On the Road Again: September 2012

First Nation culture education in Haselton

Final stop in Canada and a great education of the First Nation living in Haselton. The craft people are very proud of their Totums and use them to commemorate a family's events, history, and culture.

This Totum will be erected in a year at the family celebration

Don enjoying the carving

The Totum park

The fireweed is predicting an early winter. The flowers are at the top of the stem and the lower portion is going to seed.

Right outside our RV park was the cultural center showing the long houses were the First Nation people lived. We were not allowed to take pictures inside, but they put on quite a show teaching us their history and heritage.

The one building we were allowed to take pictures was the craft building were the artisans sold there creations and some came to work.

Our timing as great as there was a celebration going on giving us a first hand demonstrations of the traditional dances, drum beats and clothing.

Steward - Hyder

Steward is located in Canada and Hyder is in Alaska, and about 10 miles apart. This is one commute you need your passport. The glacier views from the road were great, and the road to the top of the glacier was dusty, bumpy, and made the Top of the World feel like an expressway.

Really it is blue

And our tow does have a back window

Steward - Hyder has the reputation of bear viewing, because of Fish Creek. Several of our members saw a bear and a wolf, but not the numbers of bear we expected, and unfortunately no pictures. From discussions with the Ranger there was only 4 bears in residence and we were close to the end of the salmon season so the number of fish were down.

Iskut

Iskut is one of the rest tops on our way to Lynden Washington. The area has very active jade mines. The mine owners told us that this area supplies 90% of the worlds jade, and 45% of the mines output is exported to China.