From the Ice Field to Mile 0

After our trip to the Athabasca Glacier we boondocked in the parking lot, then a leisurely start  for Hinton, AB.  Here’s the view out of my bedroom window when I woke up.

The trip for the remainder of the Ice Fields Parkway was great, we still listened to our “tour guide” and stopped dozens of times.  We saw plenty of wildlife, waterfalls & lakes.

Bighorn sheep

A ladder glacier

The mountains are constantly evolving, landslides are constantly changing their look.

CC all hooked up.  She got quite a workout in the mountains. 

Big brown bear?

This is Goat Lick.  The tour guide explicitly told us not to lick any goats.

Actually, the goats are known to come to this area of the river because of the high concentration of salt & minerals.  They need them to round out their diet.

We then pulled off the route to visit Athabasca Falls.  Pulling CC through the parking lot was really challenging, but we SQUEEZED through and we were able to enjoy the area.  The falls are a Class 5 waterfall, with easy access to a number of viewing platforms, plus on the way out another wildlife sighting.

The parkway ends shortly after the falls, and we left the National Park.  After we skirted the edge of Jasper, Alberta. Heading to our campground we spotted a lone elk, eating along the highway.

We also passed a small herd of elks, seven or eight, but there was no time or room to stop….

We arrived at Hinton KOA for a relaxing evening.  The next day Mica & Pamela, one of the others in our caravan, went horseback riding.

We restocked our pantry, did some laundry & had a group cookout.  The weather started to change, nice rain & much cooler temperatures.  The next day we had the longest drive of the caravan so far, 285 miles.  Of course, it was raining when we left and we were going to climb some mountains, so guess what?  Snow!!

It only snowed for about an hour.  Then it just returned to a steady rain.  The clincher was we were driving through the oil fields of western Alberta & eastern British Columbia.  So, the roads were covered with dirt, we’ll mud for us.  This is officially the filthiest CC has ever been.  It was so crazy that the rear facing camera quit working because it was covered with mud.  As we arrived in Dawson Creek, the rain stopped & the sun came out.  What a day.

Our new green Tahoe was completely covered in mud, the running boards had an inch of accumulated mud.

Normally highly polished!

Got to the campground & “No RV washing”. It’s killing me she’s filthy.

We had another group meal; we’ll mostly snacks and then a presentation by Dawson Creek Visitors Center. The next day was a free day to prowl around Dawson Creek.  We chose to see Mile Post “0” run by the Bear Mountain Windmill Farm.

Mile Post 0!

We went to the windmill farm, there are 34 of them & after driving about five miles of rock & dirt road, you can get right up to them.  Each windmill provides enough power for more than 1,000 homes.  Standing alongside them the noise, the blades make sound like airplanes flying really close.  It was really cool.

If you look closely, you can see Rita & Mica.  These things are huge!

View of the valley feeding the wind.

After the windmills we drove to see the last existing wooden bridge from the original Alaskan Highway.  The route has changed to a newer modern bridge & this one is closed to vehicles, you can still walk across it.  Not only is it wooden, but it’s curved.

About 500,000 board feet of creosoted British Columbia fir had to be shipped from the coast.  The bridge has a nine-degree curve and is about 135 yards long.

Back to CC and get ready to start driving the Alaskan Highway!!