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.