July 28 and July 29--Hyder, Alaska to Stewart, BC to Lava Beds Provencial Park, BC

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July 28, 2011 Rain, rain, rain and cold. 53 degrees out. Starting mileage 13319. In Hyder, Alaska at Camp Run-a-Muck.

About 10:30, Jim and I went out to find the bear proof garbage can to each toss our day’s garbage in. We had just returned to our camp site across the road, and were starting to disconnect the water and electric, when a small black bear came around the back of the garbage cans walking right where we had been. Watched him for a minute and then he ambled off. Guess he hopes someone leaves the cage the garbage cans are in, open for him.

Went by the same fish store to see what they might have fresh. The only seafood she had available was Dungeness crabs . She also had some mermaid chowder for sale. We purchased two crabs and two bowls of chowder. I was able to get one cleaned crab in the freezer.

Proceeded through customs and got our passports stamped with a bear and salmon stamp that goes with the gold rush one we got on our entry into the Yukon. All Border people ask, “How long we will be in Canada?” and we always say “we don’t know”. Do you think they would buy, “until the heat wave goes away in the lower 48” as a reasonable answer? Jim and Diane said that when they were on-line that it was 115 degrees that day at their home near Wichita in Kansas.

The gas station was now open and since we were now on fumes, we filled the tank. This is the most gas we have ever purchased for Rosie II at $141.44 total Canadian. She took a total of 102.56 liters. Gas was $1.379 per liter so it was a wise decision to have waited until we were here to fill up the tank instead of filling it at Dease Lake.

Drove to the Municipal Campground in Stewart to stay for the night as it was raining so hard and it was so foggy that not much of anything could be seen. Pretty camping spots in the trees along a creek. You can dry camp or plug in their electric outlets. We dry camped. Valerie and I hunkered down after eating the really good chowder for lunch. After lunch, Valerie worked on her pictures and I wrote this narrative. Every time I get caught up, we move on down the road, and I am behind again.

Had leftovers from our meal out for dinner, read some, and then settled in for the night.

July 29, 2011 Friday Stewart, BC Municipal Campground. 53 degrees but see some blue sky---yeah! Maybe it will stop raining. Starting mileage at 13324.

The five of us , started out of the campground about 9:30 this morning. We needed to dump our holding tanks so did so at the set-up that the town of Stewart had for RV’s. Dump, Water, and garbage bins are all at one spot, with no fees for their use. Jim and Diane dumped their holding tanks also.

Once that stinky chore was done, we were ready to head back up the road toward Highway 37. We stopped several times to take pictures of the glaciers that are so close to the road. Snow melt has created many waterfalls on both sides of the valley. As we were driving along, we recalled something I said when we started our trip into Canada and Alaska after seeing the Egbert family in Oregon. We had driven down along the Columbia River going west and were planning to see the falls before we got to Portland. In order to park and hike to the falls, you must park in the center of the east and west bound lanes and we were not expecting that, so as we drove by, we were in the wrong lane to make the turn. Instead of trying to find a place to go back, we decided to see the falls driving east, when we went back by in a few days. The day we left the Egbert clan to start our trip to Canada/Alaska, it was pouring rain. As we drove by the falls, I said I didn’t want to get out and walk in the cold rain to the falls and I thought that surely we would see some other falls on our trip. We laughed together today, at that fact we have seen so many, many, many waterfalls that make the Oregon falls nothing much in comparison. The same can be said of the acclaimed falls in Yosemite. Bridal Veil Falls has never been as full as some of these falls are.

A hoary marmot ran off the road in front of Jim and Diane’s RT. At the Highway 37 junction, we turn south until we came to Cranberry junction. At this point, we turned west on a narrow, dirt/gravel, wet, potholed road for about 30 miles before we hit the paved section. We were cutting across to see some 250 year old lava beds in a Provincial Park adjacent to the First Nation community of New Aiyansh.

On our way there, we found a nice spot to eat lunch and pulled off a couple of other times to look at rushing rivers.
We were way off the beaten path on this road and were in the lead with Jim and Diane in back of us. We really hit the bear jackpot! We saw 4 young black bears cross the road or beside the road and one small cub in a short stretch of road---one after another. We know that Momma bear was close-by with the cub so small, even though we didn’t see her.

Arrived at the park’s Visitors’ Center, which is located in a painted tribal lodge house about 4ish, and went in and looked around. We had seen in one of the magazines that the next town, Terrace, was having their yearly week long festival that started this weekend. The visitors’ center had a small brochure on the schedule of all that was going on. We found a double campsite and got set up. .

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