Day 33 Prince George to Jasper National Park

Day 33 we left Prince George, BC and headed to Jasper National Park and Lake Louise area.  We had already driven through Lake Louise with Cathy, but if you remember, it was cloudy and rainy and we did not see much.  The hope was that we would be able to see it on a nice day if we went back.  It kind of worked out because as we came through the park from the north, the sky was clear enough to give us great views of the mountains in the area.

We pushed it for a long day to get to Lake Louise campground because we needed to unhook from the trailer to drive the last couple of miles up to the lake.  There is a campground right at Lake Louise, but because we got there so late, and it was a Friday night, the campground was full.  They directed us to an overflow campground which was a large parking lot with no hookups.  We spent the night there hoping for a bright sunny day the next morning, and then we would unhook for a quick drive up to the lake.  But, when we got up it was cloudy and raining.  I guess it was not meant to be.

We did get a lot of great mountain pictures and we saw a mama bear and two cubs.  Enjoy the pictures.

Click here to see Day 33 route and pictures.

Day 32 Telkwa, BC to Prince George, BC

Day 32 was an easy drive to Prince George, BC.  Enjoy the pictures.

Click here to see Day 32 route and pictures.

Day 31 Hyder, AK to Telkwa, BC

Day 31 we had to backtrack again out Hyder, AK and Steward, BC to get back on Highway 37 South.  We pulled out of Hyder, AK at 9:15 AM and topped off with fuel at Steward, BC.  The road back to Highway 37 was through Bear Canyon and was full of waterfalls and glaciers that we had seen on our way in.

Highway 37 South was a good smooth road and it didn’t take long for us to reach Highway 16, the Yellowhead Highway at Kitwanga, BC (were do they get these names???).  We turned left and started heading East southeast on a good road.  It feels good to be in a populated area again with houses and farms along the road and a town spaced out every few miles (and DQ’s).

We stopped for the night at a nice clean campground called Fort Telkwa RV Park, on the east edge of Telkwa, BC.  We should make it to Prince George tomorrow.

Click here to see Day 31 route and pictures.

Day 30 Cassiar Highway to Hyder, AK

On Day 30 we continued down the Cassiar Highway.  The first part of the drive was just like yesterday.  We originally planned to go to Hyder, AK.  It is a 45 mile one way in and one way out drive and is suppose to have a great bear viewing area.  But the salmon were not there yet, so there was not going to be any bears.  We decided to cut this side trip out of our plans as we are all getting a little homesick.

But fate changed that plan.  There was limited places to stop for fuel, and at the junction to Hyder, I thought we only had enough fuel to go the 45 miles there and not the 98 miles on down the road.  So, off to Hyder we went.  Boy was that the best decision of the trip.  The drive to Hyder has several glaciers that you can see and goes through Bear Canyon that is full of waterfalls running out of the cliffs on either side.  If you get a chance to go there, do not miss it.

AND THEN……. After we got parked in Hyder, they said we should drive up the 22 mile gravel road to see Salmon Glacier.  We didn’t have anything better to do so off we went.  This is a very narrow road with no guard rails and you can only go about 20 mph.  So it took us an hour to get there.  But man, when we got there, what a view.  I described it as a poor man’s helicopter ride to see a glacier.  We were above the glacier looking down on it.  Check out the pictures.

We got back down the winding road OK and went to bed with big smiles on our faces.

Click here to see Day 30 route and pictures.

Day 29 Watson Lake South on Cassiar Highway

On Day 29 we were up at 8:00 AM and it was 65 degrees.  We planned to go down the Cassiar Highway south out of Watson Lake.  This highway was completed in 1972 and is a narrow two lane with no shoulders.  Because it is a relatively new road it does not have as many commercial businesses, but it one of the most beautiful highways in British Columbia.

The first stretch of highway out of Watson Lake area was all burnt timber.  There was a large fire in 2010 that burned over 30,000 hectares (74,133 acres).  The good part is over the past several years there has been a large crop of mushrooms to be found, picked and sold.

There were a lot of great mountain views and streams and rivers.  The road went uphill, and downhill and around a lot of corners.  We found a nice campground called Shadow Mountain RV and called it a night.

Click here to see Day 29 route and pictures.

Day 28 Whitehorse to Watson Lake

Day 28 was another backtrack day, but we did see some exciting stuff.  About 45 minutes West of Watson Lake we……….saw………a……… BEAR!!!!!  He was alongside the road in the ditch going the same way we were.  We saw him before we got to him, and I thought he would dive into the trees when we got there, but he didn’t.  He just kept trotting along the ditch and kept dropping his head and grabbing a mouthful of grass and kept moving while munching on it.  We took a lot of pictures, and then I had to move up.  We took more pictures, and I had to move up.  We finally got tired of taking pictures and just watched him.  I hollered at him and honked my horn, but he did not change his actions.  He just kept moving along the road and grabbing mouthfuls of grass.  We were all pretty excited and sorry that Cathy was not there to see it.  She would have loved it.  I probably would not have been able to keep her in the truck.

I also included a picture of my progress with my beard.  It has been growing for 28 days now.  I still don’t really like it.  It makes me look OLD!!

Tomorrow we start down a new road.  We will be taking Highway 37 (Cassiar Highway) to Highway 16 (Yellowhead Highway), then over to Prince George.  From Prince George we will go East to Jasper National Park and then down Highway 93 (Icefields Parkway).  We are hoping to go by Lake Louise on a bright sunny day.  If you remember from earlier in the trip it was raining and cloudy the day we went through there.

Everyone is having a great time, but we are all thinking it is time to head home.  I caught Mom clicking her heel together and saying “There’s no place like home.”, over and over.  Ha Ha.

Click here to see Day 28 route and pictures.

Day 27 Kluane Lake to Whitehorse

Day 27 was an easy drive from Kluane Lake to Whitehorse.  It was less than 150 miles.  We are backtracking on roads we have already driven on our way up.  So, there is not a lot to say.  Enjoy the pictures.

Click here to see Day 27 route and pictures.