Adventures along the Cassiar Highway.

We camped for 5 days along the Cassiar Highway at Provincial Park Campgrounds and had a beautiful view over lakes all 5 days.  From Meziadin Lake campground we drove to Stewart BC and Hyder, Alaska.  There is no US customs at Hyder and we drove over the international boundary without stopping.  American residents of Hyder use Canadian money, send their children to school in Stewart, Canada, and are on Pacific Time.  The Hyder Post Office uses US money and is on Alaska time.  Near Hyder we stopped at the Fish Creek USFS bear viewing boardwalk.  After only a brief time on the boardwalk we watched a grizzly bear eat salmon and grass and took photos and video.  Then we drove another 17 miles over a very rough dirt road through a mining area and to viewpoints over Salmon Glacier.  It took about 2 hours to drive 17 miles, with a few photo stops.  The upper section of the road is cut into the side of a mountain above the glacier.  In places there are cliffs on both sides of the narrow road with over a 1000 foot drop to the glacier and no guard rails.  On the upper part of this road we met “The Bear Man” walking his bike up the mountain.  We gave him a ride on our tailgate to his camp and viewpoint so we could buy his Coastal Bears book and DVD.  At Meziadin Lake we took our boat on the lake and saw a grizzly bear swimming in the lake and took its picture as it climbed up on shore.  We also saw spawning Sockeye salmon which are red color.  Tonight we’re at Shady Rest RV Park in Houston, British Columbia.  Houston is home to the world’s largest fly rod (60 feet long and 800 pounds) and a 975 pound grizzly bear (mounted). 

Male spruce grouse near Kinaskan Lake Campground.

Grizzly bear with chum salmon at Fish Creek observation area.

Salmon Glacier from viewpoint near Hyder, Alaska.

Grizzly Bear after a swim in Meziadin Lake.

Meziadin Lake from island near campground.

Spawning sockeye salmon near Meziadin Lake.

Adventures in the Far North.

Near Tok, Alaska we drove north on the Taylor Highway to Chicken, Alaska.  Chicken has no electric, water or sewer service, but it has a post office and an airstrip.  The twice weekly mail plane is the only way to get to Chicken in the winter, when the road is not maintained.  Early gold miners wanted to name their settlement Ptarmigan, but were unable to spell it and settled instead for Chicken.  From Chicken the Top of the World Highway (a gravel road) leads over the border to Dawson City.  We enjoyed the views above tree line on the “top of the world”.  Dawson City has a western movie ambiance with dirt streets and wood boardwalks.  We stayed in the public campground across the Yukon River from Dawson and took the free ferry to see Dawson.  We “happened” to visit the cabin of Robert Service while a Parks Canada costumed interpreter was giving a presentation on the life of Robert Service.  We also visited Jack London’s cabin.  These authors played a part in growing my sense of adventure as a youth.  On our second day we left camp at 1 AM to cross the river and drive up Midnight Dome where we viewed the beautiful northern lights.  When we left Dawson I decided to take a 3 day side trip on the Dempster Highway for 252 miles one-way to the Arctic Circle.  When we reached the Arctic Circle Barb asked “Where’s the gift shop”.  The Dempster is a gravel road with some sharp stones in the road surface.  After a cracked windshield and 3 flat tires I asked why?  The lesson I’m learning is to be joyful in all circumstances.  And to never drive the Dempster again.  Our second trailer tire flat was a slow leak and by pumping air every 5 miles we drove 20 miles to the Tombstone Mountain Park Visitor Center.  There we left the trailer and drove 44 miles one-way to the nearest service center to get our flat tires fixed.  Our trip is enjoyable but it does have its challenges.  We were never so happy to get back on a paved road.  We continued south to near Whitehorse, where we spent an enjoyable 3 days at Takhini Hot Springs campground and pool.  Near Whitehorse, at Fireweed RV Services we had our trailer issues of a broken water pump, slide out motor that didn’t work and a broken power converter repaired under warranty coverage.  Yea!  Tonight we are at an RV park in Teslin.  Tomorrow we’ll drive south on the Alaska Highway and then take the Cassiar Highway. 

Downtown Chicken Alaska.

Top of the World Highway, Yukon

Cabin rented by Robert Service in Dawson City, Yukon.

Barb & Teddy at the Arctic Circle.

Street in Dawson City, Yukon

From Soldotna to Tok, Alaska

After over 2 weeks in Soldotna we headed back to Anchorage and towards Canada.  We visited the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center near Portage Valley on our drive to Anchorage.  Near Palmer we visited the Musk Ox Farm, a non-profit organization.  Musk Ox are farmed for the qiviut or under-wool, which is 8 times warmer than sheeps wool by weight and will not shrink.  The yarn made from the qiviut is hand-knitted by over 200 Eskimo knitters to help support their subsistence life style.  We were in Valdez for 3 days and saw wildlife and learned about the history of Valdez.  We camped at Allison Point near the Alaska pipeline terminal.  We visited part of the north side of Wrangell-St.Elias National Park by driving 41 miles (one-way) on the Nabesna road.  The road was very rough in places and crossed several dry stream beds.  This park is the largest US national park and is the size of 6 Yellowstone parks.  It includes 9 of the 16 highest peaks in the US.  Glaciers cover about 5,000 square miles of the park.  The Malaspina glacier is the size of Rhode Island.  The world’s longest interior valley glacier, the Nabesna Glacier, is over 75 miles long.  Tomorrow, August 10 we’ll drive to Chicken, Alaska, and the next day we’ll be over the border into the Yukon and Dawson City.   

Worthington Glacier near Valdez.

Snowdrift in Thompson Pass on Aug 7 near Valdez.

Gulls and Salmon in Valdez harbor.

Seals and gulls in Valdez harbor. 

Matanuskua Glacier along the Glenn Highway.

A Salmon Fisherman is Born (at 65).

We camped for about 2 weeks at a campground near the Kenai River in Soldotna, Alaska.  We became good friends with a Christian couple in the campsite next to us.  They took us to a church in Soldotna and we enjoyed the service for 2 Sundays.  This was their first trip to Alaska, and Dan was there for salmon fishing.  I didn’t plan on fishing in Alaska, but after watching other fishermen I bought a 7 day fishing license and some gear.  When a neighbor, Ron saw my cheap rod he lent me a good salmon rod and reel.  The first day I fished about 6 hours and caught 2 rocks and 3 tiny sculpins.  The second day after about 2 hours when I tried to net a salmon for another fisherman I fell in the river.  Since the water temperature was 51 F that ended my fishing.  The third day I caught the daily limit of 6 red or sockeye salmon.  The fisherman after me at the cleaning table was the man whose rod I broke when I fell trying to net his salmon on day 2.  Since he didn’t want to wait all night for me to filet my fish he offered to help, which I appreciated.  I took a total of 16 salmon home for the week.  Salmon fishing on the Kenai River is called combat fishing.  Where there is public access the water is lined with fisherman, usually too close for comfort.  A bare hook is flipped into the river and a legal catch is when the hook snags a red salmon in the mouth.  Red salmon fight hard when hooked, jumping out of the water.  Other activities included a day trip to Homer Spit and we saw several bald eagles.  We also visited Anchor Point, the most western point on the North American highway system.  Before our visit to Soldotna we took a drive to Seward and Exit Glacier. 

Bob with Red Salmon Catch.

Moose near Soldotna Camp.

Bald Eagle near Homer. 

Russian Orthodox Church near Ninilchik with Iliamna Volcano.

Redoubt Volcano & Cook Inlet at sunset.