July 10 - July 25, 2022

A - July 10 & 11, 2022

Grande Prairie, AB

Off to the great white north!  But it will take a few days to get there.  We stopped for a few nights in Grande Prairie at the Rotary RV Park.  Arrived late on the 10th so decided to spend the 11th there as well to relax a bit.  The park was not great as it was right beside the highway but we did enjoy a nice walk along the small lake just down from the visitor center.  Saw a couple of bears that I did not mind petting and enjoyed a tasting at the Broken Oak Distillery.

B - July 12 to 14, 2022

Fort St. John, BC

On our way we stopped at Beaverlodge for gas and visited with the giant beaver!  It was also here that the truck left turn signal started to act up (fast clicking) but the tech at the gas station was not able to locate the problem without taking more time to diagnose and both he and we did not have it.

Welcome to British Columbia!  It was time to clean some clothes, so stopped in Dawson Creek at the local laundromat (there was only one!) and while doing laundry we enjoyed some lunch at the diner across the street.  With clothes cleaned and bellies full we continued on the drive and ended up in a regional park just outside of Fort St. John (Montney Park) on Charlie Lake.  Most of the free campsites were not available from the initial closing due to Covid but we were lucky enough to get the one still available at the lake's edge.  Which was great for our first night but for the next two, it was crazy windy with whitecaps on the lake. Time to move on for hopefully better weather.

C - July 15 to July 16, 2022

Fort Nelson, BC

Beautiful drive thru the northern rockies.  BC has wonderful visitor centers and along with great information we were able to dump our tanks  and fill up our fresh water tanks all for free.  This part of life is new to us and now we are always on the lookout for sewer and fresh water stations!

Stopped for a few nights at a regional campground, Tetsa River, $20.00/night with no services, well other than free fire wood and pit toilets. It was really buggy with lots of mosquitoes.  Anyone for a little "Eau de Off"? It was an essential part of our stay. Our site was on the edge of the river, but it was on a cliff so we were not able to get down to it.

Finally managed to get in a short hike up the Tetsa  #1 Trail, named we think because this was the bridge number across the river, and on the 2nd bridge, there was a Tetsa #2 hike. It was a pretty hike, not very long (about 2 hours return), up a pass along the river to a pond at the end.  This is bear country and along with our bear spray Ken was busy singing "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall" to keep them away!

Had some wonderful Cinnamon Buns for breakfast on our way out of town at the Testa River Outfitters.  Business was down for them due to the pilot cars taking people thru the road construction right in front of their location but we managed to make it in no problem.

D - July 17 - 18, 2022

Muncho Lake, BC

While at the visitor center in Fort Nelson, we were told that Muncho Lake was a great area to camp at, so we had to stop here as well.

We had a beautiful spot at the regional park, MacDonald Campground, right on the edge of the lake and if we had a boat it would have been put to good use. Northern BC is known for great fishing and again, their were lots of fisherman on their boats in the water.

Our neighbors for the first night were a couple of friends from Estonia (Pearl & Yonnis) that had just come down from being up at Tuktoyaktuk. They were driving their BMW motorcycles, tent camping along the way and have been on the road for the last 5 years! 

We had them over for some drinks and dessert (much appreciated they said) and got to hear their story.

They have been almost all over the world. Yonnis was on his way home via Calgary to Paris and then Estonia.  We think his travel days are over for these extended trips. Pearl was also going to Calgary, but then onto Montreal before heading home to Estonia.

She however does not seem to be done with the travelling on the motorcycle as she would like to head to Africa and she seems pretty gutsy so I think she will find a way to make that happen!

E - July 19 -20, 2022

Watson Lake Campground, YT  (Yukon Territory)

Finally saw some endangered and protected Wood Bison along the road to Yukon.  Big animals!

Time to get cleaned up, so stopped at the natural hotsprings at Liard (pronounced Lee-ard). Had to walk thru the marshland and then through the lush ferns and trees on the boardwalk to get to the springs. They also had a short walk to the Hanging Gardens at the top of the springs where some plants grew this far north due to the warmth coming from the springs.  The water was really hot at the one end of the pools (I made it there, Ken did not!) and pretty cool at the other.  The cooler side of the springs was down a narrow waterway and it would have been great to have a waterproof camera to see what we experienced. Future upgrade!!

After the springs, there was more beautiful driving along the Alaska Highway. Stopped at a marker commemorating the surveyors who made possible the construction and completion of the Alaska Highway in 1942.

Finally made it to Yukon at the 60th Parallel!

Again had a few buggy nights at Watson Lake Territorial Campground ($20.00/night for rustic camping). Got out on the e-bikes for a 10 mile ride along the gravel roads, my skills are improving!

Not much to do at Watson Lake, except really enjoyed walking through the Sign Post Forest that was started in 1942 by one of the military soldiers who was homesick, so posted a sign for Danville, Illinois. Can't believe we didn't have a sign to post ourselves! But Ken did find one that said "Parsons Tours" so at least our name is there!

F - July 21, 2022

Whitehorse, YT (capital city of the territory)

While leaving Watson Lake, managed to see a Red Fox on the side of the road. 

Stopped at Rancheria Falls for a place to stretch our legs and enjoy the view along the boardwalk.  You need to be careful looking for these sites as they don't give you much notice on the side of the road that the turnoff is approaching and even harder to do with a 10,000lb trailer on your ass! Also along the highway were these really colorful purple flowers that caught my eye.

Stopped at the village of Teslin (pronounced Tezlin), for lunch and to fill up the gas tank.  The Nisultlin bridge into Teslin is the longest span along the Alaska Highway. At this point, the highway follows along Teslin Lake which is narrow and 78 miles long. 

Stopped at the Teslin Tlinglit Heritage Center to learn about the native people from this area. They still seem to be fairly active in keeping their culture alive but as we spoke with one of the elders, he did not feel that it would be possible to maintain their heritage.

F - July 22 - 25, 2022

Whitehorse, YT

Spent 5 nights at the Hi Country RV Park which was right on the edge of Whitehorse so it was easy to get into town and explore, which we tried to do while the rain came down! Not an easy feat given that the high temps of the day would only be around 50-55 degrees.

They have a nice river walk and a small downtown.  Whitehorse is the start/finish of the Yukon Quest Dog Sled Race, so lots of things about that, stopped at a Fireman's tribute and the Robert W. Service plaque.  And of course had time to stop at a few breweries  (Yukon Brewing, Polarity & Woodcutters) and enjoy the local fare.

Oh and it is cold  this far up north, our thin blood is making it hard to adjust, thank goodness for the trailer heater!

F - July 25, 2022

Whitehorse, YT - day trip to Carcross

Day trip to see the "World's Smallest Desert" in Carcross (formerly Caribou Crossing), YT.  Driving south along the Klondike Highway (#2), stopped at Emerald Lake, the turquoise coloring created due to a chemical reaction in the water.   Very pretty.

Turns out that the Carcross Desert receives too much rain to actually call it a desert so it is just some sand dunes! But they are impressive none-the-less.  We hiked to the top of the highest one and then it was on to the small village of Carcross (formerly Caribou Crossing) to walk  the town which happens to be on the edge of Bennett Lake and grab some lunch. 

Upon getting home it was time for chores; dump the tanks, get laundry done (not my favorite thing to do at a laundromat, I am finding out) and stock up on the local beer (Spruce Tip and Birch Sap) at Yukon Brewing (Ken's favorite thing to do).