North to Alaska Day 13 (Saturday 5/14)

First and foremost, I want to start today's post with a very Happy Birthday to my son Benjamin.  We don't have any phone service here in the Yukon, so I can't call him to personally wish him the best on his 22nd B-Day. 

Ben's first day home from the hospital

On the 13th day of our trip we left the Triple "G" Campsite in Fort Nelson, BC.   After we left the campsite we saw some of the most beautiful scenery I think that I've ever seen, the start of the Northern Canadian Rockies.  We went from a cloudy day with snow....

to partly cloudy and dry.......

 back to snow capped mountains.

 and frozen rivers.......

Mount St. George

 but; always .......

beautiful!!
We saw more caribou than we could count . . . .

 White tail deer . . . .

more caribou . . . . .

The Sawtooth Mountains

Muncho Lake

 wild buffalo . . . .

Wild Buffalo

Beautiful view from Liard Hot Springs Lodge & Campground

Liard River Hot Springs

Roger enjoying a dip in the Hot Springs

Cooler end of Liard River Hot Springs

Medium-hot end of the hot springs

Hottest End of  the Hotsprings

 and a Red Squirrel enjoying his snack.

Red Squirrel

After our relaxation in the hot spring, it's off for a little dinner and rest for a short trip to Watson Lake, Yukon Territory tomorrow.

 

 

North to Alaska Day 11 & 12

I wasn't able to post our blog yesterday due to technical difficulties - bad internet connection.  Our journey began when we left the Hartway RV Park in Prince George.  Not long after we left the park we came upon a mama black bear and her cub.  The cub was hanging very close to the mother, but they both continued to eat grass by the side of the road.  As we drove, the weather was sunny and bright and we saw more white tail deer than we could count. The further we drove up the mountain; however, the more clouds we were seeing.  Soon we came upon a male black bear eating grass by the side of the road.  All he did was look up at us while we drove by.

Soon, it was raining and we ran into a few little snow flurries.  As we came down the mountain, we could see a "lump" farther down the side of the road.  Roger started to slow down because the "lump" was moving.  Low and behold, as we got closer we realized it was a grizzly bear.

Grizzly looking at motorhome

He just kept on eating

We continued on our way toward Dawson Creek.  Not too far from the city, back in the woods, we spotted 3 more grizzlies.  When we got to Dawson Creek, we decided to stop for the night at the Mile 0 Campsite which is actually 1.5 miles out of town.  The actual Mile 0 marker that is used by the engineers and surveyors is located right in the middle of town.

Mile 0 marker

The Alaska Highway was built by American Soldiers.  They started in December of 1942 and finished it by July 1943.  It was quite the amazing feat.  Dawson Creek is know for being the "Start of the Alaska Highway".

Dawson Creek

We left the Mile 0 Campsite this morning to begin our 12th day of driving.  Soon after we left we saw a coyote, looking for his morning meal.  Again, we saw many white tail deer along the way.  The Alaskan Highway is in great shape so far.  Smooth, well marked, and nice and wide.  One of the best things that we invested in before we left home, is a book called "Milepost" which lays out our route and tells us anything of interest, gas stations, wayside rests, towns and anything unusual or interesting facts. 

As we were traveling today, we began to come across many "Moose Crossing" signs as well as "Deer Crossing" signs.  We kept hoping that we'd see a moose today, so at every slough we kept an eye out for one.  Well, as luck would have it, Roger and I spotted a black lump by the side of the road in the distance.  We were guessing that it was either another black bear or just a rock.  As we got closer, we couldn't tell what it was until we got right up next to it.  It was a moose - laying in the grass watching us drive by!  What a thrill - our first moose!  I was so excited that I took pictures with the lens cap closed - bummer!  I'm sure we'll see more soon.

We pulled into the Triple G Hide Away for the night in the town of Fort Nelson, BC.  Tomorrow, we'll be starting to cross the Northern Rockies until then....

North to Alaska Day 10

After reviewing my post from yesterday, I realized that I forgot to show you the 7th of 7 tunnels along the Highway 97, Fraser River area.  Here it is, the longest (1/2 mile) of all.

China Bar Tunnel

This morning we left Gold Trail RV Park in Clinton, BC and headed North on Highway 97.  Our goal for today, unless we decide to stop and tour something along the way, is Prince George, BC.  It was very cloudy and gray when we left the campground.  Roger just washed the car last night and put the new bra on the car to prevent rock chips.  We also put the new rock guard on the tow bar, we'll start running into loose gravel somewhere soon I'm sure.

Along our adventure today not only did we spot a couple of mule deer in various fields, but we also saw a herd (yes, a herd) of white tail deer, a huge gray hawk  that we're calling a "turkey" hawk because it was big enough to carry a turkey, a red tail hawk, and a big black bear just munching on grass next to the side of the road.  This area is definitely horse and cattle country as well as lumber.  Just about every town has at least one lumber mill, an OSB plant, and a paper plant.

After we stopped for lunch at a wayside rest along a beautiful lake it started to rain and the farther North we went, the harder it rained.  When we got to the Hartway RV Park in Prince George we decided to stop for the evening.  When I looked out our motor home window under a grove of trees, I discovered that we are back in snow country.  Yuck!!

It's that 4 letter word stuff!

North To Alaska Day 9

We left Hope, BC this morning after a relaxing morning strolling through the Hope Valley Campground enjoying the view.  Not far from the campground, we saw Yale Tunnel which is the 1st of 7 tunnels that we will pass through.

Yale Tunnel

Saddle Rock Tunnel

Sailor Bar Tunnel

Alexandra Tunnel

Hells Gate Tunnel

Ferrabee Tunnel

When we passed through each tunnel, around each curve was a more spectacular view.  After the Ferrabee Tunnel we came across Hells Gate Tram which is built where Simon Fraser and his party discovered the Fraser River.  He originally thought that he was discovering the Columbia River.  The Tram ride was not only fun but; what a view!

Fraser Canyon Bio

Fraser Canyon

Hell's Gate Tram

View & Salmon Spawning Corridor

View of Suspension Bridge from Tram

Looking Up the Fraser River

View looking down the Fraser River

Waterfall View from Tram

Three Hummingbirds at Base

Roger on the Suspension Bridge - Very Windy!!!

After we left left Hell's Gate, we headed toward Cache Creek and Clinton.  As we travel to Cache Creek, we leave the lush green forests to a more arid climate.  Cache Creek is considered the Arizona of Canada.  It's a desert type climate only the temperature doesn't get as hot as Arizona. 

Desert Side of the Mountain

Thompson River

We ended the day at the Gold Trail RV Park.  This is a small RV Park with a very low key owner, Mike.  He runs the campground and is the cook at the BBQ Buffet.  We ate dinner at his buffet; which was great!

Michael's Buffet