FosseOdyssey

Due to all the fires in Montana, we changed our route from Glacier National Park to Yellowstone National Park.  We stayed for a week and were able to explore most of the park and also crossed white water rafting off our bucket list White water rafting was fun.  The water was low as it was end of season with only class 1, 2, 3, and 4 rapids.  Very easy and low key said our guide.  We rafted  for 9 miles down the Gallatin River. The first rapid was the Fluffy Bunny (class 1 easy peasy).  All went well through the class 2 and 3 rapids. The class 4 rapids had more boulders , rocks and of course whitewater .  We made it through the Boulder Garden ,  the Thumb of God and then came the grand finale Box of Rocks. We were almost through the Box when our raft hit a boulder under my seat and bounced me off into the river. Luckily our guide and Tom pulled me into the raft like a beached whale.  Water was freezing but No injuries...you wear a helmet and...

Most of Montana on fire, so changing directions.  Instead of going to Glacier National Park (smoke issues) we are going to West Yellowstone for a week. On our way we stayed the night in Butte.  Looking for things to do we read about Deer Lodge.  It's a small town 30 miles from Butte - population 3500 in town and 6000 for area. The old Montana Prison in Deer Lodge  is now a museum.  It was built out by convict labor starting in 1871.  The prison closed in 1979.  Famous inmates included at least one member of the Butch Cassidy gang and 2 of the top 3 suspected Zodiac Killer candiadates.  Interesting that the main cell house is built on almost the same plan as Alcatraz.  It is believed there may be ghosts as 2 men were hanged.  They occurred in 1908 & 1909 the inmates that were executed were the ones that killed the deputy warden and attempted to kill the warden by cutting their throats witH handmade   blades. The hangings...

Luckily we only had 2 nights in Banff.   I say "lucky" in a disappointing way, Banff is filled with smoke from the Verdant creek wildfire.  The smoke keeps pouring into the valley. We wanted to take the Banff gondola ride, but the cashier showed us the webcam and asked if we really wanted to spend $120 to go up. The visibility was extremely poor...just gray smokey skies.  We appreciated his candor and passed on the gondola We did visit the Caves and Basins historical landmark.  This is known as the birthplace of Canada's national park system it is a natural thermal mineral spring discovered in the 1870's   The waters are said to cure rheumatism, digestion and gunshot wounds.  Hmmmm... We stayed at the Tunnel Mountain RV park.  The trailhead for the HOODOOs starts from this campground.  So what is a hoodoo?  Basically it is composed sedimentary rock covered by harder rock that is difficult to erode.  Once the softer sediment erodes ...

We stayed at Irvin's RV park in Valemont.  While here, we hiked the 4 k Cranberry Marsh trail.  It's an easy trail, well kept, fairly cool with several viewing towered.  This marsh is a natural habitat for birds and waterfowl.  Supposedly also beavers and muskrat with a possible bear siting.  All we saw was ducks , dragonflies and mosquitoes. Jasper is 70 miles away, but NO full hookups....and we need the electricity.   The road is good and we were in Jasper  within 90 minutes.  Used our FREE Canadian park pass (It's their 150th anniversary).  Since we had limited time, we visited Medicine Lake.  Also known as the disappearing lake as it is so shallow.  The water is a deep aquamarine with lots of surrounding fireweed as they had a major fire in 2015.  Further up We had a picnic lunch at Lake Maligne. Interesting to note there are no motorized boats, just canoes and kayaks....also no campsites around this beautiful lake. We hi...

We spent a few days decompressing from the return trip on the Alcan Highway.  As expected there is a lot of road construction.  Our red truck is now a dull highway gray...nothing like dirt, gravel and road oil. Whenever you find a major city along the Alcan, look for Costco.  Our last Costco run was a few weeks prior in Anchorage.  Whenever you do locate a Costco, you have to restock, food prices are a little shocking in Alaska and Canada.....as everything must be shipped in or trucked in.   Do look for local goods, we found reindeer sausage in Alaska and here in PG we found LIVE Canadian mussels.  We bought the mussels (of course) added some linguini and french bread and had a delicious supper.  From a seafood perspective, the mussels come in third, after the Sockeye Salmon and Homer Oysters.  Fresh Sockeye remains our #1 seafood choice. I was able to celebrate my birthday at the Northern Lights Winery.   This is BC's northern most w...

When most people think of Valdez, they think of the Exon Valdez Oil Spill of 1989.   This tragic spill occurred when the Exon Valdez oil tanker struck the Bligh reef 25 miles outside of the town...causing the biggest oil spill in North America.  There is that Alaska is bigger theme again. When visiting we learned that town of Valdez was moved after the Earthquake of 1964.  This 9.2 quake caused major damage.  The city fathers decided to move the town 4 miles away to a safer area. Only the foundations of the original town remain....as any remaining old town structures were burned (by fire department) to prevent anyone from living there. We went to Valdez as we have family history here.  My husbands Great Grandfather was a marshall in Valdez in the early 1900's.  In 1907, nine companies fought to take advantage of the short route from the coast to the Copper Mines at Kennecott.  The railroads hired marshals to protect their interests, as the locals w...

Homer is known as the "Halibut Fishing Capital of World".  But if you don't fish, it is definitely worth a trip.   We stayed at the Baycrest RV Park - which has the best view of the Kachemak Bay and we are also able to see the Grewingk Glacier.  The view alone is worth the trip to Homer. But for those who don't fish, there are also other great options. 1. Walk on the spit, have lunch, book a charter.   I wasn't quite sure what a "spit" was.  Basically it is an extension of the land/beach that projects out to sea and is joined to the mainland at one end.  The Homer Spit is 4.5 miles long and of course, this is Alaska, so it is the LONGEST ROAD into ocean waters in the world. 2. Visit the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies.  We visited their Carl E. Wynn Center on Skyline Road.  Our guide Shannon took us on a 1.5 mile hike on the Fireweed trail / Bog.  She was really a great naturalist guide.  We learned what plants are edible .... Wa...