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Alaska via Canada
  • Katboz
  • Tom Boswell

Alaska via Canada

A 84-day adventure by Katboz & Tom Read more
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  • Trip start
    June 16, 2019
  • Alaska via Canada
    1

    Medford visit

    June 17, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    Drive north from Corning gets much more interesting; Lake Shasta and Mt. Shasta! Visit and lunch with Jennifer Hibbs, and Steve and Kristi who just happened to visiting her during our drive by! Lunch in Jacksonville, darling "old town" look in the oak foothills. Best meatball sandwich in a very long time!Read more

  • Alaska via Canada

    Window shopping in McMinniville, Or

    June 18, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F

    Beautiful afternoon, lunch and window shopping! Beef stroganoff soup was so good we bought extra for dinner!

  • Alaska via Canada

    Overnight in Kelso, Wa

    June 18, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F

    Came up hwy 30 along the Columbia River, crossed the Lewis and Clark bridge at Longview. Big port city...overnight at Brookhollow RV Park. Nice park, clean and quiet! Definitely cooler tonight. RV sites aren't necessarily the bargain they used to be....having beef stroganoff soup for dinner! Yum.Read more

  • Alaska via Canada

    Pioneer Trails RV, Anacortes, Wa

    June 19, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 54 °F

    One of our favorite RV parks! Beautiful pines, cool blue skies.... technically located on Fildago Island, but it is connected by land.
    We had a long day driving through the madness of the freeway systems around Tacoma, Sea Tac, Seattle, and Everett! Tom does NOT enjoy "stop and go" driving, but he did remain calm! So today was all about driving...and I did help with the morning drive and end of day drive. Washington is so green that even freeway driving is a scenic drive!Read more

  • Alaska via Canada
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    Friday Harbor with the Harleys

    June 20, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F

    Took the morning ferry from Anacortes to Friday Harbor, San Juan Island to visit Tom and Caroline Harley. Beautiful ride over with Auggie stealing a lot of attention from the kids on board! Spent the day sight seeing the island, seafood lunch over looking the harbor watching yachts, ferries and seaplanes coming and going....Tom and Caroline bumped into some friends at the harbor so we joined them on their boat (yacht!) and chatted in the sun on the water! We really felt like we got a little taste of harbor life! Drove over to Roche Harbor, another stunning harbor view with old lime kilns in the background. Steak dinner with pear cobbler for dessert! A very filling day! And loved catching up with Tom and Caroline, "island" life really suits them well. Oh we met their fox friends, sparrow babies and blue bird family!Read more

  • Alaska via Canada

    Mt. Vernon, Wa. Blade RV Service

    June 21, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

    First (and last?!) Stop at a RV service dealer. One of two of our house batteries went bad; just had replaced the other one a week ago. Should have done both at the same time....ah well. Good time to have air checked in the tires as well!Read more

  • Alaska via Canada
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    Capilano River RV Park

    June 22, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    Happy 23rd today! Crossed the border without a hiccup and spent some time in Lynn Canyon, hiking (just a little) with Auggie. While he wasnt exactly thrilled with the suspension Bridge (I had to carry him during the down slope) he enjoyed the rest of the hike! Beautiful canyon with ferns and mosses...and unlike Capilano suspension Bridge, this is a free stop. Lots of visitors and so many languages!
    Checked into RV park in North Vancouver. Not a great looking park, BUT you can walk to the Lions Gate Bridge and walk over to Stanley Park! However the bridge is probably about a mile long, so we just took some photos and headed back to RV for showers and laundry!
    P.S. while park location is awesome.... just realizing; (us "older folks" take a little longer to process) that proximity to lions gate bridge also means lots of road noise! Fortunately, cool nights so we're will be sleeping with windows closed!    Read more

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    Sea to Sky Gondola & Shannon Falls

    June 23, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F

    Driving Sea to Sky highway this morning! Beautiful, even with fire that was being fought on the mountainside above the highway! The road follows shoreline of Howe Sound on one side and practically straight up to mountains on the other side! First stop, Shannon Falls with brief walk to great view of waterfall, 3rd highest in Canada. Then short forested walk to gondola ride. A little pricey, but views are awesome with lots of hiking alternatives and gorgeous views, lodge, gift shop, hammocks, tours, suspension bridge....really you can easily spend all day here! Canada has 4 petal version of trillium, Michigan state flower!Read more

  • Alaska via Canada
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    Auggie taking over the afternoon!

    June 23, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    So we had not planned on visiting Whistler...but Auggie had other plans. He had been hacking and coughing since yesterday. Today it seemed alot! So Sunday afternoon visit to emergency vet and respiratory prescription were part of the agenda!Read more

  • Alaska via Canada

    BC Hydro Seton Lake Campground

    June 23, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F

    After paying bill at emergency vet, we were able to complete our travels to the little town of Lillooet, pretty much the culmination of Hwy 99. Drive had 11 and 13 percent grades! And was winding!! Staying at a campground recommended by fellow travels just outside of town at Seton Lake. Beautiful, no utilities, but sure feels like camping in Canada!Read more

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    1131

    Robert's Roost, Quesnel, BC

    June 24, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F

    Took a pretty slow day, mostly driving north. After "light" breakfast to start the day, by mid morning Tom (insisted) on a "heavy" breakfast to supplement his earlier breakfast. We stopped at the Caribou Lodge in Clinton, and after eggs, pancakes, and sausage Tom felt well enough to proceed with our adventure!
    Further up the road was our only hike of the day, Mt. Begbie Lookout Tower. Short, steep hike to a view of the plateau and LOTS of trees!
    Next stop William's Lake Visitor Center and Museum. A huge log constructed building that had LOTS of brochures about various parts of BC. The museum helped underline the fact that BC is actually a cowboy state; with stampedes, cattle and saddles, and rideo queens! Great rest stop and grocery resupply.
    Last stop of the day is Quesnel, and note that the "s" is silent and the name in Canadian sort of sounds like "cornell". We are parked in a spot on a lake that is quiet and cool. The sky has cleared after intermittent rain bursts, and is clear blue with white pillowy clouds. And the chicken breasts we were to barbecued actually turned out to be ground chicken. Time for plan B! Having a wonderful time. Thank you Lord, amen!    Read more

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    Barkerville, BC; Canada's gold rush days

    June 25, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F

    Breakfast and hot showers this morning! After confirming what a "loonie" is ( Canadian dollar) we discovered that a "single loonie" (3 minute) shower was sufficient! Having breakfast does not necessarily mean that we don't enjoy finding local pastry shops to try out...so once we finished our shopping at the Quesnel Bakery we headed north and east to Barkerville. This is Canada's version of Columbia, only on steroids. Approximately 100 plus buildings, with at least 50 or so equipped with artifacts consistent with the period. Saloons, dry goods, assay office, post office, government office, school house, church, restaurant, boarding houses, miner cabins, residences, Chinatown, the list goes on and on. Staff all in period costumes, mini shows and demonstrations going on all the time. And not nearly as commercial as Columbia is...we spent all day here just wondering and reading. There was LOTS of explanations/descriptions everywhere to read. Rain clouds threatened all day, felt a drop or two, but stayed dry. Clouds always look like they are going to break open with buckets of water, but we're dont seem to get much! Fingers crossed!

    Firsts: 5 mosquito bites yesterday evening!
    ...AND 1 small black bear sighting this morning! Tom did not seeit, he was driving, but I saw this black hump moving across a log.... had to look twice because I never spot animals much. Sure enough, just walking across a log that was laying perpendicular against the slope of the mountain. I think he looked young, but I was in a moving RV, so who knows. Tom was very bummed.

    Auggie update: he seems to be doing slightly better, but he really has been struggling with this awful kennel cough. It is hard to walk him because he starts this horrible hacking sound that makes me feel like I am choking him. I am sure our fellow campers will be reporting us for abuse. At a minimum they do tend to avoid us...

    Sorry for the delay on this particular update, NO cell service or Wi-Fi at this stop. Tom and I are at a total loss....we have had to resort to talking!

    Grateful for a wonderful day, amen!    Read more

  • Alaska via Canada
    Our site in Lowhee

    Prince George, BC

    June 26, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 54 °F

    Took an easy day again!? We ate never going to get to Alaska before Cindy (July 12) at this rate! Loved our site at the Lowhee Campground in Barkerville. Quiet, good size sites sandwiched between spruce and pines. Nice level sites, no power or water (dry camping) but RV batteries in fine shape. Have to make drip coffee since our Keurig needs power, talk about roughing it!
    Drove on north to Prince George and had more animal sightings!
    Another first: moose! We saw one standing in a meadow, both of us got a glimpse.
    ....and Tom got to see his first black bear because this time I was driving!
    A very eventual drive, for us!

    I haven't mentioned but the one fast food restaurant we seem to notice every where is A & W. I can barely find one in California, but here in British Columbia, they seem to be all over. So we stopped for lunch since we both remember the"good ole days" and how great a root beer float was. Sad to say we were a little disappointed. They pass the ice cream up to the serving counter where the clerk unwraps the pre portioned "ball" of ice cream and drops it into the root beer like an ice cube. We were shocked! No big healthy scoop of ice cream from a tub.... just this frozen ball of ice cream they unwrapped!

    Anyway we did eventually get to the visitor center and got some literature to peruse. The gal told us that they offer bikes for use, so am keeping my fingers crossed they have some in the morning. Checked into campsite early to catch up on a little laundry and get online with Quicken and email. Plan to sight see tomorrow and stay one more night here and then head east to catch the Cassiar Highway going north. We have had great weather, and I was sorry I had long pants on today, it was up in the 70's!

    Happy to say Auggie's cough is getting a little bit better every day, thank you God, amen!    Read more

  • Alaska via Canada
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    21Interior of a luxury rail car1Skies are just gorgeous!

    Prince George, BC...Day #2

    June 27, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F

    Another gorgeous day, and we scored on a couple of bikes from the Visitor Center! Comfortable, with helmets and bike locks. So they gave us a guide to various bike routes, most are shared roads with traffic, but at least they're was a bike lane. We road along the Nechako River out to Cottonwood Island which is just created by a little split in the river. Big beautiful cottonwoods, with the "cotton" blowing in the breeze...and intermittently through out the trees, are carvings done by a local artist. Just fun to find as you ride... but the mosquitos were THICK!! THANK YOU GOD we were on bikes and were faster than they are! We spoke to a couple who were walking (!) They were delighted that today was so much better than a couple of weeks ago. I was putting the repellant on my skin and my clothes! But the ride was nice and the small carvings terrific.
    Next stop Railroad and Forestry Museum. Just a little tired looking, they have a ton of rail cars and memorabilia, but maybe need more volunteers, or funding to better maintain it.
    Returned the bikes and then walked on downtown for quick sandwiches and a peek at Two Rivers Art Gallery. Very small, just two rooms, with exhibits that are always changing. Tom and I liked the gift shop best.... the current exhibits were really more statements then "art", from our perspective. But we don't really appreciate avant-garde or electronic art. But fun to give the gallery a try.
    Last stop was the Exploration Place, science and nature, with a little Prince George and First Nation history. Good, but definitely geared to school children, although the history part was interesting. Spent some time in the park with Auggie, really his first time out playing since the vet visit. I think he was really happy to run in a park and had lots of people to say"hi" to!
    Overall this was an odd stop, not a particularly pretty city, although it has potential; but lots of homeless people, and big problem with addiction. The visitor center is near the rail yards and downtown so could be just where we were visiting. But just not a pretty city....I really would not come back, but that is part of the adventure, you don't know until you visit!    Read more

  • Alaska via Canada
    2Houston, fly rod!
    1Steelhead Park fountain1Walk to townRiverside Municipal ParkSite #34

    Smithers BC (with a stop in Houston!)

    June 28, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F

    Woke up to rain this morning! Funny, the clouds have looked like it would rain at any moment, and we have had a few drops now and again, but essentially the weather has been awesome! Fortunately the rain was light and breaking camp was not so bad. Hit Walmart (our one stop shopping default) on the way out of town and then headed essentially west to the town of Smithers.
    Stopped at Burns Lake for an excellent lunch at a local coffee house, bistro sort of place. "Alternative Grounds", really cute, wish I had remembered to take a picture! Lamb burger for Tom and pizza panini for me with mango ice tea.
    Next stop, Houston, BC to take a look at the largest fly rod (60 feet) in the world (?)... looked totally legit with reel and line. Right next to a very nicely maintained city park, Steelhead Park. Beautiful flowers, with peonies, which we see fairly often in gardens around here! Auggie was delighted with the park.... and the fountain with carved stone steelheads!
    Final stop of the day, the "alpinesque" town of Smithers. Cute place, pretty much a ski resort sort of town (Hudson Bay Mt. Resort) that has lots of summer outdoor alternatives. We are camping in the municipal park which is next to a river. We walked into town....a long, hot mile, uphill, into the sun, crossed the highway, and strolled down main street just window shopping. Nice, but it probably would have looked more charming from the air conditioned cab of the motorhome! It's so odd, the temp is only 72 degrees, but with the constant threat of rain, the humidity is pretty high, and the sun just seems pretty strong this far north! But it was good to walk out what was essentially a driving day. A beautiful driving day, going from forest to more mountainous terrain, saw our first snow capped peaks, and lots of wildflowers. No wildlife, but we are trying to be vigilant! Loving our drive, thank you God!    Read more

  • Alaska via Canada
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    Start of the Cassiar Hwy!Dennis and Edith!

    Meziadin Lake, Cassiar Hwy

    June 29, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F

    Had excellent breakfast in Smithers on the way out of town, Two Sisters cafe, pancakes for Tom and French toast with prosciutto for me! So good!
    Heading northwest, stopped at Moricetown Canyon.
    When the salmon are running they (First Nation locals) catch the fish with nets here. Actually a pretty spot. Next stop was another Canyon, Hagilwet (?) that had a very cool suspension Bridge we could walk across.
    We pretty much kept driving from that stop on because the park we wanted to stay at, Meziadin Lake was "first come, first serve" and this weekend is Canadas three day, with Canada Day on July 1st. Got in about 3 with only a couple of sites left. Got a great site overlooking the lake next to an incredibly nice Canadian couple, Dennis and Edith. Shared "adult beverages " and popcorn with them. Their home is in Smithers and they were just returning. We picked the brains about routes and stops. Just great people!
    After beverages we spent most of the evening inside due to rain...and when the rain stopped, wow...we did the mosquitoes seem to intensify. Both Tom and I struggled with getting bit even IN the RV. I actually got out of bed and put on repellant! Just going in and out let them get "in", and you know that awful feeling when you can hear them buzz in your ear! But we survived, am not going to let this get me down.
    PS we saw two black bears today!    Read more

  • Alaska via Canada
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    FireweedBell 2 Lodge"Bog orchids" they smelled really good!

    Dease Lake

    June 30, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F

    Woke up to a few less mosquitos after a sort of marginal sleep night. Mosquitos -1 Tom-0 ! We have been aggressively killing every flaring insect in the RV, and I think we got most of them. We will see what happens tonight. Currently sitting on steps of very small college in Dease Lake so we can use there Wi-fi. Have not had cell service since we left Smithers. But beautiful drive, again! Yes, mountains, two black bears, and one small pretty little red fox...he reminded us if the Harleys little foxes!
    Pretty much just drive today, stopped at Bell 2 Lodge which is a base for a lot of heliskiing! Was there as one of the helicopters took of for some other purpose. Talked to a geologist who is doing quite a bit of exploration or surveying for gold. Apparently this area is pretty rich in gold, but very hard to mine due to remote location....pretty interesting talking to him.
    Lunch at a fairly large lake, Kinasken, but very quiet, especially for a three day weekend! Then got here mid afternoon, looking forward to a hot shower!
    Missing everyone, but really enjoying our trip!    Read more

  • Alaska via Canada
    1Coffee and gas!
    211Lunch site at Boya Lake!Hello Yukon Territory!2Sign post forest (88,000 signs!)

    The last of the Cassiar Hwy (Hwy 37)

    July 1, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F

    Had a pretty exciting storm last night....not surprising, the weather always seems a little volatile with dark clouds rolling in and out of hot, sunny days! As we were getting ready for bed, the wind kicked up, thunder and lighting began, and got closer and closer, then rain gushed in. It was loud and exciting, and over in 30 minutes, then hot and humid again as the sun came back out! Sunset is at about 11:00 p.m. and sunrise at about 4 a.m.! Needless to say garden flowers, hanging pots, wildflowers are all gorgeous!

    Today we finished our drive north on 37, Cassiar Highway. We have really liked the drive, road can be a little rough, and traffic is pretty sparse! We work hard to find wildlife, but they are not being cooperative! We did actually spy a moose; slammed on the brakes, backed up on the highway, got out the binoculars (thank you Clarke) and had a nice view of a female moose in a meadow! Large and stately, it was actually very cool!

    Stopped for lunch at a beautiful little lake and took a short hike. Short because the park operator said there had been a number of bear sightings, and after walking a bit, both Tom and I ended up getting nervous. Silly, but gosh darn, I dont know what I would do if I stumbled on a bear and it got mad! Well besides try to out run Tom and his hip replacements! Regardless of our bear scare, we loved this pretty lake! Most parks here have beautiful camp sites right on the lake where possible, and nicely maintained!

    Our drive after lunch had us leaving British Columbia and crossing over to the Yukon Territory, so definitely making progress. Checked in with visitor center ( my default first stop) parked the RV for our stay here and then walked through the quirky but fun Sign Post Forest!    Read more

  • Alaska via Canada
    Auggie's favorite stop of the day
    1Did some one forget to give us the memo?

    Watson Lake, YT

    July 2, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    Spent the morning with a little laundry and clean up. You just cant escape some chores! Besides we woke up to a light rain.
    Once chores and rain was done we did a little walking tour of Wye Lake park, with Auggie, and downtown Watson Lake, without Auggie. These "larger" towns arent quite what either of us imagined....generally the main highway runs right through, but then typically there is one or two frontage streets on either side of the highway so there is a very broad boulevard look to them. Generally very non descript buildings and very few trees in the "commercial" zone,...but most towns do seem to have lots of hanging flower baskets to create the charm? Just kind of not what we expected.
    The Yukon Territory has very few people, maybe 45,000 or so. Watson Lake is one of the bigger towns with a population of about 1,500! So, by lunch, our walking tour was over!
    Lunched at a local cafe, and got to observe some local drama that had to do with a man, his wife and his girlfriend all being in the same place at the same time. Not sure what went on, although another local was trying to whisper updates to me. After the RMCP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) arrived everyone went there separate ways and we went back to some serious lunch time focus.
    We finished our afternoon at the Northern Lights Center, where we got to see a big video presentation about solar flares and the Aurora borealis. It was projected on this big domed ceiling with seats that reclined back and I thought it was very interesting and had beautiful imagery. ( Tom accidentally fell asleep during the reclining chair part) I would still love to experience them in person! The whole discussion of waves of energy and earth's magnetic field went pretty much over my head, but still it seems incredible!
    Walked back to RV just in time for showers before the evening rainfall....burritos for dinner!
    It sort of felt nice not to drive, but we also missed the scenery we enjoy as we drive! Enjoying our time together, thank you Lord!

    Wow...just went to add my photos from the day, had almost nothing! The photo of our RV is because apparently we were the only ones to stay two nights!? By 10 a.m. everyone else had left!    Read more

  • Alaska via Canada
    1Typical view on the Alcan Hwy
    21Lakeside lunch stop (tuna and crackers!)Bridge across Teslin lake inlet2Beautiful car! (Especially for Michael McF)Overnight at Lake Teslin

    Teslin, Yukon Territory

    July 3, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    Another peaceful day on the road...no wildlife, except for a single, soaring eagle. Lots of road construction, mostly laying a chip seal, so a little slow going! But we really weren't going as far today because there were things I wanted to see in Teslin, which is just southeast of Whitehorse on the Alaskan Hwy.
    We would have been here sooner but i simply was not paying attention and let Tom go the wrong way out of town, like 10 miles or so! Couldn't understand why the navigation device we have kept wanting to turn us around...but you see I had a box of doughnuts in my lap to go with the hot coffee we got as we left town! So my focus was not what it needed to be! Well Tom finally found a spot to do a u-turn with our 30' RV on a 2-lane hwy, and we headed back the way we came, stopped for another cup of coffee in Watson Lake and headed the opposite direction.
    Crossed the continental divide mid-morning, crossed the state line between BC and YT several times, and lunch found us at yet another roadside lake, and by mid afternoon we got into Teslin. We grabbed a beautiful lakeside site at one of the Yukon government campgrounds outside of town and then headed back to town to visit the George Johnston Museum.
    The museum was so well done; and told a great story about this native Tlingit Indian. He pretty much lived his life in Teslin and besides being a trapper and business man, he photographed alot of his life and family/friends. The pictures tell so much about what life was like (before the highway) and the museum has a great number of artifacts, and some natural history. The 50 min documentary about his life and how the Alcan highway changed everyones life was excellent! Tom even stayed awake!
    Gassed up and headed back to our campsite. The Yukon government sites, like the BC provincial parks, are very nice, but generally have no power or water, pit toilets, no showers. So we kind of bounce between private parks that have most of the amenities and these government parks every other, or every two, days. Additionally the parks in the Yukon are all $12 Canadian, which is about $9 American!
    "Good" hot dogs and cabbage and apple salad for dinner!    Read more

  • Alaska via Canada
    1Darn mosquitos
    Heritage centerWood carverCinnamon rolls!!1Old CarcrossNew Carcross Commons1BEAR!

    Whitehorse via Carcross

    July 4, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F

    Started our day at the Tlingit Heritage center, and boy are we glad we did! They served (free!) Bannock and coffee, with smoked whitefish. The bannock are literally fried dough, similar to fry bread, but shaped more like a pop-over. The were hit out of that vat of oil they are fried in....add a little butter and jam, yum! And the a bit of smoked whitefish, freshly caught and made from the day before. And COFFEE!
    We watched a video presentation about their annual cultural celebration and looked around the gallery. They also had carving demo by a gentleman related to George Johnston (the museum we saw the day before) and we saw the fishing demo and smoking area. Very interesting and nicely presented!
    Drove on to Carcross for lunch. (Stopped in Johnson Crossing because we heard they had cinnamon rolls!) We had been to Carcross before with the cruise. This is a day excursion for many Inland passage cruises. Passengers catch the train in Skagway, and it brings you out to this town in the Yukon. Kind of two aspects to this town, the old homes and a couple of buildings; (very early 1900s) or the "commons" which are all new shops developed together so you can do alot of shopping! All in walking distance...we had a great lunch, bison burger and beer, walked a little with Auggie, visited the Carcross desert and Emerald lake overlook; and headed on!
    Oh almost forgot, BEAR sighting on the way to Whitehorse! Just walked across the road... I was so panicked to get a photo I hit the button that reverses the lens and was taking a picture of myself! Collected my wits and still (with Auggie in my lap barking wildly) managed to get a photo!
    Checked into Whitehorse, went to the drug store for Benadryl (i had a bite that resulted in my eyelid swelling, I really do struggle with mosquitos...), went to the liquor store for some wine, and grocery store for more food! You can only buy wine in separate liscensed stores so a little inconvenient. And a lot more expensive, at least the wine is! So been drinking more sparkling water....simple salad with chicken and we called it a day!    Read more

  • Alaska via Canada
    1Why do you think they call it Whitehorse?
    S.S. Klondike11What a handsome guy!1Reminded me of home!MacBride MuseumThis what we want to see more of!1Beautiful sculptural peice over looking the city!Suspension Bridge at Miles Canyon

    Day #1 in Whitehorse

    July 5, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F

    What an interesting day, we have really enjoyed getting to experience Whitehorse! Enough that we decided we want to have another day here. Fires in Dawson City area have us changing our route, and we will stay on the Alaska hwy on this leg and try to hit Dawson City on the way home.
    We spent some time at the visitor center this morning, then headed by foot to the S.S. Klondike, a stern wheeler from the gold rush days. It traveled on the Yukon river from here to Dawson City. They have done a really nice job restoring it! PS, the Yukon river is one of the few rivers that flows north (!) to the Bering Sea AND has a lot of history!
    Then downtown for halibut at the Klondike Rib & Salmon! Cute old historic building with excellent halibut...and I'm sure the ribs and salmon must be good too! Walking distance to a great museum, the MacBride. Had alot of First Nation artifacts, Sam McGees cabin, Alaska hwy history, gold rush history, and alot of stuffed (not sure that is the right word?) animals, representative of the animals found in the Yukon. Seemed like a relatively new facility and was a great visit.
    Then back to the visitor center for a two hour "city" tour by van. Turns out we're were the only guests so we really had a wonderful time with our driver, Kim. Born and raised in the Yukon, and had so much personal insight to add to our discussion as we toured various parts of the city and landmarks. Getting the lay of the land and putting our eyes on a few stops made us want to stay an additional day!
    Kind of happy to see a pretty big wind storm blow through mid afternoon, so the skies are blue again. We're have been dealing with alot of hazy, smoky, (= gray) skies, and we are seeing some blue again. So hopeful we will get more of the same tomorrow. Sounds like there is also a fairly significant fire on the Kenai peninsula right now, again hoping it is well over when we're get there with Cindy!
    Update: Benadryl (overnight) helped my swollen eye!    Read more

  • Alaska via Canada
    Fish ladder info center
    Art project at the fence around the ladderPART (!) of the fish ladder!Beringia Center1Tom's giant beaver friend!Mammoth!Airplane outside of the transportation museum, this is a giant weather vane! The whole plane moves with the wiOld Log Church museum1Good looking 50s truck we saw on the street.(for you Michael!)Winterlong Brewery, Sprucetip Beer!

    Day #2 in Whitehorse

    July 6, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F

    Had another fun day in Whitehorse, this is the largest city in the Yukon, and the capital of this territory. It's odd, Canada has provinces (mostly) and the several areas that are known as territories, not quite sure what makes them different, but some of the canadians we have spoken to say they're really isn't any difference anymore. The name just stays as is...
    We started yesterday with a visit to the "world's longest wooden" fish ladder. And it is long. For hydro power there is a dam on this part of the Yukon, just shy of a major spawning area for the same, hence the ladder. Very interesting, no salmon yet, but we're are hoping to see some on or return trip thru this city.

    Then we headed to the Beringia Interpretive Center museum. This one is all about the land mass that connected Asia to Alaska/Yukon during the Ice Age and the animals that existed during that time. Once the glacier receded, the sea levels rose and the two continents are separated by the Bering Sea. Then a tour and an video presentation.

    Next stop was a quick grocery run at Walmart, and a stop at the First Nation Heritage Center. Was pretty well deserted, poked our noses around and moved on.

    Back to visitor center, walked main street shops, the little Log Church downtown, and then spent time in the visitor centre accessing their Wi-fi. Creek service still okay, but weak here, so to catch up on Quicken it is easier to get somewhere with decent service. You can "buy" it at the campgrounds sometimes, but it is usually a pretty poor solutions. $5 for 30 minutes. Shoot it takes me 15 minutes to boot my laptop and get on Wi-fi network!

    So instead of cooking dinner we headed to a Yukon brewery, Winterlong, for a beer tasting and pot pie dinner. Very tasty! Back to camp and showers!

    Interesting decision point, trying to figure out whether we stay on the Alaska highway (west option) or the klondike highway (east option) through Dawson City. A Canadian couple next to us are heading that way, and they know some one connected to the MP (police) who said that the highway maybe closed by today....so not quite sure what direction we will be taking yet, and we are already having our morning coffee!    Read more

  • Alaska via Canada
    2One old goat to another...( did I really say that?)Lunch as we drive!Posted at Braeburn lodge1Five Fingers Rapids on the Yukon River1The great Yukon River1Pelly Crossing Campground1Breakfast! (Braeburn Lodge, world famous cinnamon roll)

    Pellys Crossing, Klondike Hwy 2

    July 7, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F

    We woke up this morning pretty much agreed that we're should adjust plans and head to Alaska via the Alaska hwy (hwy 1) instead of north on the Klondike Hey (hwy 2) via Dawson City. Our Canadian RV neighbors confirmed our choice and adjusted their plans to get to Dawson t.he long way round via the Alaskan hwy. as well.

    We said our goodbyes and headed out to the Yukon Wildlife Preserve to try and finally see some wildlife! Up close and personal....and we did to a certain extent. We did spy a single moose, and it was confirmed with the use of binoculars, but would have never been apparent in a photo, other than a brown lump...we did see mule deer, thinhorn sheep, mountain goats, caribou, musk ox and bison, so we did partially achieve our goal. Dont have many pictures to share because I used our big camera...we spent all morning there, we missed the bus tour, so we walked! But it is set up to be either walked or bussed so it was fine. After our walking tour we cut up meat , cheese and fruit for lunch and took off driving....

    While at the preserve we chatted with some local folks about the fire situation and they said that they understood that even the Alaska hwy was having problems due to a fire up the road we were to travel! Decision time again! Apparently the Yukon (and Alaska) are all ablaze! Ultimately we decided on our original route up to Dawson....

    Had a nice drive and about an hour plus into our afternoon drive we decided we would pull over to one of the intermittently placed "lodges" to ask locals, or fellow travelers, what they knew of road conditions to Dawson. We stopped at Braeburn lodge, (last check in for the Yukon sled dog race) and home to their "world famous cinnamon rolls, check out my picture!

    Anyway, Tom saw a fellow walking back to his RV and told me to go check with him. I looked more closely and it was Ron our "neighbor" from the RV park that morning! We all had determined that Hwy 1 was the best option and by mid day we all met up by pure chance on Hwy 2 instead! Boring story for any one reading this, but the four of us had a great laugh! They are on a 3 week trip from Saskatchewan. I cant even properly say the name of their province! We will probably see them again in Dawson...

    Couple more scenic overlooks and finally stopped at Pelly Crossing, again another "lodge", which really means a building, often can be log building, that offers gas and sort of a mini mart....some are pretty nice and offer alot, and some are not as nice. But every one seems to have a hanging basket of flowers! Overnighting in their local campground, no amenities, but it is free and pretty quiet!    Read more

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