DAY 24, Tuesday, August 6th

We are very happy to put our very muddy campground, Tubby's, behind us for another day of sights.  The drive began as an easy one of rolling hills for quite a few miles.  The drive was a pretty one with some steep grades, but nothing crazy.   Our excitement for the day was spotting a beautiful gray wolf silhouetted by stately fir trees along the side of the road.  We haven't seen much wildlife, but what we have seen has been really amazing.  It was a fairly easy day of driving.  At a fairly large RV Park in Fort Nelson, The Triple G Hideway, we visited with an older couple who were heading South., back to Tennessee. This was their second time driving the AlCan - in their Casita, a little travel trailer like the one we sold in February.  Just wow.

Happy 17th Birthday to our sweet granddaughter, Anna Rose.  We will celebrate when we get home - I promise!

DAY 25, Wednesday, August 7th

Rain and fog and cold temperatures greeted us this morning.  Heading for Watson Lake today.
The signs were warning us to watch for Bison and Muskwa (bear).  Will today be the day for wildlife sightings?  About 10 miles down the road we realized we had forgotten to check our gas tank.  A huge no no.  The distance between services is so great that you never head out without a full tank.  Wisely, we turned our buggy around and headed back to Fort Nelson.  My eyes were tightly closed as Jim did a u-turn, trailer and all, on the AlCan Hwy. 

For some reason it seemed like we were about the only ones on the road this morning.  After traveling quite a few miles we had seen only two motor homes and one car.  By the afternoon that changed, but still the Hwy does not have a lot of traffic on it.  The roads are a little rough today, sometimes fairly wide with nice shoulders, and other times narrow with no shoulders.  The scenery?  Spectacular!  Mile and mile of spectacular!


Lunch was soup and chili at the Toad River Cafe.  It was an interesting place, with hats left by customers, stapled to ceilings and walls.  I couldn't convince Jim to part ways with his Meeks hat, though.

The gas pumps did not have a credit card reader, so Jim went inside to pay before he pumped gas.  The lady told him to just fill up and tell her how much it was.  Wish there was more trust like that in this world.  The sun finally broke through the clouds mid-afternoon, warming the day up to the 60's  Perfect weather. 

Toad River 

More scenic driving followed - the Folded Mountains of the Canadian Rockies, Sawtooth Mountain, avalanche areas, Muncho Lake, miles and miles of Liard River, and the turquoise waters of Toad River.  Yes, beautiful turquoise waters.  That poor river deserved a beautiful name and they named it Toad!  Today was the day of the Buffalo - grazing in groups of three or four and alone, along the sides of the road. 

We stayed at Coal River Lodge and RV - a metropolis of 7 RV sites and sleeping rooms that I am pretty sure didn't have bathrooms or showers.  There were quite a number of people using the community facilities.  We were the last camper to head out this morning and I decided to make one last trip to the bathroom.  I was more than surprised to hear someone in the shower.  All I can figure is that someone from the "lodge" was getting ready for the day.

When we arrived at Coal River Lodge, Jim headed over to the guys in the garage to see if he could borrow a crow bar to fix our trailer step that had gotten bent somehow.  This old guy with longish hair, wearing an old cowboy hat and dirty jacket that saw him through every job he needed to do (think Clint Eastwood at his scruffiest) turned to Jim and offered him a drag of his cigarette!  What the heck!  Jim said the guy had a genuine smile and meant well, so he just said "No thanks, I never took up smoking."  Confession time:  I always thought Clint Eastwood was hot.

Lesson learned:  Sometimes people get it terribly wrong when they give things names.

DAY 26, Thursday, August 8th

We headed out in cool temperatures, mist and fog this morning.  Each morning heading down the long stretch of highway, we are reminded of the vastness of this area of the country we are in.  Miles and miles of nothing but beauty and the occasional little town and, of course, tourists.
Today we finally exited BC and entered into the Yukon at Watson Lake, The Gateway to the Yukon and home of the famous Signpost Forest.  The Signpost Forest was started in  1942 by a soldier working on the  construction of the Alaska Highway.  For some reason, I expected a post with signs pointing the way to places.  I couldn't be more wrong.  The Signpost Forest is a forest of posts with signs left by travelers year after year since 1942.  There is an old building centrally located as you enter the "forest".   Do you remember the expired license plate fiasco and the efforts of many to get our new license to us?  You guessed right, the SHEPRD expired, banged up by deer, license plate was left behind in the Signpost Forest.  It is almost impossible to find a unused spot on the many posts, but for some reason a plate had been removed from the little building, so we proudly added SHEPRD to the collection!

Stayed at Dawson Peaks Resort, a tranquil former RV Park on a lake.  They still provide electricity, but no other services.  Payment is by cash, left in a box on a building.  With only two tent campers and us, the peace and quiet was a nice change from the busy parks we have been staying at.  Unfortunately a mosquito almost took off with Sadie Jo and we were driven inside much earlier than planned. 

We have now entered the time of the sun hardly sets.  This picture from inside the camper was taken at 11:00. 

DAY 22, Sunday, August 4th

The temperatures dropped into the 40's last night.  Definite snuggling weather.  We checked with the locals on Saturday and were told there are no Catholic Churches in the area.  Truthfully, we didn't see ANY churches in the area.  Sigh.

We headed out from Wells Gray campground fairly early and got on Yellowhead Highway and drove many miles of gentle curving roads along rolling streams and rivers.  On all sides of us were layer upon layer of mountains.  Overcast skies kept the temperatures at a comfortable mid-60.  Despite sign after warning sign to watch for Moose, they all stayed hidden.  At Hwy. 16, Tete Juan Cache, we entered the "Wildlife Corridor" to a change of scenery, more fields with mountains in the far distance, we still saw no wildlife.  All in all we made good time to Prince George and enjoyed an easy driving day.  I highly recommended Hartway RV Park in Prince George.  Very clean and the owners couldn't have been nicer.

Lesson learned:  Just because you are warned, doesn't mean it is going to happen.

DAY 23, Monday, August 5th

On our way to Dawson Creek and Mile Marker 0 of the Alaskan Highway.  Once again, a beautiful drive, but I finally put my camera away and enjoyed the scenery.  Everywhere I turned there were streams and rivers at the foot of the mountains - just breathtaking.  And every time I tried to get that perfect shot a tree got in the way.  It was pure comedy.  After playing peek-a-boo with the trees and streams and mountains for about 30 miles I said forget it.  We've been listening to a book titled "The Great Alone".  It is about a family who moves to the Alaskan wilderness in the 70's.  I highly recommend the book.

Playing peek-a-boo with the trees

Dawson Creek - a Historic Mining Town.  That is how all of the brochures describe it.  Mile Marker 0 to the Alaskan Highway.  For some reason I was really looking forward to Dawson Creek.  I had built it up in my mind to be something really special.  I envisioned a historic downtown with old buildings and lots of things to see.  What a disappointment.

Dawson Creek is just an average small to mid-size town.  They have a small visitor center.  When I asked the young gal where the historic downtown was, she looked at me like I was crazy.  She handed me a booklet describing historic Dawson Creek.  That is when I realized there is nothing historical left.  The book pointed to a vacant lot where one historical building had been located, the location of a newish business, where something else had happened, and on and on.  We found the iconic 0 Mile Marker signs, snapped a few pictures and headed back to the campground. 

Lesson learned:  There will be disappointments.  Get over it and move on.

Wells Gray Provincial Park, Clearwater, BC

DAYS 19, 20, 21, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, August 1, 2, 3

We found a beautiful camp site in Wells Gray Golf and RV Park and decided to stay a few days.  I have been very surprised by the number of RV parks have golf courses.  Since we aren't golfers, I don't have any idea whether the courses are worth messing with.  Our site was next to a running stream of water that was very relaxing to listen to.

As far as that age old question "does the bear crap in the woods" goes, that the answer is obviously yes... we are here to prove you wrong.  He craps in campground parking lots.  I will admit to being very cautious when outside the camper.

Wells Gray Provincial Park is known for its beautiful waterfalls.  It was nice to do a little hiking and a lot of nothing. 

In case anybody us wondering how Sadie Jo is doing...

Listening to the running stream from the outside deck of our camper.  She has adjusted to this adventure better than I ever could have expected.

DAY 17, Tuesday, July 30th

While I was sitting in McDonald's, drinking my Senior Coffee and finishing up my last blog post, Jim was walking around visiting with anybody who would give him the time of day.  One of the workers asked him where we were from and he said Missouri.  Her eyes lit up and she said "Missouri Star Quilt!!!"  She and her friends order from there all the time.  I'll admit I love their material, but it is expensive and then pay for shipping to Canada?  Anyway, for that particilar Canadian, Missouri = Missouri Star Quilt.

Goodbye Mtn Fun RV Park - Heading to Whistler, BC, home of the 1965 Winter Olympics.  Along the way we had this cute black bear wave at us as he ran in front of the car.  Thanks to quick reflexes on Jim's part, he made it across the road safely.  As expected, Whistler was very commercialized.  The Peak 2 Peak Gondola connects Whistler Mountain and Blackcomb Mountain.  Until 2017 it was the longest free span between ropeway towers.   It was pretty amazing looking over the town of Whistler, other mountains, and the tops of impossibly tall pine trees.  Across the way was an open gondola carrying car after car of mountain bikes, followed by cars of teenagers and young adults heading for the top of the mountains so they could ride down the ski slopes.  It was heart stopping to watch.  But then, I soon discovered this was going to be an all around heart stopping day. 

Whistler from the Gondola

Whistler looked like what I would envision a Swiss Village to look like

We drove along Hwy. 99 up Mount Currie to Lillooet, through Grizzlie Bear Country and Indian Reservations.  The drive was made up of mile after mile of steep, harrowing grades with sheer drop offs.  Such beauty by so scary.  My heart alternated between  my throat and settling in my stomach.  I was white knuckling it all the way - and I wasn't even driving.  Right now Jim is my hero, since he got us safely down from that mountain!  We stayed in a deep canyon in CA Recreation area.  As one might suspect, an adult drink or two was part of the "coming down from the mountain" process once we stopped. 

Photos taken from bug spattered windshield - there were very places to pull off the road

Lesson learned:  This is from a random sign tacked to a tree along the way - "Sometimes when you follow the masses, the M is silent.

DAY 18, Wednesday, July 31st

Thankfully today was a day of pleasant, winding roads dropping down into farm country, winding beside a series of lake shorelines.  It was a car windows open, bluegrass music kind of drive.
The real icing on the cake was a scenic picnic area at Lake Tobiano.  The sign said "Live, Rest, and Play".  I need to look up Tobiano and see if that is what the word means.  Is it Indian?  So many questions.  We overnighted at Silver Sage Campground.

Lesson learned:  An easy day following a nail biting day is very much appreciated (Thanks God!)

DAY 19, Thursday, August 1st

We are now in a popular recreation site of Clearwater at the edge of Well Gray Provincial Park, home of many waterfalls.  We plan on spending a few days here.

Another take on what people think of Missouri... Jim was checking out at a store and was asked the inevitable question, "where are you from".  He answered, "Missouri, do you know where that is?"  The answer:  "Oh Sure.  And then the guy started singing, "Way down upon the Missouri River..."  Hmmm... close enough.

Lesson learned:  It would have been very helpful if we had bothered to learn the metric system before we headed out on this trip.

THURSDAY, July 25

JUNKIN'

Bye bye Baker City and hello Pendleton, a historic small town in Oregon.  We spent a little time roaming the antique  junk shops.  The campground at Lake Easton was full,  but when we pleaded with the nice campground lady, she discovered she had just had a cancellation for a primitive site.  We took it for two nights so that we could spend Friday exploring Mt. Ranier.

Lesson learned:  Just because the sign says antique shop, it doesn't mean it is.

FRIDAY, July 26

MOUNT RANIER

What a beautiful, sunny day.  Perfect for viewing the mountain.  The majestic pines seemed to stretch from earth to sky,  hundreds of thousands of them.  Mt. Ranier itself surrounded the horizon, everywhere we looked.  Driving around the mountain was a massive undertaking and we didn't accomplish it,  but we saw such beauty from the viewing points, wild flowers everywhere and so many hikers.   For numerous reasons, we aren't able to hike very far, so we stuck to the beaten path.  Doing so meant we missed a number of waterfalls and scenic views.  But we saw so much that it really didn't matter.

Mount Ranier

Wildflowers everywhere!

Lesson learned:  Be grateful for and embrace what you can do, rather than regret what you can't

SATURDAY, July 27th

It was time to head North to Seattle.  I began searching for campgrounds within 30 or so miles of Seattle.  That was a real eye opener!  Several time I went to campground web pages and discovered that clothes are optional.  If you wished to wear clothing it would be ok, but they embraced a rather different lifestyle than we are accustomed to.   I am sure it will surprise you that we didn't check to see whether those sites had any vacancies or not.  The bottom line is that I was unable to find any campgrounds with vacancies.  We spotted a campground sign along the highway.  "Turn left".  We did.  After five miles down a crooked farmland road (tractors and all), we came to a campground with swimming pools, hot tub, shuffle boards... you name it, they had it.  And it had no vacancies.  We both looked at Cheryl (yes, we quickly learned her name) and asked if there was anything she could do.  Cheryl took pity on us and discovered there had "just" been a cancellation.

Lesson learned:  Be friendly, look tired and somewhat pitiful and people will take pity on you.

SUNDAY, July 28th

8:00 am Mass at Holy Innocents Catholic Church in Duvall,  Built on a high hill overlooking the town, what a beautiful setting.  The entire wall behind the altar is glass with a view of a mountain on the Canadian border (we were told by a proud parishiober).

We spent the rest of our day walking around Seattle.  After a beer at Fisherman's  , we "toured" Seattle by way of the Seattle Great Wheel.  Talk about a birds eye view.  Then, of course, we had to see the Pikes Fish Market and the flying fish.  From there we headed to the must see Space Needle.  The crowds and lines were insane enough that we snapped a picture and said "good enough".  Seattle was a fun day but we were happy to get back to Cheryl at the turn left campground.

Enjoying a beer

Seattle from the Great Wheel

Lesson learned:  Don't go to Seattle on a Sunday if you want to see the Space Needle

MONDAY, July 29th

Oh Canada!

We spent an hour in line at the US/Canada customs, but breezed right through once we got to the check point.

US/Canada customs

From there we caught Hwy. 99 through Vancouver headed to Whistler.  But there is always a catch, isn't there...  First of all as Hwy. 99 enters Vancouver, it plays a game of hide and seek.  There are these cute little blue signs occasionally, with arrows pointing the way to Hwy. 99.  I swear they hid them just to keep things interesting (or to frustrate us).  Since our GPS isn't working in Canada (my mistake not making sure we had a GPS), we finally resorted to yelling out the car window "Do you know the way to Hwy. 99?"  Unfortunately, on one occasion we forgot to say Hwy. 99 North and one helpful young man sent us heading back to Washiington. We finally crossed the Lions Gate Bridge headed to our destination, Whistler.  What a relief!  Vancouver was noisy, driving lanes narrow, pedestrians impatient, and drivers even more impatient.  Bye bye Vancouver, and now for some fun!  

We though this  twisted building in Vancouver was in need of a chiropractor

Lion Gate Bridge - our ticket out of Vancouver

We found a camp site at Squamish, once again a primitive site.  We are getting mighty used to flashlights, candles and lanterns.  But they had a great shower and wifi if you stood on your head and held your tongue right, so we were happy campers.

Lesson learned:  Our customs experience could have been much worse.  The father/son biking due camping next to us were tagged for a very time consuming complete search.

DAY 5 - Thursday, July 18th

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH

A fun day touring Rocky Mountain National Park.  Many beautiful views.  We were amazed at the many bikers, and no I am not talking about Harley tough guys (or, as is more common, old guys).  These men and women were powering up the mountain ridges on their bicycles like they were easy rolling hills.  A few were riding along the edges with no guard rails.  The fierce wind was blowing me around like a rag doll.  They have my admiration, but I do believe they have to be more than a bit insane.  We've been eating most meals in the trailer, but decided to go out for pizza in Estes Park.  Found this dive called Bob & Tony's and experienced probably the best pizza we've ever eaten.  The place was loud with lots of young families playing the arcade and pool.  It was good to see families enjoying family time.

Lesson learned:  Parents/grandparents put those damn phones down.  I loved watching the parents laughing, teasing, playing with their kids.  Smiles all around.  Then there were the parents who had their nose in their phones, doling out money so the kids could run and play.  In reality the kids were arguing with each other and generally out of sorts.  Just put the phones down, please.

DAY 6 - Friday, July 19th

WHERE WE GO, NOBODY KNOWS...

On the road by 8:15, it seems we are getting better at this getting up and going thing.  The only problem is we aren't sure where we are going.  So the first stop is coffee and internet.  Coming down out of the mountains from our campsite was easier than we expected.  We finally settled on destination Laramie, WY.

Lesson learned:  Check your car license expiration date before leaving home.  Imagine our shock when we were enjoying an evening outside under the pines and Jim happened to glance at the car license and realized it expires the end of July.  THIS July.  Talk about a wrinkle in the ointment!

DAY 7 - Saturday, July 20th

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Stayed at a KOA last night.  Were very happy to find a place to stay.  Sing along with me.  On the road again, I just can't wait to get on the road again...  Went as far as Evanston, WY.  We pretty much breezed through Wyoming because we spent quite a bit of time there several years ago.

Lesson learned:  No matter how good camp ground wifi is, it will not work in a tin box.  McDonald's free wifi is my friend.

DAY 8 - Sunday, July 21st.

NOT NIAGRA, BUT IT IS A FALL

Left Evanston, heading for Utah.  We really enjoyed the Panoramic mountain views.  Made it as far as Twin Falls, Idaho.  Once we got settled, we checked out Shoshone Falls.  Years ago I said the first place I wanted to go once I retired was Niagara Falls.  I haven't made it there yet.  But the Shoshone Falls may have given me my Falls fix for now.  Talk about impressive, even though they were flowing at probably 1/2 power because the Snake River was at a lower level than at other times of the year.  Today was a day of extreme temperatures - up to 100 during the day and falling to the 60's at night.  Once again, great sleeping weather.

Lesson learned:  Not every Catholic community has the luxury of several weekend Masses to choose from.  Our plan was to go to church Saturday night or early Sunday morning.  Their only Mass this weekend was 2:00 pm.

DAY 9 - Monday, July 22nd

We spent the day messing around Twin Falls.  The big draw was the Perrine Bridge, best known as the location where Evil Knievel about died jumping the Snake River Canyon.  It was fascinating watching people base jumping off the bridge.  Definitely not for the faint of heart.

Lesson learned:  Thank God for our children.  Greg is watching the home place, especially watching the grass grow, so he can mow it if it gets too high.  I am hoping it has dried up.   Julie took Monday off to take care of our license issue.  She had to run to the house and find our personal property tax receipt, and license info, then to the insurance company to get a proof of insurance card, and then to the Department of Revenue where, of course, the lines were extremely long.  But she got it done.  Now to get an address where she can overnight them.

Free Base Jumper at Perrine Bridge (far right blue at the top of the bridge)

Shoshone Falls

Sunset at Shoshone Falls

DAY 10  and 11, Tuesday/Wednesday July 23rd & 24th

We settled on a two day stay at Baker City, Oregon, so the vehicle license could be overnighted to us there.  Mountain View RV Park (very nice and clean!).  The task of getting the license sent to us was handed off to Tessa.  She picked the package up from Julie's house and headed to the PO with the RV park address.  Easy, right?  Not so much.  It turned out that the RV park is so rural that the PO cannot overnight to them.  It's time to put our problem solving hats back on.  Between the Post Master, Tessa and the Atlas, we were able to find a PO somewhere between where we were and where we were headed to send the package, where they will hold it for us.  I'll let you know whether this worked or not.  We still don't have the car license, but I think we are closer!

Bakers City is on the Oregon Trail.  Very scenic, with a neat historic downtown.  We really enjoyed the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center and the scenic drives.  Viewing the exhibits of the Oregon Trail hardships made me appreciate just how easy we have it today, and just how strong and stubborn and people of faith the pioneers were.

Lesson learned:  Best laid plans don't always work the way you expect, but where there is a will, there is a way.