August 23, 2010

Something seems different.  I think travelling is such a passive activity that it takes a couple of days to shift out of that mindset.  Since we aren’t staying anywhere more than a few days, staying active and motivated could become a challenge. 

I also suspect that darkness is a factor.  It can be a de-motivator.  I don’t think it was my last five Augusts.  I think it was also somewhat motivating, encouraging me to make the most of the last remaining days.  I think the darkness has a different meaning to me this time.  I see it as a sign of our southward progress.  I see it as returning to the reality that most of the world lives with as so few are fortunate enough to live far enough toward the ends of the earth to experience endless daylight for months at a time.  This is one element of life in Alaska that I will really miss.

Of course today’s rain didn’t help at all.  And neither did the availability of the recently rare television, electricity, and internet.  These luxuries made it easy to stay indoors in the evenings and linger far too long in the mornings.  I think we are going to have to focus on including some intensive physical activity as we go forward or we could fall into the trap of most travelers, simply passively observing the scenery.

We did get out for a hike today.  We weren’t motivated, but once we stopped the car and got out in the rain, we just kept walking for a reasonable distance.  We didn’t see much on the hike, but it was refreshing.

Yesterday was only mildly active.  We toured around the local sites of Stewart BC/Hyder AK.  Yes, we returned to Alaska for one last glimpse before continuing south.  The two towns are isolated on a dead end road off the Cassiar Highway.  They are port towns as they are at the end of a fjord, Stewart being Canada’s northernmost ice free port.  They are both small communities, although Hyder is almost negligible with several of the few dilapidated commercial buildings along the dirt main road boarded up.  Hyder is an American town, but even its police force is Canadian.  The only place that even uses American money is the post office.  Most of the road signs are in American units, but somehow even a few of those reference kilometers.  It is a strange reality.

The road loops back to BC after passing through Hyder and then dead ends over 20 miles back into the mountains.  This provides perhaps the only unguarded border crossings.  Even the crossing into the U.S. to get to Hyder has no stop.  The return does have a Canadian customs stop, primarily to discourage the illegal importation of American liquor from Hyder.  The second border crossing back in the mountains passes with barely a sign indicating the change of country.

Besides the towns, Hyder offers a relatively accessible bear viewing area.  Our summer of poor salmon runs got in one last shot as there were no bears feeding in the stream during our two stops at the platforms.  Large chum salmon were spawning along the platforms, but we have seen much larger congregations of salmon than this.  It was the typical disgusting salmon stream with dead carcasses everywhere and a stench that tempts your gag reflexes.

That doesn’t mean we didn’t see bears.  We had to stop for a big momma black bear and her two cubs almost at the edge of town on the way back yesterday afternoon.  Then, as we were exploring the back roads of town, we ran into another of these rare large salmon-fed black bears, again with two cubs, walking along the road near a dump area.  We saw them three times as they snuck in and out of the vegetation, but each time I was just a touch to slow to get any decent pictures.  Today we saw a lone black bear on the road.  A truck that had just passed me almost hit it.  We also saw a couple black bears along the road on our drive into town two days ago.

The most impressive feature of the area is the glaciers.  There are several small, but close glaciers along the road coming into town.  The road eventually ends just beyond Salmon Glacier, one of the largest in North America.  We have seen glaciers from every angle, but the drive up accessibility of Salmon Glacier is unmatched.  The road climbs a high ridge providing the same type of view that we have seen from small planes.  The glacier is fascinating, flowing directly toward the road from high above and then splitting and flowing parallel to the road in both directions.  The melt water only heads back toward Hyder, but the ice spills a short ways in the opposite direction, blending with some ice from some hanging glaciers further up the valley.  The melt water from that ice must flow under the glacier as there is no outlet river.  It is an unusual glacier.

We continued beyond the glacier even though the brochures indicated that the road was not maintained.  Of course the road was not put there to provide a view of a glacier.  The road leads to mining operations, some apparently still active.  We also found a strange old tunnel through a section of mountain.  The doors over the tunnel on one end are gone, allowing access to anyone foolish enough to enter.  We did not enter, although we got out for a closer look.

Spending time in a foreign country, even though it is just Canada, has been interesting.  The labeling of food is different since the FDA requirements don’t apply.  Ingredients like high fructose corn syrup don’t show up in the list of ingredients, although the strange reference to sugar provides some clues.  The packaging requires French language in addition to English, which can be momentarily confusing.  These are just some of the small things that have made me think.

Obviously the difference in units of measure is noticeable.  I feel like my brain is in slow motion.  A warning sign for a sharp curve that reads 60 km/hr requires me to think through what that means, even glance at the speedometer for a quick conversion.  A warning sign that reads 35 mph doesn’t even require me to look at the speedometer.  Buying food in kilograms makes it hard to know what is expensive and what is cheap. Oddly, though, many things are sold by the pound, especially fruits and vegetables.

The news is challenging to watch.  It does highlight minor differences in perspective.  I also realize how national pride is included in even the most unbiased of news sources, either American or Canadian.  The real challenge is found in the realization that we know so little about the Canadian system of government.  Things I would take for granted in the U.S., like the ability to understand a supreme court ruling, suddenly become a total mystery.  I can see how much learning can come from spending time in a foreign country and it excites me.