North to Alaska … Day 6 – Saturday 5/8/10 to Prince George, BC
After the snow flurries yesterday afternoon and then rain at night I was hoping to wake up and not see any snow on the ground. Luck was on our side. No road issues all the way from Clinton, BC to Prince George, BC. We did see a little snow on the road as we climbed above Clinton. Here is a quick glimpse of the light coating from last night.
Today’s leg covered some ground that reminds me of the Northwest handle of Washington driving on Highway 101. Rolling hills with lots of timber here and there and pastures. Now and then we hit towns. Here’s what it looked like from Karen’s view.
We finally saw an animal that wasn’t a cow. On 4 occasions, we spotted some deer near the side of the road. Saw may signs for deer and elk crossing and saw a couple of moose crossing signs. We’re hoping to see a lot of wild life on our trip and I know we’ll see moose in Alaska. Saw a crossing sign twice today that I have never seen before. It was a “badger” crossing sign. Man, I wouldn’t want to run into one of those critters – I understand that they tend to rather nasty.
Here’s what our RV park in Clinton, BC looked like. It cost us $15 Canadian. It had 30A of power/water/sewer. Internet was $2. The guy running the place was quite a character but for the price it served its purpose for the night. KAREN: You get what you pay for. No cable, WiFI cost a tooney ($2) and was spotty at best. It was a looonng night, eh?
Since we’ve been in British Columbia we have yet to see any kind of police. I mean not one single police car of any kind. Not in any town or on any road. Where are they? Not that I’m looking for a police state but what if you need help, break down on the highway? The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is no where to be found. Unlike in California where they’re every where. Go figure. KAREN: There are signs to report aggressive drivers. Maybe they rely on you ratting on your enemies.
KAREN: While preparing to depart Clinton this a.m., a lady next to us approached Pete with her hands cupped and said I want to give you something. Sure, okay. It was a hat pin of the Canadian flag. Thank you, I will wear it proudly, says Pete. … Oh, wait she says, I want to take your pix. Okay, fine. We pose as she directed, click. Oh, wait just two minutes, she says. Okay, fine. About 4 mins. later, she comes running out of her trailer and hands Pete a manila envelope. Bye, we say, as I am trying to take her pix, which she didn’t want me to do. But she is shown in one of the pix wearing a red shirt. Down the road we open the envelope to see an 8×10 color photo of us! Great pix she took. Canadians are nice people, eh?
North to Alaska … Day 5 – Friday 5/7/10 to Clinton, BC
We were really excited this morning as we decided to stop off at Hell’s Gate and take a gondola ride across the canyon that was created by the Fraser River. Unfortunately we were not fruitful due to the parking conditions that existed. As it was, there appeared to only be one vehicle in the parking lot as they probably don’t get too many tourists coming up this way so early in the year. The literature for this scenic attraction really sounded great but it may not have lived up to its billing. Decided to save it for another day.
The rest of the day was spent enjoying the scenery as we followed the Fraser River in its journey towards the ocean. Karen took these photos while we were driving on Highway 97. During today’s leg of our trek we passed through 7 tunnels. Here are photos of the tunnels that were built to straighten out and shorten the ride to Prince George, BC on Highway 97. We also had to stop and park twice for about 20 minutes for road repairs. They can only work on the roads during the spring before the tourist season starts. Here we are enjoying the view of our fellow travelers.
We decided to stop for the night at Clinton, B C. Had some snow flurries earlier today and right now it’s raining. Rain is good … snow is bad. Got another 70 liters of diesel tonight and while I was at a Shell gas station I noticed a Canadian Legion Hall across the street. Decided to pay them a visit and upon entering asked the barmaid if “an American Legionnaire could get a drink in here?”. The obvious answer was yes and shared a cold one with some Canadian veterans and their wives. Veterans have a bond that you can’t explain if you’ve never served your Country. These veterans we no different. All in all a brief moment in time well spent.
KAREN: RV park advertises a nightly buffet BBQ, but upon inquiring, the proprietor wasn’t certain he was having one tonight. Okay. Later, he decided to have it, so Pete felt obligated to attend. I stayed in the fiver. Pete met a couple of ladies, Lana and her niece, Jackie, from the San Diego area. They are on their way to Hazelton, BC to meet up with a caravan to Alaska, same one we were going to go on until bowing at last Dec. A local who lives at the park expressed his thanks to us for America being there to protect Canada. Nice, eh?
North to Alaska … Day 4 – Thursday 5/6/10 to Hope, BC
Today brought us a lot of Hope … We got through the traffic jams around Seattle and proceeded to the Canadian border. Once we got above Seattle we finally felt that our Alaska Trek was upon us. Since we have driven to the Seattle area many times it was just a warm up to the actual adventure.
Photos of Seattle and surrounding areas in route to Canadian Border.
Crossing the Canadian border photos.
Had some apprehension about what to expect when we hit the border and just how much they were going to look into and question us before allowing us to cross the border at Sumas, Washington. I had visions of german shepard dogs sniffing around every little nook and cranny of the 5th wheel. Actually turned out to be quite pleasant and only took about 4 minutes. The young Canadian border guard was delightful and we were soon on our way North.
That’s when we found all that Hope … Hope, British Columbia that is !! This sleepy town is nestled between some huge snow covered mountains but the weather was just great. After days of cold and rain in Oregon and Washington it was refreshing to experience weather in the mid 60s. When in Canada, do as the Canadians do – decided to have a cold one but couldn’t find any beer at the grocery store. Turns out you have to go to a liquor store to get alcohol … eh !? Decided to sample some Labatt’s Blue. Not bad for a pilsener.
Dieseled up today for the first time in Canada and it’s going to take a while to get used to the liters vs gallons stuff. Took on 76 liters of diesel – ya right … that’s what I said too. It cost $1.04 Canadian per liter. OK, any math geniuses out there who can figure out what I paid per gallon? I know my buddy Johnny could do it but then I call him “rain man”.
Karen is starting to become quite the photographer and she took many shots to document today’s travel leg. Here are photos around the Wild Rose RV Park in Hope, BC. You gotta love that scenery …
So far so good. We’re having a blast. The scenery around here … priceless !! And we’re not even near Alaska yet …
North to Alaska … Day 3 – Wednesday 5/5/10 to Gig Harbor, WA
We met Karen and Ed at the West Coast Titanium Rally last month at Morgan Hill, CA and as Karen said … “A good day traveling is when you leave late and stop early”. That’s exactly what we did on Day 3. Only 2.5 hours/120 miles. Will be striving to duplicate the feat many times over.
Some photos going up to Gig Harbor, WA from Portland, OR.
Day 3 was family day as we visited our oldest son and his family in the Seattle area. Turned out to be a wonderful bittersweet visit. Sweet cause we were able to spend some quality time with the twin grandsons and even got to enjoy a T-ball game. What a joy watching 5 and 6 year olds playing. Bitter cause we won’t be seeing family for quite some time. The sacrifices that military families have to make are greatly appreciated.
North to Alaska … Day 2 – Tuesday 5/4/10 to Portland, OR
Day 2 started out with a “wake-up call” from my buddy Mike, aka ‘fishbait’ at 7:22 AM. No big deal … it was time to get out of bed and get things moving. Other than the rain, the rest of day turned out to be quite pleasant. Once we settled down at the Columbia River RV Park in Portland, Oregon we decided to take in some sights. No use letting a little rain ruin anything. For those who have never seen out 5th wheel, here are 3 photos of our rig.
Started our Portland adventure by visiting the Fabric Depot. This Fabric Depot is to quilters what Home Depot is to men. It’s a pilgrimage that needs to be completed at least once in order to find inner peace. Here are some photos of Karen’s visit.
How do you top the Fabric Depot? You visit the Tram. Every time we drive through Portland and pass under the Tram on Interstate 5 I always say that we’ve got to stop and take a ride on it. Well today was that day. Here’s some birds eye views of the sights we experienced riding the Tram.
Finished off our whirl wind tour of Portland visiting Powell’s City of Books, the largest new and used book store in the world. A reader’s paradise. If you’re a big reader then check this out and eat your heart out.