August 30, 2017. Prep and planning

LOCATION:  With my Aunt Martha and Uncle Leo at their home in Grande Prairie, Alberta

WEATHER:  Very pleasant.  Sunny.  High 78

 

Today was a day of planning.  I spent a lot of time on the internet making plans for a winter trip to Minnesota (!) and one to Mexico (!!). We also made reservations to spend a few days with Leo and Martha at Jasper National Park after we leave here next week.  Even though it will be after Labor Day, the resorts are busy.  We finally found a cabin available.  It will be fun to spend a few days there. We always enjoy staying with them.  

They live on a farm outside of Grande Prairie, but the town is "growing out" to their acreage.

We also were able to make arrangements to take the Airstream in to have the refrigerator repaired.  We will drop the Airstream off tomorrow and hope that they can fix it before the weekend.  

 

DINNER:  I made shrimp and sausage gumbo.  I was pleasantly surprised that I found fresh okra in the supermarket.  It turned out well.  

August 29, 2017. Reunited with Aunt Martha and Uncle Leo

LOCATION:  With Uncle Leo and Aunt Martha in Grande Prairie, Alberta

WEATHER:  Warm and sunny.  High 80!

 

We left our campground early as we had nothing to eat or drink in the camper (due to the broken refrigerator).  We stopped at a truck drivers' truck stop for a typical breakfast.  Then, on to Dawson Creek, the start of the Alaska Highway.

This is a little misleading, as we are not going north to Alaska, but south to Grande Prairie.  We had lunch in Dawson Creek, then drove on to my uncle's farm in Grande Prairie.

We are now out of the pine trees, and into farmland scenery.

It seems much more summer-like here.  

We have come a long way since Mission, Texas!  

Martha fixed a tasty dinner....potato salad from potatoes freshly dug from their garden.  Also, cucumbers from their garden, and slices of pork steak.  

August 28, 2017. On toward Alberta

CAMPGROUND:  Tudyah Lake Provincial Park.  Small campground with huge grassy sites.  Pristine clean pit toilet.  No services.  On lake.  We are about the only ones here. $12US.  Fire rings and picnic tables.   4 stars

 

LOCATION:  Between Prince George  and Dawson Creek

 

WEATHER:  Glorious sunshine.  Highs in 60s

 

We awoke to a dead battery.  Nothing worked in the Airstream.  After a quick coffee, we hit the road.  What a difference the sunshine makes!  We have been in rain for about the last 2 weeks.  Everything looks so beautiful today.

 

We stopped at a Walmart in Prince George and George (the handy one, not the Prince one) replaced the battery with a new one.  Presto!  Now we have power again.  

 

We drove on the road north towards Dawson Creek, with a destination of Grande Prairie where we will stay with my aunt and uncle.  We have not been on this highway before.  It is beautiful, sprinkled with many lakes that are surrounded by soaring pine trees. We stopped at one provincial park on a lake for a picnic lunch.  It was a slice of heaven!!

 

A bit farther up the highway, we decided to stop at this provincial park on another pretty lake.  This one is famous for its winter ice fishing.  The park ranger stopped by and told us that the fire ban for this part of British Columbia had been lifted as of today.  So, we happily started a campfire.  We haven't had one this entire trip, due to either our rushing, or the heat, or the fire ban.  Campfires are one of the best things about camping.

 

George modified the awning on the Airstream so that we can put it up higher with a slant to let any rain flow off.  He was proud of this little project.

 

Unfortunately the new battery still did not address the refrigerator problem.  It is not cooling very well at all.  While we are in Grande Prairie, we will look for a RV repair shop to see if they can help.  The refrigerator works fine when we have it hooked up to electricity; it just doesn't work on propane.  I haven't bought groceries lately as I've been afraid food would spoil. So, in to the back-up food storage box I went for dinner.

 

DINNER:  Necessity is the mother of invention, they say.  With last night's leftover artichoke hearts and peas, I made a salad with an Asian dressing.  Then, a can of chili jazzed up with the rest of the peas and sautéed mushrooms became the entree.  Served with the last of the tortilla shells.  Not too shabby! 

 

 

August 27, 2017. Heading home.....slowly

CAMPGROUND:  Beaumont Provincial Park.  On Fraser Lake.  $18 US.  Beautiful sites with fire pits and picnic tables.  Good toilets.  No services.  4 stars.  Unfortunately, there is a fire ban here (even though it has been raining) so no campfire

LOCATION:  Fraser Lake, 80 miles from Prince George, British Columbia 

 

WEATHER:  Rain on and off all day. High 62

 

We have now driven to the end of our summer trip - 6250 miles.  We will now make our way slowly back down to Mission, Texas.  This shows the recent route - from Prince Rupert to Haida Gwaii, back to Prince Rupert, then up to Stewart and Hyder, AK

 

This dot shows Hyder in Alaska's Panhandle.  

We had a leisurely morning in Stewart.  Even though this is really Boondocks-Canada, there are lots of international tourists.  I guess they are here because of the remoteness and to see the bears.  Signs in the bathroom saying not to wash dishes come in 5 languages!  Our one neighbor is from France; the other from Switzerland.  They have brought their interesting international campers.

 

We drove about 8 hours.   Today's sights included 2 black bears, 1 fox, a pack of small animals that looked like a combo of mink and weasel, a dead porcupine and 4 Airstreams (which we haven't seen much on this leg).  It turns out that 3 of the Airstream sightings were the same people - going to the same places we did today.  

 

We had a picnic lunch (soup) at a nice roadside stop. It is nice that we can warm up something in the Airstream instead of just eating cold things. 

 

Finally at about 5:00 we found this nice provincial park to stay the night.  This was the first time in a while that we have been able to sit outside at a picnic table to enjoy the scenery.  

 

Unfortunately we are having some Airstream issues.  The refrigerator does great when we are plugged into electricity, but doesn't cool right when we are on gas.  Then, this evening, George noticed that the battery is signaling as low.  We don't know why.  So, we are trying to conserve battery by using candles instead of lights for dinner, and to avoid using the water pump.  Fortunately, there is an outdoor spigot that I can use to wash dishes.  

 

DINNER:  Pasta with artichokes, peas, mushrooms, and green onions in a cream sauce.  

 

 

After dinner, when it was almost dark, I hobbled over to the bathroom. I was focusing on not falling down, and when I looked up, there was a big blob in front of me.  At first I thought it was a bear, but it was just someone's large black dog.  

August 26, 2017. Woe is me!

CAMPGROUND:  2nd night at Stewart Municipal Campground

LOCATION:  Stewart, British Columbia.  2 miles from Hyder, Alaska in the Alaska Panhandle

WEATHER:  A bit nicer.  Rain on and off.  High about 60

 

Woe is me!   My  ankle is very swollen and sore from the fall I had last night.  I slept with an ice pack on my ankle and the swelling went down a bit.  I cannot fit into my shoes, but I managed to squeeze into George's.  

 

It rained again all night. Our campground is is the woods with this eerie moss hanging from the trees.

 

We slept in, as we were really tired yesterday after the ferry night ride and the early morning wake-up call.  We headed to downtown Stewart after breakfast to do laundry. My last pair of clean pants got dirty and wet when I fell into the mud puddle last night, so I was desperate for clean clothes.   The laundry facilities were in the town's hotel, along with the town's main restaurant.  It worked out well...we loaded the laundry and waited in the hotel's restaurant using their wifi while the laundry washed and dried.  I heard one of the customers ask the waitress when the rain would end.  Her response was 'When it starts snowing".  !!

 

Stewart is quite small and has a Wild, Wild West feeling.  This is the downtown, with a mountain and its glacier looming over it. 

 

Then, we drove over to Hyder, Alaska, a 2-mile drive, for lunch.  There is an old school bus there where a lady cooks and sells seafood.  

 

We shared a halibut burger, perfectly grilled and so fresh.  Inside the shack behind the bus, she has posted a few notes, including this one about a bear invasion this past July.  She said this is the first time a bear has gotten into her bus in her 19 years of business.  He crashed down the door.  As her note says, he ate/stole 15 pounds of halibut, sodas, cake mixes, cheese, hot dogs and buns.  He returned after about 2 weeks and killed her chickens and turkeys.  She kept saying "Bad, bad bear".  

 

The lady (owner/waitress/cook) told us that her husband and sons catch the fish for the lunch.  When she's out of fish, she closes for the day.  We asked her about school for Hyder's children.  She said there is a school for the 11 children living there now. 

 

She showed us this saw that she props up now inside the bus entrance to keep the bears out of her bus at night.  

 

In addition to our lunch, we bought some smoked halibut to have for dinner.  Then, back through Canada immigration again to Stewart.  

 

We've decided to head north and east to Grande Prairie, Alberta next, to visit my aunt and uncle.  It will be a 2-3 day drive to get there.   

 

In the afternoon, since I couldn't do much with this ankle, we stayed inside and watched a DVD movie, with microwave popcorn.  

 

 

DINNER:  The smoked halibut along with sautéed mushrooms and onions.  

August 25, 2017. North to Alaska!

CAMPGROUND:  Stewart Municipal Campgrounds.  Electricity hook-ups only.  Wooded and private sites.  Nice picnic shelter.  Wifi, but the allotment has been depleted for the month.  Water available to fill tank.  So-so bathrooms.  $22US.  4 out of 5 stars

LOCATION:  Stewart, British Columbia on Alaska Panhandle border

WEATHER:  Rain, rain, rain.  High 55

 

We awoke at 4:00 AM to the sound of the wake-up call on the ferry.  After a quick cup of coffee, we disembarked at 4:30 AM, picked up our camper and truck at the RV park, and were off by 5:00 AM.  We drove in the pitch-black rain until the first town at about 6:30 AM.  We joined the locals at the Tim Horton's for breakfast, then continued onward west. Then, at a major highway junction, we turned left - bound for Alaska!  

 

Since it was raining pretty hard, the water was gushing out of the mountains - a really pretty sight.    

 

We passed this beautiful glacier.  

 

Then, the excitement --- as I was driving, a HUGE moose galloped onto the highway before me.  He was quite a ways away so there was no danger of hitting him.  Immense!  He saw me, posed for a photo, then sauntered back into the woods.  It was an incredible experience!  

 

Farther down the highway, we saw a dead bear on the road.  One of the many logging trucks probably hit it.  

 

After getting set up in our campsite, we unhooked and drove the scenic route recommended by the Stewart Visitors' Center.  We are 2 miles from the Alaska border. We drove across the border (no border control on the US side) into the town of Hyder, Alaska.  

 

The first stop was the grizzly bear viewing platform.    

We bought our ticket and walked along the protected boardwalk, but alas, no bears.  They like this spot as the salmon are thick, trying to swim up the shallow river against the current.  It is "easy pickings" for the bears.  

The ranger said that they have been gorging themselves for about a month, and now don't come to the river as much.  However, on our way to the car, a big black bear with a fish in his mouth calmly crossed the highway not far from our car.

 

We drove on up the mountain on the scenic route, reading about abandoned mines that were plentiful in the early 1900s.  At one time, this area had a population of about 10,000; now 500.  Toward the top of the bumpy road, we stopped to admire another glacier.  We were so fogged in that my photos did not turn out.

 

Then, back down the pot-holed road to Hyder where we went to the bar so George could get "hyderized".  He had to drink a big shot of moonshine in one gulp.  The waitress read him some statement he had to agree to, like no smelling, no sipping, and if the drink came back up his gut, he would have to buy a round for all the customers. He drank it successfully and was given his certificate.  

 

By this time, it is 5:00 PM, and we returned to the bear-watching stand hoping that the bears would be eating dinner.  After almost giving up, this big black bear strolled down to the river.  He was lazy, and just picked up an already-dead 15-pound salmon and then took it into the woods to eat.    

 

Back at the camper, we fixed dinner and relaxed to a podcast on the ipad, as there is no radio or TV reception here.  Our campground has wifi, but they get only a certain amount of gigabytes per month, and since today is toward the end of the month, it has been depleted.  So, pretty quiet.

 

DINNER:  The very last of the elk meat.  We had frozen it it while we were in Haida Gwaii.  I sauteed some onions and the grilled elk in a taco sauce, and we had elk tacos 

 

 

George went to bed early, as he hadn't slept well on the ferry last night.  I went to the campground bathroom and to take out the garbage.  Since it has been raining a lot, there were a lot of mud puddles.  I misjudged one in the rain and darkness, thinking that it was shallow, but it was deep.  Down I went, twisting my ankle big-time.  I hobbled back into the camper, soaked and hurting. George nursed me back to health, and we went to bed early.  

August 24, 2017. Fond farewell to Haida Gwaii

LOCATION:  British Columbia ferry back to Prince Rupert

WEATHER:  Mostly sunny!  Some rain drops.  High mid 60s

 

We enjoyed another yummy breakfast in our B&B, packed up, then headed south on the island to see more sights.    

This is "Balanced Rock", a famous site on the island

Lunch was a beach-side picnic....

Then, a visit to a native museum.  I listened to a native Haida explain the "story" of this particular totem pole.

Part of the museum is the actual carvery where natives carve totem poles. This is a new one being built for the local hospital.

And this one is about 40 years old, sculpted by native Bill Reid (son of a Scottish settler and a Haida mother) who is famous here. They are restoring it.  The pole tells a story with these creatures sculpted from bottom to top....a grizzley with her 2 cubs, a raven with a frog in its mouth, a killer whale with his wife on his back and a dogfish on top....

 

They aso carve and decorate beautiful boats. 

Then we took an invigorating hike around Spirit Lake.  The scenery was beautiful.

Although there were a lot of ascents....

We've been counting all the deer we have seen by the road.  We had a contest to see who guessed the number we would see over our 3 days there.  I said 76, and won the contest!     Our big farewell "splurge" was dinner in a private home.  They serve 6-20 on evenings when they are open.  They create a menu depending on seasonal foods.  

Their home, with the dining room overlooking the water, is beautiful.  

Here is the view of a cruise ship in the bay.  It is the first cruise ship ever in these waters.

We had a delicious, fun dinner.

 

 

Then, we boarded the ferry at 9:00 PM, fell asleep in our rooms immediately, and snoozed as the ferry set sail at about 11:00 PM.    

It has been a great trip to Haida Gwaii.  Another check off the bucket list. It was especially fun because we were with our friends Tony and Jenny, and our new friend Deb.  

   

August 23, 2017. Our cottage on Haida Gwaii

We are staying at a darling B&B on Haida Gwaii.  It has 6 bedrooms, a cozy living room and a kitchen.  It is full of a wide variety of artwork and kitchy items.  There is some type of art work on every inch of the walls.   Famous people have stayed here like Trudeau and Margaret Atwood.     Outside views.... In this photo, you can see the harbor in the background....

Outside deck....

Here is the living room where we gather to read and chat...

And the dining room where we have a lovely breakfast each morning....

And a view of the harbor from the living room....

The harbor view from the deck on a cloudy day...