08/05/2017 to 08/23/2017
Tupper Lake, New York
to Nantucket, Massachussets
and a quick getaway to Colorado
the Little Van adventures took a small break from life "on the road"
We also epically failed at our promise to stay more up to date with our travels and updates for friends and family on the road - read on for some real-time thoughts on place and environment.
Here are some YouTube videos from the last few weeks:
08/05/17 - Raquette River Brewery in Tupper Lake Brewery on a busy Thursday night: https://youtu.be/AocB7dk8gZo
08/18/17 - Biking with Chase and Julie on Kenosha Pass in Colorado: https://youtu.be/qy9wGEP6V6k
08/21/17 - Hannah's trip to Totality with Mom and Dad : https://youtu.be/JtSIT1gCRXY
08/27/17 - Exploring the Ottawa River Valley: https://youtu.be/tnOBGiJzpNU
September 9th, 2017 - written from the Jasper Municipal Library on a cloudy, rainy day
We arrived in Banff National Park on Saturday night, September 2nd, 2017 after two long, expensive days driving through Manitoba and Saskatchewan. After the shell-shock of Canadian fuel prices and refilling our tank three (3!!) times in one (1!!) day - we vowed to not do that kind of driving again. We did thoroughly enjoy listening to Al Franken's book, "Giant of the Senate" on tape - we easily plowed through 12 hours - feeling like we learned something between the laughs along the way!!
Getting to the Canadian Rockies felt a bit like arriving in the promised land - we had not only crushed miles to get there, but in a lot of ways, our whole trip was shaped around having an excuse to explore Banff and Jasper. Needless to say, we had high hopes.
Day 1 we woke up and were welcomed and rewarded with the kind of views that you dream about:
We took our new favorite toys (move over, mountain bikes) for their first paddle on Lake Minnewaka and were feeling rejuvenated and welcome by the stunning scenery, clear skies, and seemingly endless amounts of activities
Day 2 we got going promptly, wanting to save on some gas money we strung together a good multi-sport day by biking 15km to the trailhead of our hike, locking the bikes, and tackling a 17km loop of Cory Pass and Edith Pass. Again, clear skies, beautiful weather, 360 views...this place was really the stuff of dreams.
Day 3 we drove from Banff to Lake Louise, laughing at the absurd prices* to rent canoes and feeling prettttty good about ourselves having brought our own boats and therefore bought ourselves the freedom to explore the lake without paying an arm and a leg for the experience.
*to rent a boat from the only rental shop on the lake: $105/1 hour or $95 for 30 min
Day 4 we entered the backcountry, a leisurely morning hike of 11km brought us to our campsite around 3:00pm in time to see a mama grizzly bear and her 2 cubs, take a swim, and play many hands of cribbage. By this time, the smoke from surrounding wildfires had totally sunk in - filling the valleys and spaces below the mountain peaks like thick, immovable clouds. We climbed up and entered the remoteness of the Skoki Wilderness hoping to "get above it" or somehow else escape the smoke that had throttled the valley and the views that we so sorely missed from the days previous. Nonetheless, as with any backcountry excursion, we were rewarded with a stunning and serene campsite - the stillness of the water almost apologizing for the muted colors and choking of the skies.
Day 5 we hiked out of Baker Lake, passing a few groups that commented on how clear the air seemed compared to down valley. We re-entered civilization with trepidation, marveling how the smoke that we had lived with for two days seemed oppressive, how much worse could it get? We drove north from Lake Louise, entering the Icefields Parkway, and discovered exactly how much worse it could get. The Icefields Parkway is one of the most highly recommended drives in the Banff/Jasper area - a 230km road that is surrounded by glaciers, icefields, and stunning peaks that makes for a scenic drive in all seasons. Quickly our attitude changed from one of pure awe to one of wonder - often commenting out loud how large the peaks must be - if only we could see them!!
Today is Day 7 in the "promised land" and it is rainy in Jasper. Tomorrow the weather will break and we will head out for another backcountry expedition on the Skyline Trail - marveled for its spectacular views and being the highest hike in Jasper - above treeline for the majority of the ridge. Today, the sky is beginning to lighten. Today, we welcome rainclouds for their definition of mountain peaks that, upon arriving, we could only wonder where they started and ended. Today, we hope for these rainstorms to wander west and south and start to extinguish the fires that ravage the west coast of Canada and the United States.
It's been an interesting perspective, being faced with the aftermath and side effects of these horrendous fires. We have not yet felt the burn of smoke in the air, not in our eyes or in our throats, but we have felt the frustration of having our trip stymied by these fires, our views obscured and our photos compromised. It is as when it rains on a vacation, and every day you curse the heavens for ruining your trip - marveling that it was so sunny the week before, sure that the sun will return on the day you leave. But for us to curse the skies, curse the fires for dampening our views is selfish and wholly self-absorbed. We live right now without reliable news or television, and yet we cannot help but learn of the ongoing devastation around our country and the world. Houston, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean islands are dealing with more water than Max or I can even fathom - having never seen or felt the aftermath of a hurricane. The people of these areas are fleeing at the final hour, only to return and try to pick up the pieces. In Idaho, Montana, California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba the hillsides and forests are burning in equal fury. The typically rainy pacific northwest is bone-dry with no shift in the weather to be seen.
Greece, Brazil, Portugal, Algeria, Tunisia, Greenland, Russia, and Siberia all burn. India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, and Niger all flood. The smoke in the air here, the unprecedented destruction of Harvey and Irma, the record heat-waves holding so many places in the undue clutches of summer are no accident.
As we drive through the Icefields Parkway and see the glaciers receding into the mountains, their normally vibrant white icefields clouded with dirt, smoke, and melting - it is hard to imagine what this part of the world will look like in 5 years, in 10 years, in 30 years.
We are fortunate to have the flexibility of schedule and of time that we can wait it out. We will drive back to the United States once some of the fires are extinguished. We will make another pass at the most beautiful drive in this area, we will cross our fingers for clear skies and a break in the weather here. We have no right to be frustrated, no room to wish for the skies to clear if only for our personal gain. We are witnessing, we are ALL witnessing, the real effects of a changing climate. Our thoughts and our prayers are with the people that are experiencing real loss, real trauma, real devastation right now. We feel unbelievably fortunate to have our health, our loved ones safe and sound, our Little Van, and our time to see these places firsthand.
