North To Alaska (and back)
Summer 2008
We are home in Fort Worth
"Check out the new web site: www.drivingusa.us "
Week 7
Week 7
7/28/2008
Beaver Creek, YT
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Beaver Creek
Officer Dudley:
One of the cast player at the dinner theater in the Westmark Lodge were we ate dinner. He gave a brief speech on the players and the program in English and in French for the folks from Quebec.Tetlin Refuge Center
Looking out from the deck.
Smokehouse and the Center
On The Road To Whitehorse
Burwash Landing
We stopped for lunch at Burwash Landing and had a Denver Sandwich and soup, the special for the day: $8.95...what a deal.
Sorry, it won't fit inside the trailer.
Kluane Lake at Burwash Landing
7/30/2008
Teslin, YT
We purposely got a late start for Teslin this morning. We filled up at our RV Park because we get a 3 cent discount (per liter) which only brought the total up to $101.00. Another deal. It is a short drive to Teslin and the scenery was much like we've already seen. The main attraction is being one of the first to be here so we can see everyone start to roll in about 2:30 to 3.
This is where we set up.
Teslin Lake
Teslin Lake
Teslin Lake
RVers getting ready to enter the Park.
The Teslin Bridge is about 50 yards away.
7/31/2008
Dease Lake, BC
Click on the folling link for live weather at Dease Lake, BC
http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=Dease+Lake,+BC
The drive from Tetlin to Dease Lake started out fine as illustrated by the 3 photos to the right. Then the pavement ended and the gravel began. That is nothing new in the area. Road work is in progress all summer long, somewhere. But before long it started to rain and thr gravel really became mud and that kind of mud that is a mixture of regular dirt and clay. The clay stayed on the ground and the mud covered the Tahoe and trailer. When we finally reached Dease Lake we had to get in line to use the pressure washer before we went to our spot.
This is wet clay with mud.
We were waiting in line to use the pressure washer.
On this section close to Dease Lake we saw goats and a few foxes.
8/1/2008-8/3/2008
Stewart, BC, Canada
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Stewart, BC, Canada
http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=Stewart,+BCStewart, British Columbia is located at the head of the Portland canal on the Pacific Ocean. Bear watching and fishing on the Bear River are some of the main attractions. Our campsite is the Bear River RV Campground and is the first camp we have been in where we have to follow certain rules to prevent problems when bears decide to check out the camp at night looking for food. We actually saw some black bears along the road coming down Hwy 37A a few miles out. We talked to one of the girls that do the flagman chores on the road construction and she said she sees bears, foxes and eagles every day. If they get too close she stands next to her vehicle so she can quickly get inside if they get too aggressive.
One of the most fabulous sites anyone could see are the glaciers. Here are several shots of the Bear Glacier that feeds the Bear River. It’s hard to believe that this solid mass of ice is on the gradual move coming down this valley to the water.
Driving Around Stewart
If there was anyplace that we've been so far that you would think is a prime location for the TV series "Northern Exposure" being taped, Stewart, BC is a good candidate. In fact there have been many movies filmed in this area:
This town has plenty of liquor stores.
The Ripley Inn has the best reviews for hotels.
Time for a little grocery shopping.
A new log house going up.
Customs.....entering Stewart from Hyder.
Stewart's main drag entering from Hyder.
Linda, Key and Juliet at the city sign at the edge of town.
Last sign leaving town.
Beaver Creek
Returning to Beaver Creek we knew what to expect. The roads are as bad as any we have encountered up to this point, but a little better that going the other way a few weeks ago. A lot of the road work had been done and there was less rain this time. We stopped again at the Tetlin Refuge Center and then moved on to the border. It was quick and easy. No vehicle inspection this time either. Here is some shots of our neighbors seting up and re-packing. We have seen many campers on motorcycles and this group was from Quebec.
Gravel Road to Beaver Creek
(approx 5 miles)
This a start to finsh rock crusher that starts with large rocks blasted from the huge stone mountains at the spot where this machine is and then processed through this machine to a final product of small size pebbles that the gravel road is made from. At the far end you can see the piles of gravel made here.
One of the many Texas travelers we saw. Here we are waiting for the Pilot Vehicle to lead us through the construction zone (one lane).
7/29/2008
Whitehorse, YT
Beaver Creek to Whitehorse is the last strech of really slowly traveled road we go through. Although the roads were not as bad as they were going up a few weeks ago, the going was slow. Pulling into Whitehorse we found that the RV Park had almost filled up (we got here about 5:30 PM). There were 3 tour groups here so it was good that we had a reservation.
Key, stationed at his favorite spot, keeping an eye on new arrivals.
The park is filling up.
Some came in by chopper.
Linda at the Moose display.
This is a section of good road at the start.
This is where the fun begins.
Dease Lake to Stewart
Friday, Saturday and Sunday
The road from Dease Lake to Stewart was as good as iy gets. Most of it was striped and was smooth.
What a difference from the mud and clay on yesterday's leg.
We saw some great scenery on thr way up, almost as good as the Valdez leg. Here a small waterfall is seen coming down the side of a mountain.
Narrow winding roads require constant awareness of speed and stopping distance. On one short segment of road being worked on we came over a hill and there was a flagman (lady) standing there with a stop sign in her hand. Usually there are 2 signs to warn that a flagman is ahead; one saying "flagman ahead" and the other "be prepared to stop". This time there was none. Since we were climbing a hill we were not going all that fast anyway, still we had to brake pretty hard to get stopped at the mark.
The Bear River runs along Hwy 37A all the way to the Portland Channel at Stewart.
From our camp site this is what the campground looks like looking toward the entrance. We are at Bear River RV Campground....one of the best we've seen. Operated by Bob and Jennifer Eckess.
The canp has a couple of areas like this in case some of the tour caravans want to use them.
This is our site and the people behind us are from the Austin, Texas area.
The camp is pretty full...a medium sized caravan came in Saturday and that just about filled every space.
The Portland Canal
Logging operation in the Canal.
This boat ramp is not the main ramp being used today. It is on the town side of the canal. This is the opposite side of the canal.
Hyder, Alaska
(3 miles from Stewart, BC, Canada)
Hyder is one step below the little village of Stewart in regards to any real activity. It has the reputation of being a living ghost town. The only thing alive we saw when we drove through to Fish Creek was a guy out in front of his house barefoot and no shirt with a beer in one hand watching a sprinkler hose down the dirt street (main street) so the dust wouldn't be so bad. Other than that not much else was moving. They do have a RV camp there called "Run-A-Muck RV Camp". We went to Fish Creek about 5 miles past Hyder to watch the grizzlies and black bears try to fish. There were many people there and we stayed about 2 hours and was actually lucky to see a big grizzly slowly wander down the stream looking for a fish. I got one still shot and alot of video of her:
Here's the rest of Hyder:
It has a church.
Shopping.
Housing.
Goodies.
General Store.
Commercial Business
