Yellowhead (Hwy 16) & Stewart-Cassiar Highways (Hwy 37)

A hazy day due to the forest fires in the lower 48.  This picture was taken at a rest area on the Yellowhead Hwy between Houston and Telkwa.

As I described in The Yellowhead Hwy (Hwy 16): Jasper to Burns Lake I woke early and so afterwards started driving west toward the Stewart-Cassiar Hwy.  The sky was filled with haze it greatly reduced the visibly.  While listening to the BBC they mention that the haze was due to the large forest fires in the Western United States.  I found it interesting that the haze traveled west when most weather fronts travel west to east and I thought the mountain would have kept the smoky haze to the east but I was wrong.  The traffic was very light along the Yellowhead this early in the morning and the wildlife does make use of the highway at that time.  I saw three foxes hunting along the shoulder and one moose was travel west on it.  I was not able to stop and take pictures if I tried they would have been long gone. 

 

The Buckley River formed Moricetown Canyon.  The community fishes salmon during the run off the boulder. 

I stopped at a First Nation community called Moricetown.  There is a rest area just before the town where you can see and take some photos of Moricetown Canyon.  The residences of Moricetown fish for salmon in the rapids of Bulkley River.  The salmon were not running while I was visiting but I did get some picturesque views of the canyon. 


Moricetown Canyon from the bridge in the picture above.

Lance-leaf or Spreading Stonecrop.  If you know what it is let me know.

After exploring the canyon I turned my car west toward New Hazelton.  New Hazelton has a nice Visitor Centre where I could finely get cleaned up and change out of the clothes I spend last night in.  I wish I had more time to explore the town they have the 'Ksan Museum and Historical Village which I believe would make an interesting visit.  While I was cleaning up, people were arriving and setting up a farmer's markets in the New Hazelton parking lot but did not have the time to waiting for them to open so I toured the displays inside their Visitor Centre before hitting the road.

Cow Parsnips, they perfumed the air
all around the intersection.

There is 27 miles between New Hazelton and the Stewart-Cassiar Highway (Hwy 37).  I stop at a gas station just before the junction to fill up before starting up the highway. There are long stretches along this road where there is no gas or other automobile services.  At 10:30 I started my journey up the Stewart-Cassiar Hwy.  I soon passed a road which leads to the village of Kitwanga.  If you are interested Kitwanga, it has a nice collection of Totem Pole to view.  I kept going north and but stop at Gianyow road to the village.  The whole area was blooming with Cow Parsnip and the scent from the flowers just filled the air around them.  I do not remember ever walking in a field of wildflowers and having the scent perfume the air without leaning toward a flower to smell it.  I initially stopped at the cross road to take pictures of the mountains with the flowers but the scent of the flowers is what I remember.


Gitanyow North Intersection: The meadow with the
Sheeka Mountains in the background



Nass River Bridge Rest Area

I made a few more stopped before reaching the junction to the Stewart, BC and Hyder, AK. The road is known as the Stewart Highway (Hwy 37A).  The road winds it way down through the mountains to Stewart and of coarse I had to take pictures along the way.  The most interesting stop was Bear Glacier Provincial Park.  I left after a walk along the highway try to find the best angle to photography the glacier. 


A second hanging Glacier heading down to Stewart, BC.



Hanging Glacier Along Stewart Hwy.  I have also
seen the road refer to as Glacier Hwy.

Bear Glacier viewed from the east side of the park.

Bear Glacier Mouth: I hope I am using the correct description.

Bear Glacier from the west side.

Stewart was my next stop, it was mid afternoon by the time I reached the town and I needed to eat lunch.  After lunch I explored the Visitor Centre, walked their boardwalk along the marsh, checked out the shops and explored the local museum's outside exhibits.  I want to visit Hyder, AK and Salmon Glacier but the sign post stated 50 as a distance.  The 50 was most likely in kilometers but being American I thought it was 50 miles.  It was very late in the afternoon to go that far and so I started back up the highway.

The view from Stewart's Boardwalk.

The Ripley Creek Inn from the boardwalk

I found a great t-shirt here. 



Another old building on Main Street.

Rainey's Cabin located at Stewart's Museum.

Sign on Rainey's Cabin

Stewart's Museum

Bitter Creek Bridge was washout in September 2011. 
Stranding everyone in town for 3 weeks.  The government
sent a boat to ferry the tourist out of town.

A waterfall on the way back up the Stewart Hwy.



Fireweed found on the Stewart Hwy.



Stewart Hwy (37A): Daisy

Stewart Hwy (37A): Goatsbeard

I left Stewart Highway and turned north hoping to find a place to slay the night.  Mehan Lake Rest Area was my last stopped before I called it a night at Bell II.  Bell II is a privately run lodge where you can gas up, get a nice meal and lay your head down for the night.  By the time I reach here I was dead tired and I knew if I went any farther I be in trouble.  I asked while gassing up the car if they had any tent site since all I could see there RV sites.  Yes, they did about 4-5 tent sites.  The tent sites here nice but the mosquitoes were viscous this was the first place I had any trouble with bugs.  Once the tent was up I went up to the lodge for dinner and then found the recreation area to hide from the bugs until it was time to turn in for the night.


Mehan Lake Rest Area

Close up of the Mountains at Mehan Lake Rest Area

Finally I am including a picture of me, a father and two grow sons asked me to take a picture of them and they offer to take my picture.  You can see the picnic area at the rest stop.

Life Just Takes Over

Potter's Marsh southside of Anchorage along the Steward Highway.

Sorry I have not been posting anything in a while but my father broke his hip at the end of February and I been busy helping him.  My Dad lives in Anchorage, Alaska and that was the reason I traveled up there last July.  I was hoping to move him down to Wisconsin or move him to another place but that was delay last summer when he had his right foot amputated to the ball of his foot.  I tried to talk him into moving down but he was not ready to do it then.  At least I was able to clean his basement apartment and clear out to clutter before he left the nursing home last September.

Anchorage's Habor from Earthquake Park on 4/27/2013

All this time I been trying to get him to agree to come here and it finally took a second broken hip for him to agree to the move.  I spent about a month trying to get all the documentation needed to transfer my father to a nursing home here in WI.  I flew up to Anchorage on April 19^th and to take care of financial issue and planned to return back on the 27^th with my father coming soon after with a friend.  All that changed when I arrived and my father informed me that I was not leaving Alaska without him so I had  to reschedule my flight to the 29^th so he could come with me.  I then informed the WI nursing home that my father would be  arriving at the home some time after 5 PM on the 29^th.

Evening of 4/27/2013 between Potter's Marsh and Beluga Point along the Steward Highway.

During the week I was there I closed up the apartment and turning it over to the landlord before leaving for WI.  The only way clean out the apartment in a week was to donate or giving away most the furniture and items in the apartment.  All his clothing and papers were packed and mailed down to my house in 9 large boxes.  I found them on my porch two weeks later.  His SUV was packed with the remaining items and was put into storage until I could fly back up in July to drive the car down the Alaska Highway one last time.

The last Sunday afternoon (4/28/2013) I took my father out of the nursing home for a drive along the Steward Highway.  This is Beluga Point showing a bore tide coming down the Turnagain Arm.

I planned to take care of all this last summer and focus back on my house and garden this year but life does take over and throw all your plans out the window.  I did find time to start plants and I put them outside today to harden off before planting and selling the extras at the local farmer’s market.  When I got back from Alaska I had a call from my carpenter about dividing the front closet dead space into a linen closet with it opening into the hallway next to the bathroom.  He finished it last week now I need to finish painting it before I can check it off my TO DO List.  Pictures from the closet project will be coming later.  So I am getting some stuff done.  I still plan on finishing writing about last year’s trip and I hope to be done with it before I fly back up in July.

Is the Wooden Storm Window Done Yet?

Completed Storm Window left to dry.

The answer is YES, I finished last coat of paint while writing this.  I have many excuses why it took me so long to finish it. Here are some examples snow storms, planting seeds, house cleaning etc.  The last time I wrote about this project I finished priming the frame, ordered the new glass and planned on glazing the window panes over the weekend of February 24-25.  The glass panes were glazed in on the 25th.  First, I needed to throw out any glazing compound that showed signs it was drying out after that it needed to be knead.  The kneading allows it to soften and become pliable when working with it.   The first thing to do is put a thin layer of glazing on the lip where the glass pane will sit.  Then gently place the glass pane in the frame and press on the glass to obtain a good seal between the wood and glass. You will see some glazing squeeze out along the edge but do not press hard enough to squeeze all of it out. 


This type of glazing point is much easier to push but they also
have a setback.  Their edges are sometime hard to cover with
the glazing compound.

Don't use these they are awful to work with. 
The setup on the right show how I use a putty
knife to push it in. 

Once the window panes are firmly in place, it is time to press in the glazier's points.  I thought I still had some good points at home but all I have were these flat and large triangle points.  I decide to use them since I did not want to run out to the store, this was a mistake.  The triangle points are hard to push in and they need to pushed in a lot further compare to the other designs.  While trying to push in one of the points, my glazing knife slipped under my thumb nail.  Boy, there were a few #### when that happen.  I kept on working until all the points were inside the lip edge.


A completed glazing corner.

I learned a lot about glazing windows from "This Old House" and the book Working Windows by Terry Meany.  I need to re-glaze and weather-proof all my old window in this house.  Years ago when I owned another house I used an one-inch putty knife to do re-glaze all those window.  It was hard try to achieve a constant angle across the frame and it was almost impossible to get the angles to meet at the corners with the putty knife.  I found a glazing knife two years ago while working on the storm window to my back porch door.  The design make glazing so much easier one end of the knife is angled and the other side is flat.  The angled end makes it fairly easy to get a smooth straight angle across frame and the corners come out nice.  The flat side is good for removing the excess glazing compound.  You still will need to practice but it does not take long to archive a good result.  I rolled out long ropes of the compound and pressed them along the window frame and the glass.  After I pressed in the caulk I using the angle end of the knife to cut through the extra compound until there was a smooth angle of glazing compound between the frame and glass.  If there are a few minor flaws I used my fingers get a smooth edge.  Wear plastic gloves when doing this since the compound does not easily wash off your hands.  I cleaned up the area and put the window against the wall for the next week since the compound needs a week to setup.  It took me about 3 hours from start to finish before I had a nice looking window.  The longest time I spend was trying to get those triangle points in the frame.

Putty Knife top.  Glazing Knife is on the bottom.

A  week later I primed the caulk with an oil-based primer from what I read I needed to use an oil-based primer.  If using a water-base primer the glazing compound may fail sooner because the oil migrates out faster.  Last Wednesday was the first day I found time to start applying the exterior paint on the frame.  The hardest part painting a narrow bead of paint along the caulk edge and the glass.  Doing this forms a seal between the glass and glazing.  If you use a scraper on the bead to clean up, there is an chance that the seal been broken and the window will not weather very well.



Primed glazing: You can see how hard is it to keep a steady
hand along the glass and glazing edge.

Unfinished panel on the folding door.

My next unfinished project is shellacking the second panel to my closet door.  I finished half the door awhile ago but never found time to complete the job.  Don't ask how long ago it was; it is embarrassing to think I left it undone so long.

The Yellowhead Hwy (Hwy 16): Jasper to Burns Lake

Mount Robson Park

I got up early on July 7 and packed up my campsite so I could do the tourist thing in Jasper.  I stopped at a local bakery to eat breakfast and picked out my lunch before I left.  Since many of the shops were not open yet I wander around town waiting for the camera shop to open.  I only had one polarizing filter for three lenses.  I brought a macro, 18-70mm Zoom (mid-range) and 70-300 mm Zoom Lenses with me on the trip.  I mainly used the mid-range and 70-300mm Zoom.  At each stop I needed to unscrew the polarizing filter and transfer it to the lens I had attached to the camera.  I spend a lot of time at each stop transferring things around and decided to make life easier by buying a second polarizing filter. 

I also needed to find a currency exchange since I did not run cross one in my travels.  After I exchange American dollars for Canadian dollars it was late enough for some shops to open.  I wanted to buy bear spray in an REI store in Montana but was not sure I could bring it over the border because it is made of mace and in Canada a can of mace is illegal.  So I stopped at Everest Outdoor Store and picked out bear spray. While talking to the clerk I found out you can bring bear spray across the border if it is labeled as bear spray and you declare it when crossing the border. 

Daisy in Mt. Robson Park Meadow

Jasper has a beautiful Visitor Center in the center of town.  The gardens surrounding it were in bloom and a pleasure to view.  I went to see what brochures were available for the Yellowhead Highway.  Any of the campgrounds near Jasper would make a great base to explore the area.  There are many trails that would make a fun day hike and I missed exploring Hwy 93A off Icefields Parkway but I needed to keep moving toward Alaska so I left Jasper around 10 AM traveling west on the Yellowhead Highway.

Moose Lake off Yellowhead Highway

Once I left Jasper Park I entered Mount Robson Provincial Park.  This park was incorporate into Canadian Rocky Mountains World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1990.  The park is named after Mount Robson which is the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies.  I stopped to take a picture of Moose Lake since the highway runs along the lake's northern edge.  I drove on until I came upon  Mount Robson Headquarters and Visitor Centre. There I spend my time wandering the meadow behind the centre and took many pictures trying to frame Mount Robson in the meadow.  You can view several mountains from the centre but the sky was hazy that day so I only took pictures of the park's namesake.  Soon after I got into my car and left the mountains behind me with the goal of getting as many miles behind me before the day's end.

Mt Robson from the Visitor Centre Meadow

Slim Creek Rest Area makes a nice place to have a picnic lunch.  The rest area is just east of Slim Creek Provincial Park.  I had fun photographing a family of Stellar Jays.  The young were old enough to be in adult plumage but the way they were begging, they reminded of teenagers. 

Stellar Jay

After lunch I drove to Prince George and stopped at the city's Visitor Centre.  They had a very nice centre and the two guys were very helpful on recommending places to stop.  One of them recommended Fort St. James National History Site; it was out on my way so I passed it by.  I filled my gas tank before hitting the highway again.  I called it a day when I reached Burns Lake.  I was under the mistaken impression that Burns Lake Provincial Park would have camping but the park is undeveloped so I stayed in the town's municipal campground.  I do not recommend staying there, the camping area was dirty and the outhouse was really bad.  The town did have a pool nearby and you could use the clean toilets but they closed before 8 PM.  There were some homeless looking guys and a drunk sitting around but they left the area after I had come back from dinner.  I was trying to decide whether I should get a motel room before I meet two other groups trying to decide if they too should stay the night.  We decide to stay and keep an eye out for each other.  I still felt uncomfortable enough to rearrange the car so I could sleep in passenger seat with the doors locked and the car's alarm on. 


I love the Canadian Wildlife Signs.  There so much better then the diamond warning sign in the US.

Stellar Jay

I did get some sleep that night but woke up at 5 AM.  I straighten the car and pulled out on the highway hoping to find a Visitor Centre to wash up and change my clothes.  That day, 7/8/2012, I would drive the Yellowhead Highway to Kitwanga and turn on to Stewart-Cassiar Highway (Hwy 37).  This is what I will be writting about next.


Stellar Jay

No-Knead Pumpkin Bread

This recipe was developed from my No-Knead Honey Whole Wheat Bread.  I love the bread's color and its texture.  The bread toasts well and it make a great tasting french toast. 

No-Knead Pumpkin Bread

3/4 cup warm water
2 pkg or 4-1/2 teaspoons dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon flour
5 cups unbleached flour
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon salt
3 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ginger
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I use olive oil)
1 cup mashed pumpkin
3 eggs well-beaten
2 cups warm water

In a small bowl mix the first 4 ingredient together and set aside.

Measure the unbleached and whole wheat flour, spices and salt in a large bowl. Using a whisk thoroughly mix the dry mix together. Add the pumpkin, honey, vegetable oil, eggs, water and yeast mixture to the dry ingredients. I use clean hands to mix it together until I have a sticky ball. If you prefer not to use your hand a large spoon will work just fine. I prefer to use my hand because I can feel when all the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Cover the bowl with a towel and allow the mixture to sit in a warm place for 3 hours or until the mixture doubles.

Divide the dough in half and shade into 8"x 5"loaves. Put into bread pans. Cover the dough again with a towel and allow to raise another hour.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Brush the bread tops with egg whites to get a lovely carmel colored loaf. I use dried egg white and it works well. Place the loaves in the center oven rack and bake for 55 minutes or until the sounds hollow when tapped.

Enjoy!

Icefield Parkway: Bow Summit to Whistlers Campground



Upper Waterfowl Lake: (Left to Right) Mount Ebon is between the pines, Aries Peak, Stairway Peak, Midway Peak,  Mount Synge is in the far right.

"Along the way there is something for every sense to delight in.  Form, mass, line, color, rhythm - all the things that we look for in art - are here in superb variety.  Canvasses painted by Nature on a scale as vast as that used by the Seventh Angel of the Apocalypse.  Every mountain form - pyramid, wedge, round tower, castle, cathedral, slender obelisk and minaret - the same themes repeated with endless variations.  And for contrast, the slim, upstanding boles of the jackpines with their myriad spear-pointed tips; the bright trees of a waterfall gleaming against a dark wall of rock; the plane of a blue lake in an arc of cirque or green forest; long, sweeping diagonals of talus slopes, the rhythmical curve of glacier, and high up, that "purest, loveliest line in all Nature, the curve of a snow cornice about the shoulder of a peak"."

Mount Chephren seen from Waterfowl Lake.

The passage is from The Banff-Jasper Highway by M.B. Williams.  She was hired in the early 20th century to promote Canadian parks and wrote several books on the Rocky Mountain parks.  Her description of this route is more eloquent than I am able to describe what I was feeling and viewing during the time I was there.  I strongly recommend reading her park guilds before visiting these parks.

Alpine Lousewort

I pulled out of Bow Summit and descended into the Mistaya River Valley.  My first stop was at Waterfowl Lake where I did a short hike down to the lake.  I believe these pictures were taken on Upper Waterfowl Lake.  I found this interesting flower along the path.

Mistaya Canyon and its pot holes ground by smooth with stones and water.

There are several waterfalls along this section of Icefields Parkway and Mistaya Canyon was my next stop.  The canyon was carved out by the Mistaya River.  The river starts at Peyto Lake and is a tributary to the North Saskatchewan River a few miles north of here. I had a nice hike around the falls but if you have time you can hike to Sarbach Lookout or to Howse River.

Mistaya Falls with Mount Sarbach in the background.

A little farther down David Thompson Hwy (#11) intersect with the Icefields Parkway.  There is an outlook where you can view the Mistaya and Howse River Valley.  I stopped before the bridge that crosses the North Saskatchewan River to take some pictures of the river valley before moving on.

North Saskatchewan River at the Crossing: Resolute Mountain first full mountain on left and
Mount Hensley right of the pine in the center of the picture.

West side of Saskatchewan Crossing: Mount Outram right of the pines and
Mount Forbes (behind and to the right of Outram).

Finally, there were animals along the road side.  They were Big Horn Sheep and they come here to lick the mineral off the rocks.  When stopping to take animal pictures be sure to follow the park's rules, they are there to keep you and the animals safe.

Big Horn Sheep

After I pass the Thompson Hwy intersection I entered into Saskatchewan Valley.  While driving through this valley you can sometime see the North Saskatchewan River.  I stopped at an outlook where the river is in the foreground and Mount Amery and Saskatchewan are in to background.

Mount Saskatchewan is the snow covered peak.  Cleopatra's Needle or Lighthouse Tower is a small rock
sticking straight up right of  Mount Saskatchewan.

Looking back to Saskatchewan Crossing from Mount
Amery and Saskatchewan Outlook

Mount Amery

Soon after leaving the Mount Amery and Saskatchewan outlook the road starts climbing toward Sunwapta Pass.  At the beginning of Big Bend (a large switchback in the road) there is a pull off where you can look back at the river and Mount Cirrus.  Near the pullout there is a place where you can take pictures of Bridal Veil Falls.  I made one last stop at Parker Ridge trail to take more pictures of the mountains before crossing the pass.

North Saskatchewan River and Cirrus Mountain
from Big Bend south outlook.

Bridal Veil Falls

Parker Ridge Parking Lot: Mount Athabasca right of center.  The small peak on the left is Little Athabasca. 
Hilda Glacier below the peaks.

More mountains from Parker Ridge Parking Lot.

After crossing Sunwapta Pass I entered Jasper National Park and came upon the Icefield Centre.  The park has a nice new visitor center with a large parking lot allowing everyone to stop, look or explore the Columbia Icefield.  There are many way to explore the ice field.  There are bus tours to the glacier, guided walking tours, or go by yourself on the trail to the "Toe of the of Athabasca Glacier".  Wilson Pass is the second trail to hike it can be found on the Icefield Centre side of the road.  I only had time to walk around the center and parking lot taking pictures of the ice field because it was getting late and I was starting to worry about Whistlers campground filling up before I arrived there. 

Ripple Lake at the bottom.  Mount Athabasca is in the center.  Mount Andromeda is on the right.

Mount Athabasca is left front edge.  Mount Andromeda is far left.  Athabasca Glacier in the center. 
Snow Dome is along right edge.  Lake Sunwapta is on the bottom right.

Snow Dome and Snow Dome Glacier

 The Icefields Parkway now follows the Sunwapta River until it flows into Athabasca River just north of Sunwapta Falls.  I made a short stop at Sunwapta Canyon and Mount Kitchener Outlook.  I got a wonderful shot of Mount Athabasca through the canyon.  A little farther north on the edge of the road is Tangle Falls.

Sunwapta Canyon with  Mount Athabasca

Mount Kitchener

Tangle Falls

 Before reaching Sunwapta Falls, I pulled over to view Mushroom and Diadem Peaks and the Endless Chain Ridge.  The falls allowed me to get out of the car and stretch my legs for a little while. 

Mushroom Peak the first peak left of center.  It looks like a mushroom cap.  Diadem Peak is right of center.

The Endless Chain Ridge is the line of mountains on the right.

Sunwapta Falls are on the west side of the highway follow a side road into the parking lot and the falls are only a short distance away.  The falls cut a deep canyon into the rocks.  There is the Lower Sunwapta Falls Trail if you have more time to explore the area. 

Sunwapta Falls upstream.  If anyone knows what
mountain that is please let me know.

Sunwapta Falls downstream

Sunwapta Canyon downstream from falls.

Before I arrived at Athabasca Falls there is a goat lick along the roadside.  Everyone has to stop and take pictures but if you get a chance to see these beautiful animals, please keep the required distance and move slowly so the animals do not get stressed.  A group of  young guys were so excited about seeing the mountain goats they were running and jumping from behind the goat that cause them to form a semicircle around the kid goat in case they were attacked.  I yelled at everyone to stop moving or to move slowly away from them until they felt less threaten.  Once they relaxed I got some great pictures.

Mother Mountain Goat and her kid.



Mountain Goat standing guard.

Athabasca Falls was the last stop for the day before reaching Whistlers Campground.  There were many different levels to view the fall and is a must stop on the Icefield Parkway.  There is one view that Mount Kerkeslin makes beautiful backdrop of the falls.

Athabasca Falls with Mount Kekeslin behind it.

Athabasca Fall from a different angle

Athabasca Canyon downstream from the falls.

Going down the stair for a better view of the falls lower section.

Athabasca Canyon from its floor.



Downstream from Athabasca Falls

Just before Mount Kerkeslin Campground I saw a mother bear with two cubs on the ridge above the road.  I could only get a picture of the mother since the cubs were hiding in the tree line.  I believe the bear is a black bear.  Black bears out west come in brown and black colors.  This bear does not have a hump at the shoulders and the claws look short compared to the grizzly bear.  Hint: Keep your telephoto lens on the camera so you are ready for that wildlife photo.

Mama Black Bear and cubs were following behind her along the tree line.  They were too far to get a picture of the family.

My home for the night.

The day ended at Whistler Campground by the time I got there were only tent sites left that was perfect for me so I called it a day.  The next day, July 7, I would be traveling west along the Yellowhead Highway (Hwy 16).