Tag: Canada

Driving along the most scenic highway in North America

We made it to Alaska! Well not really, only for a few hours…read on. Stewart, BC is off 37A, a little 65 km detour off the Cassier Highway described as one of the most scenic highway in North America. From Stewart you can get to Hyder which is part of Alaksa the good ol’ US of A! It is interesting that there is no border crossing to go back into the US here but you have to go through customs to cross back into Canada. Luckily it was really simple, we were only asked a few routine questions and they scanned our passports. They don’t stamp US passports when you enter Canada unfortunately as I’d like to keep my collection going and get Zygi’s started.

Entering Hyder, Alaska

We took our time driving down 37A, it was breathtakingly gorgeous. The snow capped mountains rise on all sides and there are literally hundreds of water falls. We passed by Bear Glacier and took some pictures. We arrived at Clements Lake Recreation Site which was described as having spots for 5 RV’s. This time I took the bike down the dirt road to see if there was a spot for our huge rig. Success! We found one of the most scenic spots we had ever seen. It was facing a small lake with a huge, steep mountain in the backdrop. We could see several waterfalls coming down the mountain and we could even hear the largest one from 1000’s of ft away! There were only three real camping spots, only one of them big enough for anything more than a truck camper or something similar.

The next day we took a drive to see Salmon Glacier, the only glacier in the WORLD that you can drive to see the summit. We drove across the border to Hyder, Alaska which is described as “The friendliest little ghost town you’ve seen.” We first stopped at the bear viewing platform. A nicely build elevated platform about a river where bears come to feed on salmon. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see any bears because the salmon had not made it down to the river yet (we were 3 weeks early). The man that was working there smelled like dirty old laundry but he gave us the automobile tour brochure that gave a little history about the area along the way to the glacier. There was a lot of mining done here and still is going on. The road to the glacier was a long, rough, gravel road full of large potholes. We were warned that the graters had not been on the road yet but we decided to go anyways. We had to see the fifth largest glacier in North America. The drive up itself was shockingly beautiful with beautiful steep mountains everywhere, tons of waterfalls, and clear blue lakes and a milky white river (glacier feed rivers are white from the rock being ground down). The road was about 20 miles but somehow Zygi managed to sleep on the way up despite the rocking and shaking of the tight truck suspension.

The next day we hung around the lake and enjoyed the view. It was another warm perfect day. I swam to the platform in the middle of the freezing lake. We also broke out the kayak for the first time on the trip and took Zygi for his first ride. He liked climbing around on it until he barrel rolled off it. He was upset for a bit after that but Victoria calmed him down. Unfortunately after we put his life jacket on he started balling and didn’t stop crying for the entire ride (which was a short one). We let him play with the jacket afterwards so hopefully after a few more times he’ll be used to it. Any suggestions on this will be appreciated.

After a couple days we decided to move on even though we could have stayed there all summer. It helps to know that the next place we’re going is going to be just as spectacular. Hasta luego mis amigos

Putting miles and mosquitos behind us: Our first week in Canada.

After Vancouver we realized we were a bit behind schedule. I wanted to be at 1500 miles driven and we were only an 1000. We had been driving around 150-200 miles a day since leaving Modesto. So we decided we needed to pick it up a little. After leaving Vancouver we drove 250 miles to a town called 100 Mile House to the aptly named 100 Mile House Municipal Park. No utilities (not that we needed any) but there were trash cans and it had a water tap to fill your tank. Someone came around every few hours to collect the $10/night fee. It was nice and there was a short walk to a waterfall and a large beautiful park. The camp spot was quite nice backing right up to a creek with lots of trees and space. Unfortunately Victoria was getting eaten alive by mosquitoes and she couldn’t even take the short walk to the waterfall so we left the next day.

Taking a break at one of the rest stops

I should mention that in Canada they have free parks that you can camp at called Recreation Sites. They don’t have any hookups but they are FREE. There are also municipal parks and provincial parks but they have a fee although some of them have hookups. Our goal is to camp for free as much as possible since the gas is ridiculously expensive here at about $5 a gallon. We have been using Backroad Mapbooks as our guide for finding these sites. I bought the whole British Columbia set for like $180 Canadian. Sounds like a lot but the commercial campgrounds can be anywhere from $30-$50 a night. So they will pay for themselves in a week.

Backroad Mapbooks

The next day we drove another 200 miles to the town of Prince George, the largest city in Northern BC. We needed to have the truck battery looked at because the truck wasn’t starting like it should in the morning. I only had those batteries a little over a year so I knew they were under warranty. Low and behold Victoria found an Interstate Battery store in Prince George! Unfortunately they were closed for the weekend by the time we arrived. So we were stuck at a commercial campground called Bee Lazee Campground. We needed to do laundry and take long hot showers after two weeks of navy showers. Plus Victoria vacuumed the truck out, I didn’t think it was dirty but man it looked better afterwards. It was a decent park other than the lady was a bit rude who ran the place and at $35 a night Canadian (about $30 American) I expect better service. Victoria said she had hotter showers in Mexico. Anyways I got the truck to Interstate early Monday morning and sure enough one battery was bad (Replaced for free) and the other just was hooked incorrectly (they placed the battery in the center rather then fully to the right so it didn’t seat all the way down) both of which the guy fixed for $20 Canadian.

Bee Lazee campground

Recreation sites are very similar to National Forest primitive campgrounds in the United States. It can be a good bit of work to find out if our rig will fit. It seems to be a 50/50 chance on if the rangers know much about the campgrounds and roads to get to them. The roads are often dirt and gravel and often you just have to go with your gut. We had initially picked out Bulkley Lake Recreation site. When we turned off the highway the road seemed ok at first but then it came to a dead end but the road continured into a narrow forest road. Victoria said “Hold on there! You better go check that out first.” After a like mile and a half of rough road I ran into a gate, and I thought, “thank God we did come down here.” On the way back I noticed a map and the trail to the campsites was so over grown I would have had to machete my way in, much less drive a 35ft fifth wheel down it. This was really disappointing as we’d been in the car since 8am and it was 5 pm, luckily the sun doesn’t really set till 11pm here. We had a plan B though, Chapman Lake Recreation Site which was another hour and a half away. We also realized that we can’t fully trust that when the recreation site is listed to be ok for RV’s it doesn’t necessarily mean LARGE RV’s.

Even though I’m so tired of driving at least it has been scenic. It’s like you think you’ve seen the best and then there is something even better around every turn. So finally we make it to Chapman Lake and we picked out a nice large spot with grass over looking the lake. It was such a pleasure to see after traveling 10 hours. There was a little dock and yellow wildflowers all around. There were only like 8 sites and we had the entire campground to ourselves.

The first day we just chilled by the lake as it was warm and sunny. I had my folding rocking chair out, Victoria was laying out, and Zygi was running around on the tarp watching Marilyn play fetch. It was a nice relaxing day, well needed after the long drive the day before. I should also mention that with the incredible amount of day light our two 100 watt panels really pump out the energy. So we can watch TV all day and night if we wanted and charge all our other devices and not worry about the power. The only thing I used the generator for so far was to use my laser jet printer (I just have a 1000 watt inverter). They must draw an incredible amount of power because I have a 2000 watt generator for backup and it really revs up when the printer first starts.

Someone used magical voodoo to position these rocks like this.

The next day we tried to do some hiking. I say try because the first trail went to a lake at about 3 miles but we only made it about one mile because the trees blocking the trail were too numerous and large, especially with Zygi on my back. So we then went to another one that was nice and and open, Ski and snowshoe trails in the winter and hiking trails in the summer. Unfortunately they had record snowfall this year and so the trail was like walking on a peat bog, it reminded me of our hiking in Florida. In fact it was so much like Florida that the bugs were actually worse. For some reason the mosquitoes seem to have a thing for Victoria. She said it was the worst hike she ever did. So again after about a mile we turned around and said lets go enjoy the lake before we have to leave, which we did.

Hiking near Chapman Lake

I have to mention that we have never seen so much wildlife so close in the wild. We saw two black bears on separate occasions right along the road, We saw a bald eagle quite close and then another that chased him off. We saw two foxes cross the road and countless deer. It was/is amazing, we’re are really getting far into the wild now. On most trips I’m really into the actual activities, hiking, biking and camping, but the driving is so incredibly scenic it’s an activity on it’s own.

Nest up taking the Cassier highway to Stewart, BC and Hyder, AK on a road called 37a that is supposedly the most scenic in all off North America (I’ll give you a hint, it very well may be.) See you then.

O Canada! Crossing the border into Vancouver.

We wanted to camp close to the border to do some last minute shopping, get the tires rotated and organize the inside of the RV better.  It was an all day drive for us coming from Riffe Lake to Ferndale, Wa.  We didn’t get much cooperation. The roads were mountainous, there was hundreds of traffic lights, and then when we made it to the highway it was bumper to bumper even though we took 405 around Seattle. Anyways we did finally make it to Silver Reef Casino. There were a number of other people camping out there and they also had a free dump and freshwater fill, so it was a good place to prepare to cross. We had dinner at the buffet one night. Zygi made a mess with the oyster crackers so we left the waiter a big tip.  We felt like we were in the movie, “The Hangover”, walking through the smoky casino with him in the front facing baby carrier.

We got up and left early for the border, we crossed at Lynden because we read it’s not used a whole lot. There was only one other person there and they were seriously checking his car out. I was thinking “Oh boy were going to be here for a while”. Luckily it only took 30 minutes or so. They checked to make sure I gave them the correct serial number on our shotgun and went through our passports and that was it. They didn’t ask for Marilyn’s paperwork or search the RV. Easy peasy, like every border crossing for us so far(crossing my fingers).

Downtown Vancouver

We then went and camped at another casino, Starlight Casino, just outside of Vancouver so we can drive in and see what some people say is the most beautiful city in the world. I agree with them. The mountains and the city planning are both just stunning, one natural and one man made.

We parked the truck a couple streets away from the 22nd street stop and caught the train in to town.  First we went to Chinatown and bought the best falafel I ever had, weird I know. Then I went to a congee restaurant, it’s basically rice porridge with meat or other things in it that is usually a breakfast food. They also use it for baby food in Asia. Anyways, it was fantastic. I’ve loved it since eating it every morning in the streets of Thailand with the locals for breakfast. It’s not something you can find a lot of places. We then got some fantastic Dim Sum and that was as much as we could eat.

We then walked to Gastown, an upscale and historic area. It was beautiful to walk around. Unfortunately we went down one wrong street (Hastings) and saw the homeless problem that I’ve heard so much about in Vancouver. Luckily it was only a small area and it seems lately the west coast has been cleaning up their cities somehow. I for one am glad as it chases off a lot of tourists. We then walked to Canada place which is basically their cruise ship terminal. There are some neat educational displays about the port and train yard.

All in in it turned out to be a fantastic visit to a fantastic city.  Vancouver reminded us of San Francisco but we both agreed that we liked Vancouver better.  Vancouver seems more affordable and cleaner, especially when comparing the two Chinatowns.  The homeless are confined to one area instead of spread about the city.  Even the suburbs feels urban because they don’t allow building single family homes. Instead there are several high rise apartment buildings and town homes.   It really is a cool city.

Riding back home on the train

Up next, driving through some of the most beautiful mountains in the world.

Written by Tim and Victoria