North to Alaska

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Jeff,

Last year, on July 25th, (my Birthday) we were coming down the Cassier just south of the Alcan turnoff in pretty much the same conditions as you did.  We were following a 40'+/- DP with a very impatient driver.  He was following an older pickup truck which was wisely driving in the center of the road when not dodging potholes and washouts.  The MH driver made several attempts to get the truck driver to make room for him to pass without success.  I doubt that the truck driver could even see him through all the mud.

The result was that the MH driver finally made an attempt to pass the truck (on the right) and caused the edge of the road to give way and over he went.  It wasn't quite fully wheels-up but we got our first ever look at the bottom of and RV with toad attached.  The road actually gave way so slowly that the whole process was in slow motion.

The truck driver (a local) called the authorities and they were there in less that ten minutes.  It seems they were assisting a logging truck that had left the road near by.  I was prepared to inform them that I thought it was the MH drivers fault but his own wife beat me to it.  She was not a happy camper.  Thank God, no one was hurt. 

We were so shaken that we stopped in Dease Lake for the night and made no attempt to clean the MH or our toad.  We joked that it was the first time we had stayed in a CG where our Bounder looked as good as all the other MHs.  That section of NEW pavement that you experienced south of Dease Lake was still mud back then also.  More fun on day two.

BTW - we also traveled the TOTW during rain/mud and I think (except for the fact that the 24/26 wheelers drove faster and crowded you off the road) that the Cassier was the worse (worst?) of the two. 

I enjoyed every white knuckle second of it though.  lou
 
Day 53 Hazelton BC

What started as an early afternoon rest stop shortly after reaching Route 16 today finds us parked at the ?Totem Pole Capital of the World?, the First Nation village of Ksan campground for the night.

We left Stewart mid morning for a nice drive down the rest of the Cassiar Highway. Our destination for the day was to be Smithers, a community undergoing severe flooding from the Skeena River when we were through this area in early June so we veered to the east to Dawson City as our northbound route.

Ksan has served as the hub of a trade route up the Skeena River for over 7,000 years as the coastal tribes canoed up the river for trade with the Gitksan and Wetsuwet'en peoples who have always lived here at the junction of the Skeena and Bulkley rivers. Their totem filled villages were joined by the settlement of Hazelton in 1866 which soon became a terminus for sternwheelers bringing people and freight up from the coast.

We became so engrossed in the area that the beautiful campground next to the Ksan Historical Village seemed a perfect place to spend the evening and allow an afternoon of browsing.

The tour started with a guided tour of the village that featured presentations of the longhouses, family culture, and the celebrations held on special occasions. Several tall totems adorned the exterior of the buildings and we were very impressed with the entire project.

We also checked out nearby Old Hazelton which has restored several blocks along the Skeena River to represent the riverboat days when it was the commercial center of NW British Columbia. Hazelton, Old Hazelton, and New Hazelton are located 180 miles east of Prince Rupert and are known as the Hazeltons.

We will head for Prince George tomorrow.
 

Attachments

  • Stewart Spur [640x480].JPG
    Stewart Spur [640x480].JPG
    49.6 KB · Views: 43
  • Miner [640x480].JPG
    Miner [640x480].JPG
    55.8 KB · Views: 37
  • Lumberjack [640x480].JPG
    Lumberjack [640x480].JPG
    53.3 KB · Views: 31
  • Prospector [640x480].JPG
    Prospector [640x480].JPG
    61.6 KB · Views: 32
  • Totem 1 [640x480].JPG
    Totem 1 [640x480].JPG
    27.6 KB · Views: 32
  • Totem 2 [640x480].JPG
    Totem 2 [640x480].JPG
    38.6 KB · Views: 28
  • Costumes 2 [640x480].JPG
    Costumes 2 [640x480].JPG
    65.1 KB · Views: 35
  • Costumes [640x480].JPG
    Costumes [640x480].JPG
    76.3 KB · Views: 27
  • Longhouse 1 [640x480].JPG
    Longhouse 1 [640x480].JPG
    57.3 KB · Views: 35
  • Longhouse 3 [640x480].JPG
    Longhouse 3 [640x480].JPG
    70 KB · Views: 29
  • Longhouse 4 [640x480].JPG
    Longhouse 4 [640x480].JPG
    72.5 KB · Views: 33
  • Old Hazelton [640x480].JPG
    Old Hazelton [640x480].JPG
    61.6 KB · Views: 41
Day 54, 55 and 56 Back in Prince George BC

This must be civilization!

We are in the land of salad bars in restaurants, Costco, Wal-mart, and DirecTV. After a pleasant drive here from Hazelton and two days here the motorhome is clean, the mud is out of the rims of the CRV so the tires are balanced again, and we can wear shoes inside without tracking.

We are back in the Be Ezee RV Park south of Prince George that we stopped at on the way up. It is a small friendly park with great facilities including a car and RV wash that Jeff spent the day using as well as a pool for Sue. The weather has turned sunny and Sue says its summer. We were able to enjoy fresh fish and corn on the cob sitting out on the picnic table without being eaten alive by mosquitoes or black flies so we cannot be in Alaska or northern Canada!

We will leave here tomorrow and head down to southern BC for the night and cross the border into Washington on Saturday. The trip is about over.
 
Ron:

It ended up a couple of weeks shorter than we planned but it is nice to be in Prince George.
 
Jeff, thanks for the entertainment. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Plan another trip, soon.

I was quite dissappointed when you had to cut it short. Those things happen. I'll get over it.

Ray D  ;D
 
You'll just have to go back again to see the rest.
 
Thanks Ray

Ned:

When I suggested that to Sue halfway down the Cassiar in the rain she didn't sound too interested. ;D ;D
 
Jeff and Sue,

Thanks for sharing your adventures and photos.  Have enjoyed it all.  See you down the road.

ArdraF
 
You are welcome Ardra, it was a great trip. I am still adding up the expenses we had on our 5575 mile trip and will try to add them in the next couple of days.
 
Days 57-59 Back in Washington

After a two day stay in Harrison Hot Springs BC we have returned to Arlington so our Alaska Trip is officially over.

We traveled 5565 miles since we left in May and really had no problems to speak of. The majority of the roads were better than we expected but when they were bad it was time to slow way down! We had only one chip in the right side windshield of the motorhome. The CRV also picked up a chip but it happened in downtown Prince George in June and can hardly be blamed on the roads to Alaska. The film shield we installed on the front cap of the motorhome prevented any dings from the many rocks that hit us on the gravel roads.

The used m/h spare tire was returned to Les Schwab Tire Co today for a full refund that was partly used to pay for tire rotation and balance for the CRV. The one tire problem was a nail we picked up in the CRV while cruising the outskirts of the Hyder town dump looking for bears. We had been told not to go out there and it was good advice!

Alaska is one of those BIG destinations for RVers and it was worth the trip. Nowhere we have been can claim the combination of space, beauty, ocean beaches, mountain glaciers, great fishing, wild game, and the midnight sun! We'll have the memories of all of this for the rest of our lives and there is much we did not see and do.

Miles Driven:        5565
Fuel Used:          707.5 Gallons
Fuel Cost:          $2204.72 ($3.12/gal)
RV Park Costs    $1,062.00 ($18.00/night)
Other Expenses $4,588.28 (Tours, Food, Eating out, Gifts, and CRV expenses)
Total:              $7855.00
 

Attachments

  • Harrison Hot Springs 1 [800x600].JPG
    Harrison Hot Springs 1 [800x600].JPG
    149.9 KB · Views: 30
  • Harrison Hot Springs 2 [800x600].JPG
    Harrison Hot Springs 2 [800x600].JPG
    66.8 KB · Views: 31
Jeff & Sue,

Like others, I've thoroughly enjoyed reading about your trip and viewing the photos. Appreciate all your efforts to record the trip for the benefit of others.

BTW I did the cleanup on the messages you requested.
 
Jeff & Sue,

After completing your Alaska adventure I like to thank you for the very detailed trip description and beautifully pictures.
Without you guys, Betty & Terry, Ned & Lorna and of course others the "Trip Reports, Journals and Log" would not have been become the most popular and read section of the Forum.
It's also very educational for future travellers to Alaska and I wish we would have had all that information when we made our trip 7 years ago now we may have to go back and see all the things we missed.

chris
 
Thoroughly enjoyed reading each and every day.  You've given me hope & desire for us to do that some day.  Thanks!
 
Thanks so much for the great travel log. Sure makes Peg and I homesick and wondering why we ever left.

Glad you had a safe trip. Welcome back to the lower 48.
 
Back
Top Bottom