Haines Alaska....The director was not Spielberg!

This is Take 2 Take one was better but Ellen forgot to press the record button.  She is still the love of my life

Hey Hey Yogi Bear Live and in Color July 5, 2011

                                         So you think bears dont say hello on the highway

July 1 to July 8 Photos

OK FOLKS THESE ARE IN REVERSE ORDER THE LATEST BEING ON TOP

                                              The view from Salmon Glacier

                                                     Salmon Glacier looking South                                       

                                                 Salmon Glacier Looking West

                                                             Salmon Glacier from 3000 Feet

                                                Ellen standing over Salmon Glacier

                                                  Us just 6 steps away from the abyss

                                         Ellen and her new friend having dinner at "THE BUS"

                                                         The Bus where dinner is served in Hyder

                                  Ellen looking for salmon to feed the bears  A week or 2 early

                                               A warning to be taken seriously

                                                 Is it snowing in July????

                                                           The Cassiar Highway
                                       

                                             Elizabeth and John from Brisbane at our campsite

                                          Which way to Nijmegen?

                                              Ellen making friends with a bear

                               The same bear from behind............NOT------ No close up lens used

                                                 Here eating my lunch on the side of the Cassiar

                                          Why would someone do such a dumb thing?

 

 The Volendam waking me up  Took this ship to China and Japan

                                               The "big rolling turd" on the Meziadin Lake

                                            The "big rolling turd" on Boya Lake

July 8 Smithers British Columbia

Left our lakefront campground and proceeded to drive the last 100 miles of the Cassiar. Still beautiful scenery and a fairly easy drive. 2 years ago the 500 mile Cassiar highway was a dirt road so our timing was excellent. We reached the Yellowhead highway and turned east towards prince george about 200 miles away. We found the cute town of Smithers about 40 miles down the road and an inexpensive municipal campground with ......wait for it..........excellent Internet service and free yes I said free firewood. Also the town of Smithers has a Safeway and tomorrow has an open air farmers market. What more could we ask for. So Smithers is our location for the night. Thinking of possibly relocating to here...................NOT!
Spoke to our beloved children and grandchildren because we also have phone service here in the metropolis of Smithers. Can understand a little of their phone conversation.....they want us to bring them something from the far northwest. Now if only our grandchildren can begin to talk. :-) that's all folks ending on a little joke

July 7 Maziadin Lake British Columbia

Left Camp Run-a-Muck campground to begin the 23 mile climb up to Salmon  Glacier.  This road is more like a trail and it was the toughest road so far.  It climbs for 3300 feet on an unpaved dirt and rocks road with no guardrail.  And if you look down you are really looking far down.  The glacier is spectacular but it took us one and a half hours to get up the mountain.  We stayed for a half hour and then began the down the mountain journey.  Ellen refused to let me drive down and she drove the whole way down in first gear at 10 mph.  Tharp ly advantage was she never touched the gas pedal so we saved money letting gravity do the work.
We drove the 35 miles back to the Cassiar highway and stopped at a provincial lake called Maziadin lake.  We parked right on the lake and here is where we spent the night

By the way those wondering where are our photos the last few days will have to wait as the Internet is so slow here that I am lucky to upload text. Pictures take forever and there is too much to see to wait for photos to upload. Will do it as soon as possible

July 6 Hyder Alaska

Back in Alaska!! Drove further down the Cassiar and took a turn to the west.  50 km down this road we came to the city of Stewart BC. It is a small town of 1500 people with a grocery where we got grub and as you know found 12 packs of coke for $6 a real bargain considering 10 dollars is the going price.  Then in an amazing twist of geography we crossed the border to Hyder Alaska "the friendliest ghost town in the world" .  It's got 100 people and a few shitheads (that's it's motto no kidding). There are no paved streets but there is a great restaurant that is called the bus. Why cause it's in a school bus reconfigured as a kitchen.  Best food I've had in Alaska.  We drove out a dirt road to the bear viewing site where you watch bears in the wild feed on salmon coming to spawn.  Unfortunately we are a week early and the salmon keep to a strict schedule.  They don't want to get there early because assuming they are not eaten by bears, they die after they spawn.  All together not a great system for the salmon!
Read today of yellowstones first death from grizzly attack in 25 years.  See Alaska bears are friendly and know not to affect the economic system that brings tourists to see them.  So no eating of humans allowed-a state law passes by Sarah Palin.  Unfortunatey Canadian bears don't follow Alaska law.

July 5 Iskut British Columbia

Very uneventful day. We drove about 2 hundred miles down the Cassiar highway to Iskut which is a small town 2 stores a bar and a church and population of 50.  We stopped for the night at a campground on the property of one of the populace.  Actually it's pretty nice place called Mountain Shadow with water and electricity and wifi that's from the 1970's.  That's right there was no wifi in the 70's.  And this wifi that was promised works just as well.