We are heading back northeast to pick up Oscar’s ashes in Grande Prairie. It’s about 750 miles from Stewart and with the roads at 90-100km/hr it makes for a long drive. We planned to split it up into two 300 mile days and one 150 mike day, so when we hit 250 we start looking for a place to stay. We found that in Burns Lake, BC. Burns Lake is a little gem in that the community campground is sponsored by the Rotary and the sites are free. They are dry sites next to a lake, but also just a block from a dump and water station. Kudos to the Rotary club.
We were met at the site by an older couple from outside of Edmonton, Alberta. They have traveled all over the USA and Canada and have seen all states except Delaware and Connecticut and all of the Canadian provinces. Two years ago they sold their 5th wheel and started to use their Lance 855S exclusively. He also has a Ram 3500. We talked with them for a couple hours before bed and then again for a violent if hours the next morning. They were a great addition to Burns lake. Rick was a truck driver until two years ago when he retired. He’s now 78. She was a teacher. He restored old trucks (the semi types) and tractors. They had just sold their home and acreage and were building a final home.
Rick and Sandra had one precious story about their grand kids. There was a 7000kg rock on his farm that had a bore home in it. He’d stuff $5 bills in it before the grand children arrived and they would always search the rock for money. He said he taught them to drive the tractors and the grandson would stop the tractor to check the rock, just in case. Well when he sold their property, he had the rock moved to his son’s house so the kids would still have the rock. And he put $20s in there and challenged his don to keep up the tradition. Great old couple.
We slept in and had a nice morning at the Ripley Creek Inn. I found a bakery across the street and purchased some muffins and pastries for breakfast. They were good but not similar to European types. The pups got their morning walk and then we headed over to Hyder Alaska to drive to the Salmon glacier. We stopped by Fish Creek Viewing area to check to see if any bears were feasting, but the rangers suggested coming back after 5pm. So we made the drive to Salmon glacier.
we met a nice couple up there from Texas in a truck camper setup and we compared adventures. We’d seen them and they’d seen us at various points across Alaska. They had been traveling since early May and were staying a few days at each place. They had traveled both the Dalton and the Dempster this year and everything on the truck survived.
We continued up the road as I had heard there was a mine we could drive into. It turns out that it was blocked off, but you could definitely fit Howie in there. We drove to a big mining operation and decided to turn around since the road ended on the other side of the valley anyway. When we stopped for lunch we noticed a helicopter hauling something to a point across the valley. We used the binoculars and found three sites on the rock face below one of the glaciers where some new mining was taking place. These are huge platforms mounted to the rock face. We watched the helicopter for over an hour bring supplies and take baskets from those sites. Mining is different than 100 years ago when mining started here, but miners are still a hearty bunch.
We worked our way down the mountain and stopped at Fish Creek Viewing and the rangers said to go have dinner and try in a couple of hours. We drove to the end on the Hyder boat launch and Kathy made Albondigas and we watched the seals fish in the harbor. I took a cool picture of an old pier and looking back up the 90 mile Portland Fjords.
We finished and cleaned up around 7 and when we got to Fish Creek Viewing area the rangers said a mom and her cub were fishing. He was gracious to let us in without paying with a promise we’d hit them up on the way out. It was great to finally see some bears fishing and chomping on salmon.
it was growing dark and on the way out we met up with a nice guy and his wife who have been in the road in their 5th wheel for 4 years. They move every 1-3 weeks and work while on the road. We learned a lot from them and how to save costs, visit places, etc. We have not been doing tours because we have the pups and our budget doesn’t allow for it. They save on gas by parking for a while and then take tours occasionally. This Friday they were taking a fishing boat out and would get crabs, salmon, and halibut. The charter is $1200 but is split between fishermen, so it was costing them $400 each as another was joining them. They live to fish and have spent the summer in Homer, the Russian River, Valdez, etc filling their freezer. He said he had over 700 lbs they were taking back with them. Apparently personal use and labeled fish are ok to transport across borders. They told us stories about issues with cases of wine and the Canadians when they did not declare it. It was confiscated and to get it back they had to pay the import tax. It’s easier to just declare.
We got back to the hotel about 10 pm after a pretty amazing day. Here are some more pictures of the day.
We continued along the Cassier Highway for a second day and stopped for the night in Stewart, BC. This town was a place I wanted to spend a couple of days with Kathy just exploring. There is a great little place called the Ripley Creek Inn that I had seen when I was here in 2019 and wanted to treat us to a couple of nights there.
It is a cute little inn consisting of the 8-12 buildings on a city block interconnected with boardwalks, treed canopies, gardens, and a collection of interesting items from the past 125 years including old sewing machines, mining equipment, old transistor radios, and even a couple of tugboats. Such a cute place.
We looked around and relaxed in their yards before hiking on a local trail of boardwalks over the tidal marsh. We spotted more pink salmon in the creeks and watched a quiet harbor. Interestingly we found out the town of Stewart was named after a couple of American brothers that settled the area while the neighboring town across the border of Hyder, AK was named after a Canadian Engineer.
We finished our walk and took the pups to the camper. We had a nice dinner at a local pizza place. The pizza was interesting in that the meats of pepperoni I and salami were sandwich meats rather than what we were used to. It was good, just different and almost like a panini instead. We returned for some showers and a nice time in the Inn.
We turned south into CA 37, the Cassier Highway, to drive down the middle of British Columbia. The highway is less traveled than the AK highway, but is much more beautiful in my opinion. The lakes and valleys through the towering Rockies are beautiful at every turn. I stopped for fuel every couple of hours to keep the tank full and take a little break.
Around 5 we passed a car with a couple of ladies from Michigan that were looking under their car. We decided to stop to see if they needed help. They stated something was making a noise under their front end and noted they had had the brakes redone recently. I asked if they needed help and they agreed. When they moved the car I could hear the issue in the front and said it was likely the anti rattle pin and I could see it catching on the rim. We jacked up their car and I pulled the wheel off to find the clip had come loose and was bent and broken. I told them they could still drive it to a town that could get a part. The closest was Prince George, about 700 miles to the south. She took some pictures for her records and we put everything back together and sent them on their way.
We stopped for the night in Jade City at a free RV camp next to a Jade store. It turned out this area mines about 95% of the worlds Jade. They had tons (literally) of the stone in and around the place. You can get Jade slabs or earrings. Pretty stuff but also expensive.
I did not take and photos today, just a nice drive.
We camped at Wolf Creek Campground just SE of Whitehorse last night. It’s a Yukon Regional Park official campsite. Every time I camp in a Canadian campground I am impressed. They are far superior to most all campgrounds I have experienced in the US National Parks, BLM, or FS. Tonight $18 CAD (which is about $12 US).
It’s funny because they are not much different except they seem to have more amenities for a lower cost. The camps are easily paid for with cash or with an app. Most have reserved sites and some first come first serve, so there is almost always a site for spontaneous travelers. Some sites have RV dumps and water available as well for free. And they are generally better set up and maintained.
AND there are wood sheds with wood available FOR FREE. US parks often don’t allow wood gathering and require you to purchase it from the camp host, bring it in from home (as long as its not too far so as to no bring in pests), or purchase it from the local store for a $7-10 cost per bundle, on top of the $20-24 campsite fee. A weekend at a US campsite will cost you $50-75 in fees and $50-100 in firewood if you burn nights and morning fires. Plan for a week and that could reach $400. Ridiculous. Everything in the US is behind a paywall, which I could understand for private campgrounds, but these are resources owned and operated by the Gov for the people.
In Canada it’s all included for $18 CAD.
And it’s not free market, IMO, it’s mismanagement of our government resources. What can we do to change this?
I got a call from a guy I met the last time I was in Alaska and he lives in Whitehorse. We had planned on heading to Haines, then catch the ferry to Juneau/Gustavus/skagway for a few days. After looking at the ferry routes, considering the pups on this, and the extra costs, wedecided to reroute a to visit and catch up instead. We got to Whitehorse and tried to meet up. We waited at the local Canadian Tyre parking lot, I walked 3+ miles through the old town, visited a farmers market, and saw some sites. Unfortunately for some reason the meet up did not work out, so we got a sub at Quiznos, drove out of town and found camp just above the Yukon River outside of town and settled down for the night.
One of the things I love about Alaska and Northern Canada is the boreal forests. They have small to medium trees and an always beautiful carpet of moss, lichens, bushes, etc on the forest floor. Wher I grew up in Arizona, the forests are ponderosa pines, some scrub oak, and maybe junipers trees, but the forest floor is generally covered in pine needles or scarce grasses. They don’t have the diversity of life I see here. It is absolutely due to the difference in moisture, and I really enjoy that here. Well, we camped in the boreal forest and it’s so beautiful.
Ok, still not hearing a single response from the guy from the past, we headed towards Skagway. Along the way we stopped at a historic site called Conrad along a glacial valley and lake. Conrad was an old mining village in the early 1900s. A couple of the cabins were being restored, but most had been moved and repurposed to the nearby town of Carnack. I was excited to hike the trails as there were reports of a black bear in the area, but Kathy was not too keen on it.
The drive through this area I believe is more beautiful than the one found to Valdez along the Richardson Highway. In this area there are mirror surfaced lakes, pools, glacial rivers and streams, along a glacier cut mountain top valley. This is berry season and tons of folks are out with their buckets scouring the roadside.
We crossed into the USA and were inspected by US customs who wanted to go through our fridge. We had purchased everything in Fairbanks so the contraband Canadian eggs, meats, or dog food was not present. The last US entry did not seem to care. It may be because we can catch a boat to the lower 48 here, but it seemed odd. Anyway, we continued down the beautiful valley into Skagway.
The valley is famous for the White trail (and the Kilkoot trail in the adjacent valley) during the Klondike Gold rush. In two years over 100,000 people from all over the world traveled through here to get to Dawson City to stake claims. Most turned around once they got there and went home due to finding nothing or not even being able to dig on a claim. These people from 125 years ago were much harder than people from today. I can’t imagine anyone trekking this far in this day and age.
We arrived in Skagway and walked the pups then browsed around town with the cruise ship tourists. They get up to 4 ships a day here and it is crowded. We had a nice dinner at the Red Onion Saloon and Brothel and then headed over tho the Dyea area to camp. I balked at the one lane bridge at the first pass because it showed a 11’5” limit and we are about that. But after testing, it was this at the sides, so we drove right through. We found a campsite and set up quickly. I set out on a hike to the ocean and found lots of salmon, dead and alive, along the stream. It was a warmer evening than recent places.
We drove the 30 miles back up to Fairbanks to pick up Sean’s Rx and then had a nice lunch at a local burger place. We turned Howie south again and drove until about 6 pm on AK Highway 1. There were some beautiful rest stops along the way and we took a few pictures.
We found a nice little campground along the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge and met a nice couple from Michigan and another from Oklahoma. We didn’t see any big game, but there was a pair of Trumpeter Swans swimming around the lake.
There are lots of road repairs along the highway and several times we waited for pilot cars. I didn’t call it construction because the highway department up here is constantly dealing with road issues related to the seasonal weather. Freezing and melting of the land is not easy on the roads.
We crossed back into Canada on the 20th and continued South. We started to see Fall colors down here as many trees are turning yellow and the shrubs in the forests are orange and red. We found a nice wild beach campsite along Kluane Lake near the Congdon Creek Regional Park in the Yukon. We collected some wood, had a nice fire, and then retreated inside as the rain started. It rained all night. Tomorrow we cross back into the USA and arrive in Haines.
We left the Arctic Circle campground about 10 AM and headed the 190 miles back to Fairbanks. We arrive in Fairbanks around 3 and headed straight to the car wash. We planned to get cleaned up but we’d never stay clean with Howie in this condition.
The road salt/mud was caked on the body, frame, and all around the camper. $75 and 60 minutes later it was much better. I still will get underneath in the near future and work the frame a bit but for now this will do.
It was coming along 5 pm and we headed to a local campground for the night. We got a deal at this place, even though it was $40 with power, it included free showers. The dogs barely got to pee before Kathy was headed to the showers with her gear.
The next two days were expensive on the budget. We spent an additional $350 for groceries and supplies,;$25 on laundry (cheap really); $90 on campgrounds; $100 on diesel, propane, and truck supplies. Going to town costs money.
Sean had his final cardiology tele-appointment so we stayed in Fairbanks. We also had to fill prescriptions for Kathy and Walgreens in AK is not fast. Sean’s appointment results were fantastic with reports that the AFib was not permanent, his heart echocardiogram showed no issues, and the imaging/stress test showed no arterial plaque or other issues. The doc wants to keep me on the Rx so we will have to head back into Fairbanks to get those tomorrow.
We decided to head south a bit to get away from the pay campsites and to visit the North Pole. We enjoyed the Christmas store and all of the Yule spirit, got a few postcards, and then found a free camp next to the Salcha River. Here’s a picture from the Howie’s door.
We left after the swim in the Arctic Ocean and drove south. The weather was turning and snow was expected. We wanted to make it through Atigun Pass before we stopped but it ended up being too far. I think we ended up stopping at a rest area around 8PM. We woke up to two inches of snow on the camper the next morning. Fortunately we still had propane and Howie stayed nice and warm all night.
The road is well traveled and maintained due to the hauling that occurs so other than being muddy, the pass was beautifully blanketed in snow and the road was clear. We made it to Coldfoot in the late afternoon, fueled up, and pushed onward. I wanted to get back to Fairbanks because we were low on propane and were about 8 days in since a shower and 7 days since food supply, tank dumps, and fresh water.
The road was tiring to drive with the constant watch for potholes and dips. I managed to avoid most of them but one bad one bent the eye bolt on the repaired side. Fortunately no damage to the wood repairs was evident, but when we got to the camp at the BLM Arctic Circle Campground I had to attach the chain to the jack mount again as the eye bolt threads were stripped.
The pups were glad to get a walk in although it was slightly raining. We hunkered down for the night and slept well. The propane still managed to keep us warm all night.
This post is the last for our journey North. Today we arrived at Deadhorse and the end of the Dalton Highway. Tomorrow we will set foot in Prudhoe Bay, touch the Beaufort Sea, and swim in the Arctic Ocean. We have been traveling now for 72 days and have covered 10,700 miles to this point. It seems like yesterday that we started, yet we have done and seen much up to this point. And today is the end of this portion of the trip.
We drove around Deadhorse for a bit and stopped at the general store to get some stickers and mail some postcards at the post office. We did finally see some beautiful caribou (there is no hunting in this oil town).
The place reminded me of my time in Iraq and Afghanistan at the bases there. Connexes everywhere, industrial yards, big equipment. It was dusty, industrial, and was there for one thing, extracting oil. It was calculated that there were over 3 billion barrels of oil in the reserves up here and about half has been extracted. Initially the oil reserves 6-8k down were at 4000 psi, making extraction easier as it spewed from the Christmas trees (well valves at the top) and into an extensive piping structure that collected in the pump house where it was separated from water and debris and pumped into the Alaska pipeline for the 600 mile journey to Valdez. Today about half is left and the pressures are around 2k psi and fracking and other methods are being used to squeeze the oil from the wells. There is still another reserve a hundred miles to the east, but that is in a preserve and has not been exploited yet.
There are two places to eat in Deadhorse, Brooks Camp hotel and The Aurora Hotel. Both are cafeteria style with a planned buffet and salad bar. They were serving steaks and seafood and we decided it was a night to celebrate our final mile and the beginning of the first mile of our Pan American Highway. Dinner started at 4:30 so we found a place to park and cleaned up, took a nap, and relaxed in the 55 degree weather.
Brooks Camp Restaurant did not disappoint. Again, this reminded me of those years I was deployed where the work was long and hard for 12-14 hours per day and the highlights were the meal breaks where we could get good food and feel a bit normal life. We shared a huge steak (the size of a whole plate), ate a fresh salad, some huge fried shrimp, chicken cordon blue, and potatoes and mushrooms. We spent an hour in there, eating at a table, reminiscing of the journey so far, and planning for the next day.
