June 23 to 29, 2019 ; Kerry Lake BCFSRS to Keremeos, BC ( home )

Sunday ; Kerry Lake BCFSRS to Crooked River BCFSRS

Mostly sunny and warm, a bit of light rain briefly around suppertime.

We didn’t drive very far today, only about 40 km. / 25 miles. We left the Kerry Lake “remote wilderness campground” around 11:30 AM and continued south on Hwy. 97. We stopped to buy some diesel fuel at Bear Lake. We refilled our freshwater tank at Crooked River Provincial Park. We turned off the highway onto Davis Lake FSR ( Forest Service Road ) and stopped beside 100 Road Bridge to fish in the Crooked River. I have fished here before, two years ago. Today I fished most of the afternoon and evening, catching seven Whitefish and Four Cutthroat Trout. WOO-HOO … what great fun !

When I finally gave up fishing … around 9:30 PM … we drove just a few hundred feet to boondock overnight in another Forest Service “remote wilderness campground”, still on the Crooked River.

WHEW … mosquitoes ! ! !

Monday ; Crooked River to Prince George

Mostly sunny, mild. OUCH ! I am severely bitten by both mosquitoes and “no-see-ums” / tiny sand flies. On my face and head / in my beard and hair, also on my stomach and back at the waistline / beltline.

Well ! How odd ! After yesterday’s astounding fishing success, today I was unable to catch any fish ! I fished for about an hour before we left this morning. When we were ready to leave the “remote wilderness campground” this morning around 11 AM we drove a very short distance back to the bridge where I had been fishing yesterday, and I fished there … unsuccessfully … for an hour. And I even wore my chest waders, allowing me to walk into the river to better position myself for fly fishing. Yesterday I was casting my fly from the shoreline. Oh, well ! I guess that just proves that fishing is more luck … being in the right place at the right time ( when and where the fish are actively feeding ) … than skill.

At noon we continued south on Hwy. 97, arriving in Prince George about an hour later. First stop was the Bank of Montreal to withdraw some cash. Then a Husky Fuel station to refill our freshwater tank. We parked at the Costco near the Husky station and ate lunch in the camper. After lunch we drove to Total Pet to buy some cat litter … redeeming a $5 coupon which was to expire in a few days. From Total Pet to Wal-Mart, where I used the free Wi-Fi in the McDonald’s to check e-mail and upload my weekly blog entry while Joanne did Wal-Martin’, then from Wal-Mart to Superstore where I refilled the truck with diesel at the fuel bar, then we went inside the store and replenished groceries.

As I hurried into the Wal-Mart, looking for the in-store McDonald’s, walking forward, looking sideways … I mowed down a pig-tailed little Hutterite girl, perhaps eight years of age. She also was not looking where she was going, but … well … who’s the adult here ? ! ? We walked into one another. She went flying backwards onto her ass. I didn’t ! As her mother lifted her by one arm, and I lifted her by the other arm, apologizing profusely, her lower lip was quivering and her eyes were filling with tears. I’m so sorry, little girl !

WHEW ! It was about 6 PM by then and we were getting tired. We returned to the Husky Fuel station and had one of the camper’s propane tanks refilled. While doing that I was approached by a young man who wanted to know if I was able to lend him the tools he needed to do an emergency roadside repair on a ruptured coolant hose on his decrepit old truck. I lent him the tools he needed. I advised him on how to do the repair. I supplied him with the new hose clamp he required to do the emergency repair. I lent him the step stool that he needed to be able to reach far enough into the engine compartment to do the repair. And most importantly … I lectured him sternly on how disrespectful it is to address a man old enough to be his grandfather as “Buddy” and “Dude” !

And that was only the first of the two hissy fits I threw this evening !

We returned to the Wal-Mart parking lot to have supper and boondock overnight. Along with a large number of other RV’s. While Joanne was preparing supper I took Ozzie for a walk around the parking lot. Two old men were sitting in folding chairs beside their decrepit old truck camper … they look like they might be living in it in the Wal-Mart parking lot … eating apples. As I came nearby one of the old men stood up from his folding chair, walked to the rear of the camper, opened the door, and deposited his half eaten apple in the garbage. The other old man … 

< sputter > … leaned back in his folding chair, and gave a mighty pitch, throwing his half eaten apple as far as he could across the Wal-Mart parking lot ! I flipped out ! I began screaming at the asshole about behaviour like that is what gets all of us RV’ers kicked out of Wal-Mart parking lots ! Suffice to say he did not agree with my opinion and so … we engaged in a profanity laden screaming match !

At the ripe old age that he and I have both reached … right and wrong should be easy concepts to grasp ! ASSHOLE !

Tuesday ; Prince George to Quesnel to Williams Lake to Dugan Lake BCFSRS

The day started out sunny and warm in Prince George, became a mix of sun and clouds, mild temperature in Quesnel, becoming cold with light rain in Williams Lake, and finally becoming sunny and mild again at Dugan Lake in the evening.

OUCH ! You should see the huge purple bruise on the front of my thigh … where I got head butted by the little pig-tailed girl yesterday. HA HA HA !

Before leaving the Wal-Mart parking lot this morning I went inside the store and used the free Wi-Fi at McDonald’s to post Saturday’s photos to my blog. We left the Wal-Mart, drove to the Husky Fuel station to refill our freshwater tank, then left Prince George about 11:30 AM heading south on Hwy. 97. About an hour later we arrived in Quesnel. We went to the municipal sani-dump station, dumped our black and grey waste holding tanks, then pulled over to the adjacent municipal park to have lunch in the camper.

While we were eating lunch I was reading the Vancouver Saturday newspaper I had picked up in Prince George yesterday. I turned a page … there were the obituaries and … < blink blink > … < blink blink > … there was the obituary picture of our neighbour and friend Bob H.

Bob died six days ago, on our 15^th anniversary of retirement. He was three years older than us. And … he was somewhat of a heart surgery mentor to me. He had open heart surgery about three years before I did, to replace a defective heart valve. After my heart surgery Bob winterized our camper for me, and explained some of what I could expect from having my pectoral muscles cut and sternum sawed open and wired back together. He was also a kindred spirit when it came to backwoods exploring adventures. Joanne says ; “He was such a nice guy !”

Farewell, my friend, rest in peace.

After lunch we drove to the Visitor Centre and got directions to the laundromat in town. We drove there, but Joanne did not like the laundromat ( washers too small and too expensive ) so we left Quesnel, continuing south on Hwy. 97. An hour or so later, we arrived in Williams Lake. Again we went to the Visitor Centre and got directions to a laundromat. While Joanne did a couple of loads of laundry I napped with the animals.

When the laundry was finished about 6 PM we decided to go exploring up the Horsefly to Likely road. We drove south of Williams Lake on Hwy. 97 a short distance to 150 Mile House, then turned east on Horsefly Road. Not too far up the road we came to Dugan Lake BC Forest Service Recreation Site remote wilderness campground. We liked it, and decided to stay overnight. It was about 7 PM by then. I quickly lit a campfire, then cooked supper on it. AHHHHH ! Very nice !

After supper I worked on this journal entry sitting at the picnic table in our campsite, while Joanne played with the dying campfire, her favourite evening activity. HA HA HA ! The mosquitoes were severe again ! Good thing I have this Surplus Herby’s mosquito head net. As the sun was setting ( around 10 PM ) we took Ozzie for a long walk on the lakeside walking path.

Wednesday ; Dugan Lake BCFSRS to Raft Creek BCFSRS on Quesnel Lake

Mix of sun and clouds, mild temperature, light rain briefly late in the afternoon.

This morning we left Dugan Lake and continued east to the small village of Horsefly. When we arrived there we decided to go about 10 km. / 6 miles down a gravel road to see Horsefly Provincial Park on Horsefly Lake. We refilled our freshwater tank in the provincial park.

While we were filling our freshwater tank I walked down to the boat ramp on the lake, leaving Joanne to deal with the filling process. I viewed the lake than turned around to walk back up to the truck and camper nearby. Joanne was on one side of the truck and camper, finishing up the refilling, and disconnecting our freshwater hose from the spigot. On the other side of the truck and camper … a fox was trotting by ! I had to holler at Joanne to bring the fox’s presence to her attention. That also brought my presence to the attention of the fox, who quickly trotted away. He hadn’t noticed Joanne, so he trotted away quite close to her.

We returned to the small village of Horsefly, stopping beside the lovely Horsefly River to have lunch. And a brief nap for me and Ozzie. From there we decided to explore the gravel Horsefly-Likely Forest Service Road. Along that road we stopped at a few different BC Forest Service Recreation Site remote wilderness campgrounds. We are certainly getting our money’s worth ( bought for two dollars at a yard sale ) out of our BCFSRS remote wilderness campground directory / guide. Just before reaching Raft Creek BCFSRS we came upon the site of devastation caused by the Polley Mine tailings pond spill of a few years ago. It certainly is in the middle of nowhere !

When we reached Raft Creek BCFSRS on Quesnel Lake we decided to stay. It’s a lovely lakeside campground with three or four picnic tables along the shore of very large and very beautiful Quesnel Lake. And … we had the place all to ourselves. Well … not quite all to ourselves. There were the Loons and the Golden Eagles.

Thursday ; Raft Creek BCFSRS on Quesnel Lake to Helena Lake BCFSRS

Mix of sun and clouds with intermittent rain, mild temperature. Our objective for today, ever since the planning stages of this trip months ago, was to attend the first evening of the Williams Lake Stampede. When we arrived at Williams Lake around 4:30 PM, an hour before the beginning of the five day stampede, we decided not to attend because of the weather. < sigh >

It rained heavily overnight. We left the Raft Creek Campground around 11 AM this morning. We continued driving north on the one lane Horsefly to Likely mud road. When we ( eventually ! ) reached the tiny village of Likely we decided to continue on to find Cedar Creek Provincial Park, about another 10 km. / 6 miles away.

We found the provincial park, drove around and checked it out … not very appealing … and returned to Likely. It was raining heavily again. We left Likely heading southwest on a paved road that led back to Hwy. 97 near 150 Mile House. Shortly after leaving Likely we stopped to have lunch … and a brief nap for me and Ozzie … at a rest area at the site of the Bullion Pit Mine, a long ago abandoned gold mining operation. While driving from Likely back to the highway near 150 Mile House we viewed a deer and a moose, our first moose sighting of this trip.

At 150 Mile House ( just a short distance south of Williams Lake ) we refilled the truck with diesel fuel, and made our decision to not attend the Williams Lake Stampede. We headed south on Hwy. 97. We stopped at Lac La Hache Provincial Park and refilled our freshwater tank. South of Lac La Hache we turned east off the highway and drove about 12 km. / 7.5 miles on a paved road to Greeny Lake BCFSRS, arriving about 6 PM, tired and hungry. The campground was full. < sigh > We returned to Hwy. 97 and backtracked north, beyond Lac La Hache, then turned west off the highway and again drove about 12 km. / 7.5 miles, this time on another one lane, very wet, very muddy road, arriving at Helena Lake BCFSRS around 7 PM. We selected a quiet, lakeside campsite. I was too tired … and the mosquitoes continue to be too severe … to make a campfire tonight. While Joanne prepared supper inside the camper I sat and listened to the family of calling Loons on the lake beside us. What a peaceful sound !

I am writing this in the camper at 8:30 PM. Joanne is washing dishes. It has just begun to rain heavily again. She has commented that we could … at this very moment … be in the grandstands of the Williams Lake Stampede, sitting in this cold, heavy rain. I guess that means she thinks we made the right decision. HA HA HA !

Friday; Happy 55^th Birthday to Joanne’s sister Lorraine ; Helena Lake BCFSRS to Merritt

Heavy rain overnight. Raining most of the day today.

We left Helena Lake BCFSRS remote wilderness campground about 11:30 AM and drove about 12 km. / 7.5 miles of potholed, wet, mud road back to Hwy. 97. We continued south on Hwy. 97 to 100 Mile House. At the municipal sani-dump station we dumped our grey and black waste holding tanks and refilled our freshwater tank. What a fun chore to do in rain < sarcasm >. We went to Safeway and bought some groceries, then drove to the Visitor Centre to have lunch. It was close to 2 PM when we arrived at the Visitor Centre. While Joanne prepared lunch in the camper I went inside the Visitor Centre and used their free Wi-Fi to check e-mail.

After lunch we continued south on Hwy. 97. By the time we reached Cache Creek around 4:30 PM I was falling asleep so we parked at their Visitor Centre and I napped with Ozzie for an hour. From Cache Creek we headed southeast on Hwy. 97C. Our objective was to have our last dinner of this trip at a Chinese buffet restaurant in Merritt. We found a Chinese buffet restaurant in downtown Merritt when we arrived in town around 7:30 PM.

The meal was not to our liking, food was poor quality, and we were disappointed to spend forty bucks on a poor meal ! We drove to Wal-Mart and boondocked overnight. Within half an hour of our arrival at Wal-Mart Joanne was in the camper’s bathroom … < ahem > … getting rid of supper !

Saturday ; Merritt to home

Cloudy and mild.

Before leaving the Wal-Mart parking lot this morning Joanne went into the store and bought a new battery for her watch. We drove to Canadian Tire and dumped our waste holding tanks at their free sani-dump station. Thank you, Canadian Tire. We crossed the street to Extra Foods where we refilled with diesel at their fuel bar then went inside the store to buy some groceries.

We left Merritt shortly after noon. South on Coquihalla Hwy. 5 just a very short distance, then east on the Coquihalla Okanagan Connector Hwy. 97C to Aspen Grove, then south on Hwy. 5 towards Princeton. We stopped at Gulliford Lake rest area to have lunch. And a nap for me and the animals. Around 3 PM we continued south on Hwy. 5 to Princeton, then east on Crowsnest Hwy. 3 to Riverside RV Park Resort, arriving home around 4:30 PM.

We took Ozzie for his supper time walk at 6 PM. When a truck approached us from behind Ozzie and I moved to the side of the road where Ozzie stepped off the road onto a neighbour’s fancy pavestone patio. He emptied his full bladder onto the fancy pavestone patio … as the owners pulled into their driveway. They were the truck behind us that we stepped aside for. I immediately apologized profusely for Ozzie having peed on their fancy pavestone patio, but … the lot owner seemed very angry at me. < shrug > Sorry !

We stopped to visit with Chris H. and express our condolences over the death of her husband Bob two weeks ago.

DSK

June 16 to 22, 2019 ; Liard River to Kerry Lake, BC

Sunday ; Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park

Warm, mostly cloudy, a bit of sun around suppertime, raining intermittently.

This morning we left the “hidden” firefighting service airstrip where we boondocked overnight about 10:45 AM and continued southeast on the Alaska Highway. At 11:05 AM we arrived at the Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park. How fortuitous ! Their check out time is 11 AM and at the time of our arrival there were five vacant campsites. Within about ten minutes the campground was full … again !

We selected our site, went back to the office to register, then went to the hot springs. AHHHHH … how wonderful ! After soaking in the hot springs … which range from extremely hot on one side, to warm on the other side … for about an hour, we returned to our campsite to have lunch.

And a nap for me and the animals, of course. After a nap we refilled our freshwater tank at the hand water pump across the road from our campsite, using the “gas can” method. Around suppertime we returned to the hot springs for another long soak. The hot springs pool was much less crowded around 6 PM than it was around noon. And the water seemed hotter. < shrug >

The people in the hot springs pool were mostly American RV’ers on their way to Alaska, some Canadians, a few Brits, and a few Germans. Northwestern Canada seems to be an extremely popular travel destination for Germans. In Watson Lake we chatted with a couple from Germany who were travelling in Northern BC and the Yukon in a rented truck camper for the fourth time in the past eight years. “So much to explore” was the woman’s quote to me.

Saw two more bison this morning on our very short drive to here.

Monday ; Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park to Tetsa River Regional Park

Very variable weather today. Sunny and mild in the morning at Liard River Hot Springs. Sometimes sunny and mild as we drove, sometimes overcast and raining. Mostly clear and mild in the evening, but occasional brief rain repeatedly throughout the evening.

We were ready to vacate our campsite this morning at 10:45 AM. We pulled out of our campsite and drove to the hot springs day use parking lot, then walked the 0.7 km. boardwalk to the hot springs pool. We soaked in the hot springs pool for our third and final time, for about an hour, then left the provincial park around noon, continuing southeast on the Alaska Highway.

We stopped frequently to check out fishing opportunities at rivers as we crossed them. All rivers, creeks, streams, etc. were flowing too high and too fast for fishing. Maybe next year I will have an opportunity to fish in this area late in the summer. We viewed MANY bison and MANY mountain sheep, both Stone Sheep and Dall Sheep. There were too many to count ! ! ! Especially the bison. Shortly after leaving Liard Hot Springs Provincial Park we came across a herd of buffalo that must have numbered in excess of fifty. And we came across herds of sheep a few times that numbered a dozen or more. So … our “tally” of wildlife viewing for this trip is … kaput !

We stopped to have lunch at a rest area beside Muncho Lake. We refilled with diesel at Toad River Lodge. We stopped for the night around 7 PM at Tetsla River Regional Park, a small, unserviced campground. I lit a campfire and grilled salmon burgers on the fire for supper.

Tuesday ; 15^th anniversary of retirement / full time RV’ing ; Tetsla River to Fort Nelson to Bougie Creek

We started our retirement / full time RV’ing life fifteen years ago today, leaving our Ottawa, Ontario home for the last time and heading out in our new ( to us ) truck and fifth wheel trailer to an Escapees RV Club rally in Kingston, Ontario. Fifteen years of happy, healthy retirement is far more than our four parents were able to have. We feel extremely fortunate !

On June 18, 2004, our first day of retirement and full time RV’ing, the weather was … perfect ! Not so on our fifteenth anniversary today. It was a cold, miserable, heavy rain day. And every time we stepped out of the truck to do an errand … it began to rain heavier ! Every chore made us colder and wetter.

We left the Tetsla River Regional Park campground around 11 AM and continued east on the Alaska Highway towards the small city of Fort Nelson. Before reaching Fort Nelson the truck’s windshield got smashed by a rock flipped up by an oncoming vehicle. BANG ! Like a gunshot sound ! The rock smashed into the bottom edge of the driver’s side of the windshield so hard that when the glass shattered, both outside layer and inside layer, the shattering inside layer sent tiny shards of glass flying onto the dash, and onto my left hand on the steering wheel and my left pants leg !

At the Fort Nelson Visitor Centre we dumped our black and grey waste holding tanks and refilled our freshwater tank. Good thing ! The black waste tank was getting pretty full, and the freshwater tank was getting pretty empty ! We usually refill the freshwater every day, but were unable to refill yesterday. Which may have been a good thing also. That resulted in the freshwater tank being run down pretty low, getting rid of that sulphur smelling water from the Liard River Hot Springs underground well / hand pump.

After using the sani-dump station at the Visitor Centre we parked and had a late lunch in the camper. While Joanne was preparing lunch I phoned ICBC ( Insurance Corporation of British Columbia … the province’s auto insurer ) and our insurance agency in Keremeos to discuss the broken windshield. HMPH ! Guess I’ll be paying for the new windshield ! After lunch I used the Visitor Centre’s free Wi-Fi to check e-mail and post my weekly journal to my blog. Lots of pictures to post, so I was very glad that the Visitor Centre’s Wi-Fi was fast. I picked up some books to read at the Visitor Centre’s book exchange. We were finished at the Visitor Centre about 4 PM and headed out to run other errands in town.

At Husky Fuels I refilled the truck with ( finally … reasonably priced ) diesel and refilled an empty propane tank. At NAPA Auto Parts I bought some bulbs to replace a burnt out taillight bulb on the camper … and some spares. Joanne wanted to replenish groceries at a “civilized” / big city grocery store, so we bought quite a bit at Save-On-Foods, a BC supermarket chain.

We left Fort Nelson about 5:30 PM, continuing east and south on the Alaska Highway, with no particular destination planned for tonight. We stopped to have supper and boondock overnight around 7 PM, at a fishing access spot beside a bridge over Bougie Creek.

And the relentless heavy rain continued to fall !

Saw a couple more bears today as we drove.

Wednesday ; Bougie Creek to Charlie Lake Provincial Park

And the relentless heavy rain continues ! ! !

We left our overnight boondocking spot beside Bougie Creek this morning about 11:30 AM. < blink blink > Well ! That little creek certainly did turn into a raging river overnight, didn’t it ? ! ? Good thing we didn’t wake up this morning to find our truck in the river ! We spent the day driving in heavy rain, south on Alaska Highway 97 towards Fort St. John.

We stopped for the night around 7 PM at Charlie Lake Provincial Park, just a short distance north of the city of Fort St. John. Before stopping at this provincial park we went to check out a BC Forest Service remote wilderness campground ( too muddy ) and a regional park campground ( couldn’t find it ).

While selecting a campsite I spied a batch of “shelf mushrooms” on a tree. I thought they were Oyster Mushrooms or perhaps Chicken Mushrooms, but … we were unable to positively identify them using our mushroom book. The only “positive” identification we could make was … NOT edible Oyster Mushrooms.

Thursday ; Charlie Lake Provincial Park to Fort St. John to Hudson’s Hope

The day started out cold and raining, but slowly improved throughout the day, becoming mostly clear and mild by evening. Tonight when I took Ozzie out for his last daily walk at 11:15 PM it was beginning to get dark. Until a couple of days ago we were far enough north that it remained daylight until after midnight.

We refilled our freshwater tank and left Charlie Lake Provincial Park this morning around 11:30 AM and drove about 10 km. south on Alaska Hwy. 97 to the affluent ( oilfields and hydro-electricity generation ) small city of Fort St. John. We spent half the day running errands in town. First stop was the Visitor Centre where I used their free Wi-Fi to check e-mail. You know … some of these Visitor Information Centres operated by local Chambers of Commerce ( as opposed to the “official” Province of BC Visitor Information Centres ) completely “miss the boat” ! Like the Fort St. John Visitor Centre, located at the town’s spiffy new sports and aquatic centre. Off the main highway. Not visible from the highway. With difficult access to the parking lot and no parking for motorhomes and large RV trailers.

After the Visitor Centre we loaded the address for a local restaurant … incorrectly printed in the tourism guide … into our GPS and went off to buy lunch. Fort St. John is one of those cities where all roads are numbered, with avenues running north / south and streets running east / west, making it extremely important to specify avenue or street correctly ! ! ! So … our GPS took us to a residential house ! We phoned the restaurant, got their correct address, loaded that into the GPS and it took us directly there. ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE VISITOR CENTRE ! ! !

Ever since we left Ottawa fifteen years ago Joanne has been searching for her “holy grail” ; a donair as good as the ones we used to get in Ottawa. Today she found it ! Because … unlike the donair restaurants in Ottawa, with Lebanese owner / operators this donair restaurant in Fort St. John is owned / operated by a Moroccan. Moroccan donairs are subtly different than Lebanese donairs. They were excellent. After eating our lunch in the camper in the parking lot I wanted to go back into the restaurant and order two more donairs to put into the fridge for lunch tomorrow. Joanne nixed that idea.

After lunch we refilled with diesel fuel at Safeway’s fuel bar, then went into Safeway to replenish groceries. Last stop in town was Dollarama to replenish some supplies.

OH ! Almost forgot ! The Safeway check out lane had an impulse purchase display of the recently resurrected Cuban Lunch chocolate bars ! < blink blink > WHOA ! ! ! Haven’t seen a Cuban Lunch chocolate bar in about fifty years ! I bought four ! HMPH ! Not cheap !

We left Fort St. John about 3:30 PM, backtracked north on Alaska Hwy. 97 to where we began this morning, then turned west on Hwy. 29 towards Hudson’s Hope. At Hudson’s Hope we checked out their municipal campground, King Gething Campground, then went off to find and check out two other local campgrounds ; Alwin Holland Campground, and Dinosaur Lake Campground, both within a few miles of the town of Hudson’s Hope.

Dinosaur Lake was created when the Peace Canyon Dam was completed in 1980. I fished in Dinosaur Lake for an hour, catching nothing. Before leaving Dinosaur Lake we drove to a nearby viewpoint to view the Peace Canyon Dam. By then it was about 6 PM, still too early to settle into a campsite and have supper, so … we drove about 30 km. / 20 miles to see the massive W.A.C. Bennett dam. We viewed one side of the dam, drove across it, and viewed it from the other side. What an impressive structure, one of the world’s largest earth filled dams ( as opposed to concrete ).

Driving to and from the W.A.C. Bennett dam we saw another six deer ! We returned to the town of Hudson’s Hope and selected a campsite at King Gething Park. We had been here two years ago on our way to the Northwest Territories. Our motivation to return was … this was the first … and only … campground that Emma has really liked. She fell in love with this place. And from her behaviour tonight, it was obvious that her feeling hasn’t changed ! Maybe it’s because the campground is / campsites are lush, thick, green grass. As a Yuma resident cat for the first thirteen years of her fifteen year life, she hasn’t had much exposure to lush grass ! After walking Ozzie at 11:15 PM I took Emma out for a “midnight stroll” around the campground. She loved it ! HA HA HA !

Friday ; Hudson’s Hope to Cameron Lake

Sunny and mild. At last ! ! !

Our plan was to take a day off, and stay at King Gething Campground in Hudson’s Hope, but around noon I decided on impulse to head to Moberly Lake Provincial Park, about 40 km. / 25 miles away. We didn’t make it !

This morning we did chores. I changed the batteries in our walky-talky radios in the truck that we use when Joanne is guiding me to back up the truck and camper. We drove over to the campground’s sani-dump station, dumped our grey and black waste holding tanks, and refilled our freshwater tank. Back at our campsite I removed our small generator from its storage compartment and ran it for ten minutes, its monthly “exercise”. Then … as we were preparing to have lunch, I glanced through an area tourism guide, and decided I wanted to head to nearby Moberly Lake Provincial Park.

So … off we went, heading southwest on Hwy. 29. Before we got to Moberly Lake Provincial Park we decided to check out the small regional campground ( operated by Hudson’s Hope ) at Cameron Lake. It seemed so nice we decided to stay ! We selected a lakeside campsite that enabled me to fish from our campsite. We took Ozzie for a long lunchtime walk, then while Ozzie ate his lunch ( that takes about thirty seconds ! ) and Joanne prepared our lunch I got my fishing gear ready and began to fish.

We had a leisurely afternoon. I napped after lunch, then worked on downloading from my camera to my laptop and processing my photos of the last few days. By then Ozzie was ready for another meal … HA HA HA … so we took him for another long walk, then fed him his supper. It was around 6:30 PM by then. Time for me to light a campfire while Joanne prepared a meatloaf wrapped in foil and potatoes in foil for me to cook over the fire.

While cooking supper over the campfire I fished and worked on my laptop, writing this journal entry sitting at our campsite’s picnic table. HA HA HA … rugged outdoorsman multi-tasking !

Saturday ; Cameron Lake to Chetwynd to Kerry Lake BCFSRS

Mix of sun and clouds, warm temperature, a fairly nice day.

We left Cameron Lake Campground this morning around 11:30 AM and continued southwest on Hwy. 29 to the town of Chetwynd, checking out Moberly Lake Provincial Park on the way. We refilled our freshwater tank at Moberly Provincial Park Campground. When we arrived in Chetwynd the first thing we did was find their municipal sani-dump station and emptied our grey and black waste holding tanks.

Since 2005 Chetwynd has hosted an annual International Chainsaw Carving Competition, so it’s no surprise that there are many outstanding carvings throughout the town. We parked at the Visitor Centre and walked around the main part of town admiring some of the most recent and outstanding carvings. While Joanne prepared lunch in the camper I used the Visitor Centre’s free Wi-Fi to check e-mail. I exchanged some books at their book exchange. We had a late lunch in the camper in the parking lot of the Visitor Centre then drove to a few other locations in town to see some of the previous years’ winning entries. We also did some grocery shopping at the small grocery store in town before departing around 3:30 PM.

From Chetwynd we headed southwest on Hwy. 97. We stopped to check out a number of provincial parks, but none of them inspired us to stay. Finally, around 7 PM, we stopped for the night at Kerry Lake BC Forest Service Recreation Site remote wilderness campground.

WHEW … I’m tired. Too much driving ! Saw another dark coloured fox today. Wasn’t a Red Fox. Obviously wasn’t an Arctic Fox. Maybe that’s the summer colouring of a Silver Fox ?

DSK

June 9 to 15, 2019 ; Emma the Yuma cat's Alaska and Yukon adventures

Sunday ; Emma the Yuma cat’s glacial adventure ; Clements Lake to Stewart, BC to Hyder, Alaska to Salmon Glacier ( & return )

Overcast, cool, intermittent light rain. BAH … HUMBUG ! Note to self ; NEVER live in a rainforest !

This morning we left the Clements Lake BCFSRS and drove about 16 km. / 10 miles west on Glacier Hwy. 37A to the small town of Stewart, BC. Stewart is located at the end of the Portland Canal, a long fjord leading inland from the Inside Passage along the West Coast. The Portland Canal also serves as the border between Canada and the “Panhandle” of Alaska. In Stewart we first checked out the municipal campground, then drove to the municipal sani-dump station where we dumped our black and grey waste holding tanks and refilled our freshwater tank.

Next stop was the Visitor Information Centre. Joanne browsed for travel planning information for next year’s Alaska Marine Highway adventure. I asked the not very helpful young woman if there was Wi-Fi available at the Visitor Centre. Her answer was “yes” but she recommended I use the Wi-Fi at the cafe across the street. I went across the street and attempted to get my weekly journal uploaded to my blog, but … the Wi-Fi at the cafe was so poor that after wasting a lot of time, I gave up and went back across the street to use the Visitor Centre’s Wi-Fi. The unhelpful young lady gave me their Wi-Fi access password, but … there was nowhere in the Visitor Centre for me to sit and use Wi-Fi. I tried sitting outside on a bench, but the mosquitoes were devouring me. I finally went into the camper, and fortunately, the Visitor Centre’s Wi-Fi signal reached into the camper and I was able to upload to my blog.

We had lunch in the camper parked in front of the Visitor Centre, then drove a very short distance from Stewart, BC across the border into Hyder, Alaska. No U.S. Customs at that crossing. < shrug > Not much of a “town” ! We stopped at a seafood processing and sales business but … it was inexplicably closed. The only explanation seemed to be … well … < ahem > … they were operating … < cough cough > … you know … < whispering > … on Indian time !

We drove through town and onto Salmon Glacier Road … 40 km. / 25 miles … all uphill … following the Salmon River, leading to the Salmon Glacier. We stopped frequently along the road to take photos. At one point I made a snowball, then … HA HA HA … put it beside Ozzie on his bed in the back seat of the truck. He licked it for a long time as we drove ! HA HA HA ! Joanne finally threw it out because it was melting and making a large wet spot on Ozzie’s bed.

We reached the summit, took more photos, then began driving back down. Between Hyder, Alaska and Stewart, BC there was a Canada Customs checkpoint. Given that the ONLY thing one could do after crossing into Alaska from Stewart was to drive through the tiny Indigenous village of Hyder, then up the mountain to the Salmon Glacier, the Canada Customs agent’s questions seemed redundant and silly !

We drove east out of Stewart on Glacier Hwy. 37A, back to the Clements Lake BCFSRS remote wilderness campground where we boondocked last night, deciding to spend a second night there. We arrived there about 6 PM, then went for a long walk with Ozzie before it began to rain … all evening !

Monday ; Clements Lake BCFSRS to Kinaskin Lake Provincial Park

Overcast, chilly, and raining until we arrived at Kinaskin Lake Provincial Park, then clearing and warming slightly.

We were awake for quite awhile in the middle of the night, probably for about an hour or so, dealing with Emma’s distress. She was howling / caterwauling loudly, and wouldn't stop. She wasn’t hungry. She didn't appear to be suffering any physical pain or discomfort. She seemed … scared ! And she paid a lot of attention to the camper door, and … the fresh air intake vent beside the catalytic infrared heater. I think she smelled something outside that caused her great fear ! Perhaps a bear nearby ?

So … being up in the middle of the night for awhile caused us to sleep late this morning. We left Clements Lake BCFSRS just before noon. We drove east on Glacier Hwy. 37A back towards Meziadin Junction. We stopped for a second view of the very lovely Bear Glacier. At Meziadin Junction we refilled our freshwater tank and refilled with diesel. YIKES ! A hundred and eighteen bucks for half a tank ! ! !

We left Meziadin Junction heading north again on Cassiar Hwy. 37. We stopped at the first rest area we came to and had lunch. We continued north, and stopped for the night at Kinaskin Lake Provincial Park. What a lovely campground and lake. We went for a long walk with Ozzie, then I tossed a fishing line into the lake from the rear of our campsite. I started a campfire, and cooked burgers on it. MMMMM … good supper !

At 9 PM we went for another long walk with Ozzie. It began to rain lightly again as we were walking.

Tuesday ; Kinaskin Lake Provincial Park to Sawmill Point BCFSRS on Dease Lake

Raining and cool this morning at Kinaskin Lake. No rain while we were driving. Rain resumed as soon as we arrived at Sawmill Point. < sigh >

I was up early this morning, at 7 AM. Why ? To catch a Rainbow Trout ! I also caught a Cutthroat Tout, but … < sigh > … it fell off the hook while I was holding it and untangling my fishing line. So … the Cutthroat remains in Kinaskin Lake. The Rainbow is tomorrow’s supper !

We left Kinaskin Lake Provincial Park this morning around 10:30 AM. We continued north on Cassiar Hwy. 37. Kinaskin Lake Provincial Park is about the midpoint of the Cassiar. When the road crossed the Stikine River we stopped on the north side of the bridge so that I could fish in the mighty Stikine.

In two days a four day Tahltan music festival begins at this site, the traditional salmon fishing spot of the Tahltan First Nation. However, at this time of the year, with no salmon in the river, and the river flowing extremely high and fast, there were no fish to be caught. At least not today, not by me ! While I fished for half an hour, Joanne and Ozzie explored the black sandy beach shoreline area of the Stikine River. Once again, Ozzie was in very high spirits, as he has been for most of this trip. He’s really enjoying himself ! We had lunch then continued north.

We checked out the Morchuea Lake BC Forest Service Recreation Site remote wilderness campground. At the village of Dease Lake we refilled with diesel … ( a hundred and six bucks for less than half a tank ! ! ! ) … refilled our freshwater tank, and bought a gallon of milk. Shortly after leaving the village of Dease Lake we encountered a female California Quail herding her brood of about a dozen teensy babies across the highway. We stopped to enjoy the spectacle. HA HA HA … harder than herding cats ! Our Sibley bird book shows the range of the California Quail to be nowhere near this far north !

We stopped for the night at the Sawmill Point BCFSRS remote wilderness campground on Dease Lake. When we arrived around 4 PM we had the lovely lakeside campground all to ourselves. But around suppertime a few more rigs arrived. While I prepared to fish Joanne and Ozzie went exploring, then came back and invited me to join them to see what they had discovered while wandering around the campground and shoreline. Our exploring and fishing were cut short by the return of rain.

Wednesday ; Sawmill Point BCFSRS to French Creek BCFSRS on Dease River

Cold and raining all day until suppertime, then … vicious mosquitoes !

WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO ! ! ! Caught an Arctic Grayling early this morning. My first one … sort of / maybe / probably. Two years ago on the way to the Northwest Territories I caught two small fingerlings that might have been Arctic Graylings, but … I’m not certain that’s what they were. Today … there’s no doubt ! Look at that spectacular dorsal sail fin !

We left Sawmill Point this morning around 11 AM. We continued north on Cassiar Hwy. 37 until we reached Jade City, a “Mom & Pop” jade mining business, and the subject / stars of the Discovery Channel’s reality TV series “Jade Fever”. “Mom” was inside their retail store and gave us permission to refill our freshwater tank at a water spigot on one of their rental cabins. “Pop” was outside showing tourists how jade is cut with a huge power saw. “Mom” was encouraging her customers to have a free cup of coffee or tea, so I had a wonderful cup of Japanese Green Tea while we browsed their huge assortment of jade merchandise. I wanted to buy a small Inukshuk made of jade, and finally settled on a jade Inukshuk charm for a bracelet. I will use it as a Christmas tree ornament. We have a collection of special Christmas tree ornaments that are all mementos / memories of special places we’ve visited. Joanne bought herself a lovely jade wedding band ring.

After shopping ( and a cup of tea ) we went to refill our freshwater tank at a water spigot on one of their rental cabins. For the short time that we were refilling the water tank … it rained heavily ! < sigh > The heavy rain began as we began refilling, and it ended five or ten minutes later as we finished refilling. Despite wearing rain gear both of us were soaked and cold ! < sigh >

A few miles north of Jade City we turned west off the highway and drove about ten km. / six miles or so up a mountain to the abandoned asbestos mining ghost town of Cassiar. The asbestos mine operations ceased in 1992. Now there are only some crumbling buildings and a vehicle graveyard. On our way back down the mountain we stopped on the side of the road and had a late lunch.

We continued north on Cassiar Hwy. 37. As we were approaching a small bridge over a dry creek we spotted a small herd of Thinhorn Mountain Sheep grazing in the dry creek bed. There were a couple of females with babies, and a couple of males. The largest male, and obviously the alpha male of the herd, was wearing some manner of radio transmitter collar. The world’s entire population of Thinhorn Mountain Sheep is contained here within Northwestern BC.

When we reached Boya Lake Provincial Park we drove around the campground but decided not to stay. We drove a little further north and stopped for the night at French Creek BC Forest Service Recreation Site, at the confluence of French Creek and the Dease River. Dease River, like all the rivers this far north, is flowing much too high and too fast to allow for fishing from the shore.

For supper I butterflied the Rainbow Trout I caught yesterday morning, Joanne smeared it with herbed cream cheese and then baked it. It was wonderful ! Emma certainly enjoyed it !

Thursday ; French Creek / Dease River, BC to Watson Lake, Yukon Territory

Raining heavily this morning at the campground. Rain diminishing as we drove. Sunny and mild at Watson Lake.

We left the French Creek BCFSRS remote wilderness campground this morning around 11:30 AM and continued north on Cassiar Hwy. 37, until it ended at the Alaska Highway, shortly after crossing from BC into the Yukon Territory. We turned right and headed east on the Alaska Highway about 30 km. / 20 miles or so towards the city of Watson Lake. Just before reaching the city we turned into Watson Lake Territorial Campground to check it out, and have lunch.

After lunch we continued the last few km. into town and found our way to the municipal park where the town’s sani-dump station is located. We dumped our grey and black waste tanks, but there was no freshwater fill. We drove to the Visitor Information Centre where we found the potable / freshwater refill spigot beside Watson Lake’s famous signpost forest. We refilled our freshwater tank then drove across the street to the large fuel station / grocery store / laundromat. While Joanne did a lot of laundry I walked back across the street to the Visitor Information Centre and used Wi-Fi to check e-mail.

After the laundry was finished we drove to the grocery store in town, bought some groceries, and refilled our five gallon water jug. We drove slowly through town, from one end to the other, sightseeing ( so to speak ). We drove out of town on the Alaska Highway ( the only road in or out of town ), a few miles to the west, back to the Watson Lake Territorial Campground.

By then it was after 6 PM. We selected a lovely campsite, then went for a long walk with Ozzie around the entire campground. I started a campfire, then cooked supper on it. Pork chop for Joanne, lime and cilantro seasoned, butterflied shrimp for me. MMMMM ! After Joanne washed dishes we sat outside by the campfire. It had turned out to be a lovely evening, clear sky, mild temperature. Best evening of the trip so far !

Friday ; Watson Lake Territorial Campground

Sunny and warm.

After checking the weather forecast yesterday, and seeing that today was going to be the only nice weather day in the next five days or so, and after eleven consecutive days of driving, I decided I deserved a day off !

I did some preventive maintenance on the truck. I did some repair maintenance on the camper. I did some “spring cleaning” in the camper, reviewing and purging the “junk drawer”. I chopped some firewood. We took long walks with Ozzie. I had a long afternoon nap with the animals. And we refilled our freshwater tank using my newly designed water refill system, for use when we don’t have access to a threaded spigot to attach a garden hose. This campground has a water spigot, but it is not threaded. I recently bought a 1.5 gallon fuel container, with a flexible nozzle. It worked perfectly as a freshwater tank refill system. We filled the fuel can at the non-threaded spigot, then stuck the flexible nozzle of the fuel can into the camper’s water fill spout and poured the water in. Eleven times until the camper’s freshwater tank was filled ! Which means we used about ( 11 x 1.5 = ) 16.5 gallons of water since refilling yesterday. Pretty good ... I had been estimating that we use about twenty gallons a day of freshwater, mostly showering but also for dish washing and toilet flushing.

At suppertime I lit a campfire. I baked potatoes on the fire, then grilled a thick, juicy steak over the fire. After eating supper we sat around the campfire until 9 PM, then went for our final long walk of the day.

Right now, this far north, it is daylight until at least midnight. Land of the midnight sun !

Saturday ; Watson Lake, Yukon Territory to middle of nowhere near Liard River, BC

Sunny and very warm, temperature reaching 81º F / 27º C this afternoon, a really lovely day.

Viewed a lot of wildlife today ; five bison and four bears. And what a pleasant change to view wildlife with calm, quiet Ozzie, as opposed to our dearly departed wildlife viewing drama queen Bo. HA HA HA ! With Bo, while I would be trying to take photos of wildlife out of the truck’s windows, Joanne would be holding Bo’s muzzle shut and trying to quiet and calm him. He was SOOOOO overreactive when viewing wildlife. Ozzie just stares and blinks, remaining quiet except for the sounds of him inhaling deeply, sniffing whatever is out there. His vision is impaired. His sense of smell is not !

We spent half the day running errands around the town of Watson Lake. We left the Watson Lake Territorial Campground about 11 AM and drove the few miles to town. First stop was the Visitor Centre where we refilled the camper’s freshwater tank. Then Wye Lake park, the municipal park where the sani-dump station is located, to dump our grey and black waste holding tanks. By then it was noon, as we had planned. The weekly Farmer’s Market is in Wye Lake Park every Saturday starting at noon. But … HMPH … there was only one vendor, and she was selling nothing of interest to us ; Avon products and some overpriced home baking. We asked her why she was the only vendor there ? She said that today was the high school graduation ceremony at noon, and everyone was there. HMPH !

Next stop was the grocery store for a few items, then a drive about 12 km. / 7.5 miles north of town to the airport on the shores of Watson Lake. I wanted to see the Watson Lake airport’s history display. Watson Lake’s airport had a major role to play in the building of the Alaska Highway and the transportation of American military aircraft to the north during the second world war. After viewing the history stories and pictures displayed on the airport terminal’s walls, we drove a very short distance across the airport’s grounds to have lunch while parked on the shore of Watson Lake. While Joanne prepared lunch I was preparing to fish … until Joanne reminded me that we were in the Yukon Territory, not BC where I have a license to fish. DUH !

After lunch we drove back into town, to TAGS, the local “everything” business ; fuel, groceries, laundromat, restaurant, motel, RV park, and who knows what else.

OOOOOPS … HEE HEE HEE ! We just took Ozzie for his bedtime walk ( shortly after 9 PM ) and when we turned a corner … HEE HEE HEE … we confronted a bison ! Better change our daily bison tally to six ! HA HA HA ! A bison close encounter is scarier than a bear close encounter. I know how bears are likely to behave, when and why. I have no idea what a bison is likely to do ! HEE HEE HEE ! The big beast just glared at us as we quickly backed away, then hustled back to the camper.

Anyways … back to TAGS. We refilled with diesel at their extremely busy fuel pumps. But … they did not have propane. They sent us to the local Petro-Canada for propane. When we got to the Petro-Canada … oh, goody … they had a car wash. While I lined up with the car wash … third vehicle in line … and removed the empty propane tank from its compartment, a very difficult task, Joanne went inside to inquire about propane. She came back to tell me they were out of propane, and that I needed to go inside to see the wardrobe of the counter clerk on duty. So … I did. < blink blink > A young black woman, perhaps the only one in the Yukon Territory … < snicker > … wearing … a lacy white bra as a top … extremely short shorts / hot pants … and some manner of a lacy sheer wedding dress like overlay. < shrug > Welcome to Watson Lake, Yukon Territory … I guess !

We gave the truck and camper a very quick rinse, just to get some of the thick layer of mud and dirt off the rear door and windows of the camper, the truck’s running boards, etc. Then we drove through the rest of town looking for a source of propane. The Petro-Canada bimbo sent us to the Bumper To Bumper auto supply and hardware store. They were closed. The Superior Propane outlet next door was also closed. We squabbled while reinstalling the empty tank back into the propane tank compartment.

We left the town of Watson Lake around 3 PM heading east on the Alaska Highway which crossed from the Yukon Territory into British Columbia and back into the Yukon six times before finally heading southeast, away from the Yukon. We didn’t put many miles behind us today. We were stopping frequently to view bears and bison. We wanted to view Smith River Falls, and maybe I could try my luck fishing there at the base of the falls, a tourist guide recommended fishing spot. We drove about 3 km. / 2 miles on an extremely rough dirt road, only to find once we were there that the steep stairs leading down to the falls had been burned away in a forest fire … eight years ago ! All that was left was a steep and slippery trail down to the falls. It was far beyond my capabilities ! < sigh > We turned around and drove very slowly back to the highway. Well … that “adventure” was an hour of my life that I’ll never get back !

Our next “adventure” objective was Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park, but we didn’t really want to arrive at the expensive provincial park campground late in the day, so … we were keeping our eyes open for a boondocking opportunity. When we saw a gravel road leading off the highway and disappearing into the forest we wanted to take a look, see where it goes. A short distance through the forest and it led to … HUH ? A “grass” airstrip ? Fairly long, fairly well groomed. Must be a firefighting service airstrip and camp. Seemed like an excellent place to boondock overnight.

The close encounter with the bison was just a bonus ! HA HA HA !

DSK