The Road Less Travelled

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

Day Two

It poured rain most of the night at the North Thompson River campsite. I felt for the folks who were tenting. Fortunately for us, waking up damp/wet and cold is no longer an issue. 

Our next drive to Mount Robson Meadows was relatively short, so we took the opportunity to snooze in and after emptying our mostly empty sanitation system we were on the road by 10am. A French-Canadian guy and two gals were emptying their rented camper in front of us, so I was able to steer them to the spot to refill using the clean water outlet rather than the sanitation rinse.

We saw some wildlife along the way. A few deer and a black bear cub, who darted across the road in front of us. I’ve been recording parts of our road journey with a GoPro but as luck would have it, the camera was turned off at the time the little bear appeared.

We arrived at Mount Robson Meadows right at check-in time (1pm). Fortunately, we were able to set up before the rain came. I tried to connect the Starlink Mini, but the campground is so treed there was not enough clear sky to obtain a signal; hence, why I didn’t post the last two nights. 

We stayed inside our trailer until the rain eased a bit then walked down to the visitor centre only to find it was closed. There was free WIFI though, so we texted a message to our kids telling them that all was well. 

When we returned to our campsite, the rain had stopped so we had dinner and sat down to read and cozy up with a cup of hot tea. Suddenly, I heard someone playing a guitar and harmonica and looked to see it was a gentleman playing and singing in the campsite next to us. When he played and sang two of my favorite James Taylor songs, I said to Connie I think we need to go over there.

I went outside and gave him two thumbs up and the lady waved me over. The couple next to us, Sue and Bob, had just met Cliff the musician that afternoon. After chatting a bit, he asked them if they’d like to listen to some live music over a campfire that evening. Then we crashed their party.

Bob is a retired GM mechanic, and I was impressed to learn his pickup has 250K kilometers on it. John, if you are reading this, yes, I know it’s a GM. Turns out that Sue and I both retired from Interior Health. She still works a few shifts in the ER at Royal Inland Hospital. She said, “you kind of look familiar what did you do?” I’m always reluctant to tell people that I’m a retired vice president, as I don’t want to come across high and mighty. I told her I was in administration. Later, Connie scolded me and said you shouldn’t be ashamed of your role. You did a lot of good in your job and you should be proud of it. I told Sue to say hi to Todd one of the ER physicians at RIH and she said she would text him later saying “hey, guess who I just chatted with?” It certainly is a small world.

Cliff was most interesting. He didn’t share very much about himself, but he did tell us he grew up on a dairy farm in California. At 13 years old his family sold the farm and after that he began playing guitar. Based on his ability, I’m fairly certain he dedicated countless hours to master his craft, something I’ve observed first hand living with Zach. It is true that mastery requires full commitment. As my grade 10 math teacher used to say to me: “practice, practice, practice Malcolm.”

Cliff now lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico and was traveling up to paddle the Bowron Lakes with his grandkids, 6 and 10 years of age. He had an amazing repertoire of songs some by artists I’d never heard of, including Bill Staines. During Covid Cliff taught himself to play the harmonica, and he used a neck holder so he could play the harmonica and strum his guitar simultaneously. 

After listening to a few more songs, Connie and I went for a walk around the park. Soon after we ran into Ron from Ontario. He and his wife and friends were on their way to Dawson City, their trip of a lifetime. We told him about our trip as far as Watson Lake and shared stories about our kids and grandkids. 

It was such a treat to be in the middle of nature, no cell service, no internet, just people to visit with…kind of like it was 40 years ago. I’m saddened to see people in our society move away from something truly special…taking an interest in and talking with people we don’t know. Everyone we meet has a story and most all of them are willing to share it with us. We just need to ask. 

Day Three

Once again, it rained hard during the night. I was thankful to be cosy and warm in our RV queen sized bed.

On day two, I purchased a book titled The Journey. It is about the Overlanders who made their way from Fort Garry (near Winnipeg today) to the Cariboo in the mid-1800’s. As I lay listening to the rain, I thought how wimpy we are today. These pioneers spent days and sometimes weeks, walking in scorching heat one day, then sopping wet the next, tormented by clouds of flies and mosquitoes as they made their way across the prairies, through the Rockies, and down the North Thompson River valley before arriving in Kamloops.

The pounding rain eventually stopped and we awoke to a mix of sun and clouds with the odd shower. Mid morning we decided to go for a bike ride and made our way to the Berg Lake Trailhead. It was there we discovered the trail had just reopened after a few years of closure due to flooding and rock slides. There were at least 40 people about to embark on their day long journey to the beautiful glacier fed lake. We checked the signs and confirmed that we could ride our bikes as far as Kinney Lake, about 5K but steep at times. Connie said she was game so we headed off.

As we climbed the hills we passed about 30 additional hikers and one lady called out, “I have a special name for you e-bikers!” We laughed and kept climbing. We had hiked the trail twice previously but personally I recommend e-biking it! The scenery is breathtaking on the way up but especially once you reach Kinney Lake.

On the way back down, we stopped and chatted with a couple from Ontario. They were on their way to the west coast by RV and stopped to do the Kinney Lake hike. We had passed them on the way up the hill and they were curious about our bikes. We also exchanged travel stories and debated which was the best route across the continent, via the USA or Canada. The trip down was uneventful thankfully and being on the bike made it much easier on Connie’s troubled ankle.

After a bite of lunch a short nap (2nd day in a row for me!), we went for another bike ride and scoped out the Robson Rivers Campground. To our surprise it has a large electrical and water section and the sites are less treed so the Starlink Mini might work there. Perhaps we will stay there next time.

Day Four

We woke early Sunday morning, had a quick breakfast, brewed coffee to go and were on the road by 730am. The climb out of Mount Robson Meadows doesn’t appear to be much but we noticed it pulling the trailer and of course via the fuel gauge.

As we drove along side Moose Lake, the GoPro was on record as I’d hoped we would see a moose and snap a photo/video to send our grandson, Boden. He is very interested in moose ever since he saw one the first night he moved into his new house in Bathurst. He and his Mom and Dad live on five wooded acres and that first evening Bullwinkle dropped by to say hello. Sadly he hasn’t returned again.

Shortly after we entered Jasper National Park, we saw a group of cars stopped on both sides of the road. I quickly switched on the GoPro and hit record. Two bears were feasting on berries on the side of the road. One was blond and the other black. Connie snapped a quick photo (below) as we drove past.

As we drove by the town of Jasper, we saw the devastation of last year’s forest fire. Today the underbrush was green and lush. I’m always in awe when I see how nature regenerates a forest after a fire. The campgrounds were all full, so the fire certainly hasn’t dampened tourism.

At noon we stopped in Edson to purchase a few groceries and by mid afternoon, we arrived at Barr Estate Winery, which is located just south of Edmonton. It is a Harvest Host stop and a 20 acre farm and fruit winery. Connie and I aren’t much for fruit wine but we did a tasting and purchased one bottle of each (rhubarb, strawberry rhubarb, raspberry and a sour cherry port). I think the port will go very nicely poured over a bowl of Håagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream.

Until next time, happy reading.