We’re really getting close to the end now. We are starting the long haul south. I might have mentioned before, Alaska is a long drive, well we are really living it now. We pulled out of our Skagway campground & are heading to Stewart, BC / Hayder, AK.
We will be on the Cassiar Highway for a while, first leg is to Nugget, BC, one of our longest trips, 306 miles. An added perk is we are leaving cell service, Mica is bummed. Stopped at Baby Nugget RV, no cell, no internet, Mica is really bummed. Still heading south now driving 240 miles to an abandoned gravel airfield, because there are no towns on the way. Burrage Airstrip is being used for helicopters at a logging camp. We got there in the rain, so we just settled down for the evening, it’s a nasty chilly rain, no pictures either….Still no cell or internet, Mica is starting to show signs of withdrawal!
The final leg to civilization is 148 miles to Stewart, BC. Its claim to fame is it’s adjacent to Hyder, AK, a salmon spanning sight known for bears. As we neared the valley Mica’s phone started dinging, cell service!!! Mica is all back to normal, she did great this trip. Normally there wasn’t cell service while on the road, but to overnight stops adding up to three days & nights of no cell was rough, for us too. It’s surprising how much we use our phones & the internet.
Let me show you a couple of pictures of this part of the caravan.
At least there aren’t any frost heaves! But let me tell you about the isolation of a trip like this. After we were on the road a couple of hours from Skagway we were passed by an RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) running lights & siren, followed by an ambulance. Now remember we are almost two hours from civilization. We come up to an Airstream camper blocking a curve along with a guy holding a stop sign, WTH? So, we stop, and the traffic control guy walks up to us to explain the situation.
Two motorcycles were traveling together, apparently rather fast, when one of them struck a bear cub that ran onto the highway, throwing the driver. Keep in mind, no cell service. The guy in the Airstream is a doctor, how fortunate. The cyclist was thrown forward and broke a number of ribs, one or two puncturing a lung. The doctor had the other motorcyclist drive on ahead for help. He went another 20 miles where he found a road construction crew. They had a satellite phone and called Skagway for help. (Injured motorcyclist has been down for at least 30 minutes). The road crew sent traffic control to the site to help with traffic. The RCMP & ambulance took over an hour to get to the scene, (now he has been down on the road for over an hour & half). They assess the injury, confirm punctured lung and other injuries and decide they need a helicopter rescue. They have traffic really backing up, so they start allowing us past.
About half of the caravan got through before they were stopped again for the medivac to land on the highway. The injured guy wound up lying on the highway for over two hours. Wow. I remember getting lectured by my lieutenant for having a 10-minute response time! The desolation of these highways in Alaska & British Columbia are mind boggling. All the more reason to drive safely when on this type of trip.
But back to the Stewart stop. We got to our campsite, unhooked and drove across the border to Hyder, AK. First, some context, Stewart, BC is a bustling metropolis of 401 people. Hyder AK is a whopping 12 people. It is so big, they don’t even have a US Customs Border crossing, just come on in. There’s nowhere to go. Hyder is famous for Grizzly and Black bear viewing during the salmon spawning season at the Fish Creek Wildlife Observation Site. That’s why we are here. There is a fully staffed ranger station on the creek, an impressive, elevated sidewalk with broad viewing areas.
You just sit/stand with dozens of other people & wait for the grizzlies to show up. We weren’t disappointed.
We found out that we were a little early in the season, in a week or so there will be 6-10 bears at a time fishing for salmon. But still it was pretty cool. The trip back to the RV required a trip through Canadian Customs, but it was pretty uneventful.
We spent two nights here, so we did make an additional trip to Hyder to see the bears.
Now the end is right in front of us. We drove 165 miles to Hazelton, BC then onto Prince George, BC, 286 miles. And it’s a REAL city!! Population, 74,000! This is the final stop on the caravan. We had a nice group dinner in town, then hugs & goodbyes in the morning. It was a bittersweet ending. We made some really good friends & have some great memories.
Now the last crazy twist. The caravan is officially over, but we’re still 600 miles from the US border. We cut the trip in half staying at a rather aging campground in Spence’s Bridge, BC (292 miles) and hopefully the last 30-amp campground in a while. We crossed into the US south of Vancouver, BC, unfortunately for us it was a Canadian holiday, so the crossing was insane, over three hours of bumper to bumper. Plus, our big RV towing the Tahoe, in tight winding lanes…..
But we made it unscathed, went to our Harvest Host brewery in Tacoma, WA where we met our youngest daughter, Jackie, who flew out to Geocache & escort Mica back home.
So, here’s the answers to the questions.
Was it expensive? Yes, but we think it was worth it. Our Wagon masters & Tail gunners took great care of us and all our arrangements, from camping to sightseeing to extra things to see & do. When someone in our group had a mechanical issue, they had “the book”. An updated list of reputable service providers for the whole trip. Plus, if you broke down, they were right there to help.
Were there any extra benefits? There were so many excursions & shows that we would have never seen or done, from history, to musicals to a casino night.
We did bus tours that included side trips & rides, that if I saw the price, we would have probably passed on it, missing that view or experience. With the tour it's already paid for so just go!
Yes, it was worth it to us, so much so, we signed up to do a 59-day caravan next summer to the Eastern Canadian Maritimes.
Luckily for us we'll have the same Wagon masters & Tail gunners!!!!
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| Tail Gunners Ron & Judy / Wagon Masters Janet & Conrad |
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