Wow! Back South into Warmer Climes & Farewell and a Mechanical Checkup

Smithers to Prince George, BC – Wow! Back South into Warmer Climes

August 29, 2013

We enjoyed an easy day for the drive southbound. Gee! Prince George is almost a real city. We must be really far south now. Well, not really that far south as Prince George is still much farther north (300 miles+) than Montreal and about the same latitude as Labrador.

We had our farewell dinner at the Carmel Inn in Prince George. It is very hard to say farewell to our many new friends. This group has bonded since day 1 and we had great Wagonmasters and Tailgunners. Despite some really serious mechanical issues, Stu and all his assistants kept everyone going. We are already planning a Reunion for the Georgia Samboree in March.

 

Prince George, BC – Farewell and a Mechanical Checkup

August 30, 2013

All but 3 of us left for points south today. Our Wagonmaster prepared a great breakfast for us. It’s just us, Rich and Gloria, and Ann and Charlotte. We went out for our own farewell dinner for Chinese buffet tonight. Both rigs leaving in the morning. We leave on Monday for Valemont, BC on the west side of the Canadian Rockies.

I took the rig in for a brake check today as the front brakes have been making noise for the last 2-3 days. Everything is in great shape with the brakes and front bearings. That is a big relief for me. We are not sure what is making the noise, but the important stuff is fine. We are a member of the cracked windshield club. Apparently on the drive south from Dease Lake I got nailed. It is just a small chip and crack.

Civilization Still Does Exist

Stewart, BC to Smithers, BC – Civilization Still Does Exist

August 28, 2013

We made it over the bridge of death again. After that the road was great. No more artic road chasms. I kept it at 55 the entire drive and got 8 mpg. It’s a combination of speed and NO effing alcohol in the gas up here. When we got here we found out our Tailenders, Stu & Sue, need a new radiator…7-10 days to deliver. The tow to Terrace, BC was $2206 Canadian. We now have cell service, internet, all the vestiges of civilization, including a MacDonalds.

Tomorrow is our last travel day with the Caravan. Then we will be on our own again for our month long wanderings to home .No new pictures to post. We are all tired after 60 days of constant go-go-go. But we loved it all. Yes the blog will continue.

The Salmon Glacier and Seafood Express in Hyder, Alaska

Stewart, BC – The Salmon Glacier and Seafood Express in Hyder, AK

August 27, 2013

A late start got us to Hyder to the bear viewing area to learn we missed a grizzly, black bear, and a wolf. But sleeping in was good too. First time we crossed the border into the US without anybody seeming to care. We spent about an hour there learning to differentiate chum from pink salmon and other important trivia from a volunteer. Since the weather was clearing we went up the road to see Salmon Glacier. I am sure glad we did as it turned out to be one of the prettiest, spectacular drives on the trip. The road had major work underway and was a mess as I went into 4-WD. The major culprit was a project nearing completion to use ice field run-off in a hydro-electric project.

Bear and Wolf food, but neither showed up for us.

 

We really lucked out as skies cleared sufficiently to give us spectacular views of the glacier below us and mountains and more glaciers above us and across the valley. We hit the summit and then went down the other side. It got better believe it or not. Now we had waterfalls too, and side roads to explore. We found an old tunnel from mining days that went through the mountain. Upon reaching the far side we found the road chained closed for “road work.” That stopped us from trying to get down to the drained glacial lake bed and the grounded icebergs. See the pictures to understand what I’m talking about. The lake reforms every year, then drains in mid-summer.

Salmon Glacier from the top of the drive. We are about 1500' above it here.

 

Salmon Glacier - looking left





 

Salmon Glacier - Looking right where lake forms each year and then drains in mid to late summer. 



Lake bed area with "grounded" icebergs

Mountain Valley past Salmon Glacier

The end of the valley and beyond

New lake forming on right side of Salmon Glacier

 

We stopped in Hyder to pick up some smoked salmon. We did that and also found one of the “Top 100 Places to Eat Like a Local” (Travel and Leisure Magazine, April, 2013). The name of this establishment is “Seafood Express, Hyder, Alaska.” Well, to order you walk up to the door of the school bus. It’s painted white. There are picnic tables outside or more inside a building behind the bus. The food is delivered to you by the cook herself. We had Mermaid (smoked salmon and halibut) Chowder, halibut fish and chips, pan fried halibut cheeks, and Smoked Salmon Pasta Salad. Every serving was simply divine!!! The breading on the halibut was like tempura. In my opinion, the halibut cheeks tasted like they were poached in butter.

Owner and Founder Diana with Katherine

 

As we were driving towards the border, I spotted the “The Glacier Inn” where one goes to “Get Hyderized.” Since I had completed the first 2 legs of the Drive to Alaska “Triple Crown of Booze,” I had to stop. I did and both Donna and I”got Hyderized.” What is this you say, well of course another alcoholic drink. This one had a “kicker,” put down the entire shot in one gulp and keep it down or buy a round for the “house.” Challenge made…challenge met by both of us. What was it? Just a shot of 150 proof Hooch from a brown paper bag wrapped bottle.  Not bad either.

 

To be honest folks, we were wondering why in God’s name why did we come down Cassiar Highway. The road is as bad as “Top of the World” in many places. We have had no cell service since Skagway (4 days). We found the pot of gold in Stewart, Hyder, and the Glacier Road. Our day was topped off as we saw a bear as we were heading back up to the viewing area. We also found pay phones are cheap…$1 for a 15 minute direct dial call to the US!

No bear picture, but we did get the Bald Eagle with his leftovers.

We Lost Our Tail-ender

Dease Lake to Stewart, BC

August 26, 2013

This day (yesterday now) started out with tough driving roads, got good, then just at the end, a real mess topped it off. We did good, but our tail-ender suffered a major casualty, his radiator on a diesel pusher got holed. He got loaded on an 18-wheeler for a haul to a Freightliner Dealer about 200 miles from here this afternoon (8-27). OH CRAP!

A wide load giving us a rest while he crawled up the road.

Mountains along the drive down BC37

 

Otherwise, it was a nice picturesque drive south. We had a great burger at the Lodge at Bell Crossing that specializes in Helicopter Ski packages in winter. Since BC is “Electrifying” the BC37 corridor (Cassiar Highway) up to Dease Lake, it may become anew major winter getaway.  As we turned toward Stewart the mountains grew beautiful hanging glaciers with many waterfalls.

BC37A into Stewart

Jade City

Watson Lake, YT to Dease Lake, BC

August 25, 2013

This was a much shorter day’s drive of only 150 or so miles with a great break in the middle, Jade City with the Princess Jade Mine and the Cassiar Mountain Jade Store. Yes we did some more shopping. They cut and polish Jade there, but do no carving. A lot o their Jade is shipped overseas. The interesting thing is the scrap box out front. It is full of small pices from larger cuttings but contains all gem quality jade. A small bag that you fill costs $20. We had help from the owners wife, but Katherine found the best piece, a cut in penguin shape. Of course we bought some other stuff too.

 

 

Skagway, AK – White Pass and Yukon Train Ride

August 23, 2013

This was an optional trip that most took, so we had a car reserved just for us. The weather wasn’t the greatest but we had fun as the car was all Caravan folks. We had both ends of the car to use and took turns at the rail so all got photos. We did the round trip to the summit and back, so no Passports and Customs. We also had the advantage that the Brakeman and the Guides spent some extra time with us chatting and answering questions.

No. 52...I did it, I'm retired

No. 69...I still do it! When they let me!!!

Round the bend again!

 

Over the bridge and through...the tunnel!

 

The old curved bridge!

We made it!

Ed and Jeff!

We had dinner out that night. I had a seafood combo that was disappointing as it was breaded and not well. We should have gotten pizza since it was a pizza parlor.

 

Skagway, AK to Watson Lake, YT

August 24, 2013

This was our last long day with over 300 miles to drive, go through Canadian Customs, and lose an hour. We are now back on Pacific Time. Canadian Customs was a snap as we chatted more than answer questions. We had the same agent and I think she did the entire Caravan both ways. She kind of knew who we were. The high point of the day was our Sandwich Dinner. We all contributed lunch meat and or cheese and the staff made salads. It turned out to be a great dinner in my opinion as I enjoyed it immensely.

 

 

 

Skagway, AK

August 21, 2013

We went into town for lunch and ran into the crowds from 4 cruise ships. We did find an outdoor dining establishment named Wild Alaskan Seafood. Donna and Katherine had Salmon fish and chips, and I had Halibut fish and chips. Both were great. After lunch I went back to camp for a nap and they drove back downtown to “shop.”

 

Our planned event that night was a Casino night and Soapy Smith Vaudeville Show. This show tells the gold rush story of Skagway. Soapy is the villain who dies in the shootout.

 

Skagway, AK – Fjord Express to Juneau or Day of Fortunes Spent

August 22, 2013

We got up bright and early for our trip to Juneau on the Fjord Express. This boat is a modern twin-hulled, twin diesel catamaran that had comfortable seating and a great cruising speed of 27 kts. We started off great seeing a pair of humpback whales just south of Skagway. The fact that I got 2 great Tail shots helps a lot.

Waiting to Board

Nice back of a Humpback Whale

Another fine Humpback

Humpback Going Down



OK. That's a good one!!!

 

 

We sailed close to a decommissioned lighthouse that is for sale. The current high bid is $1.3M, but Skagway is trying to enjoin the feds from selling and take it over. It is a big resting area for Stellar Sea Lions. We also passed an active gold mine. As they have cut a road back to the end of the road from Juneau, another 35 miles the other way would connect Juneau to the rest of the USA by road. HMMM! We landed about 37 miles north of Juneau and went by bus the rest of the way. There were 2 Bald Eagles perched right by the landing.

We had 2 ½ hours in Juneau to eat and shop. I ate way too fast…halibut tacos. So we had lots of time to shop. I was sitting outside the Red Dog Saloon when Donna came up. So did Stu, our Tailender, who said “Do your Duty and Shop.” That is when I uttered those fateful words to Donna, “Well, Charlotte is over across the street in the God shop.” Many dollars later we were both glittering in newly purchased gold jewelry. See the pictures…She got a necklace with a quartz gold stone and ring and I got a ring too (many more $$) and the honor to sign the credit card tickets. You only live once and we are unlikely to make it back here, so we are doing it “All” on this trip.

 

 

 

 

After Juneau, our bus picked us up and took us to Mendenhall Glacier. There were some bears around, but we did not see them. Those are bear food in the picture, beautiful Sockeye Salmon in the full red mode just before dying. Mendenhall has noticeably receded since 2004.

 

On return to the boat our captain headed north to look for some whales. We found several humpbacks and got close to several. Many of us saw a large humpback breach vertically almost totally airborne. Nobody was ready with a camera to get that picture.

 

We had a 13+ hour day, but it was fantastic, both the boat ride and Juneau. We had a continental breakfast on the way up and a great cup of seafood chowder coming home.

Travel, Wrangell Mountains, Party, and Aftermath

Tok, AK to Destruction Bay, YT

August 19, 2013

Just when you think the roads may be getting better, down falls the road into frost heaves permafrost sink holes. But we made it unscathed except for nerves. The benefit of the day was clearing skies and sunshine and the spectacular Wrangell Mountains off to the west. We arrived at Destruction Bay to a warm welcome from our host, a bar, and a home cooked aged slow cooked roast of beef dinner. After dinner we were treated to a guitar concert by the owner and his friend, oldies country. They can pick and sing! As the evening ended the beer was still flowing. Several of us Peter, Jeff, and I hung out for a bit. Jeff smartly left and shortly thereafter this English gentleman, also visiting brought out his bottle of fine Scotch…so smoooooth!

Wrangell Mountains

 

Our Outstanding Hosts

The fuzzy inebriated (some) crew.

The culprit

Tim ?? An outstanding player and singer.

Destruction Bay, YT to Skagway, AK

August 20, 2013

The sun stayed with us and good roads prevailed. Donna even drove for 90 miles while I slept in the back. Of course we drove through Whitehorse to grocery shop and saw the no longer baby Bald Eagle sitting on the edge of the nest near the south end of town. We made it through Customs just fine and crawled down the 11 mile, 11% grade into Skagway. Upon arriving we found out our tail ender had a flat on one of his duals and another blew a front tire on his toad, wrecked the rim too.