Sometimes the Snow just has to Fall

We left Banff just before 8 am, and we got to Hinton, Alberta around 3 pm.  We had rain all night, rain from Banff to past Lake Louise, and our first hint of snow hit around Bow Summit on the Ice Fields Drive.  It seemed that every time we got above 5,500 feet, it would snow.  Luckily, none stayed on the roadway...but when the temps got down to 32-34 degrees, I sure watched the road even that much more closer.  We did see the rear end of black bear where about six cars had pulled over...and a few were out of their car just 15-20 yards away.  We also saw six big horn sheep near the Columbia Icefield Discovery Centre (there spelling, not mine).  

The closer we got to the KOA in Hinton, the more it seemed to snow.  There are 2-3 water soaked inches of snow on the ground here, nothing the dogs like, that's for sure.  Tomorrow it is suppose to be 60 degrees in Hinton, so go figure.  We just hope we can continue on to Dawson Creek where it is 46 instead of 38 right now.

With weak 3G signal, and very poor WiFi at the KOA, this is the best I can do for now.  We will try to post what we did see along our trip today tomorrow.

Spring Snow Makes Good Show – West Yellowstone to Missoula

It did not take long to go up and over the pass and turn on Idaho Highway 87 and drive by Henrys Lake.  In 2012 we stayed at Henry’s Lake during our first ten day “RV” visit to Yellowstone.  You can read about our stay at Henry’s Lake and our drive around the lake here.  (That post includes the story of a young boy who now goes by the name of Arny who got lost at Henry’s Lake while camping with his mom, brother and dad...and who is now married to my sister, and how he ended up walking all the way around the lake before finding his way back to the campground.)  There is a nice State Park ($25-$30 per night), two “RV Resorts” (aka: parks) and “Boondocking” (free camping) at Bill Frome County Park, at a BLM area, and at Island Park nearby (BLM and Island Park boondocking not included in our post, but can be seen here).

The snowfall of the past 36 hours made for a nice trip up to I-90 today.  Here are a few of the sites we saw.  Holding your mouse over a picture will tell you a bit about the picture.  If you click on a picture, a larger version will open up.

   

Once we got to I-90 it was a pretty swift trip to Missoula, except when we had to climb a few passes, especially Homestake Pass, elevation 6,329 feet, where we climbed at 40 mph in second gear for a mile or so.  We are camping at a KOA in Missoula, and plan to get the oil changed tomorrow before we head north-west towards Bonners Ferry.  This is a change from our original course, which would have gone to the eastern side of Glacier National Park and into Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada…but the weather is not cooperating with us, and we will be warmer overall entering Canada above Bonners Ferry, Idaho, than above Browning, Montana.  We are waiting to cross the boarder until Monday because the weather is suppose to be warmer in Banff and Jasper after this weekend.

Hail, Snow Beads, Cold, but Laundry is Done

We left for the laundry mat around 10:30, perhaps 11:00 am.  Figured it would get a bit warmer, and was hoping that the laundry mat was going to be slow and empty.  As we left Fort Bridger and headed to Lyman, it started to snow little snow beads.  But not far out of town it started to hail.  As we got to Lyman, it was back to light snow beads again, so I hurried Marcia into the laundry mat…and by the time I got all the laundry stuff in the hail was hurting my uncovered legs.  (yes, I had short pants on, it is May for goodness sakes, and I love shorts!)  Above is the results of the snow/hail.  By the time we got done, it was all melted.

  

After we got back with the laundry, I went for a quick, short ride.  To the left was the weather to the east, on the right was the weather to the west.  There are “large hills” hidden behind those clouds on the right.

With weather like this, and temps in the high thirties, this is all we saw of Fort Bridger.  Perhaps another time.  According to Wikipedia, Fort Bridger was originally a Fur Trading Post, established back in 1842, established by Mountain Man Jim Bridger.  It was a supply point for the Oregon Trail, Mormon Trail, and a major Pony Express station, and eventually it was an Army Fort.

There are some authentic buildings, a museum, and they hold the yearly Fort Bridger Rendezvous (since the 1970’s), a celebration of the fur-trade era that existed in the 19th century. 

   

The ominous skies around the RV Park meant we were staying inside for the rest of the day…. unless we decide to go back to the Mexican Restaurant we went to last night…..that sure was good.