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.

Riding the Alcan With Vampires

Caribou antler Chandelier Tok

Old and New Bridges

 It doesn’t matter how beautiful it is, if you are driving much of the day for four or five days, it’s a long drive.  So I stopped at Loussac to find some tapes to listen to on our trip.  It’s nice to have something deep, if it isn’t too long.  We listened once to lectures on philosophy while driving cross continent, but we could listen to one or two of those and then something else. 

Deadman's Lake Tetlin

I couldn’t find anything like that at Loussac, so went for things that would pass the time.  I hesitated over Interview with a Vampire.  Vampires don’t excite me, but since so many people have read this and with so many vampire themed books, movies, and tv shows, I thought we might try it.

Me at Deadman's Lake

More Deadman's Lake

I was ready to pack it in after the first tape.  The reader is excellent, but I wasn’t getting it.  I tried to think about it as science fiction.  Good science fiction makes you think about your world differently, or stretches your imagination.  But it didn’t work. 

Waiting for Road Repairs

There were a few times when I thought, well, there might be something interesting here, but not enough so that I can remember any.  Well, there’s one -  what’s the difference between morality and aesthetics?

                  

Approaching US Customs

The vampire claimed them to be one and the same.  But I don’t think that conceit lasts long under scrutiny.  We’ve heard five of the ten tapes.  I’m not sure why we keep listening.

I also don't know how the vampire could talk to the interviewer so long without dawn forcing him to climb into his coffin.

More repairs on the road

I guess we’re hoping something will actually happen to redeem all the time we’ve spent on this.  They’re about to sail to France, except the young musician has shown up, thinner and paler than he had been.

Waiting again, but the weather's great

Koidern River Lodge Yukon

I wrote most of this at the campsite at Lake Kluane, but I've had more thoughts since then. 

Lake in the Yukon

Partly this is a story of a special needs vampire, one that is stuck in his human mind state, and still has a conscience about killing humans, at least ones he knows. 

Destruction Bay, Yukon

We woke up to the sunrise on the lake coming into the camper this morning.  It was 8:15am Yukon time.  As I walked along the rocky beach, there were grey clouds on the northern edge of the horizon.  In two hours, 3/4 of the sky was clouded. 

Destruction Bay, pop. 48 on Lake Kluane

But as we drove on, we got back into mostly clear skies. 

Camped on shore of Kluane

Here's 30 meters from our campground last night. 

We're having lunch in Whitehorse now and headed further down.  So I can't write much more.  It's sunny but cool.  We had some frost again this morning.  But we're headed south so maybe . . .

We've got miles to go, can't spend more time here typing.