This post is the final segment covering our 2016 trip through British Columbia, Yukon Territory, and Alaska. We hope you've enjoyed our trip as much as we did - or maybe even more, since you didn't have to drive the long miles over roads that felt like they were shaking your house apart!

17 - 21 Aug, 2016  Glennallen, AK to Whitehorse, YT

The trip from Glennallen to Tok, as we had been told by several people who gone that way earlier, was painful. From Glennallen to about 15 miles from Tok the road is in abysmal condition. Driving 147 miles took us more than 5 hours, due to incredible, 5 mile-an-hour serial frost heaves and intermittent construction zones. We might have done better to drive the 245 miles up to Delta Junction, then down to Tok! The one bright spot in the day was that the sun was often shining and the mountains were out.

We stayed overnight at the Tok River State Recreation Site, right on the river, but also right on the highway. Fortunately, traffic in Alaska tends to drop to near zero in the night, so we had a good night’s rest in the almost empty campground. 

Tom got a photo of a willow ptarmigan just sunning itself in one of the unoccupied campsites.

18 Aug 2016 - Tok to Congdon Creek Provincial Campground, YT

Yet another day of miserable driving. Even though the repair crews had been through from Tok to the Canadian border this summer, we probably averaged about 40 mph due to slowing for frost heaves. We did see a bit more of the mountains in the distance to the south than we’d seen coming into Alaska, but the intermittent rain soon started. Our border crossing was fairly uneventful – after our experience entering Canada in June, we decided to be truthful about the amount of wine we have on board. Barbara told the agent that we have 21 bottles of wine (the amount in the easily examined kneehole under the desk). About 5 vehicles were lined up behind us at the normally very un-busy station, so the agent decided to give us a verbal lesson in the amount of wine allowed to be brought in duty free (1.5 liters a person, or 4 bottles total) and let us go.

From the border to Lake Creek Territorial Campground was not too bad – intermittent rain, and a few frost heaves, but many stretches of newly repaired/graveled road. We pulled in to Lake Creek to have lunch, but it was early enough we decided to go on the 77 miles to Congden Creek Territorial Campground, where we had stayed on our trip north. Tom took over the driving at 2 pm. At 5 pm we pulled into Congden Creek. At least 40 of the miles Tom drove were active construction sites, with washboard gravel roadbed on which we could drive about 15 mph. In one spot, we were first in line for the pilot car but soon lost sight of it, as it was driven so much faster than we safely could. Several RVs, towed trailers, and pickup trucks passed us as soon as we got through that stretch of construction. We feel like putting a sign on the back of our motorhome saying “This is our home – we’re not going to wreck it!” We again wondered what kind of shape the RVs that were traveling far faster than we do will be in when they get to their destinations.

19-21 August - Congdon Creek to Whitehorse

The drive from Congdon Creek to Whitehorse was fairly scenic – we woke to sunshine and got away from the campground by 9:30. It wasn’t until we got to Whitehorse that the intermittent rain started up again, so we got a few good photos. There was little road construction, but still lots of frost heaves, so the 150 mile drive took a little over 4 hours.

The cottonwood trees (which are shrub-sized up here) have turned bright yellow, and the fireweed that had pink flowers in July have gone to seed and their leaves turned deep burgundy – very pretty.

The mountains look quite different coming from the northwest, mostly in sun.  

We had planned to stay at the Wolf Creek Territorial campground just a few miles east of Whitehorse, but found it full when we drove through – I guess even 1:30 on a Friday afternoon shortly before school starts is too late to be finding an inexpensive, scenic camping spot! We went back to Pioneer RV Park and had no trouble getting a spot with 30 amp and water. We took our construction-filthy car to a nice wash facility in town; at $1.00 per 55 seconds, even $6 wasn’t enough to get all rid of all the grime, but it’s much better than it was. We washed the motorhome at the park’s more reasonably priced washing station on our way out on Monday.

Our spot at Pioneer RV Park

At the Whitehorse visitor’s center, we found that Google had locked us out of our e-mail and blog services. The only way to get back in was to receive a text message on our phone with a temporary password – but since we don’t use the phone in Canada unless necessary, we didn’t have it with us.

Tom did get our Google services restarted the next day, so we were able to get a post done for this blog. We are still way behind!

This stay in Whitehorse was more leisurely than our last, since we’d hit the highlights on our first pass through.  

We did drive out to the Yukon Wildlife Preserve, but they predictably don’t allow dogs on the trail through the preserve, and it was too hot(!) to leave Shelby in the car, so we just looked at the elk that were visible from the parking lot.

We opted to go instead to the Yukon Brewing Company to taste some of their beers. We liked the Chilkoot Lager, a light, crisp brew the best. We found that they also make a scotch-style whisky and a gin. Since the whisky at $95/bottle was too rich for our budget, we thought the gin at $32 was worth a try. Haven’t tasted it yet.

We also returned to the fish ladder, but found that even though some salmon are running, they had the lower gate to the ladder closed until some hatchery staff could come and collect fish as they come up into the holding area.

Tom and Shelby resting their eyes after a day of exploring

Our final day in Whitehorse was a stocking-up day, as we’ll be dry camping for most of the next week and a half. We returned to the Klondike Rib and Salmon restaurant, where we’d had such a good lunch on our last visit. We should have ordered the ribs. We both had the halibut dinner, which came with garlic mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables. The potatoes and veggies were very good, but the halibut was way overdone. We took our leftovers home, and the next night Barbara made halibut cakes with the fish and potatoes seasoned with dill and capers and coated with panko, with the roasted veggies on the side. A far better meal. Tom had the left over halibut cake as a sandwich for lunch, so we can’t feel too bad about getting 2 dinners and one lunch from our unsatisfactory restaurant meal.

22 - 27 Aug – Pioneer RV Park, Whitehorse, YT to Meziadin Lake Provincial Park, BC

22 August 2016 – Whitehorse to Teslin, YT

This drive marked the first in a long while with sunshine, no rain, and no construction delays. We had planned to stay at the Teslin Lake Territorial Park, but could not find a spot that was remotely level, so continued on to the Yukon Motel and RV Park where we planned to buy diesel the next morning. This park is typical of the north – a parking lot with mowed weeds defining the RV spots, water and 30-amp power. It has nice views of an arm of Teslin Lake, and a restaurant that we did not try.

23-24 August 2016 – Teslin, YT to Baby Nugget RV Park, just west of Watson Lake, YT

The 146 mile trip took about 3 hours – almost a record. Again, we had no rain, some sun, and no construction. One benefit of being late in the season is that much of the summer construction is finished, and the farther along we get, the better the roads and less frequent the work parties. It was however, a fairly boring drive with the typical spruce and aspen forest cutting off the views most of the time.

Baby Nugget is a large park that claims to cater to caravans, but during the 2 nights we were there, no more than 6 or 7 of the 80 spaces were occupied. It’s the most expensive place we’ve stayed so far, at $56.83/night (Canadian), and its services don’t rate such a high fee. The internet (which we did not try) is available only within a few feet of the office (no chairs or benches provided), the cable TV was so snowy that it wasn’t worth trying to watch, they charge for showers, and they will charge another full night’s fee if a rig stays even a few minutes after 11 am. Our main reason for staying there was to do laundry. The nice clean laundry room had 6 washers and 6 dryers - $3 to wash and $3 to dry!

25 August 2016 – Mountain Shadow RV Park, Cassiar Highway Mile 254.1

Another day in mostly sunshine, no rain, and no active construction sites – we are getting spoiled. The Cassiar Highway is a highway in name only, with no center or side lines. It is paved, but often with the tar-gravel-sealant mixture that is like a gravel road without the loose rock. While it is usually wide enough for vehicles to pass easily, several sections are very narrow, with no shoulder, steep drop-offs, and many steep curves. Low gears and exhaust brake came in handy. Only a few rough spots where culverts had been replaced did not yet have their paving replaced, and it was clear that long stretches of the road were resurfaced this summer. We made fairly good time – going 196 miles in 4 ½ hours driving time. 

Typical scene along the Cassiar Highway

A number of spots along that road had nice views of the Cassiar Mountains – even though it’s August, deciduous trees turning yellow on the mountainsides said fall is near.

A bit of fall color along the Cassiar

 We had thought we might dry camp at the Jade City Store, a jade processing and sales operation with a large gravel lot where RVs can stay overnight. They advertise having the most reasonable prices on jade items in the north, and we hoped to pick up some Christmas gifts. Alas, their idea of reasonable prices and ours do not match, so we admired their wares and decided to travel on. After reading the mostly negative reviews of the campgrounds in Dease Lake, we decided to put in a long day to go to Mountain Shadow, which has nice long pull-through sites with 30 amp and water, with views of Kluachon Lake and a ridge of mountains with 3 dry cirques that used to hold glaciers. The half-mile

graded road from the highway to the park is quite steep and curvy (we drove it in 2^nd gear), but well-graded and with no overhanging limbs.

26-27 August 2016 – Meziadin Lake Provincial Park, Cassiar Highway Mile 96.5

We woke to rain this morning – I guess the weather gods don’t want to spoil us too much. The drive to Meziadin Lake was uneventful, except for a single 4-km stretch of road that was graded and ready for the emusion top coat. Since they apparently can’t put the top coat on in the rain, just a few minutes after we stopped to await the pilot car, the flag lady took a call on her walkie-talkie and came back to say she was going home. She tossed her various signs into the back of her truck, stripped off a couple of layers of rain gear, and drove off when the pilot car arrived. They waved us through on our own, with several cars behind us. By the time we got through the muddy construction zone, our motorhome and car were again coated with mud. The rest of the drive was done in intermittent drizzle and occasional downpours, but as we approached Meziadin, the clouds broke and the sun came out. We were able to set up without getting wet, and took a stroll through the campground and down by the lake.

Meziadin Lake at the campground - note the fisherman wading in the shadow of the trees.

Our spot at Meziadin Provincial Park.

On the 27^th we got up very early (for us – 6:15 am), and drove the 40 miles or so to Stewart, BC and Hyder, AK. Four miles past Hyder is the Fish Creek Wildlife Observation Area, where bears are supposed to be prevalent whenever the salmon are running. We paid our $5 each admission to the boardwalk, and yes, there were lots of salmon and seagulls, but nary a bear. One grizzly had been seen for a few minutes just after 6 am, but according to the ranger the bears have had so much salmon that they are getting fat and lazy, and just eat the fish that make it farther upstream. 

Fish Creek was quite shallow, and the salmon, mostly humpbacked pinks with a few chum still around, were thrashing about trying to dig their redds, and mate. The creek was littered with fish who had spawned and died earlier. 

A mass of pink salmon moving up Fish Creek

After a few minutes watching the fish, we returned to Stewart for breakfast at the Temptations Bakery and Deli. We had the special of eggs, bacon, oven-roasted potatoes, toast, and coffee – all very good and served up promptly by the one person working. Of the 4 tables in the small space, 2 were occupied by local men who were drinking coffee and trading fishing and boat stories, which we had the feeling were not new to any of them. We drove back out to Fish Creek, but still no bears.

The view across Portland Canal at Hyder. Portland Canal is a 130-mile long fjord that forms the  border between the Alaska and British Columbia at the southern end of  Alaska

The drive out to Stewart/Hyder is beautiful, so even without seeing bears we weren’t disappointed. By the time we drove back, the sun was mostly out, and we saw several beautiful waterfalls cascading down from the glaciers high above. 

We stopped at Bear Glacier and could hear the roar of meltwater gushing into Strohn Lake at its base.

 In the 1940s, this glacier filled the entire Bear River Canyon – today it doesn’t even quite reach the lake, and Bear River Canyon is a mile of the creek and road walled in by steep canyon sides.

We got back to the motorhome about noon, and spent the afternoon enjoying the lovely warm sun and blue sky as we read our books sitting in our comfortable Strongback folding chairs, every now and then looking up at the forest and mountains surrounding us. Life is good.

28 Aug - 8 Sep 2016 -Meziadin Lake to Bellingham, WA

By the time we left Meziadin Provincial Park, we were ready to be back in the States and not moving every day or so. We split the trip into 5 segments, spending 3 nights in Houston, BC at the Shady Rest RV Park, and 5 nights in Prince George, BC, then just 1 night each in the remaining 3 spots. As we got further south the weather mostly improved, with only short periods of rain.

Barbara enjoying a moment of warmth at the Kokanee Bay Motel and Campground on Lac la Hache.

More curvy road south of Spence's Bridge, BC along the Thompson River

Pretty turquoise Thompson River

We had planned to stay at a Harvest Host in Abbotsford, BC, but when we arrived we found that their restaurant was not serving lunch, and that there really wasn't anything to do, so we went on down to Bellingham and spend the night at the Elks Lodge there. We were very happy to arrive back at Bothell's Lake Pleasant RV Park on Friday, September 8, bringing our long summer trip to a close. Just a few statistics for those who are into such things:

RV miles driven from Omak, WA to Bothell, WA: 5382 

Gallons of diesel consumed: 687.6

Cost of diesel consumed: $2138

Hours of generator use:  56

Number of times we moved between 23 June and 9 September: 34

Cost of RV parks: $1795

Final observations: if we ever return to Alaska, we will fly into Anchorage and rent a motorhome for a few weeks, rather than driving the long distance to get there and back. We'd stay longer in each spot, especially in Denali, hoping to get a day when the mountain is out. We'd also like to fly back to Whitehorse and do the same - rent an RV for a few weeks' exploring, with time to wait out the weather if it's not cooperating on any given day.

11-16 Aug 2017– Soldotna to Palmer, Glennallen and Valdez

We had planned to stay a night or two at Alyeska Resort, to take the ski tram up to the hiking trails and restaurant at the top – but the rain had settled in, and clouds cloaked the mountain in fog, so we decided to go ahead to Palmer. As has been the case throughout our journey, the RV park was far from full and we had no trouble going in 2 days before our reservation. 

Chugach Mountains just beyond the aptly-named Mountain View RV Park

Sue Rajek had told of us a good restaurant in Palmer, the Turkey Red, so we gave it a try. Sue was right – we had an excellent meal with friendly service, and took home enough roasted vegetables to feed us another night.

Wasn't it nice of them to name a town after Tom?

This old train engine is the site of a supposed geocache - both we and a couple of tourists from Nova Scotia hunted for quite a while, but did not find the cache

We did a little geocaching, since we had extra days in Palmer, but were stumped more often than usual. Not sure if the caches we were looking for had been removed, or whether we’re just out of practice. That said, we did log six finds, two of which were along scenic trails in the Matanuska River Park, a city park where we would certainly stay should we ever return here. Tom searched the stores for a cap that said Palmer, AK on it, but was not successful.

Our last day in Palmer, we drove up to Hatcher Pass, the site of an old gold mine. We took turns going through the visitor center while the other stayed outside with Shelby – but it was so cold and windy that Barbara retreated to the car with Shelby while Tom walked around a bit through the mine site before he too had to get out of the wind. On a warmer day, we’d have joined the few people up on the hillsides harvesting wild blueberries! The drive back provided some nice views toward the Mat-Su valley and the Chugach Mountains beyond.

The old mine buildings, with the tailing piles visible in the background

Looking back toward the Matanuska River valley and the Chugach mountains beyond from the road to Hatcher Pass

The  Little Susitna River along the road to Hatcher Pass

The drive on the Glenn Highway from Palmer to Glennallen is reputed to be one of the most beautiful stretches of road in Alaska, and it did not disappoint. Although it was partly cloudy, we could see most of the mountains and glaciers, and across the vast valleys between. The road was actually in good condition, with fairly few frost heaves and no construction.

The headwaters of the Matanuska River just west of the glacier. At one time the glacier filled this whole valley, leaving the cutbanks on the far side as it retreated.

The Matanuska Glacier. 18,000 years ago, it extended 50 miles westward, almost to present day Palmer. This shot shows only the foot of the glacier - it  extends 27 miles back into the mountains.

The Glenn Highway descending toward Glennallen, with the Wrangell Mountains in the background.

We decided after looking at weather forecasts and road condition reports to make a day trip down to Valdez instead of spending three days there. While the Wrangell/St. Elias Mountains were clouded in, when we got near the Thompson Pass, the views were spectacular and the waterfalls gorgeous.

The Wrangell Mountains east of the Richardson Highway en route to Valdez

The Worthington Glacier near Thompson Pass. We parked and walked down near the base of the right hand arm, but the view were actually better from this pullout.

The Chugach Mountains at Thompson Pass. Note the people standing on the ridge overlooking the valley far below.

Bridle Veil Falls on the left

Horsetail Falls, with interesting rocks to the left

Huddleston Falls

We started at the visitor’s center in Valdez, where we admired the native American artwork on display, and found the photos of the old roadhouses on the Valdez to Fairbanks and Valdez to Eagle (in the Yukon) roads in the early 20^th century quite fascinating. The fur-shrouded people who braved these routes in early open automobiles were far hardier than we are.

On the recommendation of the person at the visitor center we had lunch at the Totem Inn. Our halibut was again perfect – fresh, not overcooked, and complimented by the house-made tartar sauce.

We visited the Valdez Museum and Historical Archive, which presented interesting exhibits on Alaska history, including the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake that wiped out the original town site and on the Exxon Valdez shipwreck and oil spill.

We thought we’d see another good glacier by driving out Airport Road to the Valdez Glacier, but found that the views from the highway were actually better than those from the little city “park” – which was just a dirt area for parking.

Valdez Glacier is way the back at the center of the photo; this little pond with ice floes is meltwater from the glacier.

On our way out to see the Solomon Creek fish hatchery, we saw a number of dry camping sites run by the city of Valdez that had quite nice views across the bay to Valdez – a place to consider should we ever return. 

Looking north toward Valdez from Dayville Road, on the way to the fish hatchery

The fish hatchery has a short walking tour along the fish ladder explaining the processes used to the keep the salmon stocks recovering. This was the first place we’ve seen salmon on the way to spawn – and boy were there salmon. Thousands of pink salmon (humpbacks) were vying for position, trying to get up the small creek, while a small weir was attempting to steer them toward the fish ladder and hatchery. So many fish were frantic to move upstream that the water was churning and virtually no spot was empty of a fish. Many dead salmon who hadn’t made it up either way littered the shoreline. We were surprised that there were neither eagles nor bears making a feast of the riches presented here. Perhaps the 25 or so people watching the spectacle were too much for the predators.

Pink salmon trying to get upstream to spawn

Sea gulls feasting on dead salmon, and resting in their nests along the Solomon Gulch Bridge

Entrance to the fish ladder leading up to the hatchery

A harbor seal enjoying the bounty

Solomon Gulch Falls - any salmon making it over the weir would have to climb these falls to get to spawning grounds.

One of the tunnels created in the effort to build a train line from Valdez to the copper mines in Kennecott via Keyhole Canyon. Nine different companies were competing to build a rail line in 1906. This tunnel was excavated by hand. No company actually completed a rail line.

The rain held off on our return trip to Glennallen, and we enjoyed several nice views of the Wrangell Mountains to the east.

Wrangell Mountains east of the Richardson Highway, with glacier fed cascades

View across Willow Lake to the Wrangell Mountains

Mt. Drum seen from Glennallen west of the junction with the Richardson Highway

8-10 Aug - Soldotna, AK

The drive from Seward to Soldotna was interesting even in the rain. One 15 mile or so section of the road is very narrow and curvy with no shoulder and a 35 mile an hour speed limit – makes for some fairly tense and tiring driving. The rest of the 94 mile drive was not bad, and we did get some nice looks at Kenai Lake and River.

We again stayed at an Elks Lodge in Soldotna, but decided later we should have gone to the Lodge in Kenai instead; to get to the Soldotna Elks we had to drive 3 blocks off the main road on a dirt road that was so thoroughly pot-holed that even at less than 10 mph we really bounced around. The lodge provides 20-amp power and water to 8 sites in its dirt pot-holed lot.

The road into the Soldotna Elks Lodge and our motorhome parked in the lot

After stopping by the Soldotna visitor’s center, which is home to some really nice mounted displays of native species including the world’s record salmon, we drove across “the flats” to Kenai. A caribou herd calls the flats home, but they were not in evidence on our drive. Kenai has an interesting old Russian Orthodox church and chapel, and a continuously occupied rectory that was built in 1881. We started to walk up the path to the chapel, but were told by people leaving the site that the buildings are not open on Mondays. On our way back to the motorhome, we stopped by the Kenai Elks Lodge and found that it’s right off a paved road, and has 30-amp power and water. Should we ever return to this area, we’ll stay there!

Les Anderson, a Soldotna auto dealer, caught this 97-lb king salmon on 17 May 1985 using spin-and-glo and salmon egg bait. This fish remains the world record catch for rod and reel fishing.

Instead of taking the motorhome down to Homer, we made a day trip from Soldotna. The clouds had lifted a bit, and we were able to see Mount Redoubt and Mount Iliamna volcanos across Cook Inlet from Kalifornski Road. 

Mt. Redoubt -10,197 feet, 54 miles away. Last erupted starting in March 2009, continuing for several months and coating Anchorage, Valdez, the Matsu valley, and the Kenai peninsula with ash. Some ash reached as far as Delta Junction, with ash clouds reaching as high as 65,000 feet.

Mt. Iliamna, playing peek-a-boo in the clouds -10,016 feet, 52 miles away. Iliamna has not erupted since before the first European presence in Alaska, but it does emit steam frequently.

When we arrived at the overlook before dropping down into Homer, we could see the Mount Augustine volcano way in the distance, but it was too hazy for good photos.

Homer Spit and the mountains and glaciers of the lower Kenai Peninsula viewed from the Homer Overlook Point

We drove by the Homer Elks Lodge, and saw that they had a few spots for RVs, but after crossing the many road construction sites on the drive down (it looked like they were replacing culverts all along the Sterling Highway), we were glad we hadn’t driven the motorhome down.

The famous Homer Spit seemed to us to be one tourist trap after another – one more reason not to spend a lot of time here. We went to the Land’s End Resort at the end of the spit and had an excellent lunch at their Chart Room restaurant – grilled halibut sandwiches cooked just right, with a tarragon aioli that perfectly complemented the fish. After lunch we walked out on the rocky shore of the spit and watched the various boats coming and going. Shelby just wanted to go roll in the band of dead seaweed on the high tide line. 

Two resident eagles overlooking Kachemak Bay seen from the deck of the Chart Room Restaurant

More boating activity in Kachemak Bay - note the hanging glacier between the mountains

Barbara and Shelby on the rocky beach in front of the Lands End resort. Note the taut leash, as Shelby was trying to reach the dead seaweed at the high tide line.

On our way back to town, we walked through the Salty Dawg saloon, which is famous for all of the one dollar bills signed by the donors, tacked to the walls, ceiling, and every other imaginable surface. If the place ever burns down, the owners will lose thousands of dollars. Since it was packed, and Shelby was with us, we didn’t stay for a beverage.

Driving on out East End road, we stopped at the Bear Creek winery, which makes wines from local berries and wine grape juice imported from the lower 48. They actually had some interesting wines, more for afternoon on the patio sipping than dinner wines, but still quite tasty. Then it was up to Skyline Drive, along the ridge above Homer and facing the lower section of the Kenai Peninsula across Katchemak Bay. Some pretty spectacular views across to mountains and glaciers.

Grewingk and Portlock Glaciers in Kachemak Bay State Park, with float plane flying by, seen from Skyline Drive

Homer Spit seen from Skyline Drive

 On our last day in Soldotna, we went to the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge visitor center, and walked the 1 mile Keen Eye trail. Although the trail is noted for bird watching, we heard a boreal chickadee but did not see it – and that’s all. Clearly if one wants to see many different bird species on the Kenai, spring is the time to do it.

Keen Eye Trail

This bronze moose in front of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center looks like he's objecting to being polished

Fishing from shore and by boat on the Kenai River in Soldotna