Back in BC again, we passed the Watson Lake fire, which had since reached the highway and jumped it since our first post. We also passed by the now familiar bison. We kept trying to spot the mom with her new calf that had been left behind by the group on our way out. We think we saw her with the group. The calf was still tiny but starting to darken. We arrived at Liard Hot Springs, made camp, and took in a twilight soak. It was a full moon but overcast so I was encouraging Emma to follow the light colour of the boardwalk back when a crash in the bush ahead of us stopped us cold. What was originally a "mystical forest walk" became a throw-the-kid-behind you while hissing, "grab your ipod!" Emma got her ipod flashlight up in time to see the moose climb across the boardwalk 20' ahead of us.......followed by her two calves. Ya, I've now put dark forest walks firmly into the box of "stupid romantic ideas that sound good...but aren't". A quick soak again in the morning and we were off.
The plateau eventually gave way to the Rocky Mountains and we wove our way through the valleys, spotting a mountain caribou and a pair of big horn sheep. All clearly unafraid of traffic. Breaking through the mountains we headed to Fort Nelson and on to Fort St. John. That's a long, long, straight, stretch of rolling prairie highway. I think the highlight of that stretch was spotting the mowing crew (well that and the coyote hunting ground squirrels). There were at least 6 mowers at one spot and 2 further down. It looked like a John Deer convention. The "work hotels" we passed were downright depressing. I get that its temporary accommodation for workers but it looks miserable. With the money that is being made, you would think the companies could invest a little in community building and give some thought to the legacy its leaving when these structures are inevitably abandoned.
Arriving in Fort St. John at sunset made it all worth it. The sky was on fire with pink and purple and not just where the sun was setting but a full 360 degree glow. It was amazing. We arrived at our only hotel booking, settled Cody into his double queen bed room with food and water, ordered dinner for later and jumped in the pool (complete with waterslide). On returning to our room, we could hear howling.......and then we got the call from the concierge. Apparently, Cody did not appreciate being left alone in an unfamiliar space, queen beds or not (in hindsight this was a well-duh moment, even leaving him in the car would have been more familiar to him). After apologizing profusely and promising to not leave him alone for the rest of the stay, we sheepishly went to pick up our food and slink back into our room. There we gorged ourselves on pasta and wifi. The Holiday Inn Express is really quite lovely, all modern decor, great amenities, and thankfully really understanding of supreme idiocy in dog owners.
I wanted to stop and have a picture of us entering Alberta on our way to Jasper but at the time we passed the sign it was pelting hale sideways. Of course, a minute later it stopped abruptly and was beautifully sunny. Prairie weather is a bit fickle. The highway from Grand Prairie to Jasper is beautiful. I laughed as we filled up gas at the remote city of Grande Cache, the front page news was that a bear had wandered through town backyards shocking residents. I wasn't sure which was funnier, that a bear was front page news or that residents were surprised to see one.
Jasper, as usual, was phenomenal; the scenery amazing, the elk plentiful. We spotted more big horn sheep and deer. Camping at Wapiti, we had a late night bike ride. It was actually an aborted attempt to cycle into town and grab sushi. We had become accustomed to the long dusk hours of the Yukon and Alaska and we quickly realized that twilight in Jasper was brief, cold and very dark afterwards. It was on our return cycle we realized we'd peddled right past grazing elk without seeing them even with lights. Eek!
From Jasper we headed to Prince George for Roll-a-dome roller skating with Rachel and Nana. The stretch between Jasper and McBride is still one of my favourite Rocky Mountain approaches, even with Mount Robson shrouded in mist. I think Emma forgot how hard it was the last time we were here but she caught on and rolled around, cautiously, by the end. Foosball and 50cent floats are still a highlight, although I missed the disco ball and lights they used to have. We headed out after picking up the long awaited sushi. Emma's plan being to drive to the Hell's Gate Parking lot and wait for it to open. The plan was modified as we travelled to drive until 10pm and find a pullout to crash at. That landed us on the south side of Spences Bridge.
At 2:31am a big storm hit Spences Bridge (we know the exact time because we were no longer able to sleep and checked). The car was rocked from side to side, pelted with hale and sleet, while a few inches of water gathered outside the car. To top it off, nature called and having sideways rain pelting me was a new experience I could have done without. Sleep was not to be had this night but I got caught up on blog writing and Emma caught up on her recently downloaded episodes of Marlin thanks to the wifi at the Jasper Visitor Info Centre. At 3:01am the storm started letting up and we went back to sleep.
Breakfast and coffee was found in Spences Bridge at the Packing House (aka Sprinkles the Cat's place) and we stopped at Hell's Gate for the candy shop. Is it my imagination or is Hell's Gate getting really expensive? After that, our trip was rounded out by a five hour drive home.....yes, you heard that right. What should have been a two hour drive turned into an accident caused highway closure, a reroute, a decision to back track to the other highway and a crawl back to Vancouver. Ending one's trip on the last day of the long weekend before school starts does have its draw backs.
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