2geonomads

Short early morning walk down to Kicking Horse River after which we drive east to Golden in driving rain. Golden a fairly average town but in The Bean Bag coffee shop we find the best coffee yet in Canada.
Decide to visit a Wolf Park east of Golden and manage to bypass a landslide which has occurred further east and has blocked the highway, apparently a fairly regular event in the area. The Park is mediocre at best although the owners are gamely fighting a battle against the gun lobby to prevent what is basically the extermination of the wolf population. Apparently, the gun lobby and other pro-hunting associations have not learned anything from a similar experiment in the Yellowstone National Park where the cull of the wolves led to a complete breakdown of the food and vegetation chain.
Later, drive to Field, a delightful small town which was previously an important rail stop but has now ceded this position to Kamloops.
However, the town is beautifully maintained with many fine old buildings. General feeling that the inhabitants take real pride in the town as it tries to re-invent itself.
Lovely lunch at The Siding Cafe where I manage to break a glass with one of my more expansive gestures!
Highlights of the day:
The Natural Bridge over the Kicking Horse River – an incredible sight as the recent rains had created a torrent of tsunami-like proportions. The power of the water quite unnerving but the arrival of the sun and a double rainfall during a rain shower make for an unforgettable sight.
Emerald Lake – long regarded as the Jewel of the Rockies and it meets all expectations as the weather clears on cue with our arrival.
B and I take a short walk up to Hamilton Falls and we are faced with our first scenic disappointment. Without going into too much details we have renamed the Falls the Prostate Cascade!
All in all another great day even if for dinner yours truly is given the left over pasta from the previous day.
Cheers
The Obese Ferret.

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Head south towards Lake Louise with the first stop a visit to the Icefields Centre to view the Columbia Icefield. Take Glacier Experience tour on large snowmobile of which there are only 23 in the world. Not surprising given the price tag of $1.2 million. 22 of these are owned by the Brewster which seems to monopolise the industry in these parts and one by the USA Army in the Antarctic.
The snowmobile takes us out onto the Athabasca ( alt 2000 metres ) glacier which is 300 metres deep. Other main glacier is the Double A located between the Athabasca and Andromeda Mts.
Dome Mountain above the icefield marks the unusual Triple Continental Divide with rivers dividing here to run to Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic Oceans.
Move on to yet another visit to a narrow,deep canyon, this time Mistaya Canyon. Cross Bow Summit ( the highest point on the Icefields Parkway and from there take a 600 metre walk to lookout over Peyto Lake, a truly picturesque glacial lake.
Arrive in the world famous Lake Louise to do some grocery shopping before continuing on to the Chancellor Peak Chalets midway between Lake Louise and Golden. Directions to the chalets somewhat lacking, especially in the light of some road construction work. After missing the turnoff we are forced to drive about 40 kms out of our way but eventually reach our destination before it gets dark.
Chalets in a superb location although somewhat lacking in amenities.
Highlights of the day-
Saskatchewan Cross where the Howse, Mistaya and North Saskatchewan rivers meet.
Crowfoot Glacier which used to have 3 toes but has now lost one as the glacier has receded.
Sorry for such a boring blog which simply doesn’t do justice to yet another spectacular day on tour.
Cheers
The Obese Ferret.

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B and I go into Jasper to buy bread rolls but B ends up with a loaf called Italian Stallion which contains cheese, garlic,tomato and God knows what else. ( Gail later orders 5 of these on the name alone until she realises that it’s only bread.
Drive south to speccy Sunwapta Falls on the Athabasca River. Made a futile attempt to buy coffee and hot chocolate at the Falls cafe but sadly the Canadians share with their Americans a total inability to make such drinks.
Head to Athabasca Falls, supposedly the superior of the two but in my view the less impressive. Further north om the 93A we arrive at the confluence of 2 rivers, Athabasca and Whirlpool, the former a glacial blue and the latter a silt laden cream- a quite remarkable union of the two.
I take over the driving for the switchback road up to the north face of Mt Edith Cavell ( English nurse executed in 1916 by the Nazis for helping Allied prisoners-of-war ). Trip turns out to be very worthwhile as the views at the parking lot near the face are stupendous and the 3 glaciers, Angel, Ghost and Edith Cavell represent a fitting tribute to a very gallant lady.
Dinner at O’Sheas in Jasper. B orders a steak sandwich which arrives with enough french fries to keep the local potato farmers in business for a year!
Cheers
The Obese Ferret.

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Awake to the news that Colligwood and St Kilda have played a 68 all draw in the AFL Grand Final.
Make up picnic lunch to drive to Maligne Canyon, Medicine Lake and Maligne Lake, the latter being one of the most photographed scenes in Canada.
Maligne Canyon is 51 metres at its deepest and quite breathtaking. Medicine Lake drains each year during Oct -April period as the water disappears into what is reputedly the longest underground river system in the world.
Lake Maligne lives up to its reputation with its stunning mountainous backdrop. Incidentally, the name ‘maligne’ is from the French meaning ‘wicked’ and was named by an early explorer who lost a couple of his packhorses in the ‘wicked river’.
On the way to the Lake we see an elk at very close quarters on the road but the highlight of the day is undoubtedly finding a huge herd of elks on the river bed as we return to Jasper. Crowds of people line the river banks in the hope of seeing some ‘rutting’ action but the females seem uninterested in the ageing old buck ( sounds vaguely familiar!). Some guy had obviously had a close encounter with one of the more aggressive bucks judging by the jocks left lying in the grass.
Home-cooked pasta and a good bottle of red complete a great day.
Cheers
The Obese Ferret.

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On the road by 8.00 to head for Jasper. Scenery less spectacular than previously and fairly barren with trees either destroyed by fire or stricken by disease.
After Clearwater the countryside along the North Thompson River increasingly attractive with glacial lakes galore.
Call in at Blue River to check our River Safari Bear Watching, great poster to entice us but at $80 a head we decided that the boat trips did not really offer much that we had not already seen on earlier bear-sightings in Alaska. As we approach Valemouth the mountains become increasingly more grand and we call in at Valemouth Motel to enjoy some superb homemade burgers. The hotel was a bit like something out of ‘Deliverance’ but the chef obviously knew what he was doing.
Visit Mt.Robson, highest point in the Rockies, and call into Rearguard Falls, notable as the place where only the strongest Chinook salmon reach after 800 miles upstream, to then die or be eaten by a bear!
Gain the first view of Mt Terry Fox, named as a tribute to a young cancer sufferer from Ontario who died at the age of 23 in 1980 and undertook his Marathon of Hope across Canada in spite of being an amputee. Sadly Terry succumbed to his cancer  shortly after completing his walk but he has since been an inspiration to so many cancer sufferers and this year there will be a 30th Anniversary Terry Fox Run in his honour. “Carpe Diem” everybody!
Arrive at Beckers Cabins just outside Jasper as the weather gradually closes in. Log cabins beautifully appointed and in a superb setting.
Takeaway pizzas for dinner then early to bed. Stereophonic snoring from that well-known folk group The Yelverton Sisters( in separate rooms, by the way ) makes for a less than perfect night’s sleep and reminds us fellows of the nights when we were kept awake by them for more romantic reasons!
Cheers
The Obese Ferret who may not survive to write another blog after that little aside.

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Leave unit as planned by 8.00 and head towards Pemberton on a drizzly,misty morning. In no way detracts from the scenery which is as stunning as ever. Visit Nairn Falls and stop for the obligatory coffee, this time at McDonalds and as usual the coffee is crap. The next section covers some of the most hair-raising and speccy scenery between Pemberton and Lillooet. Cayoosh River Canyon awe-inspiring. Bert doing his Juan Fangio bit,drop down to river far too deep even from my usual vantage point hiding behind the driver on the side away from the edge.
Great lunch at Grammy’s ,under new ownership and with a first- day- on- the- job waitress totally panic-stricken by the flood of people attracted by the fantastic food on offer. G is introduced to Perogies, a form of steamed dough with filling, a cross between ravioli and samosa.
B now driving more serenely through the very arid area to Cache Creek ,reminiscent of the Almeria area of Spain.
Arrive at Kamloops by 4.00 and check into the Arcadia Motel. Motel comfortable if basic and Kamloops a drab commercial town, rather a let-down after the beauty of the previous days.
Introduce Bert to the delights of the Denny’s restaurant chain which always offers good standard fare.
Finish off the day trying to catch up on blogs.
Cheers
The Obese Ferret.

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Superb day so we drive on Highway 99 To Whistler 2010 Olympic Village in the Callaghan Valley, venue for the Biathlon,Nordic Skiing and the Ski Jump.
Short trip further to the impressive Branywise Falls then back to Whistler for yet another meal at Citta- a tuna melt of gigantic proportions.
Next stop is the Whistler Museum which features sections on Dave Murray, the Canadian Skier who died of a melanoma at 37 and was part of the famous Crazy Kanucks skiing team.
Nearby is the very moving tribute from the people of Whistler to the luger from Kazakstan who died in the Olympics earlier this year.
Decide to take a bear-watching tour up the Whistler Mountain with Michael Allan, a very well-known bear expert. Quite apart from the scenery from 5000 ft up  which is spectacular we do manage 14 bear and 5 deer sightings, some at very close quarters.
Early to bed after tiring but very rewarding day.
Cheers
The Obese Ferret.

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Sleep in till 8.20. L and B go for short while G and I take our time over breakfast.Drive into town to book tickets for the Peak to Peak cable car from Whistler Peak to Blackcomb Peak. Truly breathtaking and a real test of my nerves as the main span is 415 metres above the river below.
Light snow on both peaks and the excitement of seeing 2 adult black bears with 2 cubs from the cable car.  Short trek towards the peak of Blackcomb provide us with some wonderful views of the surrounding mountain slopes.
Back down in Whistler B finally manages to purchases some new Merrell shoes  and we all head to Citta restaurant to enjoy an inexpensive but good quality meal.
Back to unit where we watch ” The Bucket List’ with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freedman, a film which still resonates with us the second tome around ( maybe our advancing years have some part to play ).
Cheers
The Obese Ferret

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Breakfast at hotel followed by walk along the lovely seafront. Call into the grand old hotel The Empress, view the impossibly narrow street Fan Tan Alley, which featured in the film ” Bird on the Wire” with Mel Gibson.
Return to Vancouver by bus/ferry to pick up Jeep Commander from Hertz, who lived down to their reputation by making us wait an eternity.
Set off at about 5 pm for long drive along the Sea to Sky Highway 99, the magnificent road linking Vancouver with Whistler. Short stop along the way to view the beautiful Shannon Falls.
Our unit at Woods in Whistler is ideal and superbly fitted-out.
Decide to opt for takeaway pizza for dinner from Pizza Cafe ( a very original name ) which we eventually located after Bert and I had brought to bear our formidable map-reading talents. Needless to say we ate rather late that evening!
Cheers
The Obese Ferret.

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Early start to catch Pacific Bus which will take us on the bus/ferry trip over to Victoria, British Columbia’s capital.
Very wet initially but gradually clearing. Bert’s fears about the ferry unfounded as the sea like a millpond.
Victoria is a beautiful, stylish city with 35000 inhabitants. The hotel Admiral is ideal and convenient.
Take a tour to the apparently world famous Butchart Gardens ( this horticultural ignoramus had never heard of them but WA’s answer to  Peter Cundall, Lyn, was full of stories of their reknown.
Established in the 1920’s by the Butchart family (who had made their money setting up Portland Cement ) they are quite simply the finest gardens I have ever seen.
Return to the city for a superb meal at the Keg restaurant after which we walk along the harbour front, getting a great view of the illuminated public buildings, including the State Parliament.
Humourous moment of the day- Bert’s attempt to get coffee from an auto dispenser for $1.50. During the process the machine asked Bert for his own cup so he left empty-handed. We didn’t stay around long enough to find out whether some passnger left the ferry covered in Bert’s cappucino!
Cheers
The Obese Ferret.

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Now very much under the weather so late getting up on a drizzly, grey day.
While Lyn and Bert go off to buy new suitcase (old one damaged by the cruise ship baggage handling staff ) Gail and I take walk along the foreshore again and head down to Gastown, formerly a sleazy part of the city but now a very trendy enclave.
Meet up with Lyn and Bert to walk through yet another seedy part of the city to Chinatown. Visit the Chinese Garden of Sun Yat Sen,scholar who was instrumental in the overthrow of the Ching Dynasty to instal democracy.
G and L take ferry to  Granville Island, known for its market, while Bert and I take a cab, collect the new suitcase and return to the suite. By now yours truly is now feeling in a condition just short of rigor mortis so off to bed for a while in the early evening. Wake up to partake of the fish and chips which L and G had bought. B not eating as has an upset stomach, maybe at the thought of next day’s ferry trip to Victoria. ( Bert’s now well-documented aversion to sea travel makes me look like Lord Nelson!)
Early to bed for a night during which I cough all night like an elephant seal and Gail snores. As Mr McCawber said ” result misery”
Cheers
The Obese Ferret.

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Up early for disembarkation.Cab to Rosellen Suites at Stanley Park. Well appointed spacious unit, in leafy street. Considering Vancouver voted one of the world’s most liveable cities the visit to the downturn area a great disappointment with many derelicts in the streets and a generally run-down look. The foreshore by contrast is delightful with many reminders of the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Afternoon visit to a superb aquarium with belugas, dolphins and last but definitely not least the sea otters the main features.
Finished off an otherwise uneventful day with a decidedly mediocre meal at a local grill although I suspect that we have been spoiled by the quality of cuisine on offer on board the cruise ship.
My cold now taking a turn for the worse so off to bed early.
Cheers
The Obese Ferret   

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Awake to fairly choppy seas and Bert feeling a very ancient mariner.Apparently he is also looking the worse for wear but it is a bit difficult to gauge from the top half of a rather green face peering out from under the bed clothes!
He recovers enough for all of us to catch a very entertaining show put on by some of the crew members. Variable quality but a gutsy effort by all concerned.
11.30-Visit to the bridge following an invitation from Andrew Harris, the ship’s Hotel Director, whom I had met the day before on the stairs. He is an absolute fitness fanatic and obviously saw in me a kindred spirit and another finely tuned athlete.
Quiet afternoon as we travel the 530 miles between Ketchikan and Vancouver.
Bert feeling much better and back on the desserts for lunch.
Late afternoon and early evening spent looking for Orcas, ( all to no avail) but we do encounter at fairly close quarters a huge pod of white-sided dolphins attracted to our ship.
Finally enter the famed Inside Passage which lives up to all of the advance publicity and more.
Dinner in Waterfall Bistro as good as ever and the day finishes with a quick and somewhat farcical game of table tennis.( vaguely reminiscent of Doug Walters being asked to find the snooker table on board the ship on his debut trip to the UK)
Late phone call to Lyn and Bert from their son Dean to let them know that he has broken his collar bone in a motorbike accident. Boys will be boys!
The Obese Ferret
PS More to come when I have adjusted to becoming a landlubber again.

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Arrive am in Ketchikan and decide not to take any of the numerous tours on offer. Instead we take a stroll around town, especially the area around the creek feeding into the bay. What we saw at the creek was both fascinating and very confronting as literally thousands of salmon tried to get upstream to spawn. So many do not make it and the creek banks are littered with dead and rotting bodies. It was particularly hard to watch fish in their death-throes gasping to take their last breath in the shallow water. Apparently the salmon die,not because of the effort of swimming upstream but because their bodies react adversely to the freshwater after spending so much time in the salt water of the ocean. Obviously some are taken by bears when they have almost reached their spawning grounds- life just ain’t fair sometimes.
Visit to salmon hatchery ok but the young guide was Alaska’s answer to Kylie Mole,only less articulate.
Ketchikan generally rather unsavoury and Bert apparently viewed a blood-soaked body through the window of house on our way back to the ship. The attitude of police outside the house seemed to suggest that this was just another everyday occurrence.
No lunch during the day as we have been building up to a special dinner( another formal dress occasion) in the very up-market Olympic restaurant. Olympic was a 1920’s sister ship to the Titanic and the wooden panels from the original ship now adorn the walls of the Olympic restaurant.
All in all a memorable evening topped of by a very impressive ‘Broadway’ show in the Celebrity Theatre.
Someone has to do it!
Cheers
The Rapidly Beoming More Obese Ferret

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Relatively late start but take the tender into the jetty at Hoonah as harbour too shallow for ships of the size of the Millenium. Hoonah on ICP is a small native Alaskan Indian community with a very informative museum providing some background to the very tough early days in this area.
Leisurely stroll along beach and through forest a pleasant change.
Resist the temptation to take the longest zipline in the world- 1 mile long,1300 ft vertical drop and top speed of 60 mph.
Uneventful evening with last dinner at the Metropolitan Restaurant- excellent as always as our waistlines are starting to testify.
Cheers
The Obese Ferret.

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Early arrival in Skagway,former Klondike Gold Rush town in a superb location.After some gym work(!) walk into town and take the White Pass and Yukon train to White Pass Summit. Quite the most spectacular rail trip I have taken and definite brown trouser territory. Apparently we crossed over a cantilever bridge 1000 ft above a gorge but my view was a little obscured from under the seat.
Skagway a beautifully preserved town in contrast to its twin rush town of Dyea which is now no more.Local Rail Museum gives a real insight into the hardships of the gold prospectors who had to carry a full year’s provisions to be allowed up to the Klondike goldfields.
Back on board by 4.00 and have dinner at the Waterfall Bistro for a change of scenery. Great ambience and food.
Question of the day which I posed to the Captain when I met him by chance on the stairs- when does a boat become a ship? His answer- any vessel carrying more than 12 passengers and more than 12 metres.I think I’ll get a second opinion!
Cheers
The Obese Ferret.

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Arrive in Juneau, the capital of Alaska at 8.00 am on another superb day weather-wise. Relaxed breakfast in the Aqua Bar, which offers a healthy option.( quite sparcely populated).
Shortly after disembarking we take a tramcar up to Mt Roberts ( 4000 ft) which ,given my well -documented aversion to heights , is quite a test. This will one of a number of occasions when my brown pants come in handy.
In spite of some of the usual (for me that is) gastro problemswe decide to take a bus/boat tour, first to Mendenhall Glacier and later out into the bay for some whale-spotting.
The bus driver, Patrick looks like a derelict but turns out to be quite a well-read character who gives us a very informative short tour of Juneau before heading to the glacier.
The skipper of the boat,a young guy called Chad, is a very laid-back young fellow who nevertheless manages to find some humpbacks for us to view at close quarters. Only towards the end of the trip does he reveal that the Orcas have now moved too far south for us to see. Any temptation to keel-haul him passed fairly quickly and we just made the most of the situation.
Another Gailism when she identifies a group of seagulls as ducks, much to Chad’s amusement-definitely one for the archives.
On to Skagway.
All the best
The Obese Ferret.

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Relatively late start on a beautiful clear day. Check out boarding details for ship before going for a short hike on Two Trails Track above Seward township. Take little notice of warning signs on forest trail and taken aback to learn later that a bear and 2 cubs had been seen very close to our exit point from the trail only a few minutes earlier. We had seen some droppings on the trail which contained some of the red berries for which the bears have a liking but weren’t sure whether they came from a bear or someone who had eaten some berries and had encountered the bear along the trail!
Gail’s earlier ‘comfort stop’ on the trail started to take on a whole new dimension.
Quick walk along the harbour front gave us the highlight of the day- a very close-up view of a sea otter,flat on his back in the water feasting on a huge pile of kelp.
Boarded Millenium at 4 pm and pleasantly surprised to find that we had a spacious stateroom with large double bed and view out over the water. Gail and I are not usually nervous sailors but we have taken to wearing our lifejackets all the time and the fact that our stateroom attendant is called Mohammed is entirely coincidental!
We had been considering going on whale-watch boat trip but an early stroll through the pool and spa area made us realise that once you have seem one you have seen them all, even if they are masquerading as humans.
The ship is beautifully appointed in every way and the dinner in the Metropolitan restaurant was superb.
Lowlight of the day- being advised that our Alaskan ULU blades had been confiscated by the security staff on board in spite of the fact that they are on sale in the shops on the ship. Later find out that the blades will be returned to us at the end of the cruise.
Cheers
The Obese Ferret.

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Touted as one of the iconic railway journeys in the world this 4 hour journey exceeded all expectations,taking us through some truly spectacular mountain scenery,complete with glaciers at very close quarters. Our decision to pay the extra for the scenic Dome car on the train proved to be ‘spot-on’ and it made for an unforgettable trip.
Had hoped to take a half-day boat trip around the bay at Seward but we appear to have arrived just a bit too late for the real action with the orcas, migratory birds, sea otters etc. Instead will probably do short walk up the lower reaches of Mt Marathon which every 4th July is the scene for a footrace to the summit ( record time to date 43 minutes).
Seeward a very pleasant port in a superb setting and this will be our point of departure tomorrow on our cruise down to Vancouver ( 7 nights, 6 days ).
All of us are eating far too much and are starting to resemble the Steller Sea Lions which we viewed today in the Seeward Sealife Centre!
Update on Gail Irelandisms- comment that ‘there’s a mountain here somewhere’ when trying to find one of Alaska’s major peaks on zoom. Given our location at the time it must go down as one of the all-time understatements.
From the Obese Ferret.

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Manage to get away from B & B by 9.30 on a fairly overcast morning for a 200+ mile drive to Anchorage.First part of the drive through some decidedly run-down areas which had obviously been part of the mining boom at some time! Scenery mediocre initially but after milepost 143 ( distance from Anchorage ) things pick up and at 101 the sight of the Matanuska glacier was truly awe-inspiring. Followed the Matanuska River down to Palmer which appeared to be one of the more civilised small towns in the area.
Ramada Inn in Anchorage a very pleasant surprise in a city which is as disappointing as the rest of the state is magnificent. Meal at fish restaurant. Food good but service appalling with waiter charging 15% service fee which is usually only automatic for groups of 6 or more. Ironically, we had been paying 15% tips in all previous eating places but it was more the gall of assuming that their arrogant, dismissive, grumpy behaviour deserved such a fee.
Turn in early as have to leave on train at 6.45 am for Seward.
More soon including a few flashbacks to earlier days of this great trip when I was slow to get my muse working!

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