Letter #1
Once you visit the Yukon and Alaska, you know you will be back some day. This visit, as our first in 1997, is an experience that we will treasure forever. We are in lands of great untouched wilderness. You can drive for many miles and see landscapes that are beyond description and beauty that can't possibly be captured in a photograph. There is bright sunshine, vivid blue skies, towering ancient snow covered peaks, turquoise rivers that sparkle as though gems are floating on the surface, glaciers, and protected wildlife on a grand scale roaming free.
Robert Service in "The Spell of The Yukon may have said
it best "It's the great big broad land
'way up yonder, It's the forest where silence has lease,
It's the beauty that fills me with wonder, It's the stillness that fills
me with peace."
Our adventure continues .......
Wednesday, May 24, 2000 ....... We arrived in Abbotsford, BC on Monday the 22 and we will be leaving here tomorrow. We basically spent our time here visiting with friends and catching up on shopping. We converted some money and started planning our trip north. Our Delorme Street Atlas GPS software does not include Canada, so we had to switch to our AAA Map and Go, which covers the area we need. We have become quite dependent on the GPS and we like the level of detail that it works down to. It will actually go down to street level detail, which is very helpful.
The climate in Abbotsford has been nearly perfect. We have had sunshine every day (called sun breaks) and we have been comfortable in short sleeves. A light jacket is called for in the evening. Mount Baker has been visible every day, which tells you we have had clear blue skies. Our campground is surrounded by large old trees and rock ledges. It is a beautiful and peaceful setting.
As I mentioned in our last letter, we have been to Canada before, but it has been a while and I forgot what an adventure it can be in a grocery store. Many items are sold in bulk in most any quantity you desire. This is great for someone that only needs a pound of flour instead of 5 pounds. You get the idea. They even have peanut butter, puddings and jams available for purchase using this method. They do not have many of the brand names that are familiar to us in the States, which means you have to read all of the labels to determine what you are really buying and the estimated fat content. Sometimes you will see a product in the same container but one will be in French and the other will be in English. There are not as many product choices, but our US dollar goes farther here. The rate can change daily, but right now you can get $200 worth of merchandise for $134.75 in US dollars.
We left Abbotsford on 5/25 via Transcanada 1. As we traveled up "1" we were able to view Mount Baker several times. It is an impressive mountain. We traveled through the Silver Lake Valley and the Frasier River Canyon. The canyon is known for its spectacular beauty and white water rafting. Waterfalls along the canyon were plentiful, due to the snow run off. Much of the Frasier River is fast moving with drop-offs, whirlpools, and powerful rapids. The rapids are made even more risky by rugged boulders positioned in the rapids. We saw two or three that we would not want to go through. The water was an aqua color or an emerald green shade for most of the day, with a wonderful meandering path that presented an interesting flow of shapes in the river itself and the surrounding land. Even with all its power it had a very peaceful effect. We traveled along the Frasier River from just outside of Abbotsford to Prince George, which is close to 350 miles.
Between Hope and Cache Creek we passed through 7 tunnels. The landscape changed and gave away to a more arid environment. At Cache Creek we left Transcanada 1 and took 97, which is called the Gold Rush Trail. The landscape changed almost immediately to lush and hilly, with beautiful farms and very few towns.
The evening of the 25th we stayed in the community of McLeese Lake at the Oasis Campground. We were the only people in the campground. Our site faced a beautiful lake and we surrounded by mountains that were dense with tall pines. The water was absolutely clear and cold. We certainly did not mind being alone.
Almost as soon as we left McLeese Lake we saw deer. About 20 miles after we passed Bear Lake (population 300) we saw a mama bear and her cub just above the road. Let me tell you they were just beautiful We were so excited to see our first bears.
About 80 miles from Bear Lake we saw an abundance of waterfalls and passed the Bijoux Falls, which were quite tall and full. The terrain changed once again and it became very mountainous. The Powder King Ski Village is located here and they get about 495 inches of snow annually. Next we came to Pine Pass at 2,868 feet, which is the highest point on the John Hart-Peace River Highway. This is the lowest pass breaching the Rockies. The Rockies were right in front of us and they seemed to be very close. The mountains were blanketed in snow and it came right up to the road. This is where we saw our second black bear. It was a huge male walking toward us on the side of the road and it looked right at us. The fur was such a shiny black, so thick and the bear looked healthy and well fed. What a thrill that was.
We traveled on and just before we entered Chetwynd (population 3,200) we saw our fourth bear. It was another male laying on its tummy, with its rear in the bush and the front end facing the road. He was chewing something and looked up at us as we passed. I was surprised how close he was to the road. I told John if we saw any more bear I was going to start to believe they were placed there by the Chamber of Commerce.
On Friday, May 26th we arrived in Dawson Creek (population
11,125), mile "0" of the Alaska Highway.
Dawson Creek was established when the Alaskan Highway was built. In fact,
about 10,000 people arrived in 1942 to start the work. We watched a 58
minute movie at the welcome center that focused on the Alaska Highway construction
between 1942 and 1992. It was very interesting and it gave us a real appreciation
for what some of the people went through building it. They said that at
one point the temperature dropped 90 degrees below zero and they kept going.
It is an amazing story.
Dawson Creek is quite interesting. Most of the streets are dirt and gravel. There are some good restaurants and they even have two grocery stores (Safeway and IGA), but they don't have much to select from. We are so spoiled in the States. We can see some roads from here that just suddenly end. I would never want to live in a place where I could not drive as far as I wanted and I would not want to live in a town where I could not buy Grands Biscuits or Low Fat Jimmy Dean Sausage. They do have a movie theater, but they can only show one at a time.
It gets almost dark by 10:30 PM and it is totally light by 4:00 AM. While in Vancouver, I purchased felt to make temporary darkening shades for the bedroom windows.
We are more than willing to temporarily give up some conveniences for what we are seeing. This is an experience of a life time and we are loving it. This part of Canada is like traveling in a National Park every day, except that the wildlife roams free and that is the best situation.
We left Dawson Creek on Monday, May 29th and headed for Fort Nelson. We passed the original old Alaska Highway turnoff about 17 miles north of Dawson Creek. At the turnoff you follow the road to a 531 foot wooden bridge, which is the only original timber bridge built along the Alaska Highway and it is still in use today.
About a half hour later we crossed the Peace River Bridge into the community of Taylor (population 1,031). Taylor is an industrial an agricultural community with an 18 hole championship golf course, an indoor recreation complex, with an ice skating center (open all year), a pool and a curling rink.
We reached Fort St. John shortly after (population 16,021). This town has about 5,000 more people than Dawson Creek. It is the oldest white settlement in mainland BC. It was established as Rock Mountain Fort in 1794. An immense oil and gas field was discovered in 1955 and made Fort St. John the oil capital of BC.
Up to this point north of Dawson Creek the terrain was hilly, with many farms. It was now changing to a heavily forested area, with no farms and pretty much wilderness.. What we saw most of was gas processing plants, natural gas wells, roads to sawmills and sulfur processing plants. They were easily visible from the road and most were owned by Westcoast Energy, Inc.
We soon reached Wonowan (population 150). Formerly known as Bluberry, this town was the site of an official traffic control gate in W.W.II. They have a horse club and they host snowmobile rallies.
We have been amazed how resourceful and creative the small communities are regarding their recreation activities (no doubt, for winter sanity reasons) and how well prepared their services are in support of the tourist trade. For many the tourist trade is their livelihood. Gas and diesel stations are plentiful, even though we have seen some cars with gas cans on the roof. At 10 miles per gallon and with a 90 gallon tank we can go a long way between fill ups. We don't take chances though. We fill up at about 700 miles or a little less. We have only filled up twice in BC and the prices were 147.9 and 157.9 in US currency, which is not bad. We actually expected worse and it might get that way before we leave Alaska. Diesel costs less than gas.
As we left Wonowan, the landscape changed to mountainous and we saw snow covered mountains to the west of us. Just four miles further we came to the community of Pink Mountain (population 99), with an elevation of 3,600 feet. It gets its name from concentrations of feldspar and during the fall red barked willows give the mountain a pink color. We saw patches of snow as we entered this community and as we left the roadside was almost covered with snow.
About 25 miles later we stopped at the Buckinghorse Cafe to have lunch. The gentleman that waited on us said that they had 5 or 6 inches of snow last week. We are glad we missed it. Just a few miles down the road we saw two caribou by the roadside and a moose running into the brush. Seeing wildlife roaming free is always exciting to us and we have fun spotting them.
We then crossed Prophet River and came upon a Mesa like
topography. This type of scenery was totally unexpected and it was quite
beautiful. Just to the right of us was Mount Yakatchie, which looked more
like a mountain range to us than one mountain. Toward the center of the
mountain was a waterfall. We kept looking for wildlife, but we did not
see anymore today. We stopped in Fort Nelson for the evening. We are still
traveling with our friends the Holders.
The Holders purchased a CB Radio in Fort Nelson so we could communicate between the rigs and it was money well spent. We have had so much fun talking with each other. Tommy has selected a "handle" of Sunflyer Kid, since his RV is an Itasca Sunflyer. He calls John The Rolling Home Dad" and me Diesel Dolly Mom.
We left Fort Nelson on May 30th with the sun shinning and 55 degrees. About 8 miles from Fort Nelson we saw another black bear in a clearing walking toward us. We then climbed our highest peak at Steamboat Mountain at 3,500 feet. The Muskwa River Valley and the Rocky Mountains were to the southwest and they were magnificent. The mountains were covered with snow and there were snow patches along the road. We saw another black bear and three more moose up close and personal.
We followed the Testa River framed by towering mountains with Aspen on the north side and white spruce on the south side. When we reached the Testa Bridge #2, the river was totally covered in ice and snow. When we were able to see a break in the ice and snow it appeared to be 3 or 4 feet thick. It is now 56 degrees outside. The Central Canadian Rockies are in front of us and they are truly majestic. What an impressive sight.
We came to Summit Lake,
mostly frozen in an aqua color, with water peeking in places. It was postcard
perfect. We have seen so many Kodak moments or should I say Sony moments
and it is difficult to describe the great beauty we are experiencing. At
times things just don't look real, because they are so close to perfection.
The then followed the highway down through a rocky limestone gorge before
descending into the wide picturesque McDonald River Valley. We saw 5 deer
at the Toad River Lodge. After we left the lodge, we had to stop the motor
home, because 5 stone sheep (two rams with very large horns) did not want
to give up the road for passing traffic.
Muncho Lake was totally captivating with the mountains
reflected as though it was a mirror. This lake is 7 miles long, 1 mile
wide and the deepest point is 730 feet. The water is almost an emerald
color and a deep blue in other places. The mountains surrounding this lake
are approximately 7,000 feet tall.
We continued to be surprised and delighted with a multitude of wildlife sightings. We were told by several people not to miss the Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park, so we decided to camp there for the night. Very close to the entrance there were two bison roaming free just munching on something at roadside. The hot springs are a little piece of paradise. About 150,000 people visit the natural springs annually. It is open all year. It is a natural forest environment that supports more than 250 boreal forest plants, 14 orchid species and 14 plants that survive at this altitude because of the hot springs. Moose feed in the wetlands right next to the walkway to the springs. There are two large spring pools, with temperature ranging 108 to 126 degrees. One is 3 to 4 feet deep and the other is 9 feet deep. We spent about an hour in the springs and we were totally worthless when we decided to leave. Oh, was it great. We are going to stop there on the way back.
5/31 Over the last three days we have seen 12 black bear, 4 moose, 30 stone sheep, 5 deer, 2 caribou and 2 bison. All were within very close proximity to the road or in the road. We also saw two private airplanes next to the road. One had to land, because the pilot was having trouble and the second plane landed to see if he could help. The guy at the restaurant up the road said that they usually land at the strip across the street (unattended) and then taxi across the road to his place for fuel.
The restaurant is located in a place called Fireside. In 1982 the second largest fire in BC history destroyed 400,000 acres in that area, hence the name Fireside. There is still evidence of the fire damage in the surrounding area.
We encountered 
major
road construction for about 7 miles. It was gravel and we just took it
slow. So far, the quality of roads have been average to very good with
road work once and a while. We have not come across any frost heaves that
felt anymore than like a very slight bump.
We came across our first "
Welcome
To The Yukon" sign at Contact Creek. The second welcome sign and the most
official looking one was at Watson Lake. This is where most people have
their picture taken, as did we.
We stayed the evening at Mukluk Annie's for free, because we had dinner at their cafe. Our sites were facing the lake. The car and motor home were absolutely filthy. They let you wash both for free, but we decided to just wash the car and to tackle the motor home in Whitehorse. We had blueberry pancakes the next morning. They cook them out in the dining room and add large fresh blueberries. Oh, they were so good.
We followed the Teslin River. The Teslin River Bridge is the third longest water span on the highway (1,770 feet). It was constructed with a very high clearance above the river to permit steamers of the British Yukon Navigation Co. to pass under it en route from Whitehorse to Teslin.
We stopped in Whitehorse for two nights, so that we could celebrate Liane's birthday. We finally washed the motor home and found dirt and grime in places that we did not think it could sneak in. Everyone has been so gracious in Whitehorse and throughout our travels. John describes Whitehorse as having a Bohemian quality about it. The Scottish Clans are meeting here in June, but we will miss the festivities. Whitehorse, as the capital has a population of 23,474. The Yukon River still has snow and ice patches. It averaged in the mid 60's as a high while we were here. Diesel fuel was the most expensive we have seen at $1.98 a gallon in US. Groceries were also expensive, but we did not need much. We enjoyed our visit, but we are ready to move on tomorrow, June 3rd.
Liane and I take our turns driving. Don and John tease us so much that Liane has threatened that she and I are going to take one motor home and they guys can take the other for a while. We are having a ball.
North of Whitehorse we came across the Takhini Salt Flats, which are a series of bowl shaped depressions where salts form on the surface as water brought up from underground springs evaporate. Although alkaline flats are not uncommon in the Yukon, this one is notable for the size of its salt crystals as well as the variety of salt loving plants that thrive here.
Again we are encircled by snow capped mountains. Mount
Bratnober (6,313 feet) is just to the west of us. We have just encountered
a narrow, 
hilly,
winding rough road. The road is in poor condition in places, but there
are plenty of signs advising us of the conditions. We have a view of the
Kluane Ice field Ranges straight ahead of us. The ranges are Canada's highest
and the world's largest non polar alpine ice field. It is truly magnificent.
We stopped in Haines Junction for lunch. There is snow on the ground and it is 62 degrees, with lots of sunshine. We have a beautiful view to the west of the snow covered Kluane Ranges. The Alaska Highway parallels the Kluane Ranges presenting a nearly unbroken chain of mountains 8,000 feet interrupted by only a few large valleys cut by glacier fed rivers and streams. What a sight. We have now reached isolation, with the road patched and no shoulders. Much of the road has recently been graveled. There are snow packs on the shoulders.
We are at the Cotton wood RV Park on Lake Kluane. Lake Kluane is the largest lake in the Yukon territory at 154 miles long, surrounded by snow capped mountains. We can see Dall Sheep on the mountains just above us. Liane describes the lake as a Caribbean blue. Other than the campground, there is nothing around us. I can't describe it better than Liane's feeling about the place. She said "I have just seen heaven and he can take me now". This scenery is an experience to behold. It is magical.
Sunday, June 4th, we headed north again and followed the Kulane Range. Today we experienced the worst roads yet. Construction crews were actually working today. We saw several creeks that were still covered with snow and ice. It is in the mid 60's again with sunshine.
We can now see three mountain ranges, the Nutzoin (northwest), Kluane (southwest) and Wrangell mountains to the west. This is where we saw our first red fox. It was the largest we have ever seen.
We crossed a wooden bridge into Beaver Creek (population 112). This town is 1 of 2 sites where the Alaskan Highway Construction crews working in opposite directions connected the highway in October of 1942. It is the most westerly community in Canada. We are 18 miles from US customs.
We crossed the border into
Alaska at 1:38 PM and took the appropriate photos at the border. Shortly
after the border we entered the Tetlin National Wildlife refuge. Established
in 1980, the 730,000 acre refuge stretches south from the Alaskan Highway
and west from the Canadian border. It has a high density of waterfowl,
along with a tremendous variety of wildlife and big game animals. The area
is comprised of rolling hills, hundreds of lakes, 2 glacial rivers (Nabesna
and Chisana), which combine to form the Tanana River. This area looks like
total wilderness.
We arrived in Tok, Alaska and decided to stay here for a couple of days. We now have about 20 hours of sunlight a day. The window darkening shades for the bedroom have come in handy.
More later.....