RV ALASKA - Shari's Café & Pies: A Tribute to Jen

Today’s post is less about the trip and more about the connections we make along the road.  Our travels are not just about a check in the box next to a bucket list item, although making that little check mark (either literally or figuratively) always provides a sense of accomplishment.  No, our travels include the joy of planning, the excitement of arriving at a new-to-us destination – or an old favorite, the flavor of fresh, local foods, the incredibly scenic vistas we’ve discovered in every single state we’ve traveled to – and the often transient connections we make with people along the way.

RV ALASKA - From One Site #8 to Another

Months ago, Alan and I had agreed to book reservations on this extended expedition for those dates and places we thought we might potentially run into trouble – like Banff and Jasper National Parks in Canada and Independence Day and Labor Day weekends.  I covered the Fourth of July holiday weekend with reservations at Denali State Park and Denali National Park.  Y’all know how that turned out for us.  For Labor Day weekend, I had booked reservations at Hood Park – an Army Corps of Engineers (COE) campground in Burbank, Washington.  That was the first COE campground we had ever stayed that I crossed off our “Return To” list.

RV ALASKA - Adventures in Anacortes

On our trek west across the country a few months back, Alan and I were focused on getting work done on our travel trailer and moving up into Canada as soon as possible thereafter.  I didn’t factor in any real vacation-type breaks or visits with friends.  We knew we’d have time for that later.  Even though five months was feeling like too long a trip for us, Alan and I were happily anticipating the remaining stops on this lengthy expedition.  Why?  Because “later” was now, and we knew we’d be laying over at a couple of our favorite campgrounds, checking off a bucket list item that had been in the bucket for way too long, and making several stops along the way to hang out with some very special friends.

RV ALASKA - "Welcome Home!"

We found a place to call home!  As Alan drove on through winds and rain that Friday evening, I continued searching for a campground that would hold us over until our reservations in Anacortes, Washington, kicked in on Monday.  Although we were still annoyed at the woman’s behavior in the gas station in Hope, British Columbia, we were thankful to be out of the Thompson River Canyon and past the danger of severe rockslides.  Before we hit the border, I had found an unlikely base camp for the weekend – and it reminded us an awful lot of Alaska.

RV ALASKA - "Bad Day at Black Rock"

When I was young, whenever our family ran into a difficult situation, I remember my dad saying, “It’s a bad day at Black Rock.”  It wasn’t until well after he had passed that I wondered where that expression came from and did a little research.  As it turns out, “Bad Day at Black Rock” was a 1955 film that was nominated for three Academy Awards – Best Actor in a Leading Role (Spencer Tracy), Best Directing (John Sturges) and Best Writing (Millard Kaufman).  “Bad Day at Black Rock” has remained in my repertoire of often used expressions even though my dad passed almost 40 years ago.  As we headed into our final days in Canada, I had no idea it was, indeed, about to become a Bad Day at Black Rock.

RV ALASKA - Off the Cassiar, Onto the Yellowhead

When Alan and I left Meziadin Lake Provincial Park on the morning of August 19^th, we were flying by the seat of our pants.  Until our reservations in Washington State kicked in at the end of August, we had no place to be and all the time in the world to get there.  Our plan was to just keep working our way south through western Canada, stopping to enjoy any parks or attractions that caught our attention along the way.  While I agreed that this plan made perfect sense, having to make reservations along the way continued to stress me out.  That day, we’d be coming to the end of the Cassiar Highway near Kitwanga, British Columbia, and picking up the Yellowhead Highway east toward the city of Prince George.  After guesstimating our approximate end-of-day location, I decided upon yet another provincial park.  This one was a real gem, too!

RV ALASKA - Misery at Meziadin

Maybe our expectations were too high; maybe our timing was all wrong.  Whatever the reason, our run down the Cassiar Highway – at least in reference to wildlife sightings – was definitely not all we had hoped for.  The drive from Kinaskan Lake Provincial Park to Meziadin Lake Provincial Park was a delightful treat with beautiful scenery everywhere.  It would have been much more enjoyable if some of God’s critters had made an appearance.  My disappointment made me think of the old proverb, “If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride.”  Meziadin Lake, however, did NOT disappoint!

RV ALASKA - The Cassiar Highway: Just How Remote Is It?

It was not without trepidation that we set out along the Cassiar Highway.  All the information I had read about it depicted it as one of the most remote highways in western Canada.  Honestly, I don’t think it was any more remote than sections of the Alaska Highway, and we did see other vehicles on the road, many of which were RVs.  Gas stations weren’t numerous, but they were available.  (Expensive, but available.)  We never felt that we were in danger of running out of gas.  But, again, we were driving off just the top half of our tank – and we had an extra 10 gallons with us.  That being said, there was an aspect of traveling the Cassiar Highway that was a bit disconcerting.

RV ALASKA - Alaska Highway Eastbound: Whitehorse to Watson Lake

From the time we left Alaska, until we branched off on the Cassiar Highway southbound from Watson Lake, Alan and I were just retracing our steps through Canada.  We had no planned stops; we were simply working our way back east.  As we ate up the road miles, we marveled at the incredible scenery in western Canada.  We also talked about how much we were enjoying the provincial parks in the Yukon Territory.  This was our first experience with public parks in Canada, and I have to say that we enjoyed them as much as we have enjoyed the public parks and campgrounds in the United States.  I was intrigued by the fact that we would find excellent campgrounds even in remote areas – and that they were being enjoyed by a fair number of people.  Even though government and provincial parks came with few (if any) amenities, we had quickly become devoted fans.

RV ALASKA - Alaska Highway Eastbound - Destruction Bay to Whitehorse

When we had rolled into Whitehorse on our westward journey, we had no camping reservations, got in too late to snag a spot at the nearby government campground, and ended up next to the RV Wash at Hi Country RV Park.  Their system said we’d fit into site 26, but there was absolutely no way that was going to happen – even with Alan’s decades of trailering experience.  So, on the return trip, I went with my favorite resource (RV Life’s CampgroundReviews.com), found another private RV park, paid our money and took our chances.  That’s one bet that didn’t pay off.

RV ALASKA - Alaska Highway Eastbound: Tok to Destructions Bay

Alan and I retraced our steps along the Alaska Highway from Tok to Destruction Bay to Whitehorse to Watson Lake.  It was at Watson Lake that we would head south along the Cassiar Highway through British Columbia instead of continuing back to Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway at Dawson Creek.  I thought about combining our three days of travel to Watson Lake into one post, but I would have had to leave out a lot of the photos I wanted to share.  Here we go, Day 1.

RV ALASKA - Turning for Home

Moving on from Fairbanks was a bittersweet moment.  It was the actual point in the journey where we pointed the truck to the east, and officially began the long trek home.   That afternoon, we would arrive back in Tok, and spend our final night in Alaska.  But first, we had two stops to make.