Day 54
Sunday, July 31
On the Road to Dease Lake

Got to sleep late this morning!! We weren't scheduled to leave until between 8:30 and 9:30, so it was an easy morning. As we pulled out of the park we saw a string of motorhomes lined up at the gas station. Both Robert and I needed fuel, but we didn't want to wait in that long line. I read in the roadlog that there was another station .8 miles down the road, so I called to Robert and we went on to there. Fuel was the same price - $1.42 per liter - and there were no others in line. A quick fillup and we were on our way.

We took Highway 37, also known as the Cassier Highway. The first twenty miles or so the road was pretty good, a bit like a roller-coaster, but smooth. After about 4 miles we noticed that there had been one big forest fire. For the next 30 miles the forest was coal black - lots of trees with no foliage on them.  
After about twenty miles the road began to look like it had been in a disaster as well. There were lots of frost heaves, potholes and rough patches. We drove and bounced about 40 mph for the next 60 miles. The stop at Jade City was quite welcome. As we pulled in we noticed 12 other rigs and before we got inside 2 more came in. I guess everyone was ready for a break from the bumpy ride.

Jade City is a store that sells Jade that is mined from the nearby Princess Jade Mine.
 They had jade in all shapes and sizes and jade jewelry in every shape and form. They also had extremely high prices on most of their stuff. I did get a Jade City hat pin for $2.99 - with the 10% caravan discount and 12% tax it only cost me $3.01. I;m a big spender. That hatpin makes #81 for me, and I doubt there will be too many more.
Jade City did offer free coffee and clean restrooms so it wasn't a total waste of time.

We made it 40 more miles before stopping for lunch at a pullout beside a lake.  

I am amazed by the number of lakes we have seen all over Canada and Alaska. The lakes along here are not very wide but they may be 2-3 miles long or longer. It was cold = 47 degrees -and misting so we had a snack in the trailer. Jenna even turned on the heat while we ate.

A short drive later and we got to Dease Lake - a wide spot in the road. Just short of town we saw a black bear with 3 cubs on the side of the road. The cubs were very small - about Lucy's size. We've seen cubs before but they were much larger than these. We will have a travel briefing at 4:30 and then after dinner we are meeting around a campfire to have smores and doughboys.
 
 
We also are having a "white-elephant" gift exchange which should bring some laughs.

Tomorrow we journey on to Stewart, Alaska - about 240 miles. This might be the highlight of the trip. This is the place where bears come into the river to feed on salmon trying to get upstream to spawn. You have probably seen this place on TV. I just hope the salmon are running and they bears are there. I'll let you know about all of that in tomorrow's blog. Till then - Happy Trails!!