James Stoness | Stoness Travel Blog

Experience the Canadian Rockies With Via Rail

The mountains of Jasper National Park attract visitors from all around the world. In fact you will meet dozens of rental motorhomes in the mountains of Western Canada, mostly driven by Europeans.

Jasper's Mountain Scenery — Jasper’s Mountain Scenery

Recently Sylvia and I drove our motorhome from Ontario to British Columbia, and stayed a while in Jasper NP. We camped at a Jasper Campground and planned something different. We decided to take a Via Train from Jasper to Vancouver. My wife has always wondered about taking the Via Train across Canada, and this was just a sample piece of such a long trip.

Jasper's Heritage Station — Jasper’s Heritage Station

Visitors to Jasper remark on the presence of many trains. You don’t have to be a rail fan to appreciate some of the very long freight trains that pass through. They also take an interest in the beautiful passenger terminal. The Jasper Heritage Railway Station, built in 1926, is enhanced by the stone wall created from round rocks, possibly stream bed rocks. The roof is steeply slanted and broken up with dormers. The steepness should help reduce snow load in heavy snow winters. Inside the wooden interior you will find the information desk and rows of seats where you can wait for your train to arrive.

There is the flutter of excitement when the long, sleek silver cars glide to a stop in front of the station. With the grey mountains as a backdrop, it’s a precursor of the quality of scenery yet to come.

Soon the station has quietly dissolved into the distance and as we head west we are watching the green cloaked mountains rise rapidly from the railway until their snowcapped peaks stand starkly remote against a deep blue sky. Nearer to the edge of track white birch stands are mixed with the dark green evergreens of the forest.
It’s nice to be able to watch the scenery for a change, and not the traffic while someone else does the driving. As we carve our way through the cuts in solid rock we hear the squeal of the wheels scrubbing on the rails on the curves. If you are lucky to get a seat in the dome car at the rear of the train you have a perfect view into the distance.

We found the service perfect. The crew worked hard to be sure that everyone was comfortable. Too soon, it seemed, night fell across the mountains and we crawled into our bunks. In the morning the scenery had changed for the worse. The

mountains were not close anymore and there was a long run into Vancouver showing back yards and industrial areas.
It was a great trip, in spite of the Vancouver ending. Hope to do it again, someday, going the other way.

For more than four decades James Stoness has travelled the roads of North America, photographing and writing about what he has seen. His travel articles and beautiful pictures have been published in several magazines and newspapers. He is also the author of five western novels. Visit his website at: www.stonesstravelguides.com

Saskatchewan’s Prince Albert National Park

Welcome to Prince Albert National Park, 1500 square miles of wilderness. When the government set aside the land in 1927, some considered it a waste of money. Why protect a special section of wilderness when there was so much?

It is fortunate that some people had the foresight to make the effort because where there was once endless wilderness, men have reduced it drastically. To the north, forest has been cut for pulpwood, and to the south new fields are checkerboarding their way right to the park boundaries.
Travellers heading west to the Canadian Rockies often miss one of Saskatchewan’s out of the way treasures.

Often, they try to cover the prairies as quickly as possible, tiring of the continuous rolling fields of grain and the occasional slough. Actually, these are quite scenic on their own, but if you head north past Saskatoon, you will encounter terrain you probably didn’t expect. Slowly small stands of aspen begin to intrude on the agricultural landscape. Hills appear, a few small lakes, and even exposed rocky cliffs.
Waskesiu is the centre of commerce in the park. Here you will find the major campgrounds, a few hotel room, and cabins, and a store and library. Lake Waskesiu provides lots of fish fun, boating and canoeing, and the big sandy beach at the townsite is a large hit with the children.

There are areas with more primitive camping. At the Narrows Campground they are trying an experiment with solar panels to see if solar panels and batteries can replace the expensive propane generator that has serviced the location for years. There is a small marina here, and the stored power will provide them with electricity, as well as pump water and light the restrooms.
Prince Albert NP has a wide variety of hiking trails that will take you from civilization into the backcountry where you can expect real wilderness experiences ranging from the crazy cry of the loon to the scream of a prowling lynx.
Of course, with its 1500 lakes, the park is a natural for canoeing. The canoe routes will lead you into some of denser wilderness regions of the park beyond the trails.
If you are looking for something a little less strenuous, stop at the golf course and play a few holes. You may even get a good look at a herd of elk having an afternoon rest on one of the fairways.

The next time you cross the prairies, take a little sidetrip. Head north of Saskatoon to Prince Albert National Park.
Happy RV’ing

Nisga’a Memorial Lava Bed Park

Basalt lava flow covered with mosses and lichens

Volcanoes are not choosy. They erupt wherever they can, and whenever they are ready. Two hundred and fifty years ago a terrible calamity hit the Nass River Valley in British Columbia. A volcano erupted and spewed lava down the hillside into the valley and then flowed northward to burn and bury two villages of the Nisga’a aboriginal tribe. The gases and the lava killed over 2,000 natives. The flow buried some of the original channel of the Nass River and pushed the entire river northward across the valley to its present location.

Today, a 179 square kilometre park is preserved as a memorial to those families who

perished. The park is managed together by the aboriginals and the Provincial Government. If you visit you will find a campground with 16 sites, and a colourful Visitor Centre which may have a resident artist on duty during the summer time. There are also maps of the track of the lava flow, and native artefacts.

Solid blocks of lava thrown upward as lava pushed

A guided tour will take you on a trail to the lava cone. The trail is moderately hard so wear good hiking boots for the 4 hour hike which takes you 3 kilometres over the lava to the cone.

If you travel from Terrace, heading north, you will see Lava Lake. This lake is the result of the lava damming the river. Often the river now flows under the lava and is out of sight in places. The basalt lava flow is extensive and very interesting to examine as you follow trails across the surface. Normally you would find basalt lava to be very black. In the lava field it has a surface coating of lichens and mosses and looks somewhat tan, or yellow. Do not leave the trail as it destroys this new vegetation which is slowly turning the basalt into soil.

Notice how the surface is often buckled, and heaved up in blocks. This is caused by the lava surface solidifying or freezing, while underneath, the lava was flowing quickly. This is similar to a stream with ice flows. Sometimes the flow would pushNisga’ upward, and blocks of basalt would flow and jam causing even more buckling of the crust. You will see

these areas and realize the tremendous

Hole in frozen lava caused when lava flowed around a living tree, which later rotted.

force and pressure required to redesign the landscape in this manner. If you follow Tree Mould Trail you will see several examples of this, and you will see a hole through the rock formed when lava flowed around a live tree and solidified. Later on the tree rotted leaving the round tunnel through the rock. Some blocks whose edges you can see show multiple holes. These were gas bubbles that were trapped in the freezing lava.

There are also attractive rapids and waterfalls.

The drive in from Terrace is very scenic with great views of the mountains. Then suddenly you are on top of the lava beds. Take time to go and visit the site of Canada’s last volcanic eruption.

Happy RVing!