100917 Mt Baker

Going to Banff – I spent the morning deciding what my next step was going to be. I looked at my money situation, the weather (how cold it’s getting in Jasper and Banff), the mileages for the various options from here, and decided to head up into Canada and go to Banff. It's something I've wanted to do for years, and I'm really excited about it.

Mt. Baker – Then the sun came out unexpectedly, so I decided to delay my crossing till tomorrow and drove the Mt. Baker Scenic Byway this afternoon. I'm glad I did. I got up close and personal with Mt. Baker. Gorp lists this drive in their top ten most scenic in the country. I was pretty disappointed in the drive at first. It was scenic, but nothing spectacular, and I kept seeing tantalizing hints in between the trees of stunningly white mountaintop, but never could get a really good view of it. Until the last five miles from the top. The amazing vistas there, and beautiful alpine area, made it worth the drive. I wandered around the beautiful Bagley Lakes Basin area for a little while. I was surprised at how much color there was; all the fall colors are showing now. I watched a beautiful loon gracefully swimming around one of the alpine lakes for awhile. The impressive American Border Peak had a white cloud hanging onto its top so it was hard to get a good view of it; I was surprised the border was within eyesight. I was close enough to get a good view of the blue-tinted glaciers on Mt. Baker. This is probably my #3 drive – after Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park in Montana and Beartooth Highway in Wyoming. Definitely a memorable drive. I also stopped at Nooksack Falls, which was worth seeing.

Sumas, WA - I took a wrong turn on my way back from Mt. Baker to Bellingham, and was surprised to find myself in a little town on the Canadian/Washington border! :-) The border crossing is just up the road from my RV park; it should be an easy crossing in the morning.

No Air Card in Canada – I called Verizon and found out I have no data access in Canada under my current plan. I decided against upgrading my plan, since I'll be in Canada for such a short time. So I will be hoping for WIFI when possible when I'm in Canada. Since I expect to be mostly dry-camping (no electricity) in Canada, I may not get any blogging done till I get back in the States. Don't be alarmed if you don't see any postings here for a week or so.

Weather – I am amazed at the weather here. Even though the temp has been only in the 60s the last few days, and, even though we are near the ocean and, so, should have high humidity, I’ve been completely comfortable in my elbow-length light sweater. Even after dark. In fact, I’ve had the window/door open the last two evenings, to keep it from being too warm in my RV! Amazing!!

Tomorrow - Vancouver!!