North to Alaska

June 1, 2007

We are starting the second trip of the year, a summer in Alaska. We will stop in Whistler BC for a week with both of our daughters  and their families and then take the back door up to route 97 to Prince George and then into the Yukon and Alaska.
Our preparations have included buying a used spare tire for the m/h that we will carry on the roof of the CRV. I attached a screen mesh to the underside of the coach to protect the radiator and cooling fan as well as the radiator inlet on the side of the motorhome. We also have a film to apply to the front of the coach for rock protection.

After spending yesterday on last minute shopping we spent the night at the Cedars RV Park in Ferndale Washington, about 25 miles south of the Blaine border crossing. Jeff was up late talking to RV Forum friend Ron Ruward as Ron got permission from HughesNet to switch our Datastorm Internet Satellite from AMC 9(83W) to Horizons 1 (127W). 127W provides coverage up through Canada and Alaska which will be especially important as Verizon has dropped package cell service to Canada and each roaming minute is .69 cents! We will use our computer Skype phone as we did in Mexico to keep in touch until we reach cell service in Alaska.
We crossed into Canada at the truck crossing without incident at 10:30AM; no lines, a couple of very pleasant questions by the Canada Customs officer and we were on our way. We did stop in Vancouver for a couple of last minute purchases and then drove our first scenic drive of the trip up the coast to Squamish, BC and then into the mountains to Whistler.

We visited Whistler five years ago and at that time Canada had started construction on Route 99 in hopes of hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics, the second time Whistler would do so. Five years later the Olympic dream has come true and construction is going full steam ahead as they turn a winding 2 lane coastal highway into four lanes to handle the anticipated traffic in 2010.

The drive up Howe Sound from Horseshoe Bay on the west end of North Vancouver to Squamish is twenty five miles of still waters surrounded by mountains rising up out of the sea. It takes concentration to keep your attention on the winding road and construction when around each bend is another breathtaking view of the Sound!

As you leave Squamish the road starts rising to the mountains surrounding Whistler. In an instant the "Sea to Sky Highway" changes the scenery from sea to mountain. Islands are replaced with heavily forested hills and rock faces as you climb the Coastal Mountains. Large lakes and waterfalls take the place of the waters of the Pacific.

We arrived in Whistler around four this afternoon, got set up and settled in for our week stay. We did some exploring in anticipation of the arrival tomorrow of Jami, Dan, Emily, and Kate from Hawaii. Sunday Laurie, Roger, Payton, and Ella will drive up from Seattle after catching an early flight out of Chicago

Sam & I wish you both a very pleasent and safe trip.  Looking forward  your travel logs and photos.

Me too! 

ArdraF

Have a great trip and keep sending pictures for those of us who will never make it there.

And if you should run into a group of Elk RVers traveling together, tell Andrea that we said hi.

Wendy

Thanks everyone.

Day 2-3 Whistler BC

I will try to make this a travelogue but when your 4 granddaughters arrive for the first time in 8 months for 2 and 6 months for the other two it is hard not to make it a family affair! We are settled in Whistler and having a wonderful time spoiling both sides of our family!

Originally named Lake Alta the town of Whistler lies on the Pemberton Trail that stretched from Pemberton BC down to the shores of Howe Sound at Squamish. The First Nation coastal tribes of Salish and the inland Lil'wat tribes met here to trade long before this part of the Pemberton Trail was populated in the late 1800's. The mountain that now hosts the Whistler/Blackcomb Ski Area was also originally know as Crown Mountain but was renamed because of the whistling sounds of the native whistling marmots that populate the area.

Today Whistler is an upscale year-round resort catering to all ages and interests. We shared gondolas this morning with late season skiers, mountain bikers riding the lower trails that have lost their snow for the season, and other retirees andfamilies riding the lifts for the spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and valleys. Our daughter Jami and SIL Dan also availed themselves of the Zip Lines to see the nature of the mountain this afternoon. These are cables ridden in harnesses attached for a 700-1000 foot ride across the lower slopes of the mountain Tommorrow Sue, daughter Laurie, and SIL Roger will do the same while grandpa helps babysit again.

Actually we are saving up for a male round of golf on the Jack Nicholas North Golf Club here in town. The green fees will get me even!

Tonight we enjoyed beautiful weather and grilled dinner to eat out here at our campsite in The Riverside RV Resort. Both daughters families are in cabins located abut 150 feet away so it is a beautiful location for us. The campground is located a mile or so north of the Whistler Village and is ideal for visting the Mountain. I even have a site that has good satellite access between the trees.

We will be here until Friday so lots of time to report on the rest of the local area.

Jeff and Sue, that snow looks so nice and cool.  Think I'll go for a swim.  ;D

ArdraF

Day 4-7 in Whistler, BC

After enjoying one great day of sunshine a NorthWest low arrived and has dumped rain on our gathering for the past two and a half days! We have had to be inventive to keep four graddaughters under age five entertained through this! Sue had brought crafts that entertained the older two and we all have gotton to  go to the jungle gym here at the campground whenever the rain let up. The cabins we rented do not have furniture to hold all of us so we have been primarily down in the village or here in the motorhome. Feeding the 4 kids, their parents, and Sue and I in the RV is indescribable!

We have found an indoor pool and rec center to challenge their energy and today finally improved to cloudy and cool. Time to get out the bubble solution and blow bubbles as well as other outdoor activities.

Jeff and SIL's Roger and Dan got in a late round of golf this afternoon at The Nicholas North Golf Resort next door to us. The course is named after the Golden Bear but today it was home to the black variety! The girls also saw a bear today near the athletic club after swimming. There are 52 Black Bears identified in the habitat surrounding Whistler so there are bear warnings everywhere!

Tommorrow morning will be time for sad goodbyes as both Jami's and Laurie's families are headed for Vancouver and Seattle respectively for the a day before flying home Sunday.

We will head north in the morning.

Day 8 ? On the Road Again

We planned our route through Whistler about a year ago when we invited the girls to meet us before we left for Alaska. Friends whom we asked said the drive up Rte 99 was a beautiful, scenic way to join Rte 97 up to Prince George. After driving the first leg from Whistler up through Pemberton to Lillooet we can add a few more adjectives to that description: steep, slow and winding!

As you leave Whistler you drive down the canyon to Pemberton and follow the river a few miles east to Lillooet Lake and then turn left to climb over the Cayoose Range of the Coastal Mountains on what was originally an old logging road. The climb up is steep and so is the ride down the east side into Lillooet with several 13% grades with sharp hairpin curves..

The reward for the three hour drive is truly spectacular scenery including snow pack, granite cliffs, beautiful high country meadows, and several lakes. We stopped for lunch up in the high country and the view out the windows made the food even more enjoyable.

We arrived at The Fraser Cove RV Park (PA) in Lillooet (Lill oo et) around 3:00PM and had plenty of time to enjoy a warm dry afternoon. The campground is located on the east banks of the Fraser River that is roaring and turbulent from the heavy spring runoff from melting snow and the rainy weather.

Lillooet is known as Mile Zero on the Gold Rush Trail up through British Columbia and The Yukon Territories to Alaska. The area was first surveyed by Simon Fraser in 1807 and except for a few fur traders largely ignored until the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush of 1858. At one time in the 1860?s Lillooet had 15,000 residents and was the largest settlement west of Chicago and North of Denver. First nation members trace their history in Lillooet back thousands of years. The area just upriver known as the fishing rocks allow them to wind dry salmon, a major factor in their diet. Several large reservations are in the area.

We roamed around town enjoying the first sunshine and mid 70 temperatures in a week and local points of interest including the Hanging Tree, the Suspension Bridge, and The Lillooet Museum including a large collection of jade rock that is native to the area. We finished with Chinese for dinner at the Totem Restaurant and headed back to the m/h and bed.

Tomorrow we follow the Gold Rush Trail towards Prince George.

Hello Jeff and Sue,

I followed you all the way through Mexico and am looking forward to following you throughout Alaska. Enjoy your trip and keep up the great posts. Travel safe.

Doug

Jeff  I have to 2nd the above statement/.

Day 9 & 10 Prince George, BC

We drove 310 miles yesterday, much longer than we had planned because it started raining shortly after leaving Lilliooet and we just kept going rather than get wet. We arrived in Prince George around 5:00PM after driving great roads all day. There was some road paving on Rte 99 for 20 miles but reduced crews working on Saturday did not slow us down much.

Rte 97 is the main north/south artery up through BC and several large communites of 10,000-50,000 provide all services we would find anywhere south of the border. The highway itself is a combination of 2-lane, 2-lane with passing lanes every few kilometers, and 4-lane divided highway so traffic moves very well and the cruise control stayed on.

The rain continued last night and we had showers and thunderstorms this afternoon so our excursion into Prince George involved lunch, a visit to the BC Visitors Bureau for travel info and a last trip to Costco for awhile. The weather has resulted in serious flooding west of Prince George on Rte 16 that has had the road closed for several days. Although the road is now open with one lane around a mudslide the communities are still struggling with the water damage so instead of traveling west on 16 to the Cassiar Highway and then north we will go northeast to Dawson Creek and follow the Alaska Highway north to join our planned route near Watson Lake in the Yukon Territory. We will use the Cassiar in August returning to Washington so our trip becomes a counterclockwise figure eight.

Prince George is a city 80,000-85,000 that bills itself as the Gateway to the North by Northwest. It seems quite far north (It is still light here at 10:30PM) but is 60 miles from the geographic center of British Columbia. It offers just about everything you could ask for in entertainment, shopping, vehicle service or repairs. We have enjoyed our stay but wouldn't mind a little more sunshine. At least on the Alaskan Coast they have t-shirts joking about the weather to wear as you commiserate about the rain!

We plan on arriving in Dawson Creek tomorrow and will probably spend a day or two before heading up the Alaska Highway.

Jeff Cousins said:

The rain continued last night and we had showers and thunderstorms this afternoon . At least on the Alaskan Coast they have t-shirts joking about the weather to wear as you commiserate about the rain!

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Oh Jeff,

You have only just begun!  Way too early to notice weather.  Wait unti you are 4 months into it!
Betty

Get your rain days now, you won't want them in AK.

Jeff,

Sure glad you have an FZ-50 camera.  You photos are great and you're doing a very good job as the photographer running the FZ-50.  GOOD JOB!!!

You'll especially need the super zoom in Alaska so remember if you set you camera to 5 MegaPixels resolution the maximum zoom becomes is 535 mm and the 5 Mega Pixel resolution is excellent for up to 8 X 10 prints. 

Both you and Sue...have fun.

JerryF

Thanks Jerry.

Ned and Bety:  Forecast is partly  cloudy in Dawson Creek. 8)

Jeff,

You and Sue have acquired a very nice looking family.  Cute kids!  And, aren't you glad you have slideouts?  What would you have done without that extra room. 

You're off to a good start.  Thanks for sharing with us all.

Safe travels,
ArdraF

Day 11 On to Dawson Creek and the Alaska Highway

We awoke this morning to cloudy skies in Prince George but no more rain. Before leaving we stopped for fuel for the m/h for the first time since leaving Arlington Washington where we paid $1.91 per gallon two weeks ago. There is a Flying J truck stop on the south side of Prince George that has the lowest priced fuel in the area, $.873cdn per liter or $3.11usd per gallon which is very good news. Last year friends up here for the summer were paying over $4.00 for diesel fuel. We did pay over $4.00 for gas for the CRV yesterday, all 9 gallons!

The drive up to Dawson Creek is a nice one through rolling hills, lots of forests, and pretty lakes along the way. The number of RV?s is astonishing as we get farther north. The rest area where we stopped for lunch was full as is the Mile 0 Campground here in Dawson Creek.

We met RV Forum friends Dave & Jeanette Reavis here this afternoon and had dinner together as well as coming back to the m/h for coffee afterwards. They leave in the morning for Ft Liard, Northwest Territories to include the NWT in he travels but I am sure we will see them again further north in Alaska.

We will spend tomorrow visiting Dawson Creek and gathering info on the Alaska Highway. Jeff also needs to replace a battery cable before heading out.

Looks like the long daylight hours are keeping you awake late Jeff. Hope you have that spare tire locked.

Jeff Cousins said:

... Before leaving we stopped for fuel for the m/h for the first time since leaving Arlington Washington where we paid $1.91 per gallon two weeks ago...

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You sure you don't mean $2.91?