Well relaxed, we continued our journey on Thursday direction east via the Cassiar-Stewart highway. In Kitwanga we had our first stop at the local Indian totems. They were all made out of one piece of cedar wood. Impressive to see. Afterwards we took Hwy 16, it was the same route we took in reverse direction on June 25th, when we had to catch our ferry to Haines (Alaska). Strangely it felt like we were returning home (luckily we aren’t!). We stayed at the cozy campsite in Smithers and enjoyed finally a wood BBQ! Friday, we continued driving on Hwy 16 via the lake district and as of Burns Lake & Fraser Lake, we smelt the smoke of the forest fires on the other side of the mountains. We’ve been told there are more than 400 forest fires ongoing in Canada. In Topley we stopped for a coffee and surprisingly we’ve met again our Swiss couple (Adri & Evi), whom were heading direction Vancouver. After a somewhat boring drive (we are very spoiled), we slept at a campsite near Purden Lake. Saturday was Veerle’s mom her birthday and we succeeded to call her via the free wifi at the visitor center in McBride. At the gas station in McBride, we met again Evi and Adri, who decided to take The Icefields Highway to return to Vancouver (a small detour 😊). As it was a long weekend for the Canadians, they booked their campsite upfront in Tête Jaune Cache, because all other campsites in the direction of Jasper & Banff National Park were fully booked. They offered us to stay together at their site, which we appreciated very much 😊. We spent a nice afternoon together, drinking some local Canadian beers. On Sunday we left early, in the hope to see some wildlife, but the only animals we saw were an elk and some mountain goats (no bears!). In Jasper National Park, we first visited the Maligne Lake and afterwards we took the Icefields Road, direction Banff. The name of the road is well-deserved, because we saw one glacier after the other while driving through the beautiful Canadian Rocky Mountains. After a visit of the Colombia Icefield, we were lucky to have a free spot on the tentsite nearby. Today we hit the road again early, still chasing some bears, but without luck. The first stop was Lake Louise, World Unesco Heritage and a very chaotic tourist trap. We continued south via the Bow Valley Parkway and fantastic Hwy 93 through the Kootenay National Park. Here we did a short hike and visited the Paint Pots (cold iron-rich mineral springs bubble up through small pools, staining the earth in deep ochre). On this road we were also confronted with another side of mother nature; this road just opened up today after a closure of several days due to forest fires caused by lightening.
Yesyes, since today we also know that our friend Michael survived his canoe trip on the Yukon. We’re very proud on him!
