Verizon sucks, blog suffers

Well we are in Grande Prairie, Alberta, and I'm finally going to get to post to blog. First I want to say what I think of Verizon (not much) after they sold me on using my smartphone as a mobile hotspot ($20 per month). Sales rep told me I would have internet just about anywhere I had phone service so maintaining a blog would be the proverbial "piece of cake." What a joke, it worked in Las Vegas and Missoula, MT, but nowhere since. Hell, nothing works on the phone except phone calls once in a while (for an add'l $20 per month roaming Canada), no apps, no nada. Currently in a campground paying $10 to use internet. OK, screw Verizon!!!
Not sure how, but I will try to catch this blog up to date. Will work on posts in MS Word on the road, then upload when an internet connection is available. Adding pix later, hopefully at the next internet hookup.


Al and I met up in Kingman and then drove up through Las Vegas following Hwy 93 north. Our plan to get to Hoover Dam get pictures of the new bridge didn't pan out because the southern access road to the dam was closed.. We camped south of Ely, NV at Adams-McGill resorvoir (a wildlife preserve) and visited the Ward charcoal ovens  which were very well preserved.

Ward Charcoal ovens near Ely, NV

We drove to Wells, NV the next day and camped at Angel Lake about 12 miles from town. It is a very cool alpine lake in a granite bowl carved by a glacier. It  is some 3,000 feet higher than Wells up a steep winding road in the East Humboldt Mtns.
From Wells we worked our way up to Shoshone, ID on a backroad through Jarbidge, NV, (in the middle of nowhere) to spend a couple of days with our friends Diana and Allen. They were magnificent hosts and we really appreciate the great conversations we had. Allen had some Alaskan travel tips for us and they were greatly appreciated. Diana sent us on our way with some excellent green chile stew which we enjoyed in Waterton Nat'l Park. Thanks you two for a really nice visit.
From Shoshone we drove up to checkout Redfish Lake near Stanley, ID, and then on to Custer ghost town, a well preserved 19th century gold rush town up the Yankee Fork Creek, east of Stanley.

old schoolhouse Custer ghost town

There is also a landlocked gold dredge that worked the creek back in the `30’s and `40’s. We camped near there and it rained all night, it rained frequently for the next three days/nights as we made our way up to Glacier and Waterton Parks. In Glacier Park, between rain and clouds, visibility was poor as was picture taking. We did get a few pix though and I'll post some next time. Waterton was a beautiful park, but seemed much less visited than Glacier (ok with us), more lakes and hiking trails. There was even one at Lake Cameron where you could hike down and illegally enter the U.S. However the trail ended there and you had to backtrack to Canada.
Weather improved as we drove north from Waterton up the Kananaskis Valley to Banff.
We spent a night at a campground on Lake Kananaskis in Peter Lougheed Prov.Park and then took a backroad from the park along Spray Lake to Canmore, before driving into Banff. There were so many people in Banff we could not wait to leave. We hit the tourist office for info, the ATM for money, toured the Banff Park Museum, ate and left town for the Lake Louise area all within about 2 hours.  Of course not being fond of people, or crowds, Lake Louise was not much of an improvement for us as the place was overrun with people and traffic. We did the requisite visit, photo op and headed up the Icefield Parkway to Mosquito Campground for the night. The name should say it all. 

Lake Louise, Banff Park

Tomorrow we go...

Well, it is sunday afternoon, July 8th, and tomorrow morning is the departure time for this big adventure. Have been overamping on stuff I want to take with me, and I find I have too much stuff and not enough truck. When I regain my senses (if) somewhere down the road, I can UPS a bunch of stuff back home. Talked with Al a few minutes ago and we are going to meet in Kingman about 11am tomorrow and head up to Hoover Dam to check out the new bridge. We would like to get above Las Vegas a couple of hundred miles to gain some elevation and get some decent overnight temps for camping tomorrow night.