Our Yukon/Rockies Trip
My wife (Bev) & I have always wanted to drive up & see the Yukon, but time & circumstances have been in the way in past attempts, so we’ve never been there. This year however, a window of opportunity came along & we grabbed it! This will be our first trip in our new-to-us '96 Roadtrek D190P. I have been taking Chemo for 16 years now, with very few breaks in between. When I approached my Dr.s about taking a break from it, they were in favour. This is what I needed, in order to put enough days back to back to enjoy ourselves & just get out there without having to cut things too short in order to get home for treatment(although it never seems like enough time!). Having said that, though, it would of been a lot better if we had more time to explore the different locales, but beggars can’t be choosy! As it went, we really enjoyed ourselves & got to see a lot of different things in a limited amount of time.
We timed it tight, so that we went directly from the hospital (in Nanaimo) to the ferries & we drove out of the city. That first night, however, we ended up at the rest area outside of Hope, but hey, we were on our way!! The next day we drove up to 10 mile lake near Quesnel, spent the night & continued on to Beaumont PP near Fraser Lake, on Hwy. 16. There we parked ourselves for 3 days, thinking it would be hard to find any camp spots,due to it being Labor Day weekend. However, I didn’t notice any over-crowding issues, in fact, there were still empty spots all weekend. It is a nice,sunny place to relax. From there we made our way to Smithers & picked up some supplies & stayed the night. Nice town! The next day, we went into Hazelton & viewed & appreciated the native Poles & artwork. We spent the night at Seeley lake, which was a bit noisy all night with semis.
The following morning, we are excited, as we are starting the Stewart/Cassiar leg of our journey! While the scenery has been great all the way up to here, this is where it gets awesome!! We made it to Meziaden CG around lunchtime, made lunch & decided to keep on going. We followed a new powerline up along the Hwy for a long ways. Spent the night at Kinaskin PP & enjoyed having the lake at our doorstep, so to speak. I kept missing my canoe! The next day, we continued on & stopped at Jade City, interesting spot, with a lot of trinkets & such to look at, then on to Boya lake PP. We found a nice spot on the lake & stayed for 2 days. Here, we just vegged out & centered, it was so relaxing & beautiful.
After that, we drove out of BC. & onto the Alaska Hwy. I must say the Stewart/Cassiar Hwy. Was in good condition when we drove it, although at some places one did have to slow down for heaves, etc. However, the Alaska Hwy was in even better condition (and even with them thar fancy painted lines!). We were taken in with all the different vistas & commented about how there were miles & miles of nothing but miles!! Lots of interesting flora & fauna. We spent the night in Teslin & i enjoyed getting up in the morning & just watching all the activities at the Truck stop.....busy place. After a lazy start to the day, we headed towards Whitehorse & after checking out Marsh lake & surroundings, made our way to Wolf Creek campground (YT).
In the morning, we kept on going into Whitehorse & before we went into downtown, we made a stop at the Beringa Museum. What a fantastic display they have put up there! Very informative & well put together. Whitehorse is a neat small city. It has all the touristy stuff, but also enough everyday stuff to be very functional. After spending more of our $ there, we headed up to Takhini Hot Springs, got an RV site with hydro, & then went & relaxed in the pools. Now that hit the spot!! Friendly people working there. The next morning, we decided to go to Kluane Park & see Kathleen Lake. It was a nice sunny day & the vistas were stunning. We got to Burwash landing & got gas, turned around & headed back to Haines Junction. The next morning, we were going to go to the border & catch the mountains along the way, but it was socked right in & blowing hard, so we decided to go back towards Whitehorse. As a side note, we couldn't go across the border this time because we didn't have passports, which is ok as there was certainly lots to see & do in Canada!
Anyway, after getting some more supplies in Whitehorse, we headed down towards Carcross & checked that area out. Standing at the head of Lake Bennett, with the wind howling, gives one a feeling of awe for the history of that area. Trying to imagine how all the miners made it to the gold fields back in the day gives me a new respect for fortitude! Spent the night at the campground in Carcross & then headed to Atlin the next day. Beautiful drive & the weather cooperated for us! Atlin is a neat little town that reminds me somewhat of Wells, or Kaslo. Neat (& unique) buildings, set against dramatic mountains & a huge lake.
We then wound our way back along the Alaska Hwy. To Watson lake, spent a bit of money & then headed back to B.C. Saw plenty of wood bison on this part of the Hwy. & the mountains were pretty neat, but seemed rotten, with lots of slides all over.. I couldn't help but think that they'd picked a bad site for Muncho Lake CG. As it is right in an alluvial fan! Didn't stop us from spending the night though! The next day was scenic , continuing through the Northern Rockies & enough wildlife along the roadside to know that hunting season was happening. After gassing up in Fort Nelson (highest price for gas of the trip), we continued south & spent a night at a rec area. Then on to a friends place in Fort Saint John for a great spaghetti dinner!
From FSJ, we headed into Alberta & turned right at Grande Prairie, & headed down Hwy. 40. The top half of the Hwy is nice, but the bottom half gets downright scenic as you head towards Hinton & Jasper!! We went into Jasper NP & wanted to go to Meitte Hot Springs, but, at the time, the road was closed. We went up to Maligne lake & it was a nice, scenic drive also. Stayed at Wapiti CG near Jasper that night. From there, we drove down the Icefields Parkway & tried, unsuccessfully, to keep from saying Wow!! This drive is just an amazing conglomeration of mountains, rivers, & glaciers. It was a nice day until just after Saskatchewan crossing, when the storms set in & that was the end of looking at all the magnificent mountains. However, it just gave us an excuse to come back next year & pick up where we left off. We spent the night in Lake Louise CG & woke up to fresh snow 1/2 way down the mountains. With a bit of a nip in the air, we made our way over to Revelstoke & then south to Nakusp, were we spent the night at the municipal CG. (nice). The next day found us up at Nakusp Hotsprings, soaking away all the aches & pains from all the driving. It was a real treat to sit in the pools & look out at the opposite mountainside.
From there, we made our way down to New Denver & then over to Kaslo, a drive that is one of my favourites, very scenic & historical! Kaslo is a pretty town that has kept it's Victorian look for the most part & is in a nice spot on Kootenay Lake. From there, we made our way down to Ainsworth Hotsprings, my favourite of them all! It was an old mine shaft & you can walk into the horseshoe-shaped shaft & get a sauna, as well as a hot soaking. c/w a cold dipping pool when you get out also. You can also just sit in the outdoor pool & soak away all the aches & pains & enjoy the view up & down Kootenay Lake. From there, we made our way to the boundary country of B.C. , staying a night in Castlegar, & then in Midway. This is pretty country & also interesting with it's history.
We wound our way into the Okanogan from Osoyoos. We found Vaseaux Lake right on the side of the Hwy. When we got there, it was about summer temperatures (at the end of September) & the site we got was right on the lake.....beatifull! We stayed there two nights, but at about 5:00 AM on the second night, we both got woke up by a very loud bang on the side of the van! It seems as though a strong gust of wind had come up & grabbed our awning & tore it from the side of the van. What a rude awakening! After throwing some clothes on, we looked out the side door & saw the awning leaning right up against it. After opening the door very gently, we managed to get out & into the wind storm. We got the awning so that it wouldn't blow away & cause more damage & went back inside to finish our sleep (Ha, ya right!) Once it got light out, we could ascertain the damage that was done. It had ripped the fabric in the corner & the middle, Broke the leg supports right off, & bent the top metal piece, also bent a roof bracket. As luck would have it, i was contemplating what to do with it (we didn't have room in the van to carry it) when i said good morning to a young chap who had come into the next campsite late last night . He had an older camper Van without an awning & i asked him if wanted one for free. After looking over the awning carefully, he thought that it could be fixed with a bit of work, so he took it away. That was a win-win situation!
From there, we went up to Kelowna to visit a friend & then headed back down & got on the Hope-Princeton Hwy. We spent the night in Princeton & continued on to Hope the following day. It was snowing as we made our way over a couple of passes through Manning Park, so it was time to be heading back towards the coast! By this time, we were both feeling the effects of a bad cold & just took it easy, staying in Hope for the night (also 'cause we didn't really want this trip to end!). The next day we made our way to the ferry & went to Victoria to visit our Son & Daughter-in-law. We had plans of staying the night, but with our colds worsening, we thought it wise to just go straight home (another 2 Hrs. Driving). We made it home ok & have been recovering from this cold. Ah, yes, there definitely is no place like home to nurse a cold!!
We timed it tight, so that we went directly from the hospital (in Nanaimo) to the ferries & we drove out of the city. That first night, however, we ended up at the rest area outside of Hope, but hey, we were on our way!! The next day we drove up to 10 mile lake near Quesnel, spent the night & continued on to Beaumont PP near Fraser Lake, on Hwy. 16. There we parked ourselves for 3 days, thinking it would be hard to find any camp spots,due to it being Labor Day weekend. However, I didn’t notice any over-crowding issues, in fact, there were still empty spots all weekend. It is a nice,sunny place to relax. From there we made our way to Smithers & picked up some supplies & stayed the night. Nice town! The next day, we went into Hazelton & viewed & appreciated the native Poles & artwork. We spent the night at Seeley lake, which was a bit noisy all night with semis.
The following morning, we are excited, as we are starting the Stewart/Cassiar leg of our journey! While the scenery has been great all the way up to here, this is where it gets awesome!! We made it to Meziaden CG around lunchtime, made lunch & decided to keep on going. We followed a new powerline up along the Hwy for a long ways. Spent the night at Kinaskin PP & enjoyed having the lake at our doorstep, so to speak. I kept missing my canoe! The next day, we continued on & stopped at Jade City, interesting spot, with a lot of trinkets & such to look at, then on to Boya lake PP. We found a nice spot on the lake & stayed for 2 days. Here, we just vegged out & centered, it was so relaxing & beautiful.
After that, we drove out of BC. & onto the Alaska Hwy. I must say the Stewart/Cassiar Hwy. Was in good condition when we drove it, although at some places one did have to slow down for heaves, etc. However, the Alaska Hwy was in even better condition (and even with them thar fancy painted lines!). We were taken in with all the different vistas & commented about how there were miles & miles of nothing but miles!! Lots of interesting flora & fauna. We spent the night in Teslin & i enjoyed getting up in the morning & just watching all the activities at the Truck stop.....busy place. After a lazy start to the day, we headed towards Whitehorse & after checking out Marsh lake & surroundings, made our way to Wolf Creek campground (YT).
In the morning, we kept on going into Whitehorse & before we went into downtown, we made a stop at the Beringa Museum. What a fantastic display they have put up there! Very informative & well put together. Whitehorse is a neat small city. It has all the touristy stuff, but also enough everyday stuff to be very functional. After spending more of our $ there, we headed up to Takhini Hot Springs, got an RV site with hydro, & then went & relaxed in the pools. Now that hit the spot!! Friendly people working there. The next morning, we decided to go to Kluane Park & see Kathleen Lake. It was a nice sunny day & the vistas were stunning. We got to Burwash landing & got gas, turned around & headed back to Haines Junction. The next morning, we were going to go to the border & catch the mountains along the way, but it was socked right in & blowing hard, so we decided to go back towards Whitehorse. As a side note, we couldn't go across the border this time because we didn't have passports, which is ok as there was certainly lots to see & do in Canada!
Anyway, after getting some more supplies in Whitehorse, we headed down towards Carcross & checked that area out. Standing at the head of Lake Bennett, with the wind howling, gives one a feeling of awe for the history of that area. Trying to imagine how all the miners made it to the gold fields back in the day gives me a new respect for fortitude! Spent the night at the campground in Carcross & then headed to Atlin the next day. Beautiful drive & the weather cooperated for us! Atlin is a neat little town that reminds me somewhat of Wells, or Kaslo. Neat (& unique) buildings, set against dramatic mountains & a huge lake.
We then wound our way back along the Alaska Hwy. To Watson lake, spent a bit of money & then headed back to B.C. Saw plenty of wood bison on this part of the Hwy. & the mountains were pretty neat, but seemed rotten, with lots of slides all over.. I couldn't help but think that they'd picked a bad site for Muncho Lake CG. As it is right in an alluvial fan! Didn't stop us from spending the night though! The next day was scenic , continuing through the Northern Rockies & enough wildlife along the roadside to know that hunting season was happening. After gassing up in Fort Nelson (highest price for gas of the trip), we continued south & spent a night at a rec area. Then on to a friends place in Fort Saint John for a great spaghetti dinner!
From FSJ, we headed into Alberta & turned right at Grande Prairie, & headed down Hwy. 40. The top half of the Hwy is nice, but the bottom half gets downright scenic as you head towards Hinton & Jasper!! We went into Jasper NP & wanted to go to Meitte Hot Springs, but, at the time, the road was closed. We went up to Maligne lake & it was a nice, scenic drive also. Stayed at Wapiti CG near Jasper that night. From there, we drove down the Icefields Parkway & tried, unsuccessfully, to keep from saying Wow!! This drive is just an amazing conglomeration of mountains, rivers, & glaciers. It was a nice day until just after Saskatchewan crossing, when the storms set in & that was the end of looking at all the magnificent mountains. However, it just gave us an excuse to come back next year & pick up where we left off. We spent the night in Lake Louise CG & woke up to fresh snow 1/2 way down the mountains. With a bit of a nip in the air, we made our way over to Revelstoke & then south to Nakusp, were we spent the night at the municipal CG. (nice). The next day found us up at Nakusp Hotsprings, soaking away all the aches & pains from all the driving. It was a real treat to sit in the pools & look out at the opposite mountainside.
From there, we made our way down to New Denver & then over to Kaslo, a drive that is one of my favourites, very scenic & historical! Kaslo is a pretty town that has kept it's Victorian look for the most part & is in a nice spot on Kootenay Lake. From there, we made our way down to Ainsworth Hotsprings, my favourite of them all! It was an old mine shaft & you can walk into the horseshoe-shaped shaft & get a sauna, as well as a hot soaking. c/w a cold dipping pool when you get out also. You can also just sit in the outdoor pool & soak away all the aches & pains & enjoy the view up & down Kootenay Lake. From there, we made our way to the boundary country of B.C. , staying a night in Castlegar, & then in Midway. This is pretty country & also interesting with it's history.
We wound our way into the Okanogan from Osoyoos. We found Vaseaux Lake right on the side of the Hwy. When we got there, it was about summer temperatures (at the end of September) & the site we got was right on the lake.....beatifull! We stayed there two nights, but at about 5:00 AM on the second night, we both got woke up by a very loud bang on the side of the van! It seems as though a strong gust of wind had come up & grabbed our awning & tore it from the side of the van. What a rude awakening! After throwing some clothes on, we looked out the side door & saw the awning leaning right up against it. After opening the door very gently, we managed to get out & into the wind storm. We got the awning so that it wouldn't blow away & cause more damage & went back inside to finish our sleep (Ha, ya right!) Once it got light out, we could ascertain the damage that was done. It had ripped the fabric in the corner & the middle, Broke the leg supports right off, & bent the top metal piece, also bent a roof bracket. As luck would have it, i was contemplating what to do with it (we didn't have room in the van to carry it) when i said good morning to a young chap who had come into the next campsite late last night . He had an older camper Van without an awning & i asked him if wanted one for free. After looking over the awning carefully, he thought that it could be fixed with a bit of work, so he took it away. That was a win-win situation!
From there, we went up to Kelowna to visit a friend & then headed back down & got on the Hope-Princeton Hwy. We spent the night in Princeton & continued on to Hope the following day. It was snowing as we made our way over a couple of passes through Manning Park, so it was time to be heading back towards the coast! By this time, we were both feeling the effects of a bad cold & just took it easy, staying in Hope for the night (also 'cause we didn't really want this trip to end!). The next day we made our way to the ferry & went to Victoria to visit our Son & Daughter-in-law. We had plans of staying the night, but with our colds worsening, we thought it wise to just go straight home (another 2 Hrs. Driving). We made it home ok & have been recovering from this cold. Ah, yes, there definitely is no place like home to nurse a cold!!
