Rocky Mountain House and points north

I am so far behind with this travel blog! Some of it is because we have been busy, and some is because we are in Alaska and there isn’t service of any type. RV parks say they have WIFI, and it might, but only if you are sitting at a little picnic table outside the bathhouse. We have gone as long as three days with little or no cell service. I am starting this post in Seward, AK and it is raining again, but no one knows yet where we will be when I post it!

Back to the blog, we are in Rocky Mountain House, AB, Canada, for a few days. Our first group tour is a visit to Rocky Mountain House Historic Site, and our guides presented a pretty good program about the lifestyle of the areas indigenous people. Part of the presentation offered us the opportunity to make a pair of Moccasins similar to what they may have worn. Although I would love a pair of leather moccasins to wear in the coach our first attempt was using a blanket material, and to be honest the pattern we started with left a little to be desired. Also, the allotted time did allow any of us time to finish them. If we ever get around to finishing them, I will post a photo.

We have a few days here to get some repairs completed and to rest up. The RV Park we are in celebrates Christmas in July and although I didn’t get any nighttime photos, I did get a picture of Edgar checking out a scarecrow type decoration. There must have been something special about this decoration because he went to it each day we were there. Our next stop from here will be the Columbia Ice Field Glacier but there is a large forest fire, and we may have to change our route to the ice field. One way will be 150 miles the other possible 100 more. Hope the fire turns and goes the other way.

Good news the fire is not going to block our route so we will move on to the Columbian Ice Field. This will be our first Boondocking stop so we are a little nervous about how some people handle it. The second problem will be how little room we will have and the other problem is some people do not have a generator. As it turned out this really wasn’t a problem since we were restricted to just two hours of running time.

After getting settled in we meet at the Visitor center for a tour onto the glacier and learn a little something about it. First we ride a tour bus from the center, we then transfer into a behemoth bus that actually carries us onto the ice. The Tundra Tracker, as I have named it, was an impressive piece of equipment. I forget the horsepower rating but I think it was close to 600 HP but the torque was over 10000 foot pound of torque. It also has a top speed of 17 MPH. The tires were almost 5 feet tall and the vehicle was all wheel drive.

Although you cannot feel how cold it was trust me when I say I was not prepared to the wind and cold. Yes, it was above freezing but not much and the wind was blowing about 35 MPH. We did get to taste the melted water running from the glacier and actually have two bottles in the coach. WE agreed that it has a really crisp clean taste.

After returning to the tour bus, we travelled to another attraction at the glacier which is called the Sky Walk. This is a big loop of glass decked walkway that goes out over the canyon below. Trust me it makes one ponder for a few seconds before walking out onto it.

Sometimes when you are on vacation you are force to learn something, even if you don’t want to, and this day was one of those days. Almost all of the worlds fresh water comes from melting glaciers, and we are not making any more glaciers. By some scientific studies we have only 75 to 100 years left. This particular glacier was melting at the rate of approximately 150 meters per year. The photo below shows the difference between the early 1900’s and 20. Of course if the weather patterns change and there is more snow each winter the glaciers may hold on longer.

We move on up the highway to Hinton, AB which is our last stop before getting to the actual Alaskan Highway! As with any journey not every day can be a super day, but each day can be interesting. On this day we went to a park called the Beaver Boardwalk. This provided us a chance to get some exercise and meet our fellow travelers. No, we didn’t see any beavers, but we did get some fresh air and the next day we will be headed to Dawson Creek and the start of the Alaskan Highway!

That is all I can remember of so long ago and hopefully it gives you a sampling of what we have seen. The photos that we take can only remind us of what we have seen, and no way can show someone who has not been here just how immense and beautiful it is. Until the next post I pray that all is well in your house.