Into Alaska

After traveling for 18 days and 3688 miles, we have finally arrived in the great state of Alaska. We have spent the last two days in Tok, AK, which is a small community of approximately 1200 people on the eastern side of the state. Tomorrow we plan to head down to Valdez, which is about 250 miles south of here. The drive to Valdez is reported to be outstanding, so we are looking forward to that. On Monday, we have booked an all day boat cruise on Prince William Sound where we will visit the Meares Glacier, and with any luck see some of the wildlife that lives in the sound.

We have noticed a couple of churches along the Alcan highway built out of old quonset huts left behind by the US Army from the highway construction. This one is in Beaver Creek, YT - a few miles east of Alaska.

Only a few more miles to go….

We spent the night in a pull off just west of Teslin, YT at the beginning of the Canol Pipeline Project. In the early days of the Second World War, the Japanese had landed in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska and there was a real concern about the safety of the west coast shipping lanes. To ensure a reliable supply of oil and gas to the Alaska Highway, and to the air fields in Alaska, the U.S. Army started the Canol Pipeline Project to bring oil from Norman Wells, Northwest Territories to Whitehorse, YT, where they built a refinery, and then ultimately to Fairbanks. To move the oil, an 825 km pipeline and road were built in 1943. The project had a cost of $134 million and was shut down one year after it was completed - once the Japanese threat had lessened. Apparently, the Canol road is littered with old discarded equipment such as this.

Just as we were getting on the highway in Whitehorse, YT, this beautiful red fox passed right in front of us.  We also spotted a Lynx a few miles up the road but couldn’t get a photo.

Goodbye Yukon… see you on the way home!

Hello, Alaska…After driving 3600 miles, we are on your door step

Lots of snow on the distant peaks

When Alaskans say they are going to cut the grass it has a little different meaning!

The black spruce forests in Tok are very beautiful with lots of different colors

Track Logs:

Day 16 – July 25, 2018, 95 miles

Day 17 – July 26, 2018, 102 miles

Day 18 – July 27, 2018, 298 miles

Cruising the Cassiar

We spent four days cruising up the 725 km of the Cassiar highway. The first night was spent at Meziadin Lake Provincial Park, which is about 100 miles from the start of the highway. We had not planned to stay there, but decided at the last minute to do it - so we could make the short trip over to Hyder, Alaska. Hyder is a small town of less than 100 people on the very tip of the southern part of Alaska, and is only about 40 miles from the park. The town offers a great place to watch bears feeding on salmon at the Forest Service Fish Creek Wildlife Observation area. Unfortunately, when we got there, we found that the salmon were not running yet, and therefore, no bears.

The Canadian border guard suggested that we should really visit the Salmon Glacier, which is about 20 miles north of Hyder on a dirt road. We took her advice and the views of the Glacier were awesome. We have seen lots of other glaciers before but usually all you can see is the foot or end of the glacier. With the Salmon Glacier, you are well about the glacier and can see the whole thing, which is very interesting. It looks like a river of ice flowing down the mountain.

After leaving Meziadin, we spent the next two nights at Boya Provincial Park, which is located on crystal clear Boya Lake. On the way to Boya, we were fortunate to spot two young bears and one bald eagle.

Before reaching Boya, we stopped in Dease Lake, which is the only real town on the Cassiar Highway, for some fuel. We ended up waiting for over half an hour in line to get gas. There were so many RV's lined up at the pump, as there is only one station in town, and no other choices for at least 100 miles in either direction. Once we got to the pump, we were shocked at the price, which was $6.23 per gallon. We have seen higher prices on previous trips but this is the most we have ever paid. We were pleasantly surprised with the Cassiar Highway, as it was in much better condition than it was in 2014 when we last passed this way. There were a few gravel breaks and a few dirt sections but in general, it was in good condition.

Some very old totem poles at the First Nations village of Gitwangak at the very start of the Cassiar Highway

Some awesome views at the Forest Service Fish Creek Wildlife Observation Area in Hyder AK

Continuing up the road from the wildlife area to Salmon Glacier.  It’s awesome how the glacier flows down the valley like a river.

As we were driving north on the Cassiar Highway, we spotted two black bears.  Both were fairly small and were likely cubs from this year.  Momma was nowhere in sight… but we didn’t look too hard!

We got lucky to spot this bald eagle on the bank of a river just off the highway.  He posed for photos for a long time.

A bee collecting nectar from a fireweed plant along the road side.  The fireweed is spectacular as it is all along the highways.

Both days we stayed at Boya Lake we were able to watch this guy land and take off from the lake. He would leave in the morning and return in the early evening. We suspect he lives near the lake but commutes to work. The only problem is the closest town of any size is at least 200 miles away.

Track Logs:

Day 12 – July 21, 2018, 307 miles

Day 13 – July 22, 2018, 315 miles

Day 15 – July 24, 2018, 235 miles

Into the Heart of BC

We crossed over into Canada on Wednesday at the Osoyoos BC crossing. The crossing was relatively uneventful which is always nice. The guard had the standard questions but this time added a new twist by asking current employment status and most recent employment history. Guess he decided we were not going to be a leach on Canadian Society as he let us proceed. First stop after crossing into BC was at a local fruit stand to load up on some of that great Okanogan fruit. Found some yummy peaches, apricots, corn, cherries, and apples. We made overnight stops in Cache Creek BC, Prince George BC, and tonight are in Smithers BC.

Today we stopped at a grocery store in Prince George for a few items and we are still shocked at the prices. Our observation from a few years ago that groceries are about 2-3 times more expensive in Canada than at home still holds true. A half gallon of milk that we would typically pay around a dollar to a dollar and half for at home is $3.62 here. Likewise, a gallon of water that we could get at home of $0.89 was priced at $3.99! Of course, on the flip side they do not directly pay of health insurance or health care so in the end it probably works out about even. Gas has been running around $1.45 per liter, which works out to about $5.50 a gallon.  We expected gas to be this much in the northern reaches of Canada but it is unusual for it to be this much in the southern part.

Tomorrow we start the most challenging part of the whole trip as we head up the Cassiar Highway. The Cassiar is a 725 km wilderness highway from central BC up into Yukon Territory where it joins the Alaska Highway near Watson Lake. The highway is very remote with only one real town about 2/3 of the way up called Dease Lake which has a population of about 300 people. Last time we were on the Cassiar, it was very eerie as it was not uncommon to go 10s of miles without seeing another person. We are hoping to see lots of wildlife. Our plan is to spend about 4 days on the highway including an extra day at Boya Lake where we hope to finally get the kayaks wet.

A beautiful sunset on the banks of the Osoyoos Lake near Oroville WA

A robin says it bath time!

An old truck in a field just outside of Cache Creek BC

A beautiful drive between Cache Creek BC and Prince George BC

From around our campsite near Prince George BC

When we were planning our trip, we discovered and joined a Facebook group called "RVing to Alaska 2018". The group is a way for travelers to share ideas, experiences, and tips along the way. To show membership in the group they produced these small blue signs for the back of your rig. Every since leaving home we have been keeping and eye out for other group members. Finally, at a rest area south of Quesnel BC we spotted a fellow group member. Was great to meet Ken and Sue from Grants Pass OR hope to see you again along the way.

Track Logs:

Day 8 – July 17, 2017, 247 miles

Day 9 – July 18, 2017, 206  miles

Day 10 – July 19, 2017, 266  miles

Day 11 – July 20, 2017, 245  miles

Making Our Way North

We have been on the road for about a week now and are slowly making our way north. Right now, we are in Pasco WA, which is about 235 miles south of the border. So far, we have driven 1381 miles and have about 2800 miles to go before we dip our toes in the Arctic Ocean. We plan to cross into Canada on Wednesday and then spend the next 2 weeks or so going through British Columbia and Yukon before finally arriving in Alaska. So far, the trip has been nice but the temps have been a little warm with most days approaching 100 degrees. We are expecting the temps to cool off and scenery and wildlife sightings to increase as we get farther north.

View from our campsite at Utah Lake State park.  Not too bad!

Some of the beautiful red rock country north of Kanab UT

Sunset over Utah Lake 

Sunset from our campsite at Three Island State park in Idaho

The following are plants and wildlife from Hood Park near Pasco Washington

A couple birds posing for us at Utah Lake

Track Logs:

Day 1 – July 10, 2018, 150 miles driven

Day 2 – July 11, 2018, 268 miles driven

Day 3 – July 12, 2018, 265 miles driven

Day 4 – July 13, 2018, 319 miles driven

Day 5 – July 14, 2018, 99 miles driven

Day 6 – July 15, 2018, 281 miles driven