Petersburg AK

One thing about the Alaska Marine Highway System is that it runs essentially 24 hours. That means your cruise can be on a nice sunny day. Or you can get the red-eye. Tonight we got the red-eye.

After three nights in Ketchikan it was time to leave and catch our boat to Petersburg. The bad news is our scheduled departure was at 2:45 am. The good news is we had the whole day to spend in Ketchikan before we sailed. We were able to park the coach at the ferry terminal and use it as a base of operations on our final day in the city. We returned to the coach about 6:00 pm and cooked dinner. Then we tried to nap and waited for the ferry. Our strategy was to carry sleeping pads, sleeping bags and pillows onto the ferry and sleep in the lounge chairs on the solarium. The M/V Matanuska docked, and we boarded shortly thereafter. We headed for the solarium and made our nests. I would like to say we slept well. Dorcas seemed to sleep well; she always sleeps well. I think I managed to sleep a bit.

About 9 am, after sailing for 6 hours we docked in Wrangell. Wrangell was not our destination, but we got to take Matilda into town for about a 1/2 hour walk. There was not a lot happening in Wrangell this morning, but we did have a pleasant stroll. We re-boarded the M/V Matanuska for the 3-hour cruise to Petersburg. We arrived in Petersburg shortly after noon and cruised up to a private RV park that we had spotted.

We had chosen a stop in Petersburg because it is a relatively small town. Cruise ships don't go there, and we figured it would show us authentic Southeast Alaskan life. Petersburg was founded by Peter Buschmann, a Norwegian immigrant who arrived in the 1890s. He had been looking for a harbor with good lumber, good fishing and a glacier to provide ice for his cannery. He found it here and his town became known as "Little Norway". Other Scandinavians followed and there is a very strong Norse connection today.

Petersburg is a very quaint town with a very active maritime culture. We spent a lot of time down at the waterfront and out on the docks just watching folks do their thing. We spent a lot of time watching one particular guy. He had a large flat bed truck with a hoist, and on the truck was an aluminum dock ramp. He hoisted the ramp and lowered it over side of the dock, as if he were going to drop it into the water. Then he left the truck and the hanging ramp and headed away from the dock, saying as he went by, that he had to get a boat. A few minutes later he came around the corner piloting a small boat with a floating dock lashed to the side. He maneuvered the boat under the hanging ramp, then lowered the ramp onto his portable floating dock. It was extremely fascinating to watch. He saw us watching him, and when everything was secured, he came over to talk. He was interested in us because we were interested in him. We had a very good conversation about life in Petersburg and Southeast Alaska. That is when I learned that we, as tourists, had a special name. We were "Independent Travelers." Independent Travelers are those that have their own transportation and set their own itinerary. They are the opposite of the cruise ship traveler and tour bus traveler. Independent Travelers take the time to see the towns and speak to the natives and are generally respected and liked by the locals, once they are recognized as such. As opposed to the cruise/tour folks, who are generally disliked, notwithstanding the money they spend. It explains a lot. We have stopped to talk to people, and when they learned we are working our way up the inside passage, on our own and taking a fair amount of time doing it, they become very friendly and helpful.

The National Geographic vessel Sea Lion was in port. We talked to one of their guides, who was taking their customers across the bay to a hiking trail. It was also interesting to watch that ship's workers doing their chores. They would winch a large cargo net of dirty laundry out the side of the ship and into a rubber boat. The boat would then motor around to the other end of the dock where they would use an electric hoist to bring the net to the top of the dock and load it into a van, where, presumably, it would be taken to a laundry. In another load they off-loaded an outboard motor and loaded it onto a truck, presumably for repair. I just can't explain why these simple dockside chores fascinated me so much.

As we were leaving town on our second day Dorcas saw a beauty shop "Locks by the Docks" She couldn't resist getting an overdue hair cut.

We spent two days in Petersburg and wish we could have stayed longer. Our passage from Petersburg to Juneau is another red-eye. We sail at 1:00 am.

Ketchikan AK

We arrived in Ketchikan about 5:00 pm and suddenly realized it was Memorial Day weekend. We had planned to stay at one of two Forest Service campgrounds just north of town, but, as usual, we had made no reservations, and we began to panic. To top it off, the coach was essentially out of fuel. I had avoided buying fuel in Canada because I knew it would be much cheaper in the US. I also knew there was a station in Ketchikan selling diesel for $4.19/gal, significantly cheaper than any other station in all of Alaska, as far I could determine. So, we made a strategic plan. Dorcas would head for Ward Lake Recreation Area to score a campsite while I bought fuel. We both failed. Actually, I was able to buy some fuel, but the pump cut off after the third $75 cycle. "See Attendant" the display demanded. The attendant was useless. He could not restart the pump, but did admit that it was a glitch in their system. I called the credit card company and confirmed it was not a problem with them. They never even saw the fourth attempt. OK, I could live with 1/2 tank of fuel for now. We wouldn't be driving far, and we knew we could run the generator and the furnace.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Dorcas struck out at the campground. There were three Forest Service campgrounds at Ward Lake and they were all full. The host there said that the state park up the road was also full. Where did all these folks come from??? You can't even DRIVE to here!!! The host did say he had an opening in the morning that we might fit into, and he would reserve it for us. Great guy!

So we went to Plan B, which usually involves a Walmart. There is a relatively new Walmart in Ketchikan, and they do allow RVers to spend one night in their parking lot. Dorcas went in and checked just to make sure, and we made camp at the upper end of the lot. About 6:00, after parking the coach, we went into town to try to find something to eat. Ketchikan was dead; nothing was open. What about those 300 cruise ships that dock each summer. Where were they? Where do they eat? Finally we came back home and ate in the Subway at Walmart.

The next morning we went back to town to explore and WOW!!! Four cruise ships had come in during the night, and you couldn't drive down the street without running over a tourist. The shops and restaurants were full and tourists spilled over from the sidewalks into the streets. People were all over the docks hawking sightseeing tours, flight-seeing tours, scenic boat rides and fishing trips. It was like a carnival.

We watched the spectacle for a while and then headed out of town to see some totem poles. Ketchikan has the world's largest collection of standing totem poles. Totem poles were usually commissioned to tell a story or commemorate a special event. Dorcas really enjoyed the totems, but I just didn't get it. They were pretty, but I really didn't understand them and couldn't always recognize the figures or the symbolism.

The next morning we shoe-horned the coach into site #10 at Signal Creek CG in the Tongass National Forest. The campground is in a temperate rainforest and is very lush and green, with huge Sitka Spruce and Western Hemlocks. We have a very nice site, but the campground was still full, and kids and dogs were running rampant through the facility. We determined that the majority of the folks were locals and cram into the NF campgrounds on holiday weekends, just as they do everywhere else in the country. What I didn't understand is: if everyone is a fisherman or serves the tourist industry and those 300 cruise ships, why do they get the holiday off? Hmmmm.

It was a rare clear sunny day in Ketchikan. We decided to splurge and take a float plane out to Misty Fjords National Monument. The planes and boats and all the other tour operators sell their tours to the cruise ship companies who market them to their passengers. It turns out that regular folks can pick up heavily discounted un-sold spaces on these tours. And you can dicker! Cool! So we brokered a deal on a plane ride. It was a two-hour flight and took off from the waterfront right in front of town. We headed north and flew directly over our campsite at Ward Lake. From there we continued over snow covered mountains and over the Behm Canal into the Misty Fjords. The pilot made a tight circle and dropped into a small cove and landed. There was a grizzly sow and her two cubs a few hundred yards away in the grass. The pilot cut the engine and let the plane drift towards the bears. After about 15 minutes the bears rambled up the hill and out of site. We took off again looking for more bears. We saw four black bears in a meadow, and they scattered when we flew over. Finally we returned across the mountain and landed in the harbor at Ketchikan. It was a wonderful experience.

Ketchikan is a linear and vertical town. The land rises sharply from the ocean, and there is little level ground between. Consequently many of the structures are built on piles out over the water. The town also sprawls north and south. We took a walking tour of the city and enjoyed the historical and scenic sites. Ketchikan is known as Alaska's First City, because it is the first town you come to up the inside passage. It is also known as the Salmon Capital of the World. It is also known for its rainy weather. This part of Southeast Alaska gets much more rain than they do a little further north. Our weather while in Ketchikan was outstandingly clear and sunny.

After three nights in Ketchikan it was time to continue our journey north through the inside passage.

Aboard the M/V Matanuska

When we left home on May 5 we had no real itinerary. We would head north and make it up as we went. One option that we had been considering for quite a while was to take the Alaska Marine Highway System ferry up through the panhandle of Southeast Alaska. We had been waffling the decision, primarily because we knew it would be expensive. There were also some minor complications, particularly that the propane, and therefor the refrigerator, must be off while on the vessel. Also Matilda must be left in the motor home while the vessel is underway. Ultimately, we decided to look into this idea and Dorcas went on-line to check schedules and prices. Long story short, we booked passage, boarding at Prince Rupert BC on May 28 and arriving at Haines AK on June 6. We would get off the boat for multiple nights at Ketchikan, Petersburg and Juneau. Our boat would also stop at some other towns along the way where we could get off for a stretch and could walk Matilda. Our thinking was that this may be a once in a lifetime trip. Let's spend the $$$, but instead of sailing straight through, let's stop and spend a little time along the way at as many places as we can. These are all places that you just can't drive in to. We ended up buying a See Alaska pass which saved us some money if we made three stops along the way. So that's what we did.

Our voyage got off to an auspicious beginning. Our boat from Prince Rupert was scheduled to sail at 9:30 am, and we were to check in at 6:30 am. At 6:30 we arrived and lined up, but the ferry terminal was dark. We learned that the power was out in the terminal. Apparently a bird had flown into the line on some island out in the sound, and had knocked out the power to the terminal. They couldn't sell tickets, couldn't check folks in and couldn't operate the ramp to load the boat. Sounds like a good case for an auxiliary generator to me. Finally some guys from the power company arrived in big trucks, but they needed to find a boat to get them to the fried bird. Finally they were off. About two hours later they return and drive off in their big trucks, but there is still no power. They must have gone to reset a fuse somewhere nearby, because about 10 minutes later there was light. After that things began to happen. Dorcas and I each drove a vehicle and passed through US Customs and onto the ferry. The ship departed about 3 hours later than scheduled.

Our ship was the M/V Matanuska, named for an Alaskan Glacier, as all the AMHS vessels are. We explored the ship and decided to set up on the Solarium, a partially covered but largely open area on an upper deck at the stern. The weather was sunny and warm. Locals were taking off their clothes to catch some rays. We found some deck chairs and enjoyed the view. Southeast Alaska and the inside passage is characterized with tall, steep, glacier carved mountains and fjords. The views were outstanding. We saw some orcas in the distance, but I was unable to get a photo. We didn't see any humpback whales. Dang.

At about 5:00 pm, 3 hours behind schedule, and after sailing 6 hours, we arrived in Ketchikan AK.

Across British Columbia

Our drive from Jasper AB to Prince Rupert BC was pleasant and uneventful. The day was warm and clear with excellent views of the mountains. Shortly after leaving Jasper we crossed into British Columbia and began dropping out of the Rockies. In the span of about 15 minutes we saw three road-side black bears. Later in the day it began to cloud up and light rain began to fall. We searched for an internet source in Prince George, but failed. Finally at Lake Burns we found an open internet connection at the Visitors Center and checked our e-mail. Finding convenient wi-fi has continued to be a challenge in Canada since we abandoned our air data card. In the US most businesses, particularly fast food joints and motels have an unsecured connection. Not so in the parts of Canada we have visited so far. When we get into Alaska we can start using our air card again ... if we have cell service.

Our route largely followed the Fraser and Bulkley Rivers, which were both wide and swollen from the rains and snow melt. In many places the road was so low, it looked like we were below the level of the river. We were beginning to worry about flooding, but we had no problems. We spent the night in a rest area pull out with another RV and a couple of trucks. It was actually a very quiet night. The next morning we continued and stopped at another rest area. There we found a resident coyote. From his behavior it was fairly obvious that he hung out there, looking for handouts, or perhaps scavenging for scraps. About noon we arrived at Prince Rupert BC, were we would board the Alaska Marine Highway ferry the next morning. We made camp at the Kinnikinnick RV Park and Campground and rested and prepared for our voyage.

Attacked!!!!

We have seen lots of wildlife on this trip: bison, elk, brown bears, black bears, coyotes, mountain goats and big horn sheep, to name a few. With all these wildlife encounters I guess it is inevitable that one would eventually turn on us. However I was unprepared for the attack of the dryocopus pileatus. D. pileatus, otherwise known as the pileated woodpecker, is normally a shy and reclusive bird. The Canadian variety is apparently bolder and does not like good ol' boys from down south.

We had returned to the coach from an excursion in Jasper, and when I opened the door, there was a loud scratching and scurrying noise from the back of the coach. My first thought was that a squirrel had gotten in and was trying to claw his way out. I rushed to the rear of the coach and found Woody clinging to the outside of the coach, pecking on the rear bedroom window. This is the same window we had just replaced in February this year. CRAP! I ran outside and tried to shoo him away, but he was a stubborn and determined old bird.  I actually had to brush him off with my hand. Our windows have a highly reflective surface, and he was apparently either enamored with or behaving aggressively toward his own reflection. Each time I chased him away, he flew to a nearby tree and glared at me. As soon as I turned my back he was on the coach again. After going around and around with him for about half an hour Woody gave up and left. Thankfully there was no damage to the window, although he did tear off three weep hole covers cemented to the bottom of the window frame. Thankfully, these are easy to repair.

It was a terrifying experience, but I was brave, stood my ground and protected my family and the coach. Score 1 for the good ol' boys.

Jasper National Park

We left Lake Louise under dreary skies and continued northwest on highway 93 towards Jasper. We soon entered the Icefields Parkway, touted as one of the most scenic drives in North America. I'll go with that. It traverses the spine of the Canadian Rockies and tops out at the Icefield Centre, which offers commanding views of the Colombia Icefield, and several large glaciers. From there one can take a snow coach out onto the surface of the glacier. We saw several black bears from the road. Black bear sightings along the road have become pretty common lately, so I won't bore you with a series of bear pictures .. well maybe a few. At a pull-off we met a couple traveling to Alaska from Greensboro. Small world. After the Icefield Centre the highway gradually descended and, after traveling about 145 miles, we arrived in Jasper AB. We set up camp in Whistlers Campground for two nights. Whistlers CG is HUGE, with 781 sites. However, once you are parked it doesn't seem so big. All the sites are wooded and spaced widely apart. The washroom in our loop was closed because the pipes were frozen. Dorcas went through the woods trying to find the one in the next loop and got lost. My navigator.


The sun came out and we explored the town of Jasper, which is very pretty. The Canadian Pacific Railway
has some major operations there, and while we were there the VIA Rail Canada train was in. It has observation cars with roof-top perches. That looks like a very interesting way to tour the country. We took some short hikes around Jasper and a road trip out to Maligne Lake. Along the way we saw big horn sheep and elk.
No shortage of wildlife in these parts.

In case you can't tell, this is a different bear than above! No more bear pics for a while.

Those Wacky Canadians!

We have been in Canada a few days now and have noticed that there are a few differences between Canadians and normal people.

1.  Canadians are really nice folks.  They are friendly and orderly and always follow the rules.  Canadians never cross the street against the "DON"T WALK" signal, even if the light is green in their direction and no traffic is coming.  It is very annoying.

2.  Canadians end their sentences with "hey" while normal people begin their sentences with "hey".  Example: Myron: Hey, how about a beer?  Jacques: How about a beer, hey?

3.  They use funny numbers.  I can't figure out how fast I am driving or how far it is to our next stop.  I can't figure out if our motor home will safely pass under the overpass ahead, or if the bridge will support the weight of our coach.  And how cold is it outside, anyway?  And how many litres does it take to fill a 135 gallon diesel tank?  Too damn many!

4.  They use funny money.  All the bills are different colors, and they have coins called "Loonies" and "Toonies".  We are not fighting it; we charge everything.  Who needs cash anyway?

5. They have funny road signs.  I'll talk more about this in a future post. 

6.  They have two national languages.  What's up with that?  Why not just pick one? At every National Park station they say "Hello.  Bonjour".  I don't know how to answer, so I just say :"Buenos dios."  Uh, wait a minute. The USA will be bilingual in another 10 years.  Never mind.

7.  Even when they use English they do it all wrong.  They misspell common words like "colour" and "centre".  OK, that probably comes honestly from their British heritage.  But, hey, "Walmart Supercentre"???  You shouldn't mess with a proper noun!

Banff National Park

On Saturday morning we drove through Calgary where we topped off our fuel tank at a Flying J .  Fuel prices would be significantly higher as we crossed the Rockies.  We turned west and got on the Trans-Canada Highway headed towards Banff National Park.  That's when we fully appreciated that we had entered Canada at the beginning of their spring 3-day holiday, Victoria Day.  Kinda like Memorial Day weekend in the US.  Calgary has about 1,000,000 residents.  999,000 were headed to Banff for the weekend.  The drive up the Bow River valley into Banff was gorgeous, in spite of the traffic.  At the boundary gate into the national park we learned that the entry fee was almost $10 per day per person.  Yikes!  We told the ranger we didn't know how long we would be in the park, but would be camping in Banff for a night or two.  He said fine; when we checked in at the campground we could buy the entrance permit there.  However, when we bought our camping permit, the ranger had no real interest in selling us a park entry permit.  She said we could probably get by without it and not to worry about it ("But don't tell anyone I said that").  Fine with me.  We paid for a site with 30A electric for two nights at the Village II campground.  The campground was fairly busy, but we scored a very nice site on a small ridge. The scenery was outstanding.  There were magnificent peaks all around us.  The wildlife in the
park was abundant, but not particularly varied: mule deer, elk and Colombian ground squirrels.  There were a LOT of ground squirrels. 

We set up camp about lunch time and went to town to explore Banff.  Big mistake.  Wall-to wall Calgarites (Calgarians?).  We gave up on town and hiked Tunnel Mountain, which offered outstanding views of town, and the Bow River valley.  We also walked on the river walk on the Bow River.  I had been told that our DirecTV service would end once we got about 100-200 miles north of the Canadian border. We are more than 100 miles north of the border and so far DTV is doing well.  On our second day in Banff we hiked some short trails near the campground.  We did a loop trail around the camp sites and hiked to the "Hoo Doos".  We drove to the Bow River Falls, which was very impressive.  We also drove the loop road around the golf course, which we were told was a good place to spot wildlife.  It was fun watching the elk on the fairways and watching the golfers try to figure out how to play around them.  Finally,we walked up to the Banff Springs Hotel, which is a beautiful and massive structure.

This morning we moved about 58 "kilometres" to Lake Louise, still in the Banff National Park.  Don't ask me

how far that really is.  We are camped in the Trailer CG, just outside Lake Louise village.  We drove up to Lake Louise to explore the area.  We hiked the Lakeside trail to the far end of the lake, where we were delighted to watch small avalanches falling off the mountain on the far side of the lake.  We also attempted an ill-fated hike to Mirror Lake and Lake Agnes.  The trail was snow-covered, but we had instep crampons, gaiters and hiking sticks ... in the car.  Oh well we have hiked on worse snow-covered trails before.  The going was pretty easy and gentle, and we were about half way up the mountain when I realized that my polarizer filter had fallen off my lens. CRAP.  We decided to turn around and search for it on the way back down.  Soon we met a mother and her two teen-aged children.  They had found my polarizer.  YEAH!  We could have turned back around then and headed back up the hill, but we decided to cut our losses and head back to the lake. Finally, we went into the Chateau Lake Louise which is very luxurious.

Oh Canada

On Thursday morning we left Yellowstone National Park and headed north into Montana.  We were bound for Conestoga Campground in White Sulphur Springs MT, only about 130 miles away.  We would like to have gone further this day, but this was a fairly necessary stop.  There were no dump facilities at Mammoth CG, and we had not dumped our waste tanks or taken on fresh water since we left home two weeks ago.  We also needed to do some laundry and take some time to make some plans.  We still had not determined our route across Canada and into Alaska. Being flexible is good, but sooner or later you need to decide where the heck you are going!  

Conestoga Campground was very nice.  It had long pull-through sites with 50A electrical service and full hook ups, meaning water and sewer.  It was on the edge of town, two blocks from main street (it's a small town), but also on the edge of the cattle district.  Our hosts were super folks.  Conestoga Campground is a Passport America park, meaning we score half price camping. Cool!

Dorcas and I discussed our options for getting to Alaska.  We had once considered taking the Alaska Marine Highway up the inside passage, but had resisted that plan because we knew it would be very expensive.  However, on this day we were feeling extravagant.  Dorcas went on the web, researched some routes, estimated the fares for our coach, car w/canoe, passengers and the pup, and we made a plan.  We would sail from Prince Rupert, BC and de-boat at Ketchikan AK, Juneau AK and Petersburg AK, for 1-3 nights at each stop.  We would then end our cruise at Haines AK.  We could not make our reservations online, due to the complexity of our caravan, so Dorcas made the call and booked our passage on the phone.  I won't say what the cost of this excursion is, but it is cheaper than the comparable cruise .... maybe.

We also made plans to cross the border.  We inventoried all our meats, produce, alcoholic beverages and other items of concern.  We got all our papers together, including passports, vehicle registrations, insurance documents and puppy papers. The idea of crossing the border had been really terrorizing Dorcas for months, and we were both anxious to get it behind us.  We called Verizon and switched our cell plan to a Nationwide Plus Canada plan.  It's only about $30 extra per month, and we can switch back and forth to our original US plan at will and the charges are prorated.  Unfortunately, Verizon could not offer a reasonable plan for our internet air card.  This means that while traveling in Canada we would be dependent on public wi-fi resources.  Bummer.  Faithful readers will know that I am sometimes a bit slow posting to this blog; my posting rate may be "glacial" for the next few weeks.

Thursday night it rained at White Sulphur Springs.  We learned that it had snowed on the pass northward to Great Falls.  Our campground hosts helped us check the road conditions over the pass, and we found reports of only some soft slush, so we took off.  We safely cleared the pass and rolled into Great Falls where we bought groceries and topped off our fuel and headed north for Canada.

We arrived at the border at Sweetgrass MT on I-15 about 6:00 PM, and there was not another vehicle in
sight.  There was only one lane open; I pulled up and shut down the engine.  The Canadian border agent asked for our passports, asked a few obvious questions, including those about weapons and ammunition.  She asked if we had any alcoholic beverages, and we showed her our list, which indicated about 4 times the amount of beer and liquor we could legally carry across the border without paying duties.  She handed our papers back to us and told us to have a nice trip.  No questions about a pet or pet food, plants, or meats. No mention of paying duties on our excess liquor.  It took all of two minutes!  We never left our seats and she never left her booth.  All that worry for nothing.  Well, at least until next time.

We had no planned destination for that evening, so Dorcas spotted us a Walmart Supercentre in Okotoks AB about 20 miles south of Calgary.  We arrived about 11:30 PM and the store had closed, but Dorcas found an employee walking to her car and asked if it was alright to park overnight.  She said it was OK, but to park on the right side of the lot, because workers were sweeping the parking lot that night.  Sure enough there was a large street sweeper and several guys with backpack blowers patrolling the lot.  No sooner had I parked on the right side of the lot when a guy with a blower asked us to move to the left side of the parking lot, where they had already cleaned.  Fine.  I moved and parked on the left side of the lot and the guy driving the sweeper said not to park there, because he hadn't cleaned there yet.  Fine.  We finally got parked in a mutally agreeable spot about midnight, but slept poorly.  The sweeper and the blowers went on all night.  Welcome to Canada.

Yellowstone!

We departed Cody noon-ish on Saturday after a skillet breakfast at "Granny's", a small shopping spree at the Sierra Trading Post outlet where we bought some chew toys for Matilda, and completing some housekeeping chores in the coach. Our drive across the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway to Cooke City was outstanding. It actually takes no longer than the drive through the East Entrance from Cody. We had been waffling about whether to stay at the campground at Mammoth Hot Springs or Madison River. This route forced us through Mammoth, and it would be another hour or so to Madison, so we made Mammoth.our first choice. It occurred to me as we were driving over the mountain that we would be arriving late in the afternoon on a weekend, at a popular campground, in a popular national park, in a largish rig, without a reservation. In fact this campground did not take reservations. However, when we arrived they had a site that would fit us. There are no hook-ups here, but our site was in an open space, and we had excellent solar gain and the satellite TV had a clear view. Bison and elk were wandering through the campground and you needed to carefully watch your step in order to not foul your shoes. Cool.

Wildlife and thermal features are the elements that make Yellowstone most special. There are more thermal features: hot springs, geysers, fumaroles, etc. in Yellowstone than in the rest of the world combined. We left camp about 8:00 each morning to explore the park, returning about 6:00, dead tired. Many of the short trails and turnouts were closed because they had not been cleared of snow. Yellowstone had received 250 inches of snow this year, almost twice the average. We, of course, explored the most popular geyser basins, but spent most of our time looking for wildlife. There were bison by the thousands. They were everywhere. Elk were almost as common. This is my third trip to Yellowstone, and I have never seen a bear here before. This time we saw three grizzlies on our first day, and at least one bear every day. We saw one very large "cinnamon" black bear. My previous visits were all in the fall. I think the bears are more active in the spring and therefore easier to see. I was disappointed not to have seen a moose. During previous visits I had always seen moose. I saw one coyote sitting in the campground. I was walking Matilda in the campground about 7:00 am and I spotted a coyote about 100' away under some trees watching us. It was very interested in us and watched us intently. I was moving in its direction, and it moved away as we approached, keeping its distance, but would continuously stop and turn to watch us. Finally, when we reached the end of the campground, it turned and went up the hill and stopped at a high point to watch us. I guess some wildlife enjoy watching the tourists as much as the tourists enjoy watching the wildlife. Matilda never saw the coyote, but did become a little excited when we crossed its path.

Our weather here was outstanding. It was generally sunny and clear, with lows near 30-40 degrees and highs near 60 degrees. We stayed at Mammoth Hot Springs for five nights, and then on Thursday continued north into Montana and towards Canada.