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Traveled from Glacier passing Flathead Lake and took some pics.  What a drive !  Arrived in West Yellowstone and checked into an RV Park which was in the city close to the West entrance to Yellowstone NP.  The next day we entered the Park and traveled the lower loop, which is about 118 miles.  Yellowstone NP covers more than 2.2 million acres so it definitely takes more than a day to enjoy.  We started with Old Faithful and arrived just 20 minutes before it’s expected eruption.  Wow !  We drove through the geyser area and passed many boiling springs and thermal areas, in fact in some places it’s hard to decide whether you are witnessing a fire since there is so much smoke rising from these areas.  We saw lots of bison along this drive as well as elk and stopped at Canyon Falls.  The park is so immense it is hard to take it all in, but we took lots of pictures along the way.  We stopped and ate a picnic lunch beside the Yellowstone Lake and found quite a few footprints that were fresh along the lake.

Next day we took a break from driving and visited the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone.  We saw lots of grizzlies, many that were orphaned as cubs. There were also many wolves and beautiful Golden and Bald Eagles.  It was well worth the time to see all the animals, demonstrations and exhibits.

The following day we drove the upper loop of Yellowstone NP.  This drive was about 121 miles and much more beautiful than the lower loop.  We stopped many more times at the view points and we drove much more narrow and steeper roads.  We also played Bison Bingo (count the Buffalo) because many more were near the roads that day.  They decide to walk down the middle of the road and take their sweet time.  Traffic was stopped for miles because of one Mac Daddy Buffalo that decided to take a Sunday stroll.  At one point we saw an EMS vehicle with lights going, weaving in between the traffic and he decided to start the siren.  You would not believe how fast 600 lbs. or more of solid meat can travel along with about 4 of his cousins and grandkids.  Funny ! and traffic then started moving.  What a great place to visit and hope we are fortunate to go back some day.  Enjoy the pics and we have many, many more.

After Anacortes WA. we traveled back to Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho just long enough to have the truck serviced (after all we had put 7,000 miles on it) and went on our way to Columbia Falls, MT for our visit to Glacier National Park.  We were so disappointed with the weather both days we were there.  We managed to take the shuttle up the “Going to the Sun” highway and take a few pictures, but when we arrived at Logan Pass it started pouring rain and the temperature dropped.  The visitor center was shoulder to shoulder people trying to get out of the rain so we never managed to take the walk to Hidden Lake.  We finally decided to wait for a shuttle back down.  The next day we took a ride to Hungry Horse, MT, and went up to the Hungry Horse Dam which is beautiful but still the weather was not good for us.  Well it’s time to go on to Yellowstone.

Next few days were without communication as we went through Teslin, YT, Nugget City YT, and Dease Lake, BC, where we stopped enroute at Jade City and watched how they cut and polished jade.  These stops were one nighters which gets tough after a while, setting up and then hooking up to get started again.  We then traveled to Stewart, BC which was a very interesting little town before and after the Gold Rush,  with the most interesting  museum where we spent most of the day but were asked not to post pictures of the collections on the internet and we can appreciate that.  The city was almost empty after the Gold Rush but we were told that a new vein of gold had been found and probably was a billion dollar find which was creating more jobs in the area.  We noticed many helicopters and trucks coming in with equipment to supply power to the mines.  In Stewart, we also drove across the border (which was only about 6 miles) to Hyder AK. to the Fish Creek Bear Viewing Station where the salmon were spawning.  We got a spot at the viewing station and waited and waited (over an hour) in silence along with about 100 people.  Sure enough we finally spotted a grizzly under the bridge coming our way and she caught about 3 of the salmon right in front of us and then walked on down the creek.  What a thrill ! The next day we drove 34 miles on dirt and gravel straight up to Salmon Glacier and back down.  What a trip up and Cary drove us and friends but it was well worth it.

Next couple of stops were also one nighters heading south with a stop at Hat Creek RV Park which is an actual ranch.  The horses were directly behind the camper and very friendly especially because our crowd gave them goodies.  Then on to Rosedale, BC, where  some of us girls endured an uphill climb to Bridal Veil Falls.

We arrived at our final destination at Fidalgo Bay RV Resort in Anacortes, Washington after going through the U.S. Border at Sumas, WA.  All we could say was “God Bless the USA.”  It was a wild ride with many bumps along the way.  Some had vehicle or RV problems, a few cracked windshields, some without power at times, but OH WHAT A TRIP !  We had a great farewell meal and breakfast the next morning when we all said our goodbyes.  Yes, there were tears especially because for 60 days we were all a family.  We all went through a lot together and shared the problems of traveling rough country but we also shared the good times and the beauty of what we all saw on our “Trip of a Lifetime.”

Stay tuned for a few more of our travels as we finally head “HOME.”

The next morning we left for Tok to spend one night.  All roads lead to Tok. Then another early morning departure to Destruction Bay in the Yukon Territory.  Yes, we had to cross the border again and yes, we had another time change.  We experienced more frost heaves, construction and rain all day.  We did not get many pictures in this weather except for the road, but we did have a delicious dinner and entertainment at Destruction Bay Lodge.  Then an early morning call for traveling to Skagway AK and we had to cross the border and another time change.  At this point we haven’t known what time it was since we started especially because of very little darkness.  We had a full 1st day which took us by boat, a 50 seat catamaran, The Fjord Express, to Juneau.  This was a 3 hour trip one-way and once again the weather was bad but we did manage to see some orca whales and waterfalls on the way.  It poured on and off all day and the water was really rough.  In Juneau we boarded a bus for a city tour that included time for shopping and lunch at the Red Dog Saloon.  The weather was awful and the streets of Juneau were so crowded with people from 2 cruise ships docked in the harbor.  The bus then took us to Mendenhall Glacier which was so beautiful but like all the glaciers is slowly receding.  We then took the 3 hour return trip but had to skip the whale watching because of weather.  We enjoyed the captains stories and had some wonderful salmon chowder on the way.

Next day we had a great time on the White Pass/ Yukon train excursion and took pictures but the clouds prevented good ones.  The Railroad was born during the Gold Rush and we went up the mountain and over bridges and through the tunnels that were driven through the mountains so many years ago.  It was kind of scary looking down the mountain as we went over the trestles which were on OUR side of the train, but interestingly enough when we got to the top, we had to reverse the back of our seats and change sides with our neighbors across from us so that they were on the scary side going back.  So much fun with our group.