The Alaska/Canadian Yukon Trip

8/22/17 Today is a travel day from Portland to Newberg (all of 35 miles).   Newberg is the home of my 1 st cousin, Berk and his wife Gloria.   Every time we make it up to Oregon , we stop at Tom’s daughter’s, and Cousin Berk’s, and Cousin Jeanette’s – three stops in Oregon .   Berk is one of the only three 1 st cousins I have, as my family is relatively small.   We are hoping to visit with the other two 1 st cousins on the way home, around the Sacramento Valley area.   Jeanette is not a 1 st cousin, but still counts as a ‘cuz’.     We arrived at their house around noon and parked in their driveway.   We met Randy, a friend and past student of Berk’s, who has been a chemistry teacher most of his life.   Randy was visiting Berk the day we arrived.   It turns out Berk and Randy are both scientists, and when they get together, they talk a different language.   Randy was actually in Oregon for the total eclipse with other scientists.   They came for the week,

8/17/17 Even after washing the outside of the RV, we were still able to leave the campground in Vancouver at 10:10.   We crossed the Lionsgate Bridge .   There was a lot of traffic on the bridge and through downtown Vancouver , also Granville Island and Surrey were just as thick with traffic and many very narrow streets.   I spent a great deal of time sucking in air as we passed barriers on the right that I didn’t think we would miss.   Tom assured me that he was as far left as he could go and stay out of the lane next to us.   We finally made it through the cities, then on to the US Customs border.   The sign said there was a 15 minute delay, BUT… we waited in line for almost an hour to get through the   border.   Hooray! – Back in the USA !   It felt so good. US Border crossing (through a screen) We stopped in a rest stop for a quick sandwich and driving break – only one more hour of driving.   We arrived at La Conner Thousand Trails campground on t

8/12/17 We left the Prince George campground at 8:15, stopped at the closest gas station to fill up, and headed out.   Tom fought an upset stomach all day.   I think the cabbage last night didn’t agree with him.   He did not stop for lunch or dogs (he is such a grump when he doesn’t feel good). The drive was not pretty.   With 20 or 21 wildfires burning in British Columbia in this general area, the smoke was thick.   It was so bad that the main route south, Highway 97, was closed at Highway 24 (which is a secondary road).   The smoke was drifting in a northeasterly direction.   We went through the worst of it near Quesnel and Williams Lake.    Here are some pictures of the area.   Smoke in Quesnel Smoke in Williams Lake Extreme Fire Danger Complete ban on Campfires Hwy 97 South is Blocked It was 295 miles to Pine Grove Campground in McLure (about half of the distance between Prince George and Vancouver ) where we had reservations at a Go

8/9/17 We left the campground in Stewart at 8:15 a.m., headed for Smithers, our last stop on the Fantasy Tour. It was a fairly easy drive to Smithers. We passed through more canyons and large lakes that ran alongside the road. This area was a favorite habitat for black bears, and we did see many of them. I didn’t count, but saw quite a few along the road. Here are two that I took pictures of. The white mark on the first picture is a bug on the windshield (couldn’t keep it clean)! Brown bear on the road Another black bear We stopped at about 11:30 in a turnout and had a leisurely lunch next to a lake. Then, on to Smithers. The RV park we stayed in had a Par 3 golf course next door. The spaces were small, and it took a little ‘jimmying’ (is that a word?) to get in. Tom had to go around twice to get us close enough to the electrical post, and far enough away from the pine trees. We got set up around 2:30 and had a nap. I was very relaxed, as I got 3 blogs ou

  8/7/17   Today is another driving day – today to Stewart, BC – 246 miles.   In the morning we stopped at Kluachon Centre Store for groceries, coffee, and to mail a card off to my grandson.   However, nothing worked as planned.   No groceries, and no mail out as today is a B.C. holiday.   We did get a cup of coffee and talked with two ladies in the store who had been residents there for over 32 years.   They looked like they were first nation natives.   They had a new rescue puppy, Titan, that was a mix of husky and lab – he was so cute.   Tom leaned over to pet the puppy, and spilled his coffee.   We went back into the store to buy another cup of coffee, and the ladies refused to let us pay for it, they said it was on the house.   When I started to insist on paying, they said it was Canadian hospitality, and I HAD to accept.   I thanked them and we were on our way.   Our next stop was Bell 2 Lodge for lunch.   It was the only place to eat on the whole road.   Howeve