Eastbound and down

We decided to cut short our stay in Alaska. As beautiful as that particular tiny corner of Alaska is, we really needed to head somewhere with dryer weather. Everything in the camper was starting to take on a dankness, including my daughters.

We had chosen to visit Hyder Alaska to view its famous Grizzly Bears, see the Salmon Glacier (5th largest in North America), and possibly try a local concoction at the saloon and get "Hyderized". Unfortunately, the bears had gorged themselves completely on the still plentiful spawning salmon and were refusing to make their presence known. The glacier which was up a long mining road was completely hidden from view in thick clouds. The saloon and much of the town of Hyder was closed or closing for the season.

Kathy and I looking for a glacier

Even the RV park (Camp Run-A-Muck) was closing up for the season. Camp Run-A-Muck's owner (or manager?), Sully, was closing up the park the day we left, then would be following us East in his giant class-A RV to his home in Maine. Sully was kind enough to exchange tips in crossing the continent from Alaska and Maine. I was pleased to find my planned route nearly matched his suggested route.

Despite the fact we were unable to enjoy the advertised attractions, the quiet towns of Stewart, BC and Hyder, AK offered amazing scenery when the clouds and fog cleared enough: mountains climbing right out of the fjord up into snow covered peaks, waterfalls dropping hundreds of feet from glaciers hidden from view to the valley floor, and lots of green, not Western Washington green, but a green that reminded me much more of Hawaii. Even on the drive to Stewart, we saw numerous black bears and even a grizzly, all wandering along side the highway. I found myself driving cautiously along the roads the way I would in areas where I was concerned with hitting a deer.

Estuary in Stewart BC

Fish Creek, near Hyder BC

View from Hyder, AK

Bear Glacier, outside of Stewart BC

Now we are headed eastbound and down, to Virginia and ultimately Florida, but we are taking the long way, and stopping as often as we can along the way to see what there is to be seen. Tonight we only go as far as Houston... the other Houston (Houston, British Columbia).

Here's What Were Doing...

9.6.15 -- written by Nadia: 

We just got into Hyder, Alaska and it is rainy! I can just imagine the hot weather. But it has been fun with my family. We have seen a few bears when we were driving to Stewart, BC and we saw a family of bears just walking across the street. And in Telegraph Cove, BC  there was a cub.

Here is a little video update from the trip as well. (Video should be uploaded now - internet service is few and far between and uploading videos is not an easy task on a slow connection). 

We had to cut our video a little short due to some giggling. But what I wanted to say is a Kinder Egg is a hollow chocolate candy egg with milk chocolate on the outside and white chocolate in the middle and a toy inside. And it is only found in Canada. 

I am looking forward to the next part of our trip, in about 2 weeks we will be heading to Bozeman, MT to visit my uncle Dan. We’ll blog and make some more videos soon… 

Our family heading out for a walk in Stewart, BC

My Take On The First Week…

We have been on the road for about a week now and although the weather has been rainy and soggy we are still enjoying our adventure. Andrew and the girls have all put together great recaps of the first week’s adventures - see the other blog posts on this site. I think my highlight of the trip has been our visits to Telegraph Cove – whale watching and seeing the bear just wondering the town was amazing – the town was so tiny and it seems like it is stuck back about 50 years, which I find really charming. Our ferry boat ride from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert was also amazing, it was one of the nicest days we have had and it felt like a little cruise, we had a delicious outdoor lunch on the deck, the girls met some friends on the boat and were super happy to play and explore the boat on their own. Since there was not too many places they could go they had free reign to explore and be on their own. After the ferry boat we arrived in Prince Rupert, which is a little port town in Northern BC, there is not much to this little town, but the day we spent here the weather was finally nice enough to hang out outside and although I would have loved to find a great hike or explore the mountains, Andrew and I decided this was the day we needed to reorganize and clean the camper, spread things out and let our gear dry out. We still did get time explore the waterfront area of the town and buy some fresh fish for dinner. 

Andrew and I enjoying lunch and wine on the ferry to Prince Rupert

We only spent one full day in Prince Rupert then headed north again for the long drive up to Stewart, BC and Hyder, AK. We were about half way through the trip driving through Terrace, BC and the check engine light came on in the truck. Luckily, we were in Terrace and this is the biggest town between Prince Rupert and Stewart and there was a Ford dealership there – the light literally went on right after we passed the dealership. We made a 2 hours pit stop at Ford to have the mechanics do a bunch of tests and fixed a troubled computer chip and then sent us on our way, unfortunately once we drove off about 15-20 minutes later the light came back on. They seemed to think that the light was a result of a dirty sensor or a computer issues, so our anxiety is a bit more under control knowing it has been checked out. 

The rest of the drive was fairly uneventful, we made the turn to head up the Alaskan Highway and on the desolate road we saw 5 bears either on the side of the road or crossing the highway. We also were amazed by the huge glaciers that are on the sides of the mountains that surround the road. After the long day on the road we found a tiny little campground in the town of Stewart. Even though the campground is in the middle of the town it is still surrounded by trees and we have a spot on a small creek. The population in Stewart is 699 and the town is about 2 blocks long. This is why we have come here, we are on this crazy journey to see all we can in this beautiful country and it is fascinating to see how others outside of our Ballard bubble live. The town is small and simple but it has everything that anyone needs: a post office, a grocery store, a specialty grocery store and a few small shops and restaurants.

Bear Glacier near Stewart, BC

My favorite part of this trip so far has been seeing the different aspects of all the different towns we have popped into. Whether it’s a small coastal town like Telegraph Cove or tiny Stewart surrounded by enormous mountains. It is really cool to see how differently people live. We are still trying to figure out how we are living in this little camper of ours while we struggle with the new routines (or lack there of), shuffling gear in and out before we do anything, coming up with a school schedule that works and doesn’t enlist groans and frowns every time the subject comes up and for me, specifically, figuring out how to get a work out in that raises my heart rate to keep my mood up and my anxiety down. I have figured out how to do a few yoga poses in the center of the camper while I make my tea – but it’s a little weird for Siena considering its in also her bedroom. We’re working the kinks out and hopefully the weather will improve so our adventures and routines can be more outside than inside. We had a lovely campfire last night, and we are hoping the bears will still come out to eat at the river even if its raining. There are ups and downs of the trip and the main thing is that we are all together, working as a family as we embark on each new experience.