Alaska with the Stocks 2009

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Dean & Linda Stock

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 30, 2006
Posts
1,195
Location
Cypress, California
Dean and Linda Stock will be spending three to four months on a trip to Alaska.  We will be logging the trip from the border crossing into Canada through the return to the U.S.
Dean and Linda
 
May 23 DAY 1 Rest Area 30 miles north of Cache Creek, BC
We started out on our great adventure at 8:30?really early for us.  We breezed through customs in 30 minutes, and most of that was spent standing in line.  They didn?t inspect the coach at all, just asked 15-20 questions and asked to see our passports.  We didn?t stop at an ATM in Abbottsford, thinking we?d get Canadian money when we stopped for lunch or another activity?nothing was going to keep us from our fun.  Oops!  We couldn?t find another ATM for many hundreds of miles.  We were able to use our credit cards for everything, but it?s a little scary not having even one loony with you.
Our first stop was the Great Blue Heron Preserve.  The kind official guided us into a very narrow tight circle, assuring us that we?d fit?we did, but just barely.  We spent a couple of hours there, and we saw 5 great coastal blue herons, but 4 of them were quite high, and the other one flew through quickly and unexpectedly.  No pictures.  They were currently nesting, and they get very upset if people are near, so the area is gated off and is on the other side of a thick row of trees.  The babies squawked loudly enough to be heard quite far away.
We scurried on to Minter Gardens.  I was anxious to show them to Dean, as I think they surpass all others for their ambience.  They had many beautiful, unusual flowers, but we were there on a Saturday afternoon?and they had 2 wedding parties  running around getting photos taken after their ceremonies.  The flowers were even more spectacular in July, when Dawn and I visited.  The azaleas were amazing and the birds were chirping in beautiful harmony.  They have lots of beautifully shaped very old trees and bubbling fountain and waterfalls. Many blooms were just about to pop open, but  it was still nothing short of spectacular!  Can you guess what the raspberry object is at the end of the tree branch?  Answer will appear later.
We then needed to score some miles, so we drove quite far.  We saw several nice waterfalls at the beginning, but too quickly we saw areas with massive sandslides and rockslides being held back from the road by heavy wire nets.  We followed the Frazer River, sometimes from from river level, other times from scary high.  After we passed the summit at Jackass Mountain, we tried to get Internet and cell phone reception around 6:30 at a rest area, but couldn?t.  So we traveled on, hoping for better results around the next curve.  We ate dinner at a gas station A & W.  We finally gave up and set down about 10:00, at a nice rest area with 4 other RVers.

Wildlife Count:  3 tri-color-winged blackbirds, 1 robin, 5 Great Blue Herons
Weather:  Beautiful low 70s with a breeze.
Overnighted at: Reat Area $0
Miles Driven:  202 miles (from the border station).


 

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May 24 DAY 2 Bee Lazee RV Camp, Prince George, British Columbia
8:30 is the earliest we can get out, but we did try hard and were rewarded by seeing deer.  Our first stop was the Visitor Center at 100 Mile House-but it was closed on weekends.  We spotted a Safeway and a bank!  The Safeway was open, but the bank didn't have an outside ATM.  We heard a bad thud sound, and Dean pulled in at the first parking lot to check it out.  Oops!  We forgot to pin the refrigerator.  But, while he was doing that I observed a resident going INSIDE a ?Financial Center?.  We took a chance that they might have an ATM, and they did.  Yea!
We went on to Discovery (visitors) Center at Lake Williams, which appeared to be an interesting sight in an beautiful wooden building, but it, too, was closed.  It was lunchtime, and next door was the Signal Point Gaming Center.  It was small casino?slots, Bingo, keno, overlooking a large pretty lake,, and GREAT FOOD!  I had a Thai Salad that Russ would approve of?plenty spicy.  Dean had a good burger and yam fries.  Our waitress was a college student who is majoring in chemistry so she can inspect food preparation places like restaurants for the bacterial count in their air, etc.
We stopped at the Cariboo Wood Shop, got free samples, and bought good fudge.

Wildlife Count:  5 white-tailed deer, too many ducks and ducklings to count in roadside ponds
Weather:  Perfect!  Mid-70s
Overnighted at Bee Lazee RV Camp, FHU, 30 AMPS, WIFI, cable  $23.85 CN
Miles Driven:  243 miles.

 
Linda,

Glad to see you're on your way. Looking forward to reading your reports.
 
Great log.  We will be heading your way next year so will look with interest at all your trip tips...tim
 
Hi Dean and Linda --

Thanks for the posts and the pictures.

Mary Ann and I will be following along all the way!

Have fun!

Don and Mary Ann
 
Whoopie,

I'm  feel like I'm going to Alaska  all over again with you.  Love your reports and shall look forward to them.  It will be an adventure!

Betty
 
May 25 DAY 3 Mile 0 RV Park, Dawson Creek, BC

We drove through many miles of forests that have been devastated by "the beetle".  Some areas had healthy trees, but whole hillsides have been killed off.  We saw many high mounds of trees that had been chopped down and seem just to have been left there.
About an hour north of Prince George, we saw a cute brown-colored bear cub, followed by two young moose, and then a black-colored bear cub-all within 15 minutes!  The roads were smooth as silk.  It looks like they are getting ready to add two more lanes.
We stopped in Chetwynd to have lunch.  Do not eat at the Dragon Palace.  It was the worst, most bland Chinese food I've ever had.  But, Chetwynd has wonderful chainsaw sculptures.  Be sure to stop at the Visitors' Center (a little blue cabin with flags in front, easy to miss).  Get a map of where the 60+ sculptures are located.  We really enjoyed this cute town and would like to come back to see the sculptures we missed.

Wildlife Count:  About 2 dozen beautiful blue jays at a turnout, 3 bear cubs (no mothers in sight), 2 young moose
Weather:  High 60's, snow still on the ground at higher elevations, pretty day
Overnighted at Mile 0 RV Park, FHU, 50 AMPS, WIFI that doesn't work,
$35 CN/night
Miles Driven:  245 miles

 

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Linda:

We didn't find any good Chinese either. In the meantime enjoy the seafood and save your nickels until you get to Fairbanks and eat at the Pad Thai restaurant on College Road.
 
May 26 DAY 4 Mile 0 RV Park, Dawson Creek, BC

We dodged raindrops as we journeyed to the Visitors Centre, located just a few yards from the coach.  It's a substation, but the clerk had a map of the town and answers to all our questions.  We went to the Mile 0 marker (beginning of Alaskan Highway), where we happened on the Canadian National Women's Ice Hockey team, who are training here for the upcoming Olympics.  What a nice group of ladies!  They took our picture for us.  I hope the finals at the Olympics aren't between the U. S. and Canada, because I would have divided loyalties.
Then we went to the art gallery at the Grain Elevator, where we bought an inukshuk, which is an Inuit word meaning "Man of Stone that points the way".  The Arctic has so much permafrost and few natural landmarks, so they would put Inukshuks along their path to help them find their way home safely.
The gallery is located next door to the main visitor center, which has free working wifi.  We stopped to post Day 3 before heading to the Alaska Highway House, a "Must See".
The Alaskan Highway House is dedicated to telling the history of the building of the Alcan Highway and those who built it through a PBS documentary film, well-signed exhibits, and personal accounts.  I have a new appreciation for the men who built the highway, especially the African-Americans. I learned (Dean already knew) that Japan attacked the Aleutian Islands in 1942, killed 100 Americans, and seized 2 islands.  We had 20,000 troops stationed along the Alaska coast, and they didn't think they would be able to hold off the Japanese without a supply route.  They expected an attack because they were only 750 miles from a Japanese base. 
Blacks were not allowed to be stationed in cold climates because army leadership didn't think they could tolerate low temperatures, since many of them were from the South.  But, they really needed manpower, so they stationed 3-5 regiments there (different signs said different numbers).  The supervising officers had been trained in OCS that "Negroes are careless, shiftless, and irresponsible", and they were expected to do poorly.  They were considered "not sufficiently intelligent to operate complicated mechanical equipment", had little or no training in operating bulldozers, got "insufficient equipment and clothing, had long tours of duty, and got very little recognition by their white officers", and were assigned to the toughest jobs. Yet, they hung in there, and they built 1/3 of the Alcan. They believed that by doing this, when they returned home, they would have proven their competence and they and their families would be treated well.  It's really hard for me to fathom how prejudice ever made sense to anyone and why it was tolerated for so long.
I do admire all the men who built the highway, though. Frozen wetlands thawed and acted like big sponges, sometimes swallowing up tractors and bulldozers.  Temperatures ranged from -70 F degrees to 90 F degrees. They had no fresh food and ate Spam, Vienna sausages, and WWI rations in a tin can.  Everyone worked hard 16-20 hour days, 7 days a week, had to move their tent to a new location every day, felt they were 'slave labor", and hated it.  I will think of them when we hit what we consider "rough road".
We then went out to a wildlife preserve, McQueen's Slough (about 10 minutes away) to see the ducks and birds.  It started raining harder, and we decided to not go out to the boardwalk.  I would like to explore it on a nicer day.
Thanks for the encouraging comments.  We are now off to eat at Mr. Mike's (one of the Brewer's recommendations).

Wildlife Count:  0
Weather:  High of 61? F, drizzles to pounding rain
Miles Driven:  0

 

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May 27 DAY 5 Fort Nelson, BC

We were on the road by 7:15, probably the earliest we've ever succeeded in getting going.  We had read all the accounts of the abundance of wildlife and did not want to miss even one moose.  Within minutes the rain started and did not quit for even a 10-minute break until we arrived at Fort Nelson, where it turned into a pretty day. 
***We stopped in Farmington, 14 miles north of Dawson Creek, for gas, per our waitress's recommendation.  For future trekkers, this is THE place to gas up.  Disel was 84.9?/liter versus $1.12/liter in Dawson Creek and $1.14 here.  Another suggestion:  Do not choose your place to stay based on an expectation of WIFI working-use the Visitors Centre.
We took the turn-off to Old Alaska Highway to view Kiskatinaw Bridge. The road was bumpy but OK for all size RV's.  The Kiskatinaw Bridge is 530 feet long, tolerates weights up to 20 metric tons, and is the last original wooden bridge along the Alaskan Highway still in use today.
We stopped for lunch at a turnout.  Within 5 minutes hail came down with force, really frightening our cat who was relaxing in the front window after a busy morning of stalking and chasing the windshield wipers-our major entertainment for the day.
We went to the Visitors Centre, where we discovered they do not have their speakers in the evening until June.  We explored the town and really enjoyed visiting the Heritage Museum.  Anyone interested in World War II era and older relics and history would be fascinated. The founder, Marl, drove his 100-year-old Model T to Whitehorse last year, and he is full of interesting stories. 
Fort Nelson is a quaint little town, reminiscent of the 50's.  We decided to go see a movie, and we were told that the new Terminator movie was showing at 7:00 P.M.  However, we found out that on Tuesday and Wednesday this week they are having a dance, instead.  It made us wonder if they use folding chairs for the movie.  The laundromat advertises that it sells buffalo meat, also.  Prices at the grocery (IGA) were more than double what we usually pay.  Ouch!

Wildlife Count:  1 crow
Weather:  High of 61? F, light-heavy rain, 15 min. of pounding, pea-sized hail
Miles Driven: 279, including the loop drive to Kiskatinaw Bridge
Overnighted at:  The Bluebell Inn, $31, FHU, 30 amps, anemic WIFI
Disel: $3.21 US /gallon

 

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We didn't have much luck with chinese food in Newfoundland either! And do not consider mexican when you are so far from the Mexican border.
 
Dean & Linda

You'll find that many activities/attractions don't open until June 1st. Patience, you only have a few more days to go :D
 
Linda,

I am really loving your journal.  Your writing style makes it sound like we are there right down to the hail.  It is truly like reliving our trip.  We recall the anemic wifi at Bluebell all too well.

Betty
 
May 28 DAY 6 Watson Lake, YT

Today was a day of priceless surprises.  We quickly spotted a bear at the side of the road-a good omen for the day!  He was just sniffing the grass, but unfortunately we could not pull over to take a picture.  Then, over a knoll, Dean saw what he thinks was a moose-all I got at 70 kmph was a glimpse of brown.  There was still snow at the side of the road as we went over Summit Pass, (elevation 4,250 feet), the highest point of the Alaskan Highway.  I watched expectantly for the stone sheep at Stone Mountain, and there were none to be seen, but we did see a horse standing by the side of the road having his breakfast. 
We stopped at the Toad River Lodge & Caf? to see their 7,648 hats.  They have now exceeded their ceiling space and are starting down the walls.  We enjoyed their delicious blueberry pie. I talked to a trucker at the caf?, and he said he had really enjoyed a soak this morning at Liard Hot Springs because the air temp was a "warm" plus 8?C.  I guess warm has a different definition here in Canada.
We headed for Muncho Lake, which was a beautiful deep green color.  Copper oxide from the surrounding mountains leaches into the lake.  97% of the lake is still frozen.  The white color kind of looks like breaking waves-it's actually frozen ice and snow above the surface.  We were told that the trout that come out of the lake are beautifully colored.  We saw two brave and beautiful jet black and snowy white tuxedo ducks swimming in one of the few thawed areas.  We wondered if the fish would be safe to eat with all that copper in the lake.  Wouldn't the plant matter that the ducks eat also absorb the copper and be poisonous for the ducks?
Around the bend we spotted some stone sheep.  We were lucky enough to find a great place to pull over. Dean's patience paid off with good pictures.
Liard Hot Springs had a great boardwalk that allowed us to walk through a slough in a boreal forest.  The birds were chirping, a red squirrel greeted us, but the trees have been hurt badly by the bark beetle, so they've had to cut many of them down.  The people in the springs were really enjoying their soak.
We parked in the Bus Parking area, and the price was right-free.
Yesterday we met a couple from Minnesota.  They left their doormat at the rest stop where we lunched, so we picked it up in hopes of finding them again.  We saw them at the Fort Nelson Heritage Museum, but we didn't have it with us.  So, when they spotted us at a turnout, we were able to return it to them.  They went over to the camping area at Liard Hot Springs Campground, and they said it was really nice.
We had only gone about a mile when we spotted 3 buffalo---dad, mom, and little one.  They were hidden by a grass mound, but the RV has the advantage of height.
Roads have been great the whole trip. Today was a little bumpy with patches at times, but generally good.  For future travelers, Yukon Highways and Public Works publishes a wonderful pamphlet, "Driving Yukon Highways 2009", which we picked up at the Visitors Centre.  It has the dates and places when construction is going to be done, as well as the type of construction.  BST is the cement mud gluey gook.  The locals have told us that when they get it, they just soak it for 15 minutes and it comes right off.  They say not to scrub it or use a high pressure washer.
We had a wonderful day. We had so many different great experiences. If I were to plan the trip over again, I might come two weeks later.  Many places still are not open or have a reduced schedule.  The temperatures would be warmer.  We wanted to go to the Northern Lights Center here, but they are on a reduced schedule, and I don't want to spend an extra day here just for one activity.  But...The wildlife is active and still close to the road.  We have been told that as the number of tourists increases, the wildlife stays further from the road.  Also, we haven't had any problem with being able to use rest stops or finding an RV site, which we've been told does happen later.

Wildlife Count:  3 bears (3 separate sightings!), 1 moose, 1 horse, 8 ducks,
6 buffalo (3 sightings), 6 stone sheep (2 sightings)
Weather:  Chilly with morning drizzles
Miles Driven:  330
Overnighted at:  Downtown RV Park, FHU, 30 amps, WIFI at the office, $27.25
Diesel: $3.63 US /gallon

 

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