Category: T@b

August 11th – To Watson Lake

Kinaskan Lake was about halfway to Watson Lake.  It was raining off and on all day long, making the rough roads even nastier.  My vehicle and camper began to get very muddy!  I even saw a lake along the way called “Mud Lake”!

North and south of Wheeler Lake are miles and miles of burnt trees from a forest fire.   I will have to find out when that was.

^It actually looked worse than this.  This pic was taken early on in the mud-slinging!

About a miles south of Taft Creek bridge, I saw a baby black bear!  It skeedaddled into the woods at the side of the road when I drove up, so I didn’t get a good picture of it, but it looked like this:

About halfway to Watson Lake, there is a place called Jade City.   It has gas and a souvenir store full of jade objects to buy.  http://jadecity.com/

I finally reached the Yukon and the Alaska Highway!!!

Tonight I stayed at the Baby Nugget RV Park, which is at mile 650 of the Alaska Highway just a 1/2 mile west of where the Cassiar (Hwy 37) runs into it.    http://nuggetcity.com/baby-nugget-rv-park/

The RV Park is very bare; very few trees, but it has a restaurant that is very reasonable next door, a car/rv wash, laundry, nice bathroom/shower facilities, full hookups  and a gas station. It’s just a cold, bare landscape though.  Since it had been days  of “roughing it”, I treated myself to supper at the restaurant.    I also treated my car and T@b to a shower at the car/rv wash!  Wanna guess how long it took to get dirty again?!

Because of the rough roads and rain, what should’ve been a 5  1/2 hr drive turned into about 8 hours.   It was 385 kilometers = 240 miles.   So less mileage than other days, but took way longer!

 

August 10th Traveling the Cassiar Highway

It was a beautiful morning as I left Houston BC.

I had my first problem of the day after turning onto the Cassiar Highway at Kitwanga.

About 30 minutes after getting onto the Cassiar, my check engine light went on and “Auto LSD” red light flashing.   I had no idea what was going on.   There was no cell coverage and the Cassiar is quite remote and devoid of services.  So I turned around, went back to Kitwanga where I finally got cell phone signal!   I called my brother in TX who owns an auto shop.   He advised me that it was probably nothing, maybe a loose sensor,  and to continue.  The road is REAL rough and dusty, so a loose sensor was plausible, and everything was running well.    There is no mechanic available in Kitwanga either, so nobody else to look at it.

Then came the second problem.  I came around a curve in the road and there was a bunch of rocks fallen in road.  I avoided them with my vehicle, but the camper hit one.  BANG!  Shaken, I stopped and took a look, and it had hit the step underneath the door, jamming it so that it would no longer fold down.  No other damage though.   [It was later fixed when I got to Prince George.  A mechanic used crowbars and hammers to get the step back in place.] 

I had thought I might make it to Mt. Shadow RV Park, but the roughness of the road had worn me out, so when I saw Kinaskan Lake Provincial Park come up, I pulled in.  http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/kinaskan_lk/             It ended up being one of the most remote, rustic parks of the whole trip, but the most beautiful setting.   There are NO SERVICES there; no hookups of any sort.  One pump for water in the park and a couple of outhouses.  BUT my site was right in the trees and steps from the lake.  There were kayakers on the lake and one small johnny boat with a tiny engine, but otherwise peaceful.   I took a hike around the lake, made supper and then snuggled up inside with Burrito and Oreo.   It was cold outside and by morning was freezing.

Today I traveled about 7 1/2 hours on Hwy 16W, then 37N (Cassiar); 534 kilometers = 332 miles.

August 9th – On my way to the Cassiar Highway.

Today I was aiming for Hazelton, but only got as far as Houston, B.C.   I was just tired of driving.      I traveled about 6 1/2 hrs via the Yellowhead Highway (16W), 592 kilometers=368 miles.   So when I saw the Shady Rest RV Park and it looked very pretty, I pulled in!   It turned out to be a restful relaxing place. http://www.rvparkreviews.com/regions/british-columbia/houston/shady-rest-rv-park

Even my cat Oreo like the campground!   From the screen door.   I loved that the campground bathhouse had individual little rooms with a toilet, shower and sink accessible to outside instead of big huge “gang” bathrooms that feel less private.   It was like having your own bathroom at home!

August 8th – Banff & Jasper National Parks

Both Banff & Jasper are very close proximity to each other, so for time’s sake, I am going to drive through both in one day.   Not planning to do any hikes and will just stop at Lake Louise and the Icefields.   It’s doable because there is so much to see just driving through.

[One thing I’ve had to consider on my trip is safety as a single traveling by myself.   For safety, I don’t feel comfortable doing any solo hikes in remote places.  In well-traveled, well-populated places such as the Hidden Lake trail at Logans Pass in Glacier, it is easy to hike because there are many others around.   But many other places nobody else was around.  So although there were a number of places where I saw trails along the way that could’ve been hiked, I just stuck to the roads for the most part.]

Lake Louise:

Columbia Icefield:

Bow Lake:

Crowfoot Glacier:

Bighorn sheep at northern end of Jasper:

Tonight I stayed at Mt. Robson Provincial Park, Robson River Campground just east of Tete Jaune Cache.   http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/mt_robson/

 

September 28th – Cour d’Alene, Idaho to Dillon, Montana

I took  the Clintons (not the former president–my cousins) out to breakfast at the Chompers Cafe.  Then I got on the road, traveling  further south east through Idaho, then down through western Montana  past Missoula and Butte and on to Dillon for the night.     The journey took about 5 1/2 hours and 336 miles.   Since I didn’t leave Cour d’Alene till about mid-morning, that meant I would have less hours to drive before it got dark.    So I got to Dillon, MT at dusk.

        Parkin’ with the big guys.

         Anaconda Mining under big blue sky.

On Facebook, my brother mentioned wanting some taters from Idaho, then when he saw this picture, he said they probably mine the taters here, blasting them right out of the ground!  lol

Cows  and  caribou living in perfect harmony.

     God owns the cattle on a thousand hills.

 

October 1st – Home again – Chama NM to Denton, TX

Today will be my last day of traveling before getting home!

It’s going to be a long day, but I want to get home today and not have to break this distance into 2 days.

 

I decided I could probably make this my home.  A lake,

mountains, cool air, sunshine……..

A great place to get souvenirs.

It hit 87 degrees again; haven’t seen that since leaving TX 2 months ago!

Around 9 PM, I made it home to Denton!   The official trip mileage is 10,833 miles!!!!

Preparing for the epic journey

Here are just a few suggestions on preparing for any long journey with your trailer/camper/rv.  These are by no means exhaustive or conclusive.  You might even have a better idea.

  •   Prepare financially.  Get an idea of possible costs and make a budget.   There will  always be emergencies also, so have extra money available if you need it.  Decide how you will handle credit/debit cards and cash.  Notify your credit card companies of your approximate itinerary to avoid getting your card declined.
  • Prepare an itinerary.   It can be as detailed or as flexible as you want depending on your lifestyle.   Will you want reservations ahead of time or will you just meander along, finding a place to stay as you go or boondocking?   Give family or a friend a copy of your itinerary and emergency numbers.
  • Research.  Other people have made similar trips.  Many have blogs such as mine.  Read them.   You will get ideas and pointers.   BUY A MILEPOST.  Every March they publish a new one for the year.   It has detailed routes going to Alaska and within Alaska also, mile by mile.  Learn how to read the routes backwards or forwards, depending on which direction you are going.  From the Milepost, you will be able to tell where gas stations and points of interest are located.
  • Read some books about Alaska.   Here are some recommendations:   “Anchorage, Denali & the Kenai Peninsula: by Don Pitcher  2.   “Looking for Alaska” by Peter Jenkins and 3. “The Alaska Highway” by Murray Lundberg.
  • Think about trailer security.   Hitch locks, wheel locks, re-key the door locks from the original factory ones which are generic, etc.  Have duplicates made of each and store them somewhere where you can get to them if needed.   If you lose one in the middle of the Yukon or lock yourself out of your trailer, there will be no locksmith to help you!
  • Think about your personal security.  Handguns are not allowed in Canada.  Bear spray is allowed.  Wasp spray is a good substitute also.  If you plan to hike, bear bells will let the bears know you are around.   You don’t want to come up on one and startle them.  Personal security is not necessarily equipment, but just be aware and not naive.   If you are single, be careful just like you would ordinarily.  Don’t be paranoid or scared, but just think ahead.
  • Choose and buy comfort items:  Visors, tents, outside chairs, patio rugs, outside lanterns etc. will make your travels easier.  Don’t get carried away though, or you will have to much weight and stuff!  I had both a battery lantern and a propane lantern, which were invaluable in the remote campgrounds which had no lightpoles anywhere.  You will want a light of some sort at your picnic table.  A couple of flashlights are recommended for walking to and from the bathhouse or just looking around in the middle of the night.
  • If you are new to rv/trailering, practice your routines ahead of time, such as hitching up and unhitching, and that pesky backing up!   Some places may have pull-thrus available, but those are not guaranteed.  People around are usually helpful and will help you if needed, but who wants to feel helpless and unprepared?   Go to a parking lot, set up some cones or something similar and practice manuevering.
  • Understand power and battery management so that you don’t drain your battery.   Have extra fuses available in case something blows.   You don’t want to be shivering in the middle of nowhere with no heat!  Buy a solar source or generator if necessary.
  • Buy groceries – staples and fresh food, snacks and drinks.  Have a cooler and ice if necessary.
  • Fill your fresh water tank.
  • Check tire pressures.