On to Vancouver

---

8 Sep 2016: It is a little over 1500 miles from Skagway to Vancouver. O six day journey is condensed in this blog as we wanted to cover the distance as quickly as we could. Consequently we skipped over many remarkable places. We will have to go back and spend a summer in British Columbia some day.

We left Skagway about mid morning today.taking Alaska route 2 North and up over the White Pass. On our right were the White Pass & Yukon railroad tracks which paralleled the Skagway River. Beyond these two features rose glacier covered mountains. As we rose in elevation, we were enveloped in fog. We crossed the White Pass (3292 ft) and shortly came to Frazier, where there was a railway terminal. Cruise passengers can choose to take the train out of Skagway to see the White Pass.We continued North into British Columbia (now the road is renamed BC 98) until we reached Carcross. Then, instead of continuing North to Whitehorse, we turned right on BC 8 towards Tagish. This was a straight, well paved road with beautiful fall foliage on both sides. Arriving at Jake's Corner we once again reconnected with the Alaska Highway. and retraced our Northbound route as far as Watson Lake, where we spent the night.



9 Sep 2016. We had to drive West to pick up BC 37, the Cassiar Highway, where we began our southbound journey. We stopped at Jade City to refuel and shop for Jade. Then we proceeded through Dease Lake Iskut and a long span down to the Bell 2 Lodge where we cold camped for CA $ 9.00.



10-11 Sep 2016. From the Bell 2 Lodge it was a short drive to the junction of 37 and 37 A where we turned off on the road to Stewart, BC and Hyder, AK. This would be our southernmost and last stop in Alaska. On the way in we passed an impressive glacier (Bear Glacier)We spent two nights in Stewart (pop 600+/-).Even smaller was Hyder (pop 100+/-) which may eventually become a ghost town. While there, we had the opportunity to visit Fish Creek observation site, where one can view bears from a raised wooden observation deck. We went there the day after our arrival which was the last day it was open for the season-lucky us. The ranger explained we weren't likely to spot any bears as they had gotten their fill of salmon and were in the forest gorging on berries. We had an excellent vantage point from which to view spawning salmon in the clear, shallow water. In the afternoon, a flock of gulls swept in and began feeding on the salmon eggs that had bee deposited and fertilized on the gravel. I thought it was sad for the dying salmon to have to see the gulls consume the eggs that they had so valiantly striven to leave as their final act. But, the gulls didn't get them all and next year and new batch of little ones (smolt) will continue the species.



12-13 Sep 2016: We left Stewart and took BC 37 A (the glacier highway) back to its junction with BC 37 and proceeded South to Kitwanga where we picked up BC 16 to Prince George. Traveling through the city we took highway BC 97 The Cariboo Highway. That is how they spell it. Here the traffic was heavier than anything we had seen in two months. The countryside also changed and resempled the hills we encountered in Montana. We spent two nights in Cache Creek.



14 Sep 2016: We were now on the last leg of our trip to Vancouver. There were two ways to go; one was route 99 (The Sea to Sky Highway) and the other Route 1 (The Trans-Canada Highway). We chose Route 1, which paralleled the Frazier River. This was a mountainous road with many sharp turns and hills. It took us the rest of the day to get to Vancouver. It was very picturesque though. We passed through Whistler where the traffic was slow with vehicles turning into and out of resorts and shopping malls. Our route took us right through downtown Vancouver during rush hour and it took us a little while to find our RV park. We had arrived.

---