Animals We've Seen

It's been 5 years and I'm still holding out for my whale.  It can be any kind:  killer, blue, grey...green if that's what it takes.  I just want to see a whale.  I did see dolphins swimming alongside our boat off of Bali in December 2009, and that took off a bit of the edge, but I'm not giving in.  There's a whale out there somewhere and it wants ME to take it's photo.  In the meantime, I'm quite happy to report that on this trip, during and outside of our road trip to Alberta and the US, we've seen a multitude of animals in all shapes and sizes. We started writing what and how many in the back of our Sudoku book because we were losing count.  That's a good problem:)

the hind end of the black bear

Our tally is: a variety of large ground hogs, a mother duck and her 5 ducklings crossing the road, donkeys and mules (ok, farm animals, but they were unique to us), one black bear, 6 bighorn sheep, 2 elk, 3 moose and one calf (a mom and her baby only seen by our friend Sheldon and Matthew), harlequin wood ducks, chipmunks, 7 raccoons, squirrels, eagles, deer (sometimes over 25 in a day... and some of that's in town!), and a camel.

The camel was funny and timely, because earlier on the morning that we saw it, I had jokingly told the kids to look out for camels since we were entering historical gold mining territory.  I explained how over 150 years ago camels were brought in by miners in the hopes that the hardy desert creatures would do well as cargo carriers throughout the BC mountains.  Sadly, no camel is reported to have adapted in any way to being a pack animal in the British Columbia wilds.  According to the history I learned, camels were much too stubborn and ornery and in no way cooperative, and in the end miners and gold diggers released their camels into the wild.  Imagine never having seen a photo of nor heard of a camel, and then seeing one wandering through a BC forest!  I'm sure there were a few stories told around campfires about strange, evil creatures wandering as 4-legged ghosts around the area.  A few hours after I told them this tidbit of history, we saw a camel in the distance.  It was in a cage, however, and probably wasn't related in any way to the sad creatures that are a short part of BC history.

Thanks for reading.

Hiawatha Rail-Trails in Montana/Idaho

 So much has happened on our road trip, and there's a lot of interesting things to write about.  However, today was a pretty cool day and I'd like to share it with you.  We're here in Couer D'Alene, Idaho, staying with our friends Sheldon and Jamie Nord.  They're friends we met in Indonesia, who moved away last year, and who, honestly, I thought I may never see again.  Thankfully I was wrong, and they are the last visit on our 2 province, 3 state road trip.

This morning all 6 of us woke up early, ate breakfast, and piled into a bike-laden GMC truck.  We drove 1.5 hours up into the mountains, right along the Montana-Idaho border, and rented 3 more bikes so that we could ride the Hiawatha Rail Trails.  We knew a few things to expect, such as we needed to bring a jacket, and that we'd be riding through old railway tunnels.  There were a few things we weren't aware of and, if you're planning on heading to these trails, should really know.  They are:

#1.  The first tunnel is very cold and dark (ie/  you cannot see).  You are given bikes lamps with the rentals but make sure that you bring your own if you're riding your own bike.  Also, a headlamp is a great idea.  One guy we saw had a spot light tied to his bike and we were all jealous.

ready to go through the first tunnel:  1.7 miles long

#2.  Bring warm clothes for the first tunnel.  The temperature was an even 35 degrees F (2.5 degrees C) throughout, and apparently that temperature doesn't change throughout the seasons.  I'd suggest thigh covering shorts.

#3.  Bring a small pack to carry the extra gloves you may want for the first tunnel, and a good amount of water and snacks.  You will want to stop and snack because it's at least 2 hours down the mountain (yes, down...wonderful for the knees!).  Once you're at the bottom you have the option to wait for a shuttle ($9 per adult and must prepay), and if you're hungry it's a bit of a bummer if the shuttle line up is long.  Fortunately our wait was minimal today.

a deer drinking from dripping water

#4.  I cannot wear contacts and so I had to stop at each dark tunnel and change from rx sunglasses to regular glasses.  If you wear glasses and have either flip-up sunglasses or magnetic ones, I suggest you wear them.  It'll be less frustrating for the rest of the gang.

The ride itself was about 2-2.5 hours if you keep a steady pace.  We stopped a lot for photo opportunities, snacks, breaks for our sore bottoms and wrists (rather bumpy sometimes).  I was very impressed with the range of ages that were there.  We saw some grandparents and some really little guys, too.

Apparently today was a record day for bikers, yet we still enjoyed a peaceful ride.  Unfortunately our first ride through the 1.7 mile tunnel was rather disturbing because just behind us rode a group of screaming teenagers.  They screamed the whole 1.7 miles.  On the way back you get dropped off just outside of this tunnel by the shuttle bus, and you return to your vehicle after one last tunnel ride.  The second time through was peaceful and it even seemed a lot warmer, although it is said, like I mentioned before, the temperature doesn't change inside the tunnels.

 We saw a lot of wild animals on this trip, and Matt and Sheldon actually saw a mother moose with her brand new calf walk right in front of them.  She was about 30 meters away and by the time Matt whipped out his camera they were gone.  On the shuttle ride home we saw one in a marsh but it was too far away for photos.  We also saw a deer, a chipmunk, some beaver dams, and a few waterfalls.  If you look at the chipmunk photo, we crossed the trestle in the distant background.

We did it!!

The ride was 15 miles long, with 10 tunnels (some only a few hundred feet and a few others you need a light on to see in) and 7 trestles.  It pretty much took us the whole day to get to the rental shop (at the Look Out Pass ski resort), rent bikes, get to the Hiawatha trail, ride the trail, eat lunch, return the bikes and head home.  We did stop over in the small historic town of Wallace (an interesting history if you'd like to google it) and had a look around and an ice cream.  Apparently, it's the center of the universe.

What a perfect day!

Thanks for reading.