked downtown past several wedding gown stores to reach the restaurant. Mr. Jake's was a hit with our group. The popular food offering at Mr. Jake's was a steak dish. Not all of us ordered steaks but we all felt our dinner was the best. The prices for our dinners were very reasonable. We chatted with the staff who worked at Mr. Jake's. A man named Alex owned Mr. Jake's. That Alex passed the restaurant on to his son, also named Alex. This Alex did not know why the place was called Mr. Jake's. I will remember Prince George for its wedding dresses and Mr. Jake's restaurant.

On the road from Prince George toward Clearwater (first picture), there is an ancient cedar forest. We made a stop there to explore the park. A group of local conservationists bought the land and set it aside as a preserve. They wanted to save these ancient trees from the logging industry.



Walking around this preserve was a step back in time. Many of the trees were presumed to be about 2000 years old. The air was heavy with moisture. It was a cool day. The scents of the forest were a touch of cedar and a wonderful loomy smell. I felt as if I was in an enchanted forest. The coloring in the forest was vibrant due to the cloudy, moist weather.




There was a waterfalls in the preserve as well. Another hiker was worried about bears and was constantly clapping her hands as she hiked. This noise was a bit discordant in this serene place. We never encountered any bears along the trail and neither did she. There were only a few other hikers along the trails. We (another group of hikers and our group) all admired the people who stepped forward to save this ancient forest. The pictures do not do justice in displaying the height and breadth and feel of the trees and this sacred space.

This tree was named Treebeard from the "Lord of the Rings" series.


The ancient cedar forest was a wonderful stop on our way south toward Clearwater. We wanted to drive this slightly longer road (Yellowhead Highway) toward Kamloops because it was rated as scenic. Our trip was coming to a close and we wanted to enjoy every scenic road en route to Seattle.

Canada is a beautiful country. We often exclaimed in the car about the great scenery we were experiencing. My favorite road traveled was between Banff and Jasper; it was not the road less traveled but it was the most spectacular. This route was in my top ten list of scenic highways. The road runs down the west side of the Rockies; Jasper and Banff displayed the eastern side of the Rockies. We were seeing some of the same mountains from the opposite side. On the western side, the mountains have more of a Rockies look, more jagged, sharp peaks. Along the valleys between mountain ranges were some gorgeous ranches and farms. Here were some scenes that we passed:





These pictures were only a brief snapshot of the road. There were many other mountains, meadows and waterfalls that we passed and were not able to photograph. The slogan on the British Columbia license plate is "Beautiful British Columbia"; the slogan does not lie.

Our destination for the day was the North Thompson Campground near Clearwater. This campgrounds offered a peaceful river nearby and clean, rustic amenities (pit toilets and no showers or sinks).

Alaska Marine Highway

The Inside Passage of Alaska is a waterway through a series of islands and the southern mainland of Alaska. This part of Alaska has few roads, for example, there are no roads to Juneau. Alaska has setup a ferry system to connect the cities in this area. Riding on the Alaska Ferry System was a treat. The ferry system was efficient from beginning to end. Check-in was easy. The car was marked as going the full distance of the ferry. When we were loaded on the boat it was by our departure location; the first ones on were the last off. We were traveling the full route from Skagway to Prince Rupert, B.C. (The map only shows the route until Ketchikan, Prince Rupert is south of Ketchikan.) That meant the ferry was our home for 40 hours. We loaded at 11:45 am Alaska time, an hour later than Pacific Daylight time. Sandy and I had a berth on the ferry, it was a comfortable room with a window. Bill stayed on the upper deck under a sun shade as shown in the picture. Heat lamps helped keep the upper deck folks warm during the night. All the personnel on the boat were friendly and helpful.

Bill and Sandy shown here were on the ferry deck with a cruise ship harbored in Skagway behind them. The contrast between the ferry and cruise ships were distinctive. Ferry food was from a cafeteria. Our stops were only for the length of time it would take to load the next group of cars and passengers. Any visits off the ferry at a port were spontaneous decisions. The ferry docks were not close to the main part of town for most of the stops. A visit to the center of town involved a walk or taxi ride. Port visits did not have any offerings of side excursions. There was no alcohol allowed on the ship decks. The ferry supplied entertainment was a park ranger informing us about the local sites and/or geology of the current area and DVD movie videos. These differences could be considered drawbacks toward taking the ferry. None of us would have traded our ferry ride for the cruise experience. This was a trip highlight.




There was nothing skimpy about the views from the ferry; they were spectacular. On the first day we were surrounded by majestic glaciers in the mountains. (The ferry ride did not travel to Glacier Bay. That was a drawback of the ferry experience.) The waterfalls cascading down the nearby mountain slopes were awesome. I wanted to catch images from every side of the boat at all times. It was overwhelming partaking of this splendor.

The Tongass Rain Forest Park system, the national park that encompasses the Inland Passage from Skagway to Ketchikan, sent a ranger along to inform ferry riders about the park, animals and towns along the route. The talks were very informative.

Juneau was the first port where we had a several hour layover. Sandy and I shared a taxi with a Swiss couple to get to the downtown section of Juneau. Our cab driver informed us that there are 40 miles of roads around Juneau. The road through the town only extended 40 miles. All the port towns offered the same type of jewelry shops and other Alaskan tourist shops. Every northern town has been adorned with flowers; guess when the winters are long any break from snow needs to be celebrated and adorned. Juneau was no exception; hanging flower baskets were everywhere. We looked around Juneau for the capitol building. We finally found it and were disappointed that it had no dome. I expected Alaska to have a golden dome on their capitol. Juneau had a small downtown section. We easily walked around it. Most stores closed after the departure of the cruise ships; the sidewalks were empty. One of the reasons we wanted to tour Juneau was to check our email. The library internet connection was so slow that checking email there was impossible. The local Subway offered fast wifi services and luckily that place stayed open after the tour boats departed. Saloons were also still open. The Red Dog Saloon, our taxi rendezvous spot, was well lit and welcoming at night. It was also an interesting joint.

The next morning our ferry went through a narrow channel, from Peterburg to Wrangell. Cruise ships cannot pass through this area as it is too narrow and shallow. The ferry only cleared the bottom by 2 feet during part of the passage. The times that the ferry travels through this channel were at high tide. There were a series of red and green bouys marking the route. The ranger told us that during times when high tide is at night it looks like Christmas time traveling through the Wrangell narrows.

Wrangell has a garnet mine outside the town. This mine was left to the children of Wrangell. The children sell garnet chunks to ferry passengers. After hearing the tale about the garnets, Sandy and I were anxious to get ashore and make a purchase. The rainy day discouraged most of the children; there was only one girl selling garnets. She made our day. The garnets come out of the ground shaped like they have been roughly cut and lightly polished. The seller of our garnets used her garnet sales money to purchase school clothes.

After the narrows passage and garnet sellers, the day should have been anti-climatic. We had lost all the mountain glaciers. The remainder of the voyage was through large water bays. This portion of the voyage was not as startling as the previous, nonetheless it was a wonderful time. We saw some porpoise movement; they were splashing along the surface of the water. Some crazy silver fish were jumping up in the air. The mountains and trees continued to stay with us. By now there was a friendly companionship amongst the passengers. We met a woman from Tasmania who would be traveling for a year; Alaska was her first stop. She was a surfer and had found a place to surf in Alaska. The Swiss couple had started their travels at the end of May. They began their travels in New Brunswick and had to be back to Switzerland by November. They were now planning the rest of their travels. Parents from Wyoming were traveling around the world with their two young sons. A local Alaska customs agent was the most informative passenger, knowledgeable about all the local sea life. It was interesting visiting with our fellow passengers. The weather permitted us to sit on deck and bask in the warm sun.

The final stop in Alaska was Ketchikan. This is the city known for its totem poles, salmon canneries and the proposed million dollar bridge to nowhere. The airport is on an island across a narrow channel from the town. Folks use a water taxi to get between the town and airport. At one time Sarah Palin proposed putting a bridge across this channel. That bridge was its current claim to fame. We again took a taxi to the downtown section. It was an interesting town filled with jewelry stores (nicer ones than Skagway) and other shops. One shop we visited was a canned salmon store. The salmon samples were delicious. We walked around the town and took some pictures before it was too dark. It was a quaint, picturesque town.


The next morning was an early morning departure to our destination, Prince Rupert, B.C.