Monte Clinton's Travel Journals

Alaska: week 5 

July 3 - Lake Louise, Alberta

If anyone were ever to pick a top national park in the world, The Jasper/Banff National Parks in the Canadian Rockies would have to be near the top of the list. The scenery is spectacular - one snowy mountain peak after another with the abundant wildlife to match. As you drive down the road you can tell when something is out because of the cars that stop - first an elk, then mountain sheep and best of all a grizzly bear. I think that if you were to just stop and get out of the car you would have a following of other cars stopping to see what you are looking at -- thankfully, I did not have to make a roadside bio-break.

I stopped by a local sporting goods shop and listened to one of the clerks talk to a hiker about bear spray - this is the act of last resort - "spray it in their face as they come at you, but be careful that you know which way the wind is blowing, 'cause it can blow back at you". I guess then you would be fairly easy pickings for the bear after you have disabled yourself with bear spray. At $49.95 a can, it makes you think. After I bought a bear bell, I read that they are not very effective. I still think the best thing would be to take an iPod and play a few Little Richard songs as you hike along - that might even clear the trail of other hikers.

I am staying at the Lake Louise RV campground -- 185 spots and all are filled tonight. The warnings about bears are getting more serious - nothing can be left outside that would attract a bear, not even a bar of soap, avoid cooking smells, etc. That was enough to get me to eat out tonight - no eating around the camper tonight.

As I drove into the RV park, the woman at the entry gate was separating campers into two groups, tents and soft sided campers, including the T@B, were to be parked next to the open forest to fend for themselves. I guess this will be the real bear test for the TeeTwo - I'll keep the windows closed and avoid the bedtime snack.

July 4

I made the short 55km drive from Lake Louise to Banff this morning then got a site at the Banff RV park, which has to be one of the best RV parks in the world with all the necessities plus a great view of the mountains. Banff is tucked in a small valley with snow capped mountains all around rising several thousand feet in every direction.

This was a non-driving, rest day. I did a tour of Banff - very Aspen-like with expensive shops. I didn't notice many Americans but the town was full of German and Japanese tourists - the Germans in couples with backpacks and hiking sticks, the Japanese in groups of 10 or more all wearing name tags and carrying cameras. Many of the shop signs are in Japanese - the Germans all speak English. The town is within Banff National Park so everything is strictly controlled, architecture, signs, parking, etc. It makes for an idyllic place - almost like Hanover, New Hampshire.

The bear warnings continued on the radio - I have tuned into the Banff Park radio to get conditions on trails, conditions, etc. They are advising that no one hike alone - in fact, they insist on groups of no fewer than six on the trails and you must carry bear spray. It's hard for me to round up five more people so I stayed close to town and did a few short hikes (or walks) along the river to the Bow Falls just outside of town.

For entertainment tonight I went to the local movie theater to see War of the Worlds. It is amazing what can be done with digital animation to make sophisticated action films.

It's off toward or into the states tomorrow.

July 5 - Glacier National Park - Montana

Perfect day! The weather was outstanding - mid 60's with a light breeze and clear blue skies. I drove from Banff, through Calgary into the US and then to Glacier National Park (GNP) and arrived about 2pm. I took the first RV park I came across - a KOA with Wi-Fi internet connection - a big plus.

After getting settled with TeeTwo, I took a drive up to Logan Pass - 18 miles of winding roads and knockout views of mountains, lakes and wildflowers - everything must be in bloom because the mountains are a sea of color.

I hiked up to the glacier on Logan Pass where millions of yellow glacier lillies are in bloom surrounded by waterfalls cascading all around - quite a sight.

I've decided to stay a couple of days. I will move to the campground in GNP tomorrow and take in a couple of hikes around the glaciers. My Golden Age pass gets me into the park without charge - for the under 62 folks it's $20.00 for a seven day pass. Plus, my camping will be half price at $10 a night.

While in Canada, I kept thinking the US has a lot to learn from Canada on how they run their parks but after seeing the operation at GNP, I think the US can hold their own just fine. The new fee program is having an affect on the park - the facilities are being renovated, signs are good and the rangers friendly and helpful.

July 6 - GNP East Entrance - St. Mary's, Montana

Great day. I moved from the private RV park to the camping section within GNP. I got a choice spot. It's surprising that the park campground is not full - great weather, middle of July and yet there are half the spots vacant. The T@B fit very nice into the section reserved for tents and small campers (I think they were thinking of popups).

The first part of the day was spent on a hike to one of the glaciers - fairly well used trail so the chance of bear interruptions was minimized. Good hike - very windy - it could almost blow you over when you are high up in an unprotected area. Views were spectacular.

The afternoon was a chance to get out my fly fishing gear and give it a try. The park ranger gave me a suggestion for a spot where he goes - sort of out of the way but on park property where there is no license requirement. It's all catch and release. I was fully prepared to release anything I caught but no such luck. At least it gave me a chance to get the rush out of my casting - a lot more work to go.

The eastern part of the park is surrounded by a Blackfeet Reservation. I know, I too always referred to them as Blackfoot but the tribe has it clearly marked on all their signs that it is Blackfeet. Even Microsoft's Word spell checker wants to change it to Blackfoot. The one thing that surprised me both in Canada and the US is the growing Indian insistence about their property rights. And they are laying claim to huge parts of both Canada and the US.

Since all the workers in almost any business wear name tags with their first name and home state, I always look to see where they are from. It was interesting that all the workers in the local supermarkets were from Estonia. Apparently the resot next door is fully staffed with foreign workers - many from the old Soviet block countries. In Banff, many of the workers were from Germany. I guess it makes for a great summer experience. And yet you hear of the large number of young Indian people who are unemployed.

July 7 - Havre, Montana

Departure from the Glacier National Park was uneventful - another beautiful day. I decided to head due east going through Montana. I made it 31 miles to Browning, which is in the center of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, only to find that they were having their annual North American Indian Day pow-wow starting today running through Sunday. I felt I had to see it so I stopped - planning on staying for the evening, I found a spot. It was one of these "park where ever you want" RV parks in the middle of a pasture. So I parked among the teepees. I stayed until the Grand Entry when all the Indian dance participants marched in to the sound of drums and Indian chanting - very colorful.

Various groups had tents selling Indian trinkets made by the local Indians and Indian blankets made by Pendleton. I had no idea Pendleton made such a huge variety of Indian designed blankets and clothing. The Army recruiters were there - the Indians are a very patriotic group proud of their contribution to the US. I did see one bumper sticker that read, "Custer Died for your Sins" that I thought brought the Indian message home.

The National Institutes of Health - Medical Library "Medline" also had a booth. I asked on of the staff how the Indians would access Medline - did they have computers? He responded, "they don't have many but we are going to help them learn and get online so they can use Medline". You have to wonder sometime jsut how our government works.

After a while I figured that the event was pretty loosely organized and I had no idea how this event was going to develop in the evening, so I packed up and left heading east and stopped for the night in Havre.

Northern Montana is an interesting area - all cattle and horse ranches in the western part then wheat farms as you travel east. The land is gently rolling with not a tree in sight. I could just imagine buffalo herds roaming this land. The small towns in Montana all have a few small "casinos". Havre must have twenty casinos. I had no idea some states had no restrictions on gambling.

July 8 - Minot, North Dakota

Last night at the Havre RV park, a guy from Minnesota with a pop-up came over and was amazed at the T@B and all that was packed into it. It does attract attention.

The day started off with both the car and the TeeTwo getting a wash. The combination of bugs and construction mud did a job on both - both the car and the TeeTwo needed a double wash to get rid of the Alaska bugs plastered all over the front.

A fairly long day of driving - 450 miles from Havre, MT to Minot along the trail of Lewis and Clark. There are a lot of signs saying that this is Lewis and Clark country - even one that said Lewis and Clark slept here - why don't you? I drove through two large Indian reservations. The land looks pretty good for cattle and crops and quite a bit of it is being cultivated in wheat, rape (canola oil) and a few other grain crops. There were several billboards directed at the Indian residence - Eat Right, Live Right, Stay Healthy signed with the tribal logo. One sign showed three Indian youth who had made a success of themselves with a tag line saying - you can become a role model too. A number of stores say tribal owned and a lot of the people in cars and in the towns were Indian looking. The area looks pretty poor and pretty sparsely populated.

I grew up in the southeast part of North Dakota so this is like coming home in a way. The country in the western part of the state is more rolling compared to the flat eastern part. It's good to be home...

I am staying at a wonderful RV park beside a pond with ducks and a lot of birds. It has lots of shade trees and a wonderful breeze. Today is a record-setting hot day for western MT and ND - 100f. Thankfully the T@B is air conditioned.

July 9 - Bemidji, MN

Last night's RV park was the best of the trip. A very quite park with large trees shading everyone - clean facilities and a pond behind TeeTwo for evening bird watching. It's interesting that a number of the people at the park were locals who come back time and again.

Today is one hell of a hot day. North Dakota and Minnesota are having record breaking hot weather for the past two days - hitting 100 with clear skies. Thankfully the car's air conditioning is working well and the car doesn't seem to be suffering any. I found a fairly good spot to park for the night - hopefully I will get a breeze or the air conditioning goes on.

I am parked at a KOA just outside of Bemidji. As KOAs go, it's not bad. They do have free Internet service and they have this all you can eat hot dog dinner for a dollar. They also have an old fire truck going around the park picking up kids and their parents to go to the hotdog supper - makes a fun experience for the kids. They also have a free movie for anyone who wants to see it. I'll skip it.

to continue to week 6, roll over Alaska on the left and click on week 6...