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.
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