Canada (by Caleb)

On the seventeenth of July, twenty twenty-two we packed up and drove to Canada, our first step in going to Alaska. We drove a seven hour drive into Canada and ended at a campground by a river. We tried to have a campfire but it started raining. We also took showers that night.

The next day we drove to a boring RV park called Whiskers Point Provincial Park. I didn't go outside really except there was a playground there so that was nice.

The next day we drove all day to a pullout on the side of a highway to stay for the night. Asher flew the drone and took some pictures of the landscape. The scenery was really pretty, but the road was right there.

The next day we packed up and drove to Liard Hot Springs. When we finally got there we checked in then Jordan, Asher, and I walked to the playground but we soon found that the mosquito situation there was not looking good. Thankfully, I only had at least 16 mosquitoes swarming around me at any given time we were on the playground, so that "wasn't bad at all."

Soon we left because there totally were not enough mosquitoes there. And I was magically getting mosquito bites, how could that be? We went to the hot springs later and had a good time relaxing in the natural pool.

The next day we relaxed and I went on a walk on a boardwalk there. I saw a western tanager, a red squirrel and a lot more mosquitoes. I'm going to quit being sarcastic; the mosquitoes there were THE WORST AND MOST DREADED ATTACKERS IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE. That night we watched a movie.

 The next day we drove to Pioneer RV Park. We really didn't do anything there. 

The next day we drove to Kluane Lake. Kluane Lake was a really pretty spot with all the mountains and water and blue sky. We were parked on the literal lakeshore where we would boondock. That night dad grilled some hamburgers and hot dogs and we played on the lakeshore and cracked rocks open using other rocks to see what was inside. Then we watched a pretty sunset go behind some beautiful mountains.

On the twenty-fourth of June we crossed into Alaska after leaving Kluane Lake! Into Alaska we went, going bump bump bump all the way! (Because the roads were in very bad condition.)

                          ⛄*PLEASE HOLD WHILE WE DO STUFF IN ALASKA*🐻

On the sixth of September, after doing stuff in Alaska, we started driving down back to the United States. It was dad's birthday that day, so on the way we stopped at a zoo called Kroschel Wildlife tours.

The tour had already started and when we got there we found everyone staring at a wolf enclosure. The wolf, who very much looked like a husky, was joyfully running around the pen and the person inside it, who was a zookeeper. After the talk the wolf, which has a name but I can't remember or pronounce it, got fed a bone with a little bit of meat on which he cracked up, chewed, and swallowed nearly instantly.

After that we walked over to a red fox cage and the other zookeeper fed it a piece of meat on a string on a stick. After the fox we saw a different wolf that we got to pet. Don't worry the wolf was also super nice. I still have both of my hands.

We continued on to an enclosure with  minks in it. there were sewer hoses attached to various other enclosures around the property so the minks could travel freely and get energy out. At one spot our guide (not one the two keepers) made us all do an awkward animal call and the obviously trained mink made the sewer hose vibrate over to where we were. We walked as the mink followed us to an enclosure where our guide fed it a chunk of chicken.

After that we saw a variety of animals including snowy owl, reindeer, a wolverine that we got to pet (I still have both of my hands), moose, and a grizzly bear named Kitty. Can you guess what we called out to make Kitty run over? "Here, Kitty Kitty!"

After the animal place we had a picnic by a river.

Three days later we drove the RV to a parking lot in Jasper National park in Canada.

After a pretty far drive to the icefield center, we parked at a site with a great view of a glacier in the distance.

The next day, in the afternoon, we went to the icefield center and got on a shuttle. The shuttle drove us up a road to another shuttle that would take us out on the glacier.

The other shuttle was a huge hulking vehicle with five foot tall tires that each weighed a thousand pounds. We got on the monster bus and were driven onto the glacier. The ice was really slippery because we didn't have any grip spikes like at Wrangell St-Elias.

After walking up and down the ice we got back on the monster bus and drove up a really steep hill to the other shuttle. The regular shuttle drove us to the Jasper skywalk. This was what I was most excited for, because who doesn't like looking straight down 900 feet?

When we got there Jordan, Asher, and I raced to the glass horseshoe which overlooked a giant canyon that made up the Jasper Skywalk. When we walked onto the onto the Jasper Skywalk I realized it was worse than expected  and better than expected at the same time. For one it was better because the thrill of looking down 900 hundred feet was greater than expected but not in a scary kind of way. It was worse because the canyon we were looking down into was not that pretty at all. It was pretty deep but the walls, which were gravely looking, were at about forty five degree angles and were covered in dead trees. There was a river flowing below but that was small and far away. But the experience was real cool anyway.

After that we went back to the RV. Later we moved the RV to a parking lot near Banff NP in Canada.

The next day we went to Banff NP. We drove to Lake Louise, a pretty mountain lake but since it was very beautiful it attracted tourists, so it seemed everyone in Canada was at it that day. We went on a trail called the Fairview trail. It had barely any people but it was unmaintained. We hiked up six-hundred feet to an overlook where we saw the whole lake. It was pretty smoky but we could see the lake pretty clearly. We ran all the way down after that.

The next day we packed up and left to Heart of Glacier RV Park which was in the lower forty-eight!

Conclusion: It took forever to travel through Canada, seemingly endless hours of driving, good for having screen time though. Canada was fun, but I can't say I really want or need to go back there. Though in the end it was worth it because we got to go to Alaska. But more importantly we survived...

                                                                Canada                                                                

THE END

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