Jul 4, 2010 - Summer 2010/Alaska Caravan - Tour (Fort Nelson, BC)

Last night we learned that as we travel further north, we should expect more and more hours of daylight. When we retired after 10:00 PM, there was still plenty of light. So, for the first time, we put up our light shades in the hall and shower. They worked well and we slept until almost 8:00 AM. The rain continued lightly through the night and there were still sprinkles in the morning. Gary planned to run but had to settle for breakfast. Two items were on the table for today – a Fourth of July picnic planned last night and a visit to the...

Jul 3, 2010 - Summer 2010/Alaska Caravan - Travel (Fort Nelson, BC)

Today we start to move. Our schedule called for 160 miles to an RV park in Sikanni Chief, BC. That park cancelled our reservation and we end up traveling two days distance to Fort Nelson, BC. The route took us along the first 300 miles of the Alaskan Highway. Although the road was two-lane, it was paved almost all the way. However, an on-coming truck kicked a stone into our windshield leaving a very good quarter-size nick – first day out, welcome to the ALCAN Highway! The travel procedure is for the Wagon-Master to leave first. Then each RV...

Jun 29, 2010 - Fort Nelson, British Columbia

Tuesday, June 29, 2010 Quite the storm passed over the Park shortly after we went to bed. The motorhome shook and the rain was like a hose being held over us. It only lasted about 20 minutes. In the morning we awoke to a gorgeous day! Before leaving Rick washed the many bugs off the mask and windshield. He couldn’t do it the day before because the sun was on the front of the motorhome. It was sunny with a few clouds and some wind. The temperature was 63˚ F. For some reason hooking up the brake system in the Honda was a challenge. Finally we...

Jun 28, 2010 - On to Fort Nelson BC

Well surprise, we were able to get another campground with WiFi and we able to get another one off. It was a beautiful drive here. We were disappointed when we got here to find out that there really isn't anything here. There was one museum that we went through, which was very enjoyable. Rick took some pictures at the museum. We drove through town and there isn't very much here. So we are planning on heading on tomorrow. We really thought we would have been here for a few days. Oh well, it just brings us closer to Alaska. Seen two moose,...

Jun 27, 2010 - Fort Nelson, BC

June 27, 2010 day 22 We started out at 8 am for Fort Nelson. The farm land surrounding Dawson Creek quickly gave way to dense forest as far as one can see. The trees on either side of the road have been cleared off about 100 yards. We were hoping to see animals since there are frequent signs warning of their crossing. But all we saw was one dead moose, one dead deer and a lone coyote heading for the forest. We are thinking of just counting the signs. We passed through Pink Mountain Pass ( 3600 feet); named for the fall foliage. The next...

Jun 25, 2010 - Fort Nelson BC

Arrived at a one night stop today. Rained on and off most of the day. Stayed with a customer for a couple of hours this AM to check out a go - no go on a small leak in the Turbo Charger. Its a go. Stopped at our favorite breakfast place at noon. The best Blueberry Pancakes in North America. They are still great. Tomorrow we are off to Liard Hot Spring. I love this place. More later.

Jun 24, 2010 - Fort Nelson, B.C.

I haven't had internet for a few days so I am catching up with 3 days today. The drive from Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson was 280 miles, one of the longest driving days we will have on this trip. It was over cast and rainy most of the day and we saw little if any wildlife. It was good to finally reach Fort Nelson to be able to move again. I had some nerve aches from sitting all day and it took me several days to work it out. At least we made some progress on our trip to Alaska!

Jun 22, 2010 - Grande Prairie to Ft. Nelson, British Columbia

Miles today: 367 Total Miles: 3328 It is Sunny this morning. But the parking lot still has a lot of water. A restoration company was there most of the night sucking water out of the store. Ken did not sleep well due to the whine of the vacuum being used. Got away about 8:45 am MDST. Crossed into British Columbia and arrived at Dawson Creek at 10:35 am. Marge took photos of Ken driving past the Mile 0 Milepost which signifies the beginning of the Alaska Highway (at last!). Today is the summer solstice. Should be twilight all night. Just...

Jun 21, 2010 - Watson Lake to Fort Nelson

We had a long drive today....about 316 miles. There's lots of beautiful scenery that changes quite often (compared to some parts of the drive), so that helps the miles fly by. We started out of Watson Lake with lots of trees (spruce, black spruce, birch and willow) and the sides of the road mowed to 20 or 30 yards from the edges of the road. We believe this kind of open area helps drivers to see and avoid animals dashing across the road. A side benefit is that it also allows for better viewing of mountains and rivers. Much of the morning's...

Jun 19, 2010 - On the road again

We left Fort Nelson and got back on the Alaskan Highway. We started seeing the Rockies again and the scenery became beautiful again. We saw quite a few animals today and I am including some pictures of them We stayed at Liard Springs Provincial Park, which has hot springs. A Provincial Park is equivalent to our state parks. This was our first time to dry camp (no electric, water, or sewer). We filled up our water tank before leaving the last camp site so we do have water at least. We walked all around the hot springs but did not go in this...

Jun 19, 2010 - Leave It To (the) Beaver

The bus is at Norhtern Rockies Lodge and RV Park Hi all, This is a little different kind of post. It's actually a photo journal. The plane shown is a Beaver fixed on floats, made by Dehaviland (sp?) a long time ago. It has a very cool rotary engine that has a very distinct sound. The Beaver and the Otter (a little larger than the Beaver) were and are the workhorses of this area. They fly supplies, hunters, fishermen, etc. all over. Check out the contraption that moved the plane from the hanger to the lake. What a riot. The steering is...

Jun 18, 2010 - Wild Ride

Today was our warmest start yet - 56 degrees, sunny and clear. We started out at Mile O of the Alaskan Highway - the real start to Alaska. At mile 47 we entered Fort St. John, which has a population of 18,000 people - that would be the last of civilization we would see until our stop for the night at mile 284. There is an oasis in the middle of this wilderness calledThe Shepherd's Inn Restaurant, famous for their 10" pancakes and homemade bread. Yummy! After that it was miles and miles of forests. We were driving along minding our own...