Anchorage - Vancouver Day 5

Thursday night we stayed at the Canyon Creek Trailer Park in Hixon.  This is Kim who got us settled.  We generally prefer minimum amenities campgrounds, but we were ready for showers and since it is the end of the season, there was practically no one else there.  There were no large (or small) campers anywhere near us.  And there was wifi.

The tent and small vehicle campsites were private little spots in the woods.

We had dinner across the street at the Pub Kim recommended.  I was thinking, "We're in Canada.  Maybe a pub will be like one of those we were at with Doug in England."  Wrong.  The menu was high on deep fried items.  And there were video screens promoting poker and Keno.  I'd asked one of the gas station people that day about all the scratch cards.  She said she stopped buying them.  They sold expired ones as well as current ones and there was no way to know that until you went claim your winnings. 

She said she'd won $25 and they said, "Sorry, this is expired." 

"So, I asked, no one would know they'd bought an expired one unless they won?"

 "That's right."

 Selling expired scratch cards should be illegal - especially if they don't have a date on them.  And if you find out you bought one that was expired, you should be able to get your money back.  I'm not saying that the woman was right, but that's what she said.  Every gas station I went into to pay, had a case of cards at the cash register. 

 While the scenery is still pretty nice, there are a lot more evidence of human presence.


I think this was a place called Sunrise.

And it started to rain and it rained steadily and hard enough to get you good and wet for a while.

I believe this is 100 Mile. 

See, there are nicer spots along the way. 












Eventually the canyon below us got deeper and narrower until we got to this historical marker commemorating the introduction of a fishways that enabled sockeye salmon to pass the canyon.  The building of two railways along the canyon had caused serious blockage for salmon, culminating in a huge rock slide on Feb. 23, 1914 that pretty much blocked the salmon's passage.  [You can double click the picture to read it more easily.]

From "Fish Passage Structures on the Fraser River" that describes the whole history in detail on various webpages,

The first phase of construction at Hell’s Gate commenced in 1944 with a major fishway on either riverbank, completed in 1946. The fishways were designed so that the natural hydraulics of the river would not be adversely affected. The design parameters took into account the size and swimming abilities of Pacific salmon and the expected number of fish to be accommodated.

 We went through a series of tunnels like this one along the canyon above the river.

This picture is for Jeremy who would be happy if I only put up pictures of power lines. 


We're in Vancouver now enjoying time with our daughter. 

Edelweiss Restaurant - Lac La Hache, BC

On one of our earlier trips along the Alcan - we think returning home in 2000 - we were lucky enough to be hungry as we were passing through Lac La Hache (Lake of the Axe).  I remembered a restaurant - was it Hungarian? - where the dinner was superb. 

So I was hoping that we could get to Lac La Hache by dinner time on Thursday night and that this place was still there.  But the Yellowhead Highway was so slow that we barely got past Prince George before dark. 


But today as we went through Lac La Hache at 1pm, there it was - Edelweis Restaurant.  Not quite Hungarian.  Austrian.  There is so much junk food available along the road.  But this place is a jewel. 

We were seated in the room with the view of the lake.  It had been raining pretty hard and so the view was grey. 



Not your typical roadside diner. 









Here's a close up of the embroidery on the table cloth.

Spätzele with vegies.  This was real food with real taste. 

The sky to the west was starting to clear over the lake as we ate. 

And by the time we finished the apple strudel, the rain had ended and we were ready to drive on. 


So, if you find yourself going through Lac La Hache, British Columbia, and you want some real food, I'd advise the Edelweiss Restaurant.  It's on the lake side of the road. [Regular readers know this sort of plug is genuine.  The owners don't even know I'm a blogger and that I was planning on posting this.]

Anchorage - Vancouver Day 4

Wednesday was incredibly beautiful.  We'd planned to spend the night at Mediazin Campground, where we'd stopped in 2004, but it was closed and we ended up at a rest area with picnic tables and an outhouse and a creek. 




And some signs including this map of the Cassiar Highway.

You can see Whitehorse on the upper left.  Tuesday was Whitehorse (lunch)  to Boya Lake Campground.  You can enlarge it by double clicking.  There's a triangle below Watson Lake.
Then, Wednesday night was at the red You Are Here arrow.  Then east to just Prince George and south a bit to a campground in Hixon.  But I'm getting ahead.

These signs are good and obvious.  Especially waiting on road construction.  I'd like to see the Princess Tours buses in Alaska follow this rule. 


It rained a bit in the morning, but nothing serious.  And we had clouds with some sun most of the day, with a few spots of rain.  Here's the connection to the Yellowhead Highway which goes from Edmonton to Prince Rupert. 

I already did a post on the Skeena Bakery, so I'll skip that.  The rest are pictures of the Yellowhead Highway (Hwy 16).

It gets less wilderness and more rural.  And you can see in this picture the mystery spot in my camera.  I'm trying to take pictures so the spot is in a background you can't see, or to crop it out, but sometimes . . . I've tried cleaning the lens, but it doesn't help.

In 1997 we made a mad dash from Prince George to Prince Rupert to catch the Alaska ferry and the road was really fast. But things have grown a lot since then and the going was pretty slow, especially as we went through towns.

 

 

People  in Anchorage never use chains on their cars.  Everyone has snow tires, many studded, so even though I've lived in snow country for over 30 years now, chains are a mystery. 

As we got close to Prince George, traffic got worse.  The truck poked along at about 60 (the speed limit) with all these cars behind, when it got to a stretch with a passing lane, it seemed to speed up and only one vehicle was able to pass.  And then there were all the little construction spots.  

We really have to go, but our campground has wifi and I can't help trying to get this done.  I'll have it post this afternoon.  Tonight we should be with our daughter in Vancouver.  Yeah!  But it's been soooo beautiful. 

Skeena Bakery Hazelton British Columbia

The lady in the tourist office said there was wifi in the Skeena Bakery, so we drove several blocks down the highway til we found it.

The aroma as we walked in got me.  I got plugged in, the wifi password, a chocolate bun, and sat down to post Wednesday's pictures.

But I realized I was really cozy in there.  Different people checked on us, the owner of the building was talking to J as I was blogging.  The building used to be the courthouse.  It has been remodeled with help of some grants because the used special needs adults to help with the construction and the bakery also uses them as employees. 


Here's the front door and you get a hint of the magnificent setting of Hazelton.

I think it's the cinnamon amongst the other baking aromas that got to me.  I smell it now.  Maybe it got onto my laptop.

Here's the owner of the bakery.  She says she's failed in her effort not to eat while at work.  It's been here a year. 

Here's what another blogger had to say:

Hand crafted breads...the Skeena Bakery is more than just a place for goodies.

Bakeries and Coffeeshops

For a tasty, healthy, and socially conscious treat, stop at the Skeena Bakery, a block or so down the highway. It sells coffee and fresh goods that are baked daily using organic flours only. The café is run by a local, not-for-profit grassroots organization that helps people in the area with disabilities gain work experience.



I wandered in, and was greeted by the usual smells associated with good bread and cinny rolls...but also by hello's, "here' siddown's". So I did...and had coffee and chin wag with some of the people of the bakery.

Bob here...was logging years ago, suffered a back injury and after years of one thing and the other..has found himself involved in Hazelton. Bob has fingers in all of the pies, ...Saturday he was manning the bakery case along with Morgan (no pic). . .

Anchorage - Vancouver Day 3

We're stopped at Skeena Bakery in Hazelton, BC where we could get wifi.  It's a fanastic little spot with wifi in a beautiful town.  I think I could live here. 

Anyway, here are pictures from yesterday.  The fall colors were more than my camera and my modest skills could even hope to capture.  These are maybe 10% of how spectacular it was. 

Sunrise at our campground at Boya Lake. 

Boya Lake

The campsite.

Through the crystal clear water.

A short hike around part of the lake.

And lots of rosehips to nibble on.

J in the birches

Along the road.  Last time we were here this was all mud

A sign said, "Watch for Wildlife" and two minutes later we saw these sheep.  We had three separate black bear sightings.  Two were mom's with cubs.  But they all happened too quickly to take pictures.

Then a sign said "Watch for horses" and two minutes later there it was

These pictures. . . These are tiny faded images of what it was really like.  It was Transcendental.

 

 

 We stopped for gas at Dease Lake.  This was the second gas station that was full of these cards - I don't know if it's lottery or rippies, but I watched people spend a $15 - $40 worth.  I also had to call Visa to tell them to unblock our card.  They watch carefully when you get out of your area.  But it took about three or four gas charges before they stopped it.

 

These two (above and below) were where we had lunch.

And there were a few places we had to stop and wait a bit. 

Anchorage-Vancouver Day 2.5

After lunch in Whitehorse, we drove down through Teslin (the bridge below).

Then to the Cassiar Highway where we turned right. It was getting tight - we've been trying to not drive in the dark - but it was totally clear and a huge full moon was rising and the twilight lasted long enough until we pulled into Boya Lake Campground, a place we've been before and really like. Here are a few pictures of that afternoon.