Day 36 July 10, 2011 Driving from Tok to Anchorage AK

Day 36 - July 10, Driving from Tok to Anchorage.

Although the morning showed a little rain before we were up, it stopped and the skies began to open up by 8:00Am. We packed up the trailer and headed down the rest of the road which was the “Tok Cutoff” as it was originally called in 1941 when construction started in the direction of Anchorage. BUT...when the Japanese attacked the Aleutian Islands, namely, Attu and Dutch Harbor (bombed) that put that road on hold. The reason being that the Airbase (now Eielson AFB) was at Fairbanks and the US had been “hopping” planes to the Russians already so all military equipment should go there. Why not?

So the Tok Cutoff was finished in the early 1950’s to expedite the traffic to Anchorage and connecting with the Parks Highway to Denali and Fairbanks.

Now this stretch of road has a lot of beauty, but the main ingredient is weather. With all the mountains nearby, the chances of good weather (cloudy and partly sunny), are not very good. BUT as God is good (always) the sun shone and we snapped away at the beautiful reflections in lakes, the flowers and of course the mountains that were now exposed from top to bottom in all their glory.

Two sections of road rather split the views into two groups , although the mountains are seen all along. First section from Tok to Glenallen, has the Wrangell/St Elias Mountain Range in view . They are about 20 miles away and quite visible to the eye. Today Mt. Sanford was UNBELIEVABLY CLEAR. Ruth snapped away and the first mountain was a rounded form, much like a ball, and completely covered with snow. (The snow was a glacier or -glacier field). The second, Mt, Drum was more like a typical ”mountain” with small peaks made into one mountain. Both are over 16,000 feet in height. We could not see Mt.Logan (19,000 feet+) as it is on the back side of the range.

The road continued to be a problem as we could travel only about 40 mph and many times more slowly than that in order to sow enough to keep the dips from damaging the vehicle. One had to be alert or a transmission or axle could crack or some other part would break.

After Glenallen (1/3 of the way), the valleys that emitted from the range were closer and we could see the glaciers that came down toward the Matanuska and Tanzina Rivers . There were three main glaciers visible and only 5-8 miles away. They were the Nelchina, Tanzina and Matanuska Glaciers, the latter being closest to the road and public access was a few minutes away and downhill. The Matanuska River gets very wide and braided as it nears the city of Palmer. Many rocks and lots of gravel (no shortage of that here) along the river bed. There was a huge coal minenear Sutton before Palmer,but it is inactive now. We stopped at Palmer for gas ($3.88/gal.) as it was still 39 miles to Anchorage, continued on the Glenn Highway into Anchorage and found the RV Park. (Read the story about the Park in tomorrows post.)

All in all it was a marvelous day with sights seldom seen by those passing by on the Glenn Highway. Jim did see a lone animal and that crossed the road just out side of Glenallen. It was a wolf and the first we had seen. What a treat. Tomorrow ...we are in Anchorage and get the truck and trailer washed!

Day 35 0 July 09, 2011 Tok AK Across the border

Day 35 - Sat. July 09, 2011- Over the border into Alaska!

1. Wildflowers at Kluane Cottonwood RV Park YT

2.The frontal range of the St Elias Mtns. in Kluane Park and Preserve

3.A form of Dryas in bloom.

4. View from the trailer window at Kluane Lake. YT

Well, after 34 days of traveling the North American Continent, we passed through CUSTOMS at the American side and had no problems there. A few basic questions, “Where to, where from? Carrying firearms, food, goods”? ”You are good to go”! Gee, that was easy. It is interesting to note that the border between Yukon (Canada) and Alaska (USA) was established between the Russians and the English in 1825, and the US accepted the border when we bought Alaska from the Russians. What a deal that was! Today there is a 600 mile long, 20 feet wide, swath cut between 1905 and 1920 (maintained by the International Commission) from the Arctic Ocean to Mt. St.Elias in the Wrangell Mtns. all along the 141st Meridian. It is a pretty sight and perhaps the longest unpatrolled border in the world ?

But that was later in the day, and to start out we had to overcome the FROST HEAVES for some 120 miles on portions of the Alaska Highway. The crews were out of course in the summer, and we had two “follow lead car” times , one with a 20 minute wait for traffic to clear southbound. There were many sections of “loose gravel” and “construction ahead”, as they were applying the pitch and gravel in many places . One section was 6 miles long with escort. But the scenery, especially as we travelled along Kluane Lake was magnificent. The 15,000 foot plus MOUNTAINS of the St.Elias range were in view and even the front range had a lot to offer. We saw no mammals at all throughout the day. No Moose! But we did see some Tundra SWANS and three young cygnets who had a small lake all to themselves. (They like that!). Ruth was excited to see some GOLDEN EAGLES albeit from a distance. Near the mountains in Kluane Park and Preserve they are seen often. Some villages along the way:

Burwash Landing (YT) was established as a trappers and traders post in 1904 and the Lodge there now was built in 1944 after the road came through. A Catholic church, Our Lady of the Rosary, was built n 1944 and ran a school until 1952, when it closed, The church still holds masses today as a mission church. I is one of three Catholic churches on the Alaska Highway.

Destruction Bay (YT) was named , when, as an army post during road construction, a terrible storm practically destroyed everything there. LIke many of the relay stations along the road in 1942, it gave relief to the truck drivers and many of then were also repeater, telegraph and telephone stops.

Beaver Creek (YT) was the original customs stop, but it was moved north after too many people tried to go through without stopping, creating sirens in the middle of the night. It is one of two places where the crews building the highway met in 1942 allowing passage all the way from Dawson Creek.

Tok (AK) is a town of 1300, and is the place you must pass through coming or going into or out of Alaska. When the Japanese invaded the Aleutian Islands, a priority was given to the road to Fairbanks (Air bases), and the proposed Tok Road to the west (the Tok cutoff) was put on hold. We will take this road to Anchorage.

Now a few words about the ‘tiaga’ or the “land of little sticks” as the Russian words denotes. All along the road from mid Yukon into Alaska it is the tiaga. It consists of short (20’-30’ tall) spruce trees that are only 2” in diameter that may very well be 100 years old. Talk about slow growth! That is why the trees are never cut this far north. (Commercially at least.) A large problem in Alaska’s vast land is that each year lightning strikes can start a fire in the dry tundra and tiaga very quickly. FACT: In one day more than 6,000 lightning strikes can hit the ground in Alaska. Fires in remote places can burn for days without fire suppressant reaching it.

In 1990 JIm was returning from Alaska when the great Tok fire surrounded the town . Total destruction was prevented when a sudden wind shift took the flames the other way.

Crossing the Tanana River before Tok felt like we were finally at ”home” .The Tanana joins the Yukon River at Fairbanks where the two rivers joining are called “nutchalaweya” or “ the joining of the waters”.

Maybe a mention just one time of the INSECTS that Alaskans put up with. First there are the mosquitos that are 30 different types. Then there re the ‘no see ums’, the saw flies, larval caterpillars, black flies, silver winged gnats and deer flies. It is known that mosquitos can take a pint of blood from a Moose in a day!

It has been a long 34 days, but a most beautiful and enjoyable trip along the way.We are blessed to be able to do this and like to think that we are taking you all along with us as we go.

The Tok RV campground has 181 sites and it is really a clean one. There is nightly entertainment (local Alaskan music) with a five piece band, all the amenities you would want including a huge RV wash. We will wait until Anchorage as there are still more roads under repair on the Glenn Highway into Anchorage. A short rain came through as we started to set up the site, but ended in 10 minutes and now the sun is shining again. See you Anchorage.

Day 34 -July 8, 2011 Kluane Lake, Yukon YT

Day 34, July 8, 2011-- Beautiful Lake Kluane and Preserve

Another beautiful day along with the weather,too! The day was sunny from about 10:00 Am on, with very little wind, and although we did not see any mammals during the day , there were more birds than the previous four days.

The journey from the Nusitlin Bridge at Teslin, YT, to Lake Kluane near Burwash Landing took us through the land inhabited for thousands of years by the native people of this area. Their influence is still strong and they have their own government, rules and regs. The Tagish, the Aishihik, the Tahkhini and the Carcross bands make up the main concentration. Takhini comes from the Taghish words for... tahk = mosquito and heena = river. I am sure that is true as there are many here. (mosquitos)

There is much subsistence living off the land as there is much wildlife here. Fish, Bear, Elk, Caribou, Deer, are the main animals hunted . North of the town of Haines Junction they have a main office building for services to their people. That same town has a great Convention center, just built, that is an an addition to the Ice arena there (curling , you know, eh?). Haines Junction is the center for the access into the Kluane National Park and Preserve.

The Preserve is some 2,225 sq. miles and holds the tallest peaks in Canada . They are; Mt Logan,19,545’; Mt. St. Elias, 18, 008’ ; Mt. Lucania , 17,147’; and 4 others all over 15,000 feet. These are all inside the Kluane N.P. and R. There are rafting, kayak, climbing, hiking and air pickup activities throughout the area. A great trip is to float down the Alsek River past glaciers and countless wildlife to the Pacific Ocean and get picked up by plane to return. Better be ready when they come. The Kluane Park and Preserve also contains the largest non-polar ice field in North America.

This area also is the area made famous by some authors , namely Robert Service, and can you name another Yukon “author” (Bet Marlys can?). Hint: He was a member of the Dalton gang!

Another native to these parts was George Johnson, a Tlingkit , a trapper and an entrepreneur who brought a 1928 Chevrolet to Teslin (before any roads were built), and built a 3 mile “road” to become the town’s “taxi and driver”. Lakes, creeks and a Museum are named after him. George’s photography was valuable in the years 1910 to 1940’s in depicting the native life in this area.

We crossed the Yukon River that carries many of these waterways as the Yukon assisted the gold seekers in the Klondike gold rush of 1898-99. At the point where the Yukon bridge is , there is a dam (Yewes) that was created to give the paddle wheelers more season to haul materials and passengers down the Yukon. ()It kept the ice from forming there. What took one day to go down would take 5 days to come back up the same stretch of river.

One of the widest and most homogeneous valleys appears between Whitehorse and Haines Junction. It is the Takhini Valley. It was an old lake bed before the glaciers and moved water down to the closer Pacific Ocean. Now it is forested and excellent wildlife habitat. The waters draining this area now join the Yukon in their 2,000 mile journey to the Bering sea. No paddle wheelers today ,but there is a relic of one at Whitehorse that one can tour. The Hudson’s Bay traders were on the Yukon River in 1840, with the missionaries shortly thereafter.

Now we come to the gem of this leg, and that is Kluane Lake. There were some great views as we came down the hill from the south. We were met immediately by a mother duck and 7 of her “followers’ on the Lake and we stopped abruptly , like we often do. We thought at first they were Wood Ducks, but it turned out the beautiful markings made them all Harlequin Ducks. What a way to start some time at this Lake. The last time we came (1995) through Ruth remembers that the wind was blowing a dust storm off the dry river beds into the lake. Today was pristine. The roads around this lake have always been a problem and inasmuch as it used mostly by Americans coming and going from Alaska, the Canadian and Yukon governments worked out a compromise with the USA to develop a cooperative project on the Alaskan Highway from here into Alaska. It is called the “SHAKWAK PROJECT”. In it the US agreed to fund the reconstruction of 300 miles from Haines Junction to the Alaskan border. That work continues this year but is almost complete . Some of that part of the road has befuddled the engineers as the road bed consists of a soft pumice like soil that “floats” and when it freezes and then thaws it doesn’t stay in place. Any suggestion out there?

The campground we are situated in is Cottonwood RV Park and is probably the best attired one we have been in. Lots of flowers, spacious sites, good visibility on the sites and you can park your RV either way , facing the lake of the mountains.Your choice! Of course looking at the surrounding mountains and the Lake in front adds to that ambiance. Tomorrow we head to Tok, Alaska and get ready for the last leg , the road on the Glenn Highway into Anchorage. It there are no pictures it is because the Wi-Fi will not handle the pictures. Thanks for reading.

Day 33 - Thurs. July 7, 2011 Into the Yukon

Day 33, Thursday July 07, 2011 Into the Yukon!

Today was a better driving day that yesterday, when there were many curves, hills, bumpy roads and frost heaves. The section of road from Liard Hot Springs (River) to Teslin in the Yukon was much better. There were long level stretches so we could travel at 55 mph with ease for the most part. There were stops for gas and we did finally have to pay $100.00 for a fill up . It was around 59 liters at $1.74/L The next station had it for $1.34. Go Figure, but when you have to fill up , in this area, you fill up. There may not be a station for another 80-90 miles.

The morning was filled with good animal viewing as the Black bears were out , especially the mothers and their cubs, with both black and brown bears visible. Then came the Buffalo. There are a number of Buffalo herds on this road and this was the first. They were laying around and the little ones were nuzzling their mothers and learning to ”charge” if even they were only a couple of feet tall. Never did see a Moose YET! They are there but daytime is not the best to view them. At one point Ruth glanced over to see some birds at a carcass of some sort. Then in a rush, the three birds flew up . One was a young Bald Eagle evidently being interrupted at breakfast. Quite a sight just 10 feet from the car. In the afternoon we did not see any mammals of size . Good advice to get out early (or late) to see them.

This stretch of road has the longest bridges on the Alaska Highway, especially the one we last crossed the Nusitlin , here at Teslin. It is 1,957 feet long with seven truss sections. Tomorrow we will see another that is over 1700 feet long. We finally crossed the Liard River on it’s journey to the Arctic Ocean.

FACT: the Yukon River once emptied into the south portion of Alaska (near Skakway) before the ice age. It did not carry much water. After the glaciers blocked the water exit it began to reverse it’s flow and cut it’s channel north to the Bering Sea. The former journey was only a few hundred miles, and today (depending on the source) it travels some 2,000 miles to the Ocean.

We are now in the area where the Klondike Gold Rush prospectors went through from Chilkoot Pass (Skagway) over the mountains to these lakes that connect to the Yukon River. Once they got over the mountains they could float (rafts) from that point down the Yukon to the Klondike (Dawson City) area for the gold rush, Over 100,000 of them were reputed to have made that journey coming over the Pass with 1 ton of equipment each. (The RCMP checked them out!).

This area , especially Teslin, is the center of the Tlingkit Nation and many run businesses here and in nearby towns and villages. There is a lot of subsistence hunting and fishing as well. With all the lakes the fishing is terrific.

We crossed the Continental Divide at Swift River, had a piece of Donna’s apple pie at Toad River, noted countless bridges, creeks and rivers and camped on the shores of what is called the Nusitlin Bay on the river of the same name by Teslin Lake. Tomorrow we will tell you how “Jake’s Crossing “ got its name, putting Whitehorse behind us and staying at Destruction Bay YT.

Day 31 ad 32 -St John BC to Liard Hot Springs BC

Day 31 and 32, Tuesday June 5, 2011, Travel from Ft. St. John to Fort Nelson BC (pictures in separate post)

We got a good start on the day at 8:30 AM after attempting to get the Wi-Fi working. It wasn’t. It did last night but that was another day! This portion of the Alaska Hwy, begins to show the frost heaves and undulating that shows up in the Northern BC and S. Yukon. So the idea is to slow down a bit and be ready for the holes and bumps to avoids problems. ( I missed a couple today.) Slowing down for me would place the speedometer at from 50-55 mph. Of course the hills demand a slower rate and especially the 6-8% grades that for the most part are not long. There were two long ones today, one descending in to the Chief Sikanni River and the other one into the city of Fort Nelson, but it was not as long as the Peace River descent. The old original wooden bridge over the Chief Sikanni River (not used) was a memorial until a few years ago when it was torched by vandals. Just the pillars remain from 1942. We passed through many roadside stops , some had gas but mostly they had lodging. These are only open in the summer. Gas at Pink Mountain (“Only use one side of the pump, please”!) was $1.36/L and at Prophet River it was $1.47/L (I thought you would like to keep up with the gas prices.) The sign there at Pink Mountain gas station stated “No dogs in drive or in store ...ever!” This was one big driveway, too They must have had a dog problem at one time.

Today’s animals seen were the Black Bear, some Sandhill Cranes and W.T. Deer, all by the side of the road . But the surprise came also in the flower category as we saw the first “Fireweed” flowers for the first time. That is the state flower of alaska and is the first flower after a fire, with it’s light pink, tall, (six foot) blossoms, . This means we are getting north for sure. We are nearing the 60th parallel which is the border between the northern provinces of Canada (Yukon and BC.). The hills are filled with White and Black spruce and some sections are devastated by the Mountain Spruce Beetle that has killed millions of acres of trees in BC , and we will see more in Yukon and AThere are many kinds of poplar , but the most prolific are the Quaking Aspen and the white leaved Poplar.The get huge in the Rivers beds.

There is a huge oil shale field in NE British Columbia and NW Alberta called the Dillon Basin that is THEE development in these parts. Much activity and all along out of Ft. St. John we saw side roads with dozens of signs advertising the oil and gas companies that were located down those side roads. Here, like the area near Williston ND, are the “Man camps” set up to accommodate the workers. Many come by themselves and commute on weekends to homes not too distant. Just outside of Fort Nelson is the Spectra Gas Refinery and depot. There are hundreds of people living there in a sort of “company camp”. Spectra is a big employer here in the region. Along the Hwy, there re many gas lines seen coming out of the forests.

Fort Nelson is located at the junction of three rivers, namely the Fort Nelson, the Prophet and the Muskwa all uniting near town into the Fort Nelson River , which empties into the Liard River and eventually to the Mackenzie at Tuktoyaktuk and the Arctic Ocean. On the maps of the area there is a mapmaking phenomena. There are some roads that are labeled ‘open only in the summer’ (winter snow) and there are some roads that are labeled ‘closed in the summer’. Why is that? The roads are designated as ice roads in the winter only. If you have seen “Ice truckers” on TV , you will understand. In the summer the permafrost melts and it is impossible to drive vehicles on the tundra without ruining it.

Tomorrow we will see much wildlife as this is the area (across northern BC) that has Buffalo, Bear, Mountain Sheep, Goats, and Moose. Hopefully we will see them all...not at one time! The following day we will cross the Rocky mountains again as it heads for the Arctic Ocean and we move west to Alaska. A stop at Liard Hot Springs for a dip will be welcome.

Had a chance to talk top one of the workers on road construction as he stopped buy and asked about the Tundra .He is anticipating shifting from Ford to Toyota as he heard they hold up well after 150,000 miles of rough work. I can’t make that claim but I would believe it may be true. IT sure handles nicely and is as smooth as silk as they say. The word is from those coming down the Hwy. that there is some construction, but no major redoing or the road surface. That sounded good. This will be delayed as there is no WiFI here that is working. There was, but it ,too is down. We will be patient.

Here in the campground I did observe a American Redstart and some Yellow Warblers and right outside the door this evening, a Orange Crowned Warbled as seeking food. Had we a few days here this would be a good birding area. This is a long established park with a large restaurant and store.

Day 32 Wed. July 6, 2011 to Liard River and Hot Springs.

Confession Time! yes, I goofed in the previous narration. I was under the assumption, like many of us, that the Rocky Mountains extend past the Yukon Border, but that is not the case. The Rocky Mountains terminate at Muncho Lake (see pic ) and in the Yukon the range that is there is geographically different and is named the Mackenzie Mountains. The continental divide does occur, however, near Swift River not far from here and continues into the Yukon north to the Arctic Ocean.

The stretch of road from Fort Nelson to Liard River (and beyond) is a very twisting, and undulating length of road. The pavement is good, but those frost heaves and ups and downs can be disconcerting at times. During the day we ran into one road crew putting what they call “gravel patching”. The tar truck goes first and lays the tar on a “patch” and the dump trucks go behind (backwards) and gradually pour out the gravel on devices designed for that smooth layering. Almost immediately the traffic can proceed with caution. My, so dusty afterwards! The dust was extreme and signs reminded us to keep our headlights on.

As we rounded a curve before Toad River there was a sign, just ones small sign at the side of the road it read ; “Cinnamon Buns Ahead- 4km”. Ruth and I both said “Wow! Let’s stop!”. So we got those $5.00 cinnamon buns and they were huge at about 6 inches on diameter. We got two and I stopped a few miles down the road at a pull out and ate mine. Ruth saved hers for ??? I filled up with gas there and the sign on the pump said “Tell us the number of liters you received.” WHAT? I found this to be true and later in the day another incident that showed a lot of trust up here in the north. (see pic) The cinnamon bun place (Toad River Inn) has been there for a number of years as I have stopped there on my way up before. Because there are few travelers and few places to go besides on the road we run into people many times in a day that we have seen that day or a few days before.

Now for the animals of the day. People said that the animal sightings on both sides (east and west) of Liard River would be numerous. They were right . We sighted and pictured , Black Bear , Caribou, Deer, Rocky Mountain Sheep , and some of those multiple times. No Moose yet, but then we are not on Alaska yet!

Muncho Lake is a great vista (see pic). The road actually runs right close to the shore line for many miles and you get a close up view of the Lake and the mountans on the west side.. There is a high pullout at the north end of the Lake and many picture have been taken from here. We added to that amount.

Earlier in the day we passed Stone Mountain where the Rocky Mountain Sheep come right to the side of the road and lick the minerals that is on the gravel. (See pic) Ruth got some nice shots of them. People are patient if you pull off on limited shoulder. JUst watch out for trucks.

The last stop of the day was at the campground at Liard River Resort. This is so honest here, too, that the store manager (Ken) has a big window and when someone comes to get gas , he walks out there (leaves the store open) and gets the info from the customer about the gas (no automatic devices), then returns to the store , a walk of about 200’ feet. We applied for a campsite as we had called ahead. No need to rush as we were with only one other camper in the 50 spot campground. No dump, but water and electricity. Electricity here in this “up north” country is run by a generator (commercial) which we can hear from the camp site easily.

Then, Jim went to the Hot Springs and enjoyed it immensely . It is a long walk, and a $5.00 fee, and the surrounding swamp is loaded with fish, plants, flowers and “life’. We got to the pool (actually on a stream) that has three depths of pool and three temperatures as the water begins to cool. It was not crowded and the people were very friendly . I met a couple from north of Ottawa and we talked about Alaska and rural Alaska. There was time for some bird watching and picture taking along the 1/3 mile boardwalk to the Pools. There were some birds in the campground, but we will see tomorrow if that holds true.

So it was another great day (73F and mostly sunny) and we saw lots of Rocky Mtn. Sheep and some hawks and a few songbirds. a little rain cloud went through just before we grilled the steaks, and it was gone before we started. Ot dampened the dust at least.

Tomorrow we cross into the Yukon 6 times before the “official” crossing at Lower Post.

DFay 33 7-7-11, Crossing into the Yukon.

Day 33, Thursday July 07, 2011 Into the Yukon!

Today was a better driving day that yesterday, when there were many curves, hills, bumpy roads and frost heaves. The section of road from Liard Hot Springs (River) to Teslin in the Yukon was much better. There were long level stretches so we could travel at 55 mph with ease for the most part. There were stops for gas and we did finally have to pay $100.00 for a fill up . It was around 59 liters at $1.74/L The next station had it for $1.34. Go Figure, but when you have to fill up , in this area, you fill up. There may not be a station for another 80-90 miles.

The morning was filled with good animal viewing as the Black bears were out , especially the mothers and their cubs, with both black and brown bears visible. Then came the Buffalo. There are a number of Buffalo herds on this road and this was the first. They were laying around and the little ones were nuzzling their mothers and learning to ”charge” if even they were only a couple of feet tall. Never did see a Moose YET! They are there but daytime is not the best to view them. At one point Ruth glanced over to see some birds at a carcass of some sort. Then in a rush, the three birds flew up . One was a young Bald Eagle evidently being interrupted at breakfast. Quite a sight just 10 feet from the car. In the afternoon we did not see any mammals of size . Good advice to get out early (or late) to see them.

This stretch of road has the longest bridges on the Alaska Highway, especially the one we last crossed the Nusitlin , here at Teslin. It is 1,957 feet long with seven truss sections. Tomorrow we will see another that is over 1700 feet long. We finally crossed the Liard River on it’s journey to the Arctic Ocean.

FACT: the Yukon River once emptied into the south portion of Alaska (near Skakway) before the ice age. It did not carry much water. After the glaciers blocked the water exit it began to reverse it’s flow and cut it’s channel north to the Bering Sea. The former journey was only a few hundred miles, and today (depending on the source) it travels some 2,000 miles to the Ocean.

We are now in the area where the Klondike Gold Rush prospectors went through from Chilkoot Pass (Skagway) over the mountains to these lakes that connect to the Yukon River. Once they got over the mountains they could float (rafts) from that point down the Yukon to the Klondike (Dawson City) area for the gold rush, Over 100,000 of them were reputed to have made that journey coming over the Pass with 1 ton of equipment each. (The RCMP checked them out!).

This area , especially Teslin, is the center of the Tlingkit Nation and many run businesses here and in nearby towns and villages. There is a lot of subsistence hunting and fishing as well. With all the lakes the fishing is terrific.

We crossed the Continental Divide at Swift River, had a piece of Donna’s apple pie at Toad River, noted countless bridges, creeks and rivers and camped on the shores of what is called the Nusitlin Bay on the river of the same name by Teslin Lake. Tomorrow we will tell you how “Jake’s Crossing “ got its name, putting Whitehorse behind us and staying at Destruction Bay YT.

Day 30, July 4th 2011 Ft. St.John BC

1. Dawson Creek, the "official" MIle zero city of the Alaskan Highway (Al-Can)

2. A Fox (Reynard) came out of the woods, ran along a fence and waited under the shade of the tree for me to take the picture.

3. A view of the countryside just outside of Ft. St. John, BC. Notice the agriculture at this high latitude.

4. The memorial for the WW2 men who lost their lives in a boat accident on Charlie Lake BC

Day 30 -Monday July 4th, 2011 Independence Day (235th year)

Here on the Al-Can (Alaska) Hwy., we will have no other other stop of more than one night from here on. There will be an evening at Liard Hot Springs for soaking in the outdoor warm waters, and some good historic stories as we travel, but we will keep moving along starting tomorrow all the way to Anchorage. (Original bridges and artifacts from the road building in 1942.)

Back in Michigan and the rest of the USA there will be a lot of celebration on this Independence Day with fireworks and parades and family picnics and get togethers. That is as it should be as we look back on the forming of the best government in the world. Maybe it’s not perfect , but it is what WE make of it.. So I hope you all had a good time remembering. I know that in the various locations of my family there will be a lot of fireworks and some sparklers for the children. Stewartstown PA;, Grand Haven MI;, West Branch MI;, Louisville, KY;, Grand Rapids MI:, and on the Muskegon River at the Hardy Pond. All across America they are celebrating the birth of this nation. Where is your family remembering?

Today here, gave Ruth and I a chance to look over the area on the side roads and trails and two Provincial Parks that are on Charlie Lake here near Fort St. John, BC. Lake Charlie is about 12 miles long and has great fishing. Right next to the RV Park is a huge boat launch and parking lot. The cooperation between local entities has even placed an excellent , fenced in , playground at the edge of it for children to use while dad is fishing. Mom’s bring their chairs and read, relax or push the swings. In the drive around the south end of the Lake today we saw dozens of boat launches. They call them “Sportsmen‘s Access”, here. More on that later.

That reminded me that when we were in Grand Prairie, we saw the use of ‘pheronome’ patches on Pine trees to selectively prevent the attack from the Mountain Beetle Pine borer. What the patch does is make the beetle believe that the tree is dying (same scent or attractant) and they go away. Of course it is used in limited places where decorative trees need to be preserved. It is a HUGE problem here in BC and the west.

Back to today! We did both Charlie Lake Provincial Park and Beatton Provincial Park, which are only about 10 mies separated and opposite sides of the Southern (populated) end of the Lake. Birding was slim but we did get a few species. The west wind has blown since we arrived at about 30-35 mph, and that keeps the birds deep in the forest away from the winds. Another trail was at Northern Lights College here and that proved to be a longer jaunt than we expected. Ruth was very tired at the end as there were lots of up and down hills. We ate lunch there at the end of the trail, picked up some bread and headed home . We saw two Flycatchers new to the list in the Dusky and the Least. At the end of the day two 3 year old Bald Eagles flew around the end of the Lake looking for food. Good stuff.

Gas is a bit higher here, but still good for this region at $1.37/L. By now you can figure the US cost.

We took one more walk around the end of the lake where we saw the Barrow’s Golden Eye yesterday (a mom and her six young ones), but they were not about to be on that Lake with the wind whipping up the waves to whitecap size. I might mention that Ft. St. John has a HUMUNGOUS ice arena and practice building. It is about the size of Grand Rapids Van Andel Arena. For a town of 30,000 that is dynamic. Of course the winters are long here. Oil, gas, timber, and agriculture are the main industries.

Tomorrow we get to see the historical portions of the building of the AL-Can highway. The Alaskans after the war didn't like that being referred to as ‘Al-Can’ so they finally got the official name changed to “Alaska Highway” which is used today.

During WW2 when the road was being built the 10,000 men stationed here had many jobs. One day in April, a crew was assigned to move equipment and dozers on small raft/boats with motors from the south end of the Charlie Lake to the north end to be used there on the road. They started out with small waves of 1/2 foot, but by the time they got to about 1/2 way and the waves were 2-3 feet, one of the sides of the raft/boat was taking on water, so the captain ordered the raft/boat to head for shore. Waves filled the boat and the boat capsized (this was April) and the men floundered. A man in his cabin onshore preparing breakfast, saw the boat earlier and looked again and it was gone. He got in his rowboat and rowed out to rescue the men. In three trips he rescued five men , and some 15 men drowned. There is a wonderful memorial to them and the rescuer just at the shore of this RV Park. Canada awarded the man many honors and now there is a memorial. (See pic).

Tomorrow we head for Ft.Nelson and the day after that Liard Hot Springs! Yes we will get in and soak! Thanks for reading!