You Make Your Luck

Black Bear

That’s what my dad used to say to me. In other words, work hard and be prepared. Working with animals can be very unpredictable. There are things I do to better my chances of getting a shot. I preset the cameras, clear the cards everyday, charge the batteries and have the cameras out ready to grab in the van.

Stone Sheep Ram

There are other things I do. Anticipating and understanding animal behaviour are very important. If a bear is walking through the woods, chances are it will continue in the same direction. Move to a clearing and wait. Did I mention patience is important too?

Grizzly Bear

Pika

Woodland Caribou

Sometimes though, no matter how well prepared I am, I miss the shot. I saw this wolf at the side of the road. As I was positioning the van, it stopped and looked at me. It would have been a perfect shot. I missed it. This is the best I could do.

Gray Wolf

I guess that’s what keeps me going out here. I can always do better and learn more.

In a Rut

Maligne Lake Historic Boathouse Jasper, AB - Click for larger

Without a doubt, Jasper is one of the most spectacular places in Canada. We have returned to the national park during the height of the elk rut. These guys really are scary monsters. We found out just how scary one evening when we returned to our campsite to cook dinner. There were female elk all around us. We photographed them all the while looking out for the Bull. All of a sudden, there he was with bloody murder in his eye. Lori and I made a hasty retreat to the van. After a while they all wandered off and we continued with our dinner. We have had many good opportunities to photo these big guys.

Bull Elk - Click for larger

Bull Elk Bugling- Click for larger

We have had a lot of sunshine and lots of different animals to work. The Maligne Lake Road was quite productive for us. We saw Pika, Coyotes, Bear and Moose.

Pika - Click for larger

Black Bear - Click for larger

I had photographed the boathouse at the lake one evening. The light didn’t last long enough for me to get all the shots I wanted so we headed back the next night. I waited and waited for the sun to peak out from the clouds. Lori went back to the car to get us something to eat. While she was gone, the light finally was there. I shot my landscape after waiting an hour and a half. As soon as I was done, a cow and calf moose walked out of the woods and down to the lake right in front of me closely followed by a bull!

Bull Moose - Click for larger

The moose had walked by Lori in the parking lot. She grabbed my 70-200mm lens and brought it to me. She then went back and grabbed my 500mm lens so we had all of our options for shooting.

Jasper is difficult to leave! I think this will definitely be one of the many highlights of our trip this year. We are heading south tomorrow to Lake Louise and Banff. Then we will finally turn east toward home.

The Colin Range, Jasper, AB - Click for larger

Pyramid Mountain, Jasper, AB - Click for larger

Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel - Click for larger

Termination Dust

Kluane Mountain Range, Yukon - Click for larger

That's what the Whitehorse locals call the first snow on the mountains. They told me it marks the end of the tourist season. We were real excited to see the snow. It added a beautiful frosting. Lori and I worked the Alaska Highway north of Destruction Bay and tried to capture the reflections along the way.

Kluane Mountain Range, Yukon - Click for larger

It truly is the end of the season up here. Many of the campgrounds, stores and restaurants are closed and many more will close soon. We were surprised to learn that Kathleen Lake Campground, and the two Visitors Centres in Kluane National Park would close Sept. 4th. This was due to the recent cuts in funding to our National Parks by the federal government. Sad is all I can say.

Kluane Mountain Range, Yukon - Click for larger

We travelled back through Whitehorse and then south to Watson's Lake. There is a highway that runs south through Northern British Columbia called the Cassier Highway. In 2010 highway 37 south was closed due to forest fires. This time the road was open and in good condition. The first part of the road was through the previous fire area. The burn area was very large. It went on for miles. We camped and made our way to Stewart BC.

Male Spruce Grouse - Click for larger

We tried to photograph Bears in Hyder Alaska but didn’t have much luck. There is a viewing platform at Fish Creek where there are spawning salmon. The bears would wander by eat and wander on. There were far more people than bears. Not my cup of tea I guess. I had much more luck photographing bears at the side of the road around Watson’s lake than we did in Hyder. I’m sure Fish Creek is a wonderful place; we just didn’t hit it at the right time.

Black Bear - Click for larger

The other attraction in the Stewart area is the Salmon Glacier. We drove a very rough road up high in the mountains passing from Alaska back into BC. We got up there expecting to see the 5th largest glacier in North America. It was completely covered by clouds. Lori and I climbed into the van and snoozed for a while. After a couple of hours of waiting for the glacier to appear through the clouds and fog, we gave up and made our way back down the road.

Salmon River Valley, BC - Click for larger

I didn’t look forward to driving up the road again but I knew I had to before we could leave the area. We waited a couple of days and finally it cleared enough for us to try again. Even though it wasn’t clear skies, we did get a little light at the top.

Salmon Glacier, BC - Click for larger

It was worth the wait. What a spectacular sight!

Planning

It's my favourite part of travelling - looking at maps searching for interesting places to go. I get a calendar out and plot our course and think about where we want to be and when. We start to buy things like a cargo container for the roof of the van and camping stuff. We need a new dining tent and I would like to get some new camera accessories. Nothing major, just some little things. Oh, and I need new hiking boots and maybe another pair of shorts. I have recently replaced my worn out Tilley hat. It was guaranteed for life so the store replaced it for free.

The Worn Out 20-year old hat - Click for larger

We talk endlessly about our trip. I enjoy the planning as much as the trip. It’s kind of like buying a lottery ticket and then planning on how you will spend it except we really get to do this!

I make lists. Lists, it turns out are very important. Without them you forget stuff, you get to remote places and look for something as mundane as black pepper for your morning eggs and can’t find it. We usually do a short trip in the spring. It helps us refine our loading technique for the van and get a sense of what we need and what needs replacing. Lori is the van arranger/rearranger. She just has a way of sorting things out so they are accessible. When you travel as much as we do, things wear out much faster. Most people use a tent for 3 – 4 weeks tops per year. We might use ours 10 – 12 weeks per year.

The Tent - Click for larger

The Dining Tent - Click for larger

We will need guide books on birds, plants, and flowers, with us along with maps and travel brochures, and notebooks and pens for our journals.

We also need to look after things at the house. We have great neighbours and family members who look after our mail and check on the place regularly. As far as worrying about valuables in the house, well, they are all with us in the van. Cameras, lenses, computers, they all get loaded up and make the trip with us. We turn off the water, empty and turn off the fridge.

I have 2 Mac Book Pro laptops, 3 TB of storage, cables, power cords, battery chargers, cleaning supplies, tripods and filters. All have a place, all will be used. It takes three backpacks for camera equipment.

Bear spray. Still need to get some bear spray...

Bear Warning Sign - Click for larger