August 18 - 31, 2022

5A - August 18,  2022

Keane Lake, BC (Stewart Cassiar Highway)

A sad start to our day as we were delayed by 3 hours due to a single vehicle accident just shortly after leaving Whitehorse.

An 18 wheel-truck driver lost his life when he rolled his rig that was hauling batteries (or so the story goes).  From what we heard the accident happened around 9am and we arrived on site around 11am ish.  We could have diverted to another route 15min earlier on the road but due to staff being shorthanded, they had no way to direct traffic around the accident.  Oh well, I guess even the RCMP has staffing issues.

When we finally got back on the road we  took a short break at a pretty lake viewpoint and at the Continental Divide; just one of many times that we crossed it.  Then it was on to British Columbia down the Stewart Cassiar (Highway 37) which is supposed to be quite scenic.

Found a quiet boondocking spot just across the BC border at the edge of Keane Lake, good enough that I had time to make blueberry scones the next morning (yeah, I finally had a moment to bake!)

5B - August 19,  2022

Iskut, BC

Stopped at Jade City (we heard was part of a TV show, and that we need to look it up).  Ken had a great conversation with the owner for the family run business while I shopped and found a new pair of earrings.  Not Jade however as I don't like to wear green but Hawkseye (some kind of greyish black stone).  While filling our $20.00 bag of raw jade pieces, the owner went to another bin to give Ken a piece of jewelry grade Jade.  Not sure what we are going to do with it, but it was nice of him nonetheless.

Had a very quiet and enjoyable picnic lunch at a rest stop that was off the main highway at Cottonwood River. 

Found another moose, this one without a calf so she did not attempt to move along.  I guess the feeding was too good.

5B - August 20,  2022

Iskut, BC

Boondocked for two nights on Eddontenajon Lake just south of Iskut, it was peaceful and quiet watching the fish jumping and the loons fishing. Finally wore shorts as the weather and sun cooperated; we found summer!!  Enjoyed conversation with Pete (who knows the San Diego area well as that is where he is from) and he offered to let us know about great places to stay, one of them being Anza Borrego and a young couple from Lacombe, AB; Carlo and Nicole who were on a two week jaunt away from their construction business.

5C - August 21,  2022

Meziadin Junction, BC - Fish Ladder

Once arriving at the Meziadin Lake campground, it was a short drive to the Fish Ladder in this area but we were not really able to see the ladder as this area is supposedly closed.  We walked down to the river to the Lax an Zok Fish camp run by the local natives and were able to see the salmon try to jump the falls and watch the fisherman catch the salmon using a traditional fishing method (Dip Netting) and then they would put their catch into the holding pond.  They were not able to sell any of it as it was meant for the tribe only.  They mentioned that the salmon were not as plentiful this year compared to last.

5C - August 22,  2022

Meziadin Junction, BC - Stewart

Drove the Glacier Highway (37A) on Monday to see the town of Stewart, BC and Hyder, AK.

Stewart was the busier of the two as Hyder is pretty much a ghost town.  Stewart could be better if more of the stores were open.  Most of the buildings on the main street were for sale.  Likely this town was hard hit due to Covid.  Here's hoping it comes back as it seems to have potential.  Enjoyed the short boardwalk trail that was in Stewart. 

5C - August 22,  2022

Meziadin Junction, BC - Glaciers

From Hyder, we drove a very rough dirt/gravel road to see Salmon Glacier. We thought we would be able to get to stand on the "toe" of the glacier like it showed in the brochure, but I guess that is no longer the case.  So we settled for seeing it from far above.  And  that was just fine as the road continued to worsen the longer we were on it and it was a sharp drop off that had my heart pounding just a little!  The view of the river from the top of the Glacier viewpoint was pretty spectacular as well.

On our way to and then back from Salmon Glacier, we stopped at the overlook for Bear Glacier.  This one you could see better than what we see of Salmon Glacier (it was our preferred!)  Someone at the overlook mentioned that 15 years ago the glacier came to the top of the lake.  It looks to have melted some since then...but I guess that is what glaciers do.

Had fun watching the spawning Salmon at the man made river that was created to help recover the pink salmon population.

5D - August 23,  2022

Prince Rupert, BC

While we were at the boat launch in Meziadin Lake, we were speaking to a young couple and they mentioned that the drive to Prince Rupert was such a pretty drive from Terrace (where they were from), so we took a short detour and headed there for the next few days.  

Finished driving the last of the Stewart-Cassiar Highway which ended in Kitwanga once we got to the Yellowhead Highway (#16). 

Stopped at a National Historic site in a native village that was known for their Totem Poles and also stopped at Gitwangak Battle Hill and took the short walk down the stairs and then up the other set of stairs to the top of the battle site.  This was a site that had 5 dwellings on the top (not sure how they did it as it was quite small) and the chief protected his people by having them roll logs down the hill to stop any invaders.

It was a very scenic drive from Terrace to Prince Rupert mostly along the Skeena River. Lots of train action on this drive, good to see that supply chain moving!

5D - August 24,  2022

Prince Rupert, BC

Prince Rupert itself was pretty typical of a small coastal community; enjoyed walking around Cow Bay, the only touristy part of downtown and enjoyed a drink and apps at the Crest Hotel. Went to the Wheelhouse Brewery after having Fish & Chips at Bob's and after the walk along another Rotary sponsored trail. Checked in with our Valley of the Sun Rotary Passport Club with the Pacific Ocean as our backdrop and enjoyed our District Governor Larry Horton's vision for the next year.

Wow, sounds like all we do is drive, see cool things, eat and drink and meet great people! Retirement is a blast!!

We stayed at the Prince Rupert RV Park, not much home to write about, but it was convenient.

5E - August 25-26,  2022

Witset, BC

On our way out of town attended the Prince Rupert Rotary Club luncheon meeting. I was not aware of the "Adventures In..." programs that Rotary has (well not sure if this is from Rotary or if it was started by the Prince George club) but was able to find out about the "Adventures in Healthcare" program that the club is setting up for their area.  Turns out that the club is over 100 years old and I guess that is why the town seems to have such a strong Rotary presence.

Found a local food stand to pick up up a few veges (payment was on the honor system using the cash box) and they had a great view of the Seven Sisters peaks.  Looks like there is lots of hiking to be done in this area.

Stopped off what was supposed to be a quick stop in Witset to pick up some local Salmon (none to be had as the fish camp was not open), but ended up staying for 2 nights as the RV Park felt peaceful and we needed a little down time to get caught up on things, like the blog, finances, cleaning the solar panels and whatever else comes to mind).  Just down the road from the park was the Witset Canyon and again saw the salmon jumping and the fisherman fishing. However, this fishing is done to assist with the stock assessment project that goes on each year.

5F - August 27,  2022

McBride, BC

Stayed at the Gigglin Grizzly Pub for the night after the days drive.  They were more than welcome to have us and encourage travelers to stay overnight.  The train was beside their lot, so it was not the most restful sleep but the food and drink was enjoyable.

5G - August 28,  2022

Jasper, AB

Took a few down days, just wanted to get in 2 hikes and 2 bike rides and that happened so I guess our stay in Whistlers campground within Jasper Park was successful.

Walked around downtown Jasper and enjoyed the "dog bones" at the Ded Dog Pub and took a quick drive around the grounds at Jasper Park Lodge. There were some elk in the park and saw only 1 deer outside of our trailer.  Overall, we again did not see much wildlife.

5G - August 29,  2022

Jasper, AB

Hiked the Valley of the Five Lakes, beautiful turquoise water and the hike to the first 4 lakes was very busy (Lakes 5, 4, 3 and 2) and the longer hike to Lake 1 was much more peaceful.

5G - August 31,  2022

Jasper, AB

Also hiked Maligne Canyon, which was spectacular! Ken did not enjoy having to walk over the 5 bridges (well Bridge 5 was ok, the other 4 he tolerated but was happy to be done with them).  We drove to Bridge 6 as we wanted to get back and do our last bike ride.

The bike rides we took were one - just around the campground to see the other sites (this campground has 800 to 900 sites!) and two - a ride up to the tram starting point from our campground. It was a steep uphill climb (thank goodness once again for e-bikes!) and an exciting ride down (who knew 20mph would seem so fast!).

5G - September 1,  2022

Icefields Parkway Drive from Jasper to Banff, AB

This was such a beautiful drive, we are fortunate that we had good weather.  I have done the drive once before but it was cloudy and rainy so did not see the beauty of the glaciers and the mountains. This is a definite must do. Stopped at the information center for the Icefields but did not have time to take a tour that would have allowed us to step on the actual glacier.  Maybe would do another time, but I think it would be way more awesome to escape the crowds and do a tour on a small plane that they seemed to be doing more so in Yukon.