Cross-Provincial Tangents
Alrighty. I have arrived. (Don't take that too literally.) I was just blessed with two fantastic days of pure sunshine and calm weather. The drive from Calgary to Jasper was spectacular (although, admitedly, the once section I did encounter overcast skies was for the most part of the Jasper-Banff Highway...which wrecked photo ops, as did my lack of forsight in purchasing a roll or two of film in advance...sorry!). It was probably one of my better trips up north, truth be told, except for the last hour and a half into Prince George last night (more later).
Road trips are a good time for thinking and wandering through thoughts of the past year, thinking about the one you love, friends, your crazy family, and now trying to incorporate all that into this blog has become my new task for this drive! Unfortunately, somehow I've forgotten most of the clever things I wanted to say and I'm feeling at a bit of a loss for words at the moment, so perhaps I'll start with my usual count of how many, and what, animals I saw along the way.
Oh, but first, the construction! The highway in the National Park from Canmore to Lake Louise is undergoing a mega facelift. Oi! I advise anyone who's thinking of driving across the country this summer to take either the southern route through Fernie, Cranbrook, etc. or the northern route (the Yellowhead, Highway 16) because the #1 is going to be a nightmare this summer: aka superhighway creation time. (All done in a sensitive manner for the following reasons?!:)
The National Parks were littered with mountain goats and sheep, and a few elk. Very exciting. The sheep were molting (is that what you call it for sheep, or is molting only for ducks?!) so you could see their old fur on top, and the newer, shorter summer-weight coat underneath (yeesh, I sound a bit like a Patagonia ad). It was cool to witness the dramatic change that they undergo...and I thought Jasper shed a lot of fur!!!
When I arrived in Jasper, Jasper and I went for a meander and hit up the best cafe in town: the Bear's Paw Cafe (I believe that's what it's called!). Mmm. We grabbed a latte and sanger for the road (I say we because Jasper partook in the sandwich ceremony!)...and a rice krispie square :)
The next hour or so was in Mount Robson Provincial Park and then in the Headwater's Forest District. MRPP is beautiful especially at this time of year when traffic is at a low-point. The forests are really lush and green, and the mountains just reach straight out up from them. It looks like prime hiking ground there.
The area around Prince George is my most detested section of the journey. This time it was made even worse by some shitty planning and a good stubborn attitude. Never drive west in the springtime between 19-21h. Not only are there normally deer all over the roadsides at this time of day, but if you're driving west you can't see them, nor can you hardly see the road for the most part! Thank goodness for passing lanes. Driving tip: Ignore the "stay right except for passing" sign and motor your ass into the middle lane and stay there: this gives you a good lane on either side of you to deek unpredictably moving natural objects. Always be prepared. If only I wasn't so adament on scamming the cheapest bed in town (they had a check-in deadline of 22h...) and then perhaps I wouldn't have engaged in a suicide drive for a good 1 1/2 hours or so. At least there was no one else on the road (that I could see!) so I don't have to feel (too) guilty about endangering others...
So, my wonderful accomadations for last night were at the University of Northern British Columbia. Wonderful. $16.50 with your trusty student i.d. I can't think of any other post-secondary institution where you see a moose sign under the speed limit while driving up to the school's perch, on top of a hill. Nor have I ever encounted a sign on the residence dormitory saying: "Beware of black bear mother and cub spotted on campus". Unique is the only word that I can think of to describe this.
My second favourite part of this drive (after the Calgary to McBride stretch) is the jaunt from Houston to Smithers. This is when the 'real' mountains reemerge with their snowy peaks poking out of the rolling pasteur- and woodlands. Once I can spot the ski hill on Hudson Bay Mountain (the one that presides over Smithers), I know that I'm almost done the drive. The valley here is wide and fertile but well defined by the mountains, much like the area around Dunster and McBride is--but different! (You'll have to see for yourselves!)
It's nice to be here. I miss folks, especially Des, and our home, but I don't miss Montreal just yet. It's nice to be out west. The day-to-day has a different flavour for the meantime. I'm sure that soon (as of tomorrow evening!!!) it'll be consumed with work (but that's great!) so the day-to-day will be even different. But it's all good.
I've got a digital camera at my disposal once more so I'll keep you visually posted from now on. And, I'll add some more verbal nonsense when I'm feeling a little more on the ball. -L.
Road trips are a good time for thinking and wandering through thoughts of the past year, thinking about the one you love, friends, your crazy family, and now trying to incorporate all that into this blog has become my new task for this drive! Unfortunately, somehow I've forgotten most of the clever things I wanted to say and I'm feeling at a bit of a loss for words at the moment, so perhaps I'll start with my usual count of how many, and what, animals I saw along the way.
Oh, but first, the construction! The highway in the National Park from Canmore to Lake Louise is undergoing a mega facelift. Oi! I advise anyone who's thinking of driving across the country this summer to take either the southern route through Fernie, Cranbrook, etc. or the northern route (the Yellowhead, Highway 16) because the #1 is going to be a nightmare this summer: aka superhighway creation time. (All done in a sensitive manner for the following reasons?!:)
The National Parks were littered with mountain goats and sheep, and a few elk. Very exciting. The sheep were molting (is that what you call it for sheep, or is molting only for ducks?!) so you could see their old fur on top, and the newer, shorter summer-weight coat underneath (yeesh, I sound a bit like a Patagonia ad). It was cool to witness the dramatic change that they undergo...and I thought Jasper shed a lot of fur!!!
When I arrived in Jasper, Jasper and I went for a meander and hit up the best cafe in town: the Bear's Paw Cafe (I believe that's what it's called!). Mmm. We grabbed a latte and sanger for the road (I say we because Jasper partook in the sandwich ceremony!)...and a rice krispie square :)
The next hour or so was in Mount Robson Provincial Park and then in the Headwater's Forest District. MRPP is beautiful especially at this time of year when traffic is at a low-point. The forests are really lush and green, and the mountains just reach straight out up from them. It looks like prime hiking ground there.
The area around Prince George is my most detested section of the journey. This time it was made even worse by some shitty planning and a good stubborn attitude. Never drive west in the springtime between 19-21h. Not only are there normally deer all over the roadsides at this time of day, but if you're driving west you can't see them, nor can you hardly see the road for the most part! Thank goodness for passing lanes. Driving tip: Ignore the "stay right except for passing" sign and motor your ass into the middle lane and stay there: this gives you a good lane on either side of you to deek unpredictably moving natural objects. Always be prepared. If only I wasn't so adament on scamming the cheapest bed in town (they had a check-in deadline of 22h...) and then perhaps I wouldn't have engaged in a suicide drive for a good 1 1/2 hours or so. At least there was no one else on the road (that I could see!) so I don't have to feel (too) guilty about endangering others...
So, my wonderful accomadations for last night were at the University of Northern British Columbia. Wonderful. $16.50 with your trusty student i.d. I can't think of any other post-secondary institution where you see a moose sign under the speed limit while driving up to the school's perch, on top of a hill. Nor have I ever encounted a sign on the residence dormitory saying: "Beware of black bear mother and cub spotted on campus". Unique is the only word that I can think of to describe this.
My second favourite part of this drive (after the Calgary to McBride stretch) is the jaunt from Houston to Smithers. This is when the 'real' mountains reemerge with their snowy peaks poking out of the rolling pasteur- and woodlands. Once I can spot the ski hill on Hudson Bay Mountain (the one that presides over Smithers), I know that I'm almost done the drive. The valley here is wide and fertile but well defined by the mountains, much like the area around Dunster and McBride is--but different! (You'll have to see for yourselves!)
It's nice to be here. I miss folks, especially Des, and our home, but I don't miss Montreal just yet. It's nice to be out west. The day-to-day has a different flavour for the meantime. I'm sure that soon (as of tomorrow evening!!!) it'll be consumed with work (but that's great!) so the day-to-day will be even different. But it's all good.
I've got a digital camera at my disposal once more so I'll keep you visually posted from now on. And, I'll add some more verbal nonsense when I'm feeling a little more on the ball. -L.
posted by Unknown at 11:43 p.m.
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