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.

Day 26 Tok, AK to Kluane Lake

Day 26 we got up at 7:30 AM and it was 62 degrees.  During the night you could hear thunder in the distance, and as time went by it got closer and louder.  At one point there was a “knock you out of bed” thunder boom.  Dad said he didn’t hear it.  Mom and I both heard it, but neither of us looked at the clock to see what time it was.  It rained hard for a little bit, and then the thunder slowly moved away.

We ate breakfast and was on the road by 9:20 AM.  It was still smoky and hazy.  We crossed the border from Alaska into Yukon at 11:06.  Because we were in heavy traffic two weeks ago when we arrived, we did not stop and take pictures.  This time there was nobody there, so we decided to stop and take “Welcome to Alaska” pictures.  The only problem was Cathy was missing.  Maybe we can have Grandma glue on a Cathy face.

We had good roads until we reached Canada and then the frost heaves and construction slowed us down and re-arranged everything in our cupboards.  It was slow going, but we finally reached our favorite campground.  Cottonwood RV is on Kluane Lake.  A husband and wife own and operate this campground.  They had bought the land and built a house 50 years ago as a summer get away.  Over time they added some camping spots and now there are over 80 spots.  What make this place different are the operators.  It feels like they have invited you to stay over at their house and you are their guests, not that this is their job and you are a customer.  Everyone should stop here.

We had been keeping an eye on the tire on the right rear axle.  It had been wearing on the outside and was about down to the cord on the outside edge.  We decided to put on the spare that came with the trailer.  We are thinking the spindle is tweaked.  The tire is worn out at 5600 miles plus the trip from Indiana to Iowa.  My temperature gauge that I checked tire pressures with always showed that tire 10 degrees hotter than the rest.  It is running down the road cockeyed and scuffing.  I will try and get them to look at it under warranty when we get back home.  We are probably going to ruin another tire on the way home.

We saw our first Open Range Light 5^th Wheel here.  It was a 30 foot rear living room and he was pulling it with a half ton Ford.  He told us he was having no problems pulling it.  Well, except for the red pole at a gas station that jumped out and raked the side of the trailer.  See the picture.

We ate dinner and then took a walk around the campground and along the lake.  What a beautiful place.  I am sure glad they decided to share it with us.

Click here to see Day 26 route and pictures.

Day 25 Valdez, AK to Tok, AK

Day 25 we woke up in Valdez, AK.  It rained that night, but the gravel lot seemed dry when we got up.  Tried to start a pot of coffee and it would not come on.  Went to Safeway and bought a new one.  Hooked up and left at 9:35 and it was 62 degrees.

The first thing we had to do was climb the pass.  We went 40 mph in third gear with the engine turning 2300 rpm.  It took 11 minutes like this to get to the top.  It said we were getting 7.9 mpg. 

Going down the other side we had to pass two large beams being towed by big trucks, two lead pilot cars and one trailing pilot car.  The beams must have been manufactured somewhere else and brought into the port of Valdez by boat.  We had no idea of their final destination.

Arrived at Glennallen at Noon and then took the Tok Cutoff and headed home.  About an hour before reaching Tok, we started to smell something.  We thought it was a weed killer they may be spraying in the ditches, but then we realized it was smoke.  It got very smoky by the time we reached Tok, and at the campground they said the road from Tok north to Fairbanks was closed due to the forest fires.  People at the campground were considering turning their trip around and instead of going to Fairbanks first and then around like we did, they were going to go to Valdez first and do our trip in reverse.

Arrived at Tok RV Park at 2:45 PM.  We had not had lunch yet, so we went to Fast Eddies for a late lunch/ early dinner.  We had dinner salads, pizza and beer.  Back at the RV Park, we did three loads of laundry and watched some television.  The RV Park supplied a cable hookup.  At 10 PM we had an Ice Cream Bar and went to bed.

Click here to see Day 25 route and pictures.

Day 24 Glennallen, AK to Valdez, AK

Day 24 was a very beautiful drive to Valdez, AK.  We all remember Valdez because of the big oil spill that occurred here, but it is all cleaned up and we could see no signs of it.  South out of Glennallen, AK we continued driving through a broad wooded valley.  The Wrangell Mountains were to the East, and they were very impressive.

The road started to climb and we approached a large mountain with Worthington Glacier coming down it’s side.  Stopped and took several pictures and then continued on up to Thompson pass at 2700 feet.  The area around the pass receives over 900 inches of snow each winter and is closed for a lot of the winter.

After Thompson Pass we started down the hill into Valdez, and did we ever go down the hill.  Check out the graph on Basecamp to see how steep and long the downhill grade was.   All I can think about tonight, is I have to drive back up that grade tomorrow to get out of here.  I told Mom and Day they may need to get out and push.

Near Valdez, we went through Keystone Canyon and saw some great waterfalls.  They were right next to the road.  In Valdez, all the campgrounds are the parking lot variety, but the views were incredible.  This area gets 495 inches of snow each winter.  Mom does not want to spend the winter here.

There was a good Safeway store in town and the prices were not too bad, so we stocked up on food and beverages before heading back north and into Canada.

Click here to see Day 24 route and pictures.

Day 23 Steward, AK to Glennallen, AK

Day 23 was spent backtracking on the road we took from Anchorage to Steward on day 21.  We already have driven this road, but driving back on it, it looked different.  The mountains were beautiful and we found diesel along the route for $4.15 at Girdwood and thought we found a bargain.

We had to drive through Anchorage again.  They do not have a bypass and you have to drive right through the downtown.  

North of Anchorage, we got on the Glennallen Highway #1.  It was a narrow two lane road that was very winding.  It ran along the Matanuska River which started at the Matanuska Glacier.   The temperatures got relatively hot at 83 degrees.  We had to run the air in the truck.

We stopped at Wilderness Campground at 4:30 PM.  It was a beautiful campground along a creek, BUT……. the mosquitoes tried to drain all of your blood out of you.  After dry camping for two days in Seward, we all took showers, and then did not want to put bug spray on, so we turned on the air in the camper and stayed inside.

Click here to see Day 23 route and pictures.

Day 21 Anchorage, AK to Seward, AK

Day 21 we drove from Anchorage, AK to Seward, AK.  It was a very beautiful scenic drive.  Leaving Anchorage, it follows the north shore of Turnagain Arm through Chugach State Park.  It permits a panoramic view of the south shore and the Kenai Mountains on the Kenai Peninsula. (I copied that from a book).

It was an easy 127 mile drive, and we arrived in Seward at 12:45 PM.  We stopped at the visitor center to check on camping parks, and saw a GREAT BIG BEAR!!!!  He was pretty nice though, and Dad and he talked for awhile (see pictures).

It turns out; camping at Seward is very easy.  The city controls the land along the bay, and has concrete curbs with numbers on them.  They also spray white lines every 20 feet marking the spot.  You just find an empty one and back in, and then go and self register and hang the ticket on your windshield.  The one we pulled into had no services (electric, water or sewer).  It was $15 per night.  A little further down the bay they had sites with electric and water, but the first two rows were taken and you would be in the back.  We liked our front row spot and it gave us a chance to pull out the generator and run it awhile to charge up the cameras, cell phones, I-Pads and the battery in the 5^th Wheel.

We had a relaxing evening setting in our lawn chairs watching the boats go in and out of the harbor.

Click here to see Day 21 route and pictures.

Day 19 Denali National Park to Anchorage, AK

Day 19 was cloudy and overcast.  We knew we had no chance of seeing Mt. McKinley there so we started down the mountain towards Anchorage and hoped we would be able to see it from the South side.  But, it was just as cloud and overcast there.  So, we saw no Mt. McKinley this trip.

It really was a pretty uneventful day.  Some of the clouds hanging over the mountains looked pretty neat, and we did go over a cool bridge, but we pushed on to Anchorage and stayed in a RV Park right in town.  It was very much like a Trailer Park.  Everyone was right next to each other with a small space between each unit.

We did some planning of what we wanted to see tomorrow and went to bed.

Click here to see Day 19 route and pictures.

Day 18 Fairbanks, AK to Denali National Park

Day 18 we drove from Fairbanks to Denali National Park.  It was another easy days drive.  We drove less than 200 miles.  Cathy and Grandma Linn kept looking for moose and bear.  We have not seen any bear that we could stop and get a picture of, but we did see several moose and get there picture.

We spotted the 5^th Wheel and then drove back to the park to look around.  Just outside the entrance are a bunch of tourist shops.  We spent some time shopping which made Cathy’s day.  We had lunch at a hotdog stand and then drove to the Denali Visitors Center.  They wanted $10 per person to drive the 15 miles into the park, but Grandpa Linn had a Lifetime Pass to the National Parks that got the whole truckload in for free.  That was nice.

Most of Mt McKinley was covered in clouds today, but we could see a small piece of it.  Maybe we will get a better view from the South side of it on our way to Anchorage.  When we got back to the camper, the mosquitoes were awful.  I was not going to get the grill out, so we cooked Brat Patties on the George Forman Grill inside the camper.  They were great.  

We watched a comedy movie with Adam Sandler that Steve and Amy had gotten us for Christmas.  It was called Grown Up, and was pretty good.  We all got a pretty good laugh out of watching it.  When it was over, it was after 10 PM, so we went to bed.

Click here to see Day 18 route and pictures.

Day 17 in Fairbanks, AK

Day 17 we stayed in the Fairbanks, AK area.  We all took showers and did some laundry in the morning.  We then headed up to the Gold Dredge, but we missed the 10:30 AM tour and the next one was not until 1:45 PM.  We took a few pictures of the Alaska Pipeline and then drove down to the Discovery III Paddle wheeler.

At 2 PM we boarded the boat and went for a very nice cruse.  I would recommend the 3 hour trip.  It was very informative.  We stopped and got off the boat at a replica of an Indian village and trapper camp.  We went to three different stations where native Indians shared their culture.  It was very interesting.

It was another very hot day.  Got up to 86 degrees.  When we got back to camp, we turned on the air conditioning  and watched CSI Las Vegas.  After the news we went to bed.

Click here to see Day 17 route and pictures.

Day 16 Tok, AK to Fairbanks, AK

Day 16 we traveled from Tok, AK to Fairbanks, AK.  The road out of Tok ran straight West and was lined on both sides with trees.  At Delta Junction, AK we turned right and headed to Fairbanks.  If we would have went left it would have taken us to Valdez, AK.  Mom, Dad and I will come back that way on our return trip.

We drove over a long span bridge that crossed the Gerstle River.  The rivers here are very wide, muddy, shallow rivers that are meant to hold a lot more water during the spring thaw.  I saw a motorhome with a car tote on back down on the sandbar, and said if he can get there, I can get there.  We drove the entire rig down onto the sandbar and took a lot of good picture, but not one of the the entire rig on the sandbar.   The mountains to the south was the Alaska Range and were very pretty.

It was was an easy drive on into Fairbanks and we arrived at 2:10 PM and parked at the Riverview RV Park.  The temperature was 86 degrees.  We spotted the camper in it’s spot and drove back to North Pole, AK to see Santa Clause Village.  We then drove on into Fairbanks and found were the Riverboat Discovery paddle wheeler launched from.  We will do that tomorrow.  Cathy discovered a brewery so we had to go and check that out and have a beer.  It was the Silver Gulch Brewery.  The beer was good….yum!!

It was after 9 PM and the sun was still high in the sky and it was very hot.  So turned on the Air Conditioning in the 5^th Wheel and went to bed.

Click here to see Day 16 route and pictures.

Day 15 Kluane Lake to Tok, AK

Day 15 was kind of bouncy.  It is the section of the highway that they have a lot of trouble with frost heaves in the winter and are repairing them all summer.  Some of them they did a good job of repairing, others not so much so.  There was two stretches where they were completely rebuilding the entire road for about a 10 mile stretch.  Those we had to wait for a pilot car and drive the dusty gravel at 20 mph.

The view of the Elias Mountains was great.  The range of mountains has 13,000 to 15,000 foot mountain peaks.

We saw moose today.  The first one was kind of camera shy, and laid down when we stopped the car and would not get back up.  But the second one we spotted a couple of minutes down the road let us take some pictures of her.

We got to Tok, AK at 3:30 and found a campground.  We fueled up the truck and washed it.  Diesel was $4.429 per gallon.  Dad volunteered to cook and took us to Fast Eddies Restaurant where we each had a dinner salad and shared a large pizza.  We were eating pizza, so of course we had a couple of beers.

The clocks fell back another hour when we entered Alaska.  We are now 3 hours behind Iowa time.  Everyone was tired from the bumpy ride (and beer), so we all went to bed early.  We will make it to Fairbanks tomorrow.

Click here to see Day 15 route and pictures.

Day 14 Whitehorse to Kluane Lake

Day 14 was a very easy day.  We only drove 3 hours and then stopped at 2:15 PM for the night.  There were two reasons we did this.   The first was because of other traveler’s description of the road between Kluane Lake, YT and Tok, AK.  Everyone described it as extremely rough.  One couple that was pulling a camping trailer said they drove 35 mile per hour and when they stopped all their cupboards had opened and dishes and stuff was all over the floor.  The second reason was this great campground, called Cottonwood  RV Park.  We stopped early enough that we had our pick of spots and got to back the 5^th Wheel right up the lake.  We spent a wonderful afternoon and evening setting in our lawn chairs, looking out at the lake, and letting the day go by.

The distance from Whitehorse, YT to Tok, AK is 320 miles and we drove 150 of it today in three hours.  The road to here was fine, but the books say it will take six hours to get to Tok, AK from here and that will be the really rough and slow part.

Klaune Lake is the largest lake in the Yukon Territory covering 15 square miles.  The Ruby Range is to the East of the lake and the Kluane Ranges (elevation up to 8000 ft.) on the West.   The water is very clear and of course very cold from the snow runoff.  It got up to the high 70’s today, making it very pleasant to set out in our lawn chairs.  

There were swarms of little black flying bugs.  When the owner showed us the camping spot she informed us they do not bite and do not like wind, so we set in the breeze and it was OK.  The bugs are only here for a couple of weeks in June.  Lucky us!

Off to bed so we can face the treacherous road tomorrow.

Click here to see Day 14 route and pictures.

Day 12 Watson Lake, YT to Whitehorse, YT

Day 12 was an easy drive from Watson Lake, YT to Whitehorse, YT.  We pulled out of Baby Nugget Campground at 9:20 AM and it was 59 degrees and sunny.  We saw names and messages in rocks along the ditches for several miles out of town.  They were started in the summer of 1990 by a Ft Nelson swim team, and travelers have been adding to it ever since.

The road was smooth and gently rolling and we made good time.  We stopped at Rancheria Falls.  It was a nice gravel and boardwalk trail back to the falls.  We spent about an hour there and took several pictures.

We reached Teslin Lake and first had to cross Nisutlin Bay Bridge.  It is the longest water span on the Alaska Highway at 1,917 feet.  Teslin Lake is 86 miles long and averages 2 miles across and has an average depth of 194 feet.  This thing went along parallel to the road forever.

We reached Whitehorse at 3:30 and checked into the Hi Country Campground for two nights.  Before we spotted the 5^th Wheel, we wash it.  Boy was it dirty.  After spotting the camper, we drove through Whitehorse but almost everything was closed.  That was OK, because we planned on spending the next day checking out the sights in town.

We are starting to notice how late the daylight lasts.  We took a quick walk around the campground at 10:15 PM and the sun was still shining bright.  We closed our curtains and went to bed

Click here to see Day 12 route and pictures.

Day 11 Ft Nelson, BC to Watson Lake, YT

Day 11 started out rainy and cool (54 degrees).  Today’s trip was from Ft Nelson, BC to Watson Lake, YT.  It was described in our travel book as the most scenic along the Alaska Highway.  We got out of the campgrounds at 9:20 AM and immediately ran into low clouds and fog.  The road was climbing, and it got real foggy as we drove through the cloud layer, and then we were on top of the clouds.  We don’t know if there were high mountain peaks to look at or not.  They were all covered with clouds.

We made it to Summit Pass (4250 ft), and it was clear and sunny on the other side.  We drove though a lot of large Rocky Mountains and alongside rushing creeks, streams and rivers.  It really was a pretty drive.

One of the mountains was called Folded Mountain.  The face where you usually see the layers of sediment from when it was an Ocean floor was all folded and went up and down and all crazy.  Check out the good picture we got.  A little further was two small waterfalls.

Muncho Lake was very beautiful.  It reminded me of Lake Tahoe with two mountain ranges on each side and both ends of the valley got dammed up by volcano or rock slides, trapping the water and forming the lake.  It was very deep (over 730 feet), and 7 miles long and 1 mile wide at an elevation of 2,680 ft.  It was a green color which is from the copper oxide leaching into the lake.  When we stopped to take pictures, there was an older couple that had gotten their truck and rig in trouble in the parking lot.  In my mind there was no way they were going to get out without a tow truck.  So I went to the Lodge and asked them to call for one.  They said they could not call and the people would have to come to the lodge and make the call.  So we left Cathy and Mom at the lodge and drove the truck and 5^th Wheel back 7 miles to the where they were struck.  About a mile from the spot, here they came rolling down the road.  They were out!  I drove on to the parking lot and there were some people there that explained that a guy with a small truck and a winch pulled him out.  There was squealing tires and rocks were flying everywhere.  They said they thought the 5^th wheel camper was going to roll over for sure……..but they got out.  Oh well, I tried to do my good deed for the day.

On down the road at Liard Hot Springs, we saw our first herd of Bison.  The pictures Mom and Cathy took are great.  

We made it to Watson Lake at 6:00 PM, and fueled up the truck with the 5^th Wheel still on.  I think we were all tired, because the great attraction here is the Sign Forest, and we all thought it looked like a bunch of junk, and nobody wanted to get out and look.  So we rolled down the road about another 14 miles to the Baby Nugget RV Park.  They have great showers and laundry here.  We cleaned up and did a few loads of laundry and went to bed at 10:30 PM.  It was still very light out.

Click here to see Day 11 route and pictures.

Day 10 Dawson Creek, BC to Ft Nelson, BC

Day 10 we were finally at the Alaska Highway.  We had already travelled over 2500 miles just to get to the beginning.   At mile 17 we saw Kiskatinaw River Bridge.  It is a curved wooden bridge that is 531 feet long and is the only original bridge that was built along the Alaska Highway that is still in use today.  We stopped and got some good pictures.  It is a pretty cool structure when you think about them building it in 1942 without all the modern machinery we have today.

At mile 34 we crossed the Peace River.  It was a suspension bridge with metal grating bridge deck and the longest water span on the Alaska Highway.  It was 2,130 feet long.  It was built in 1960 after two prior bridges had washed out over the years.

The rest of the day was filled with long stretches of straight road with an occasional 10 percent grade up or down.  It was pretty rolling foothills.

At Ft Nelson, BC we found a great campground called the Triple G Campground.  The people running it were all very friendly.  They joked and laughed and seem to really enjoy their jobs.  It was a pleasant change from the efficient, no nonsense people at other parks.  Maybe they were so happy because they also had a bar/restaurant with a large patio there.  Of course we took advantage and had a couple of cocktails, and then off to bed.

Click here to see Day 10 route and pictures.

Day 9 Whitecourt to Dawson Creek

Day 9 we hit the road headed to Dawson Creek, BC.  That is the start (Mile 0) of the Alaska Highway.  At 9:10 AM we jumped on Highway 43 which was a good 4 lane divided highway all the way to within about 10 miles of Dawson Creek where it turned into a two lane.  It will be two lanes for most of the rest of the way to Alaska.

It was a pretty uneventful day.  We saw lots of signs telling to watch out for Moose, but I am the only one that caught a quick sighting of one on a narrow road through the timber.  There were two of them crossing the road.  No one else saw them and they think I am lying.  In fact as I am writing this, they are saying “Are you sticking to that made up story?”  I did, really!!!!

We crossed into British Columbia today, and arrived at the Mile 0 Campground at 2:37 PM.  We got the camper set up and because we did not stop for lunch, we decided to make supper.  Cathy cooked us some spaghetti and a nice lettuce salad with Olive Garden dressing.  We also opened a bottle of wine.  

After lunch/dinner we went back to town to buy groceries:

1 gallon 1% milk $4.69

½ gallon Orange Juice $4.99 plus .20 cent deposit and a .06 cent recycling fee??  Where do you take that back too?

6 bananas for $1.95 (88 cents a pound)

Spotted a car wash and pulled in.  It was a large Morton type building with 6 stalls separated with yellow rubber curtains.  You got a ticket before you went in that looked like a parking ramp ticket with the time stamp on it.  You paid for the time you used.  So you washed like a madman using all the High Pressure Soap, Foam Brush, High Pressure Rinse, Wax, and Spot Free you wanted.  There was even a vacuum in the bay.  You then started you truck and went to the exit where a person punched you ticket and told you how much you owed.  I spent $12.30.  That was interesting.

We spotted a DQ and each had a Blizzard and then headed back to the campground.  Oh, but we had to stop at liquor store to replenish supplies.  A 15 pack of Bud Light was $24.00 and a 6 pack of a local brewery beer was $11.00.  It’s expensive being a drunk or overweight in Canada.

Back at the campground everyone was tired out and all went to bed around 9 PM.

Click here to see Day 9 route and pictures.

Day 8 Calgary to Whitecourt

Day 8 posted late because of lack of good internet connection.

On Day 8, it was time to get back on the road.  At 6:00 AM it was 39 degrees and clear blue skies.  We dumped the tanks, hooked up, dropped off our security cards and got our deposit back, and were on the road by 10:52 AM.  We were tired of all the traffic in Calgary, so decided to bypass Edmonton, which is just another large city.

We were already on a county road # 22.  It is a two lane road that wandered its way north going through small towns along the way.  It worked out real well.  For the first part of the day we went through rolling foothills made up of pastures.  This must be horse country, because they were everywhere.  Every place had at least a dozen of them.

We tried to stop for lunch in the camper at a city park, but it was only 50 degrees, cloudy and windy.  The camper was too cold to fix lunch in, so we went to McDonalds.  After lunch the countryside turned into timber.  We started seeing a lot of logging truck loaded with trees.

We arrived at the Lion Campground (run by the Lion club) in Whitecourt at 3:10.  Up to this point we had stayed at campground that reminded you of a suburb community.  Everyone in nice neat rows with a little patch of grass maybe a tree and a picnic table between each one.  But this camping spot is what I call camping.  We backed in among a bunch pine trees.  It was great.  We bought some wood ($8.00 for a dry bundle) and built a campfire.  Cathy and mom made Hobo Meals (slice of onion on bottom, minute steak, vegetables and hash browns on top.  Wrap up in aluminum foil and throw on grate).   They came out great.  This is always one of my favorite meals.

We drove down to where the Athabasca and McLeod Rivers came together.  Then a little further down the road, we found a Casino.  While dad and I drank a beer at the bar, Cathy threw a $20.00 bill in an Alice in Wonderland, 2 cent machine and within 5 minutes came back with a ticket for $91.72.  She cashed it in and drank a beer with us and we left.  The draw microbrew beer was $5.25, and a can of Coors Light was $5.50.

It was getting cool outside when we got back to the campground, and the girls did not want to set out by the fire, so we fired up the DVD and watched the move Flight with Denzel Washington.  It was a good movie and lasted to 10 PM.  We were tired and went to bed.

Click here to see Day 8 route and pictures.

Day 7 Banff and Lake Louise

Day 7 was rainy and cold, but our schedule was to go to Banff and Lake Louise, so off we went.  This area is called the Rocky's of Canada.  Banff is a resort town that could pass for Aspen or Lake Tahoe.  Lots of artsy-fartsy stores and restaurants.

The cloud deck was so low, all you saw was the trees at the base, and then the clouds.  When we got to Lake Louise, which is one of the most beautiful places on earth, it was raining hard.  It was a real effort to jog up to the lake, snap the pictures and get back to the car before we drowned.

We got some good pictures and tried to make the best of it, but when you know how beautiful it should be and you can not see it, it is disappointing.  Trust me though, it beat a day at work.

We hook the trailer back up tomorrow and head north.  Next stop is Whitecourt, AB.

Click here to see Day 7 route and pictures.

Day 6 Calgary area

Day 6 was a no travel day.  We had to pick up Cathy at the Calgary airport at 1:30 PM, so we used the morning to do chores.  We took showers, and did a couple loads of laundry.  I took the truck to the car wash and spent $12.00.  It was $1.00 per minute.  Back at the campground, I got out the long handle brush and a bucket of water and scrubbed the dead bugs off the front of the camper.  It looks a lot better now.

At Noon we headed to the airport, and on the way realized that Cathy would have to pick up her luggage and then go through Customs.  We were going to be real early, and we were hungry, so we stopped at A&W and had a burger and Root Beer.  When we got to the Airport, we still waited about 30 minutes before she came out.

With our task for the day completed, we thought we would go to the Heritage Park Historical Village.  It is a collection of old building they had moved onto the site from Calgary and surrounding  towns.  You could go into each building and they would have it filled with period furniture and a person dressed in period clothing that would talk to you like they were suppose to be there and it was that time period.  It was pretty cool.  One of the building was a Billiards Parlor with real snooker tables.  They were 6 foot by 12 foot.  I have never seen one before.  They are huge, and the pockets are small and so are the balls.

Most of the buildings also had old pictures on the walls of the building in it's original location.  One of the buildings was a collection of old cars and trucks.  It also had over 40 different old gas pumps that were all restored to better than new.

The bad part is I did not bring my camera, and Mom's batteries went dead soon after we got there, so we missed out on sharing a lot of it.  But trust me, it was cool.

Cathy was pretty tired after her flight, so we headed back to the campground, ate supper and called it a great day.

Click to see Day 6 route and pictures.

Day 5 Shelby, MT to Calgary, AB

Day 5 was all about getting across the border in Canada.  It was no problem at all.  There was a line when we got there.  You never get out of your vehicle.  We handed the guy at the booth our  Passports and then he stared asking questions like, How long will we be in Canada?  How much alcohol and tobacco products do we have?  Do we have any firearms or handguns?  Then he went off in another direction and asked Is the camper new?  What kind of hitch is that?  I have never seen one like that.  As he asked these last question, he watched us real close.  I think was just testing us to see if we would start acting nervous or strange.  I lucked out.  He didn't notice I was strange.  He was satisfied, gave us back our passports and told us to have a good day.  The wait and questioning took 25 min.

When we saw the Welcome to Alberta sign, we had to stop and take tourist pictures.  We saw a Dairy Queen and I ran two people off the road, but we made it into the parking lot (just kidding).  We ate lunch in the 5th Wheel, and then went into DQ and got each of us a Blizzard.

We got to Calgary around 3:30 on a Friday afternoon, and the traffic was horrendous.  We made up our own route to skirt along the SW side of town in order to miss downtown.  Calgary is a very large city.  Population 1,120,225.  That's over twice as big as Des Moines and all of it's suburbs combined.  It felt like all million people were headed home when we were there.

We are now parked in SpringHill RV Park.  It is about 20 miles NW of Calgary.  We will be here for the next three nights.  Tomorrow we will go to the airport in Calgary and pick up Cathy who arrives at 1:30 PM.  We will look around Calgary  and see the sights.  Cathy will get to spend her first night in the new 5th Wheel.

The Day 7 we are driving just the truck, West to the Canadian Rockys.  We will be going to Banff and Lake Louise.  Cathy wants to ride a horse.  That will make great pictures.  Then on Day 8 we will hook up the 5th Wheel and keep heading north.

Click here to see Day 5 route and pictures.

Day 4 Bozeman, MT to Shelby, MT

Day 4 was a beautiful day.  At 6:30 it was 48 outside and 54 inside.  It warmed up quickly and topped out around 75 degrees.  We have had great weather other than the high wind Day 2.  It has been sunny and warm every day.  We had an easy day planned and only went 270 mile in 5 hours and 30 minutes.  We are only 20 miles from the Canadian Border, which we will cross in the morning on our way to Calgary.

In the morning we pass mile after mile of wheat fields.  These are huge fields of over a square mile each.  The biggest I have ever seen.

North of Helena, MT on Highway 15 we went through a great canyon.  The rock walls were very red, and the pictures attached did not pickup how red they were.  But it was very cool.  Found a nice campground that is run by the city of Shelby, MT.  It was $18 for the night with electricity.

We are excited about crossing into Canada tomorrow.  We are all tired and headed to bed.  Good Night.

Click here to see Day 4 route and pictures.

Day 3 Devels Tower, MT to Bozeman, MT

Day 3 started at the base of Devils Tower.  It was very special, camping right at the base and being able to look up and see the tower.  Pretty cool.  Because of the one hour time change, we were all awake at 5:30 AM (our bodies thought it was 6:30 and time to get up).  So we did [grin].  The temperature was 39 degrees and overcast.  We ate breakfast and got an early start.  Out of the park at 8:07 AM.

It was a good thing we started early because it was going to be one of our longest days.  We had to travel over 430 miles to Bozeman, MT.  Saw some antelope in Wyoming.  Saw our first sighting of snow covered mountains in the far distance.  Mom thought they were just clouds, but she was wrong. As we continued on, they got closer and we took several pictures of the snowy mountains.

Crossed into Montana at 11:55 and the temperature was 55 degrees.  At 1:09 stopped at a rest stop and ate lunch in the camper.  West of Billings, MT we went through our highest pass at 5660 feet.  The truck and 5th wheel performed flawlessly.  So did the driver.  No comment on the passengers [grin].  Arrived at Sunrise Campground in Bozeman, MT at 4;20 pm.  The temperature was 75 degrees.  It was a good day.

We drove 427 miles today for a total of 1153 miles in three days.
We used 54 gallons of fuel today for a total of 124 gallons in three days.
We averaged 9.7 mpg today for an average for the three days of 9.2 mpg.

Enjoy the pictures in the following link.

Click to see Day 3 route and pictures.

Day 3 Mitchell, SD to Devels Tower, MT

Day 2 is in the books.  We left Dakota Campground in Mitchell, SD at 9:00 AM.  About an hour latter we reached the Missouri River at Highway 90.  There is a real nice visitor center there and we stopped and took a couple of pictures.  After we crossed the river, it seemed like the road went straight up.  We were continually going up a grade AND the wind was blowing very hard from the Northwest.  I had forgotten how much nothing there is between Sioux Falls and Rapid City.........booorrring.

We stopped at Rapid City for fuel and lunch at 1:10.  We then finished the day by driving to Devils Tower were we are staying overnight at a KOA Campground located right at the base of the tower.  Kind of a pricey campground at $53 for the night, but a very cool place to be.

We had a huge headwind today.  I guess it was just payback for the great tailwind we had yesterday.  Winds were a steady 15 mph, gusting to 35 mph.  We drove 374 miles in 7 hours and 30 min.  We did not have enough fuel to get to Rapid City because of the headwinds and stopped in New Underwood to fuel up.  Because fuel was so expensive ($4.91), we only put in $48.52 and 12.4 gallons.  We then drove on to Rapid City and stopped at a Pilot Truck Stop.  Fuel there was $3.959.  It took another 26.53 gallons to fill it up.  Fuel mileage for today was only 7.3 mpg (darn headwind).  We also climbed in elevation about 3000 feet.  You can see that on the Route Log.



On to Bozeman, MT tomorrow

Click here to see Day 2 route and pictures

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Day 1 Des Moines, IA to Mitchell, SD

Day 1 is completed.  It's 11 PM and Mom and Dad are in bed and I am trying to get today's travels documented.  We left Ankeny, IA this morning about 9:15 AM and arrived in Mitchell, SD about 4:30 PM.  We went up to Ames and then went West on Highway 30 and then Highway 141 to Highway 29.  We stopped in the town of Salix at 1 PM and made us some lunch in the camper and ate it.

We had a great tailwind from the SE all the way.  Winds were 20 mph, gusting to 44 mph.  We drove 337 miles in 7 hours and 15 min.  It took 31.4 gallons to fill up and we paid $3.679 per gallon.  That figures out to 10.7 mpg.  Not to bad, but remember, we had a huge tailwind.
On to Devils Tower tomorrow.

Click here to see todays route and pictures.

One week away

It's Memorial Day and one week away from starting on our trip to Alaska.  I have been doing several upgrades to the 5th Wheel including:

Surge Protector
Oven Thermometer
Refrigerator and freezer thermometer
Air mattresses and pads on bunks beds
Mud flaps on camper
Wax front of camper

It's raining today,  did some planning with Google Maps.  Here is a link of the route we will be taking from Des Moines, IA to Calgary, AB.

Planned route for first five days of the trip.

Testing GPS Options

I am looking for a simple tool to track my travels by GPS and display on a web page.  I would also like the pictures that I take, geo tagged to the route.  I took this trip to Waterloo, IA using a Garmin Aera 560 with tracking turned on.

I then used a product called Garmin Basecamp to log the trip onto a map and then geo tag some pictures taken along the route.  Here is the link to the Drive to Waterloo:

Link to Drive to Waterloo, IA

Let's see how it works.

New Open Range 5th Wheel

Just signed the paperwork to purchase a new 2013 Open Range Light 5th Wheel.  Even though I don't have a hitch installed in the truck yet, I had to back under and take a picture.  The hitch gets installed in the truck the first week of April.  I am also replacing the 26 gallon fuel tank on the truck with a 45 gallon tank.  It goes in the same place the original is located, and uses the original fill access and recalibrated fuel gauge.

 

What prompted this purchase and upgrade is an overwhelming feeling that