Epilogue



Following a wonderful breakfast of pancakes, eggs, bacon, juice and coffee we said our goodbyes to everyone on the caravan and started the long drive back to Texas. Robert and Bet are going the same way, so we will travel together for the next several days. We left Vanderhoot around 9:00 and headed east on the Yellowhead Highway - Hwy 14 - toward Prince George.

We traveled almost 400 miles the first day as we progressed through the rest of British Columbia and entered Alberta near Jasper.

 

It was amazing how the landscape changed as we passed Jasper. The mountains looked at first as if they were covered with snow, and as we got closer they began to look like large sand-covered mountains.

 

Finally we got close enough to see that they were solid rock.

 

The landscape was also covered with large and small lakes that were very shallow. Our first night was spent at a KOA campground in Hinton, Alberta. Ron and Cindy pulled in around 6:00 and we visited with them for a while.

Early the next morning we set our for our next 400 miles journey. This took us across the rest of Alberta and into Saskatchawan. Once again the landscape began to take a noticeable change. We left the mountains and lakes behind and entered the rolling farmlands of central Canada. For miles we saw large fields of yellow-flowered crops that they use to make Canola Oil.

 

The sky was dark with rainclouds and made a beautiful backdrop for the yellow fields. Lots of hayfields were also scattered along our route as we neared our 2nd stopping point near Saskatoon. Robert had a blowout on his trailer about 50 miles from Saskatoon and that made it necessary to stop there to get a new tire. Our plan was to drop into North Dakota and stop in Minot. However, the clerk at the Canadian Tire Store told us that there was a lot a flooding down that way. I called both campgrounds in Minot and found that they were both closed for the season. Checking other campgrounds in northern North Dakota gave us the same result. Consequently, we decided to take Highway 2 and go on east into Manitoba to Brandon. This was our stop for the third night on the road.

55 miles south of Brandon we crossed the U.S./Canada border and started down U.S. Highway 281. The border guard was very friendly and wanted to know about our trip. He did go into the trailer and looked around, but we were soon on our way across North Dakota and down to Aberdeen, South Dakota. About 50 miles down into North Dakota we were stopped for road construction. The flagman told us that it would be a 10-15 minute wait for the pilot car. Shortly the pilot car came to lead us across. What we found was a freshly laid dirt road with long stretches of mud and ruts 10-15 inches deep. The trailer swayed back and forth in the mud, and I prayed that we wouldn't have to stop anywhere for fear that I would be stuck. About 5 miles later we got back on a good hard surface. It seems that they were raising the road 5 feet and moving it 70 feet west due to flooding. It was undoubtedly the worst road conditions we have faced on this entire trip. Add to that, our air conditioning quit working and we had to drive the next 300 miles without it. After driving a total of 400 miles this day we arrived in Aberdeen and stayed at the Wylie Park and Campground. This was a very nice campground located adjacent to a small amusement park. The drive across South Dakota was very nice. Everything was very green with fields of corn, hay, and soybeans creating a patchwork mosaic. It was beautiful.

Tuesday morning I was up early and off to the Chevrolet dealer to see about the AC. Shortly after leaving the campground, I turned the AC on, and it worked. I went on the to service department where they told me it was probably a low pressure switch. The service writer showed me what to tap on if it quit again and assured me that it would probably start working again. Sure enough, it continued to work without a problem. This day found us driving another 400 miles south on Highway 281 across the rest of South Dakota and into Nebraska. Our stop today was at the Prairie Oasis Campground just east of Grand Island, Nebraska. Nebraska's landscape was rolling and very green also. I was amazed by the amount of irrigation we encountered. Large irrigation systems were everywhere.

Wednesday morning we got up and around an prepared for out final 400 mile run into Oklahoma City. After saying goodbye to Robert and Bet we headed east on I-80 before stopping for breakfast in York, Nebraska.

 

The drive from York to Oklahoma City on Highway 81 and then Interstate 35 took us just under 8 hours with stops only for diesel and a couple of leg-stretches. We arrived at Dad's shortly after 4:00 and set the trailer up for the final time on this trip.

When we reach Corsicana we will have driven almost exactly 12,250 miles. I had estimated that we would drive 10,000 miles. I budgeted $5,000 for diesel fuel and so far we have stayed under budget. Diesel prices ranged from a low of $3.69 a gallon in Texas to a high of $1.82 a liter ($6.89 per gallon) at the Cold River Lodge in the Yukon Territory. This was exceptionally high - the next highest was $1.69 per liter but most of the time it $1.50 or less. I hoped to average 10 mpg, and as of today we are getting a little over 11 mpg.

Was it worth the cost? Without a doubt, this was the most amazing, funfilled, educational trip I have ever been on. We saw and did things I never dreamed of seeing or doing. The people we met and traveled with for 58 days were pleasant, entertaining and just downright fun to be with - we had a blast!!!

We arrived home about 2:30 P.M. on Saturday, August 13. That means we were gone exactly 75 days and 6 hours! It was a wonderful trip, but it is nice to be home.

Day 58
Thursday, August 8
On the Road to Vanderhoot
Our Final Day

When Ken announced that he and Carole would not leave Smithers until 9:00, there was a noticeable sigh of relief. That meant we could sleep a little later and not be in such a rush to get on the road. There has never been an official "hurry up and leave" order. Quite the contrary, we could leave anytime, but most people usually left right after Ken. Today, I found Dot, Mel, Carl, and Chris standing around watching everyone get ready to go. They must think they are supervisors or something.

 

As we were getting ready to pull out, I talked to a man from Canada about how beautiful his country is and how much we have enjoyed being here. He said that he knows it is beautiful, but that he and most everyone else here doesn't appreciate it's beauty. I got to thinking about that, and realized that we are all pretty much the same. We too don't appreciate the beauty and the good things about the area where we live. All too often we just take it for granted. Every part of our country has it's own character and beauty. Aren't we lucky to be able to travel and enjoy it all.

We did leave around 9:45 to start our last official 170 mile journey of this trip. What a gloriously wonderful day - lots of sunshine, no wind, temps in the 60's - who could ask for more. Good roads also helped make this leg of the trip pleasant. Additionally we had beautiful scenery to look at. The "Lake District" gave us one beautiful lake after another with awesome mountains in the background. The lack of wind made many of the lakes mirror smooth with reflections of mountains and trees that were so spectacular.

 

We made a brief stop in Houston to see the "World's Largest Fly Rod." They had a very nice little park next to the Visitor's Center too.

Buddy enjoyed his time with the "folks from the Great State of Texas." He sat on the dash and served as navigator for this trip.  
 When we stopped for Diesel he was more than willing to help pump,















and his trip to the Co-Op garnered him a Co-Op cap and a ride in a Dodge shopping basket. He even got to drive.
 
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He found a couple of his buddies; one was going fishing and the other was playing baseball, but he opted to stay with us
 














We rewarded him with french fries and a cold mug of root beer at A & W. ,














but that only made him have to "take a walk" with Lucy.  

When we started to set up he insisted on taking a turn at cranking up that sticky front jack.
 

 He also spent a little time visiting with Ron and Jackie's Buddy. They thought it was funny that they had the same name.










Buddy thinks it would be fun to come to Texas too. He wants to ride a horse and go to a rodeo!

 

And tonight he proudly carried the Texas flag to our farewell dinner. Buddy had a great day, but he was excited to get back with Carole and Ken to begin yet another adventure.

Our final dinner together tonight was bittersweet. It is so hard to believe that this fabulous trip is about over; yet, we all know that every good thing must come to an end. Many of us have children and grandchildren whom we miss; others have work or other obligations that they need to get back to; and still others have yet another adventure planned. Dinner was excellent and the stories we told about what was our most memorable part of the trip and what was the funniest thing we remembered reminded some of us of many things we had forgotten.

Cindy passed out DVD's of the movies she has made. How fun will that be to watch those when we get home. Ken, Carol, Mattie and Spence dispersed gifts for each rig. The little Buddy Bear is cute, the spice is nice, the Alaska Christmas ornament is neat, but the picture of all of us in front of the dazzling Mt. McKinley is a treasure I will cherish for a long time. It is beautiful!!

Thanks to everyone for making this such a wonderful, memorable trip. I have learned so much about glaciers, gold mining, salmon fishing, fish hatching, and life in the Yukon and Alaska. Add to that the spectacular scenery, the wildlife, the shows, the tours, the dinners, and the excellent companions we have had to travel with. It just can't get much better than this. Tomorrow we will go our many different ways, but we will always remember the good times we had traveling to Canada and Alaska.

Good luck and God's Speed to everyone!

Day 57
Wednesday, August 3
On the Road to Smithers

We left Stewart at 8:00 this morning. I wanted to get to Smithers early enough to get the oil changed in my truck. We came back up Highway 37A to the junction with the Cassier Highway (37) and headed south. About 30 miles down the road we took a side trip to an Indian Village to see Totem Poles. There were about 20 Totem Poles; most were 40' tall or maybe more. They didn't have any color to them and I really wasn't too impressed with them.

After about 110 miles we turned left on Highway 16, also known as the Yellowknife Highway. We stopped in the Historic Town of Hazelton from lunch. The downtown is all kind of old buildings, but it was very clean and nicely kept.

We arrived in Smithers around 2:30. After setting up I went to get the oil changed and Jenna baked brownies. After the travel briefing we had dinner with Robert and Bet. Bet fixed roast, rice and apple salad. It was quite tasty! Later we all gathered for ice-cream and to visit. It's hard to believe that we only have one more day on our tour. Diane Hall has crocheted hot pads or trivits for everyone on the tour. She passed them out at the ice cream social.

At the beginning of the tour a small black bear was given to one of the caravaners. The Bear's name is "Buddy Bear," and he gets to ride with a different
couple every couple of days. He is passed on so that he rides with everyone. Buddy came to ride with us on the last day. I don't know where he will go after tomorrow. He is sitting on the dash of the truck now.

Tomorrow we have a short - 170 miles - trip to Vanderhoof. Tomorrow evening we will have a farewell dinner at a restaurant. Friday the staff will serve breakfast and then we will set off for home.

I'll let you know about tomorrow's events in tomorrow's blog. Till then - Happy Trails!!

Note: No pictures today - we didn't take any!

Day 56
Tuesday, August 2
Stewart/Hyder

5:45 A.M. came all too early this morning!! I was sleeping soundly when the alarm sounded. At 6:30 we met up with Robert and Bet and headed to Fishcreek. Stewart was very quiet as we drove through. I guess they were all still asleep! We made it to Fishcreek about 6:50 and there were about a dozen others there. They told us that "Dogbear" came shortly after 6:00, ate 5 fish for breakfast and had just left. We stayed around until 8:00 and headed back to Hyder for breakfast. We stopped at a bar that served breakfast.  There are 2 bars in Hyder and they have a ritual that tourists can take part in. It involves drinking a special drink - who knows what all is in it - recite some oath, and then you are "Hyderized." Apparently you need a designated driver to get you home. 3 of our friends went to the other bar last night to be "Hyderized."They plan to go back to this one tonight. They claimed that the bar last night didn't do a very good job. Who knows??

Breakfast was excellent. They had homemade bread for toast and French toast - very good!! We came back to the RV and showered, fixed a sack lunch and drove 21 miles up the mountain road to Salmon Glacier.
 
 

It was a nice drive up - lots of waterfalls and great views.   When we finally reached the summit, we looked down on Salmon Glacier. It was kind of like you were flying over the glacier. Instead of looking up at one, we were looking down on a glacier.
 
  You could see where it came from an ice field about 5 miles back up in the mountains, and then it split an went in two different directions down the valley. Moraines (dirt and gravel kicked up by the glacier) were on both sides. Ken, the Bearman, was selling books, DVD's and postcards up at the summit. He talked to a group of us about the glacier. He told us that off to the right arm of the glacier there was a large lake. Each year it builds up with water melting from snow and ice in the mountains and when it gets to a certain point, the ice dam breaks. This happened last week. When it does happen, all of the water from the lake pours out under Salmon Glacier. It runs under the glacier and comes out on the far end of the left arm. As it comes out, it breaks off large chunks of ice that float on down the river. We saw many large pieces of ices at the toe of the glacier as we were going back down.

It is 4:30 now and after while we are going to Hyder to eat at the bus. The "bus" is just that, an old school bus that has been converted into a kitchen.  
They cook mainly seafood, crab and salmon, and serve it out the window of the bus. You eat outside or they do have a room inside if you want. After that we are going back to Fishcreek to try to see the bears one last time. At Fishcreed we saw a mama black bear with a cub and a giant grizzly. The black bear grabbed a huge fish and took off with her cub. The grizzly sniffed where they had been and tried to find them but later came back to fish. He got two fish but only ate one. The Ranger told us that they won't eat male fish. They only eat the females so they can get their eggs.  
 

Tomorrow we go to Smithers, B.C. It's about 200 miles to get there. I hope to get my oil changed in Smithers before we head out on Friday.
I'll let you know how that goes tomorrow. Till then - Happy Trails.

Day 55
Monday, August 1
On the Road to Stewart
& Bears Fishing

Today we left Dease Lake and headed south for Stewart/Hyder. Highway 37 was not a good road yesterday, but Ken promised that it would be better as we neared Stewart. He was certainly right! About 20 miles south of Dease Lake we crossed Gnat Pass, the highest point on this leg of the trip.  
I didn't realize we were up high as we crossed the pass; however, the temperature dropped to 42 degrees. Shortly thereafter we came to a 9% downhill grade and we noticed the clouds below us as we started downhill. For miles after this we went downhill, over a river and back uphill again. It turned out to be a beautiful drive with excellent roads.

Our trip today covered 242 miles. When we reached Mezeiden Junction, 46 miles north of Stewart, we entered a section of road that went between two mountain ranges. We followed the valley and a river for many miles. Just north of Stewart we passed Bear Glacier. It is a huge blue glacier that came out of the mountains and down to a large lake. 
It was probably the closest we have been able to get to a glacier except when Robert and I hiked to Exit Glacier when we were in Seward. Bear Glacier was huge!
We also passed several waterfalls as we neared Stewart.   There are glaciers and icefields on top of most of the mountains, so there are also lots of waterfalls.


After arriving at the RV park and setting up the trailer, I took the truck to town to find a grocery store and a car wash. The 1st grocery store I found had milk but no Fritos. It did have a dirt floor in half of the store - the half with dairy and meat products! I did find Fritos in the store across the street - and they didn't have a dirt floor. I asked for change for a $10 so I could wash the truck. Both stores couldn't give change. There is no bank in town and everyone is short of change. I finally found the owner of the carwash at her house and got change. It took 3 toonies and 1 loonie ($7) to wash my truck!

Robert and Bet came over for dinner. Jenna had fixed chile. After dinner we loaded up and went to Fishcreek. Fishcreek is a National Park site outside of Hyder, Alaska. Hyder is a small, dirt almost ghost=town just across the U.S./Canada border from Stewart, B.C. Hyder is a unique little town. People do live there and it isn't really a ghost-town. They claim to be because 10,000 people lived there in the 1920's. Today, maybe 50 people live there. The streets are dirt/gravel and full of potholes. Fishcreek is the only thing that keeps Hyder alive.
Fishcreek is about 4 miles out of town. There the U.S. Park Service has built a boardwalk about 15 ft. above the creek. Each summer when the salmon come up the creek to spawn, the black and then the grizzly bears come to feed.

Shortly after we arrived we noticed several salmon in the creek. They were in groups of 2 or 3 and sometimes more just sitting over the rocks, swimming in place. Occasionally one would turn on it's side and shake up and down, in and out of the water. Then another would shoot out and swim upsteam and then turn and come back. The water was crystal clear and quite shallow, so you could easily see them.
  Suddenly about 200 yds. down stream a huge grizzly came out of the bushes and started plodding upsteam. Occasionally he would stop and look around. Tere were probably 200 people up on the boardwalk and I couldn't believe how quiet it was. You hardly heard any talking at all.
 
 
The bear would suddenly pounce hand run up the stream trying to catch a fish. The fish meanwhile were swimming very fast in every direction away from the bear. It only took him moments to catch a fish - you could hear it when he did; there was a loud crunch! Then he would take the fish to the bank and sit down to eat.  

It took him longer to eat the fish than I thought it would - maybe 5 minutes. Then he was up and at it again. All you could hear was the splashing of the water and the clicking of cameras. It was amazing. After 4 fish, he sauntered back down the river when he came from and then disappeared into the bushes. They call him "dogbear" and say he comes every morning and night. He is the first grizzly bear to show up this year. Prior to this there were only black bears, but they tend to stay away once the grizzlys come. They told us that the salmon had only started really running in the last few days and that next week would be better. Too bad we won't be here then.

Tomorrow we plan to go back to Fishcreek around 6:30 A.M. Later we are going 20 miles up into the mountains to Salmon Glacier. I'll tell you about that tomorrow! Till then - Happy Trails!!

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!!

Day 53
Saturday, July 30
On the Road to Northern Beaver Post

When I got up this morning I saw the tops of the mountains around Skagway for the first time. They say it is rainy or extremely foggy around the mountaintops more often than not. Everyone in the caravan was glad to see fog-free roads up the mountain. When we came into Skagway a few days ago we found extreme fog for the 11 mile drive downhill into town. Fog and low-hanging clouds would not be a problem today.

Everyone was up and ready to go by 7:45 today. I think the long drive - 308 miles - got everyone busy early. Our drive today was mostly retracking roads we have already driven. Once we passed the Canadian CUstoms we found ourselves back in the Yukon Territory. The first part of the drive was a winding road along a narrow fjord and low rock-covered mountains. The water in the fjord was a beautiful green as a result of the glacial silt in the melting snow and ice. For miles the water was mirror smoothe reflecting the trees and mountains on the southern shore. I love rock formations and today I got to see miles and miles of them.

Going through Customs is usually pretty easy with just standard questions such as: "Do you have alcohol with you?, How long will you be in Canada?. Do you have and firearms or weapons?" etc. Occasionally they will choose someone at random and ask a lot more questions or possibly even search your vehicle. Today was J.W. and Mary Jo's turn to be searched. As we passed them by they were standing outside their motorhome with their dog while the agent searched their rig. They said he looked in every cabinet and drawer but didn't look in the storage bins underneath. After about 10 minutes he let them go on their way. I guess they have to randomly select rigs to kind of keep people on their toes.

At Carcross we turned right on Highway 8 which was a shortcut back to the Alaska Highway. Without that shortcut we would have had to drive another 60 miles to Whitehorse to rejoin the Alaska Highway. This 34 mile road was the only road we took today that was new to us. Once we got back on the Alaska Highway it was about 245 miles to our destination. We were in and out of light rain the whole way.

As we got close to Northern Beaver Post we noticed lots of bicyclists on the highway. We've seen bicyclists throughout Canada and Alaska. Since we are in bear country up here they call them "meals on wheels," while joggers are called "fast food." The bikers today were strung out over about 20 miles. W noticed a large number of them off to the side of the road having left their bicycles on the shoulder. Suddenly we spotted a guy walking out of a stream stark naked. He just came walking up toward the road as if no one was within a country mile. Bet said she asked Robert if that man was naked and before he could reply Jenna called on the CB and said, "Bet, did you just see what I saw?" Tonight at our travel briefing Ken, our wagonmaster, asked if anyone had seen any wildlife today. We all pointed to Bet, and she got so tickeled she could hardly talk. Two others reported seeing 5 girls bicycling in the buff in the same area. It turned out that all those bikers had spent the night last night in the building where we were meeting. Several of the men in our group offered to gather up some clothes to take to those poor girls, but our wives wouldn't give us any of their clothes, so we didn't get to go. Go figure!!

At the travel briefing we noticed two boys who didn't belong to our group. They were guests of Cindy and Ron who met up with them in Teslin - about 100 miles back up the road. The two boys - one is 21 and the other is 22 - are from Belguim and have been touring Canada and Alaska since June 20. They were hitchhiking back toward Vancouver so they can fly back home on August 30. They have been as far north as Dawson CIty and Chicken. They canoed from Carcross to Dawson City a couple of weeks back. Cindy and Ron brought them here, bought them dinner, are letting them sleep on the floor of the motorhome, and then taking them to Deise Lake, our destination, tomorrow. There are lots of hickers up here. We were asked for a ride when we were over by Denali, but they were going north and we were going south. Most of the hickers are young and look OK, but who knows for sure?

After the travel briefing I fired up the grill and cooked steaks and chicken for Roni, Bruce, Bet, Robert and us. We all went to Bruce and Roni's motorhome to eat. Everybody brought something to add and we had a very tasty dinner. I helped Robert download some pictures to a thumb-drive for the Caravan's blog. It is Robert's day to write it.

Tomorrow we go to Dease Lake - about 150 miles away, so we don't have to get up and around so early. It's hard to believe that our tour is coming to an end - only 5 more days and then it's back to HOT Texas. Until tomorrow's blog - Happy Trails!!