USA - Lower 48

When we crossed the border from Canada to the US, they took all our fresh food products away. We even couldn’t eat it right there. However the officer was very nice though.

We passed Seattle and drove through Washington State, where the landscape changed dramatically. We drove through mountains and a few miles later, there was almost desert. Next day we went further west through Idaho and arrived on a camping ground in Montana, Whitefish. Our Mothers at home found a apartment for us, and therefore we opened a good bottle of wine. In the town where we live it is difficult to find a reasonable apartment, therefore we were very happy.

The six hours hike to the summit of Mt Aeneas is probably the most popular trip in the Jewel Basin. It is also the most strenuous short walk, the hike up the area’s second-highest peak gave a extended view across many of the mountain ranges of the Greater Glacier.

Next day we went to the Glacier National Park. For us it is the most beautiful NP in the States. May it is because of this beautiful lakes, mountains and valleys. We enjoyed the sun at McDonald Lake and spent some time with napping and reading. The "Going to the Sun"- Road, which leads through the park, reminded us of Switzerland. At Logan Pass, atop the Continental Divide, the peaks crowd around as if nearly close enough to touch.

In Mary, east of the park we pitched up our tent. In the night we woke up because wolfs where howling. In the morning a bigger animal was in front of our tent. From bear, moose or horse it could have been everything, but we were afraid and to tired to get up and have a luck.

Of course we wanted to do some exercise at such a nice place. And the weather was perfect for hiking though. Many Glacier, named for the glaciers on surrounding mountains, is a hiker’s Eden and a good place for wildlife viewing. Early in the morning we started for a long day hike up to Swisftcurrent Mountain Lookout. Just about a mile after the parking lot we saw a moose. Soon after that we saw a deer standing on the trail. It seemed we didn’t bother the deer at all, but something else did. As we spotted the grizzly with here cups, we knew why the deer was so nervous.

The altitude difference from 1’200 (3500ft) was exhausting, but the view from the top was breathtaking. There was a guy who lived at the top during summer in a 10m2 (30ft) hut. He watched out for fires around the park. The hike was beautiful, however we were very tired when we arrived at the campsite.

The road to the Yellowstone National Park was a little boring. Because of the huge fires around the Yellowstone National Park the visibility wasn’t that good. Although, we pitched up our tent in the Park. This park is with its Geysers and pools very interesting. We also saw some bears and a lot of buffalos. It was difficult to do some hiking. The hikes do not end on the same spot you parked. It is difficult to get around the park without a car. It seems Swiss Hillbillies look not trustful, nobody gave us a ride. However the most attraction are within a short walking distance. We read in a travel book that in September are only a few people in the park. But it was definitely enough for us, therefore we decided to move on.

We drove through Teton National Park. In our opinion this park is nicer than Yellowstone. But still the visibility wasn’t good. We guess with blue sky it is more impressive.

We went further to Utah. In Salt Lake City we enjoyed the city live a little bit, before we headed southwards. Our first stop was in Zion National Park. This park is very special with its red sand stone. We did a really nice hike up to the Observation Point, where we had a beautiful few into the valley. We were lucky to start early in the morning, because it was very hot in the afternoon.

Actually we wanted to stay a few days due to the fact that we liked it so much. Friends from Zug, our home town in Switzerland, where staying in Zion as well. Unfortunately the receptionist of the hotel our friends were staying, gave us wrong information. He told us, they already checked out. We thought they went to Bryce Canyon. Because of that we left Zion NP and went to Bryce Canyon.

One of the Highlights in Bryce Canyon National Park is the Sunrise. It was freezing when we got up early in the morning. But on the other hand the sunrise was very nice. This sandstone towers looked very nice in the morning. We did a little sightseen before we checked our emails. We were astonished to read, that our friends still stayed at the same place in Zion. This idiot.

We decided to move on to Capitol Reef NP, which is also a very nice National Park. The weather forecast had a huge storm, therefore we checked in a motel. We can tell, we where glad, that we didn’t stay in the tent that night.

Via Glen Canyon we crossed Lake Powel with a ferry before we arrived in the Monument Valley.There we felt as if we would be in a old western movie. We guess here nobody will ever forget John Wayne’s movies.

The two National Parks "Canyonlands" and "Arches" are good places to discover some canyons and gorges. Moab is known for good biking trails. We were also happy to finally find a bottle of wine. Utah has its own rules.

If this rules make any cense everybody can judge by himself. For example in a bar you have to be member and pay a certain amount of money. (around 4$) before you can drink a light beer. (only 3% alcohol is allowed). In a restaurant bar you have to eat something if you like to have a drink with alcohol. Even, if you only order chips for 75 cents. In our opinion this is only to increase sales. Or it isn’t allowed to drink wine at the bar, but on the table right next to the bar it is. That's Weird.

In CanyonLand NP we went on a 4WD-Tour. Peter was happy to drive on this dirt road. It was impressive not only to see the Canyons from the viewpoints above also from the bottom. The descent was "almost" scary. We drove from the plateau down to the Colorado river.

Finally we met Tamara and Adi, our friends from Switzerland. We rented together bikes and went on a nice bike ride. We rode our bikes on the Slick Rock Trail, trough red sand stones. It really was fun, but our butts definitely didn’t like the ride at all.

One day we played carts because the weather wasn’t so great. Next day we went on a hiking trip in the Arches National Park. We spent a few hours in Devils Garden. This arches and gorges are impressive. But after so many red rocks we thought its was time to move on.

Through the Rockies we had a lot of snow. It looked like ski season is not far away. Luckily Denver lies a little lower than the Rockies. We were lucky and could sell our car for a good price. We think it was a good deal for both.

Tamara and Adi arrived soon after us in Denver. We were invited at Christine und Mike house, Americans, who Simone once met in New Zealand. Christine took a half day off and showed us the surroundings. "The garden of the goods". She invited all of us for a delicious barbeque. We had really fun and it was nice talking to them after such a long time. It was 5 years ago, when we last and first met.

In Denver we enjoyed the city life. After only eating and drinking for a few days, we needed some exercise. Therefore we went to the Rocky Mountain National Park and did a nice hike.

We really had a good time in the States. However we are looking forward flying to Quito, Ecuador. There are other adventure waiting for us.

Canada - Yukon, BC, Canadian Rockies

On one side we didn’t like to say goodbye to Alaska, but on the other hand a beautiful landscape was waiting for us in Canada. We drove through Yukon Territory, British Columbia and visited the National parks Jasper and Banff in the Rocky Mountains.

On the way to the lower 48 we did a side trip to Haines, which belongs to Alaska. Haines is very nice. We saw a lot of bald eagles which are coming to Haines during Wintertime. Unfortunately we didn’t see them as close as in Homer. The Ferry to Skagway was too expensive for us; therefore we had to drive back 250 km (200 miles) to the Alaska Highway. On the way south we could observe a lot of wildlife again.

On the Cascade Highway we did another side trip to Hyder which lies also in Alaska. Only 100 people are living here. Hyder is surrounded by Canada and the only place in the States where it is difficult to pay with US-Dollar. The landscape is beautiful and we had to be careful not to drive into black bears, which where eating berries or grazing on the side of the road.

The landscape from Yukon and British Columbia is beautiful. The changing landscape with those pine trees and nice lakes made our travel nice and pleasant. Soon we reached the Canadian Rockies. Our first stop was in Jasper National Park. We stayed 3 nights and spent some time by with hiking. The weather was good as well.

On the plateau from Edith Carvel we enjoyed the view to a glacier and the surrounding mountains. We pitched our tent up close to Banff National park, therefore we did also a hike there. There were some dark clouds but luckily we stayed dry. Those National parks are a paradise for hikers, although we didn’t see any wildlife. May there are too many tourists around.

Next day we headed over 900 km (570 miles) by crazy weather, from sunshine to tunderstormes, to Vancouver. We really were happy, when we arrived in Vancouver. This city is really nice and worth to stay a few days. By beautiful sunshine we did some easy sightseeing and went to a „few“ nice bars for a drink. Because of the influence of Asian people we decided to go out and eat some Sushi. In Switzerland we can only dream of prices for Sushi like in Canada and the States. Also we had fantastic views over Vancouver from the tower. It is worth to go up, day and night.

We went to Vancouver Island by ferry, were we stayed a few days. Victoria, the capitol city of British Columbia, with its harbour is very nice. The highlight at Vancouver Island are definitely killer whales (Orcas), which are all year around close to the shore. In spring and fall also humpback whales are seen. We booked a tour, but didn’t expect to see a lot. However we were astonished how many Orcas we saw. We observed 30 to 40 whales and this close the shore, amazing. The whales were very playful; our guide told us it is because of plenty of salmon around. It was nice to see this whales jumping out of the water. The trip was definitely worth to do. We also went to the west side of the island, where you can enjoy beaches or mountains.

After 4 days we went back to the mainland and soon crossed the border to the States. We are looking forward to see some National Parks in the lower 48. How it was you will see in our next blog.