And we think we're at one of those places now. The scenery around Stewart, British Columbia at the border with Hyder, Alaska is amazing!
And the road we took to get here, highway 37A, has to be one of the most scenic drives in Canada, with waterfalls, mountains, and glaciers.
We have driven 1,086 kms (675 miles) over the last four days!
Yesterday started off overcast, and we even had some much needed rain in places.
Stopped to enjoy the scenery.
View of the valley.
We love the mountains!
We finally had some rain.
Scenery along the way.
Hey, there's some blue sky up ahead!
And then it turned into a nice day!
Beautiful British Columbia!
We stopped at the junction of 37 and 37A for lunch. The place is called Meziadin Junction. There's not much there except for a gas station and corner store, as well as a workers camp and restaurant. But, they advertised wifi, and it's tough to get online anywhere along the Cassiar Highway. There is no cell service at all along the highway, and so the only internet is satellite... and they don't give it away!
I was going to pay the $6.25 CAD ($4.80 USD) for a day pass so that we could sit and get caught upon a few things, but they didn't have any day passes left. They only had half hour passes, and they were only fifty cents less. So I couldn't justify it. The lady was nice though and slipped me a half hour pass for free. :-)
That was just enough to get yesterday's blog posted!
We finished lunch, and turned on to highway 37A heading towards Stewart, B.C. and Hyder, Alaska.
Wow, what a gorgeous drive!
Sherman, stopped to admire the Bear Glacier.
Waterfalls.
The Bear Glacier.
Narrow canyons.
And bears!
We made it to Stewart and went to the visitors center. Not one of the better visitors centers we've been to. No free wifi, (although they directed us to a nearby hotel and cafe that has free wifi) and when I asked about parking around town she said there was no street parking allowed for RVs and the municipal campground (with 92 sites) is closed for renovations. She referred us to the local RV park at $40 a night. No thanks!
The town is not very big, with a population of around 500 people.
We went for a walk out on the boardwalk.
Me!
On our way back, we walked through town looking to find a dead end road or somewhere else decent to park overnight.
We weren't seeing much, when we walked by the local RCMP police detachment. There was an officer just leaving in his police car, and we went over to him. He got out and talked to us for a while.
Turns out that the girl in the visitors center was totally wrong. You can park where ever you want in town. He says "besides which, we have no bylaw officers, and I'm certainly not going to tell you to move".
Nice guy.
We found a great spot the other side of the airport. It was right beside the trucking route, but we correctly assumed there wouldn't be any truckers working overnight!
Sherman, parked at GPS 55.928393, -129.986105
We went for a walk around at dusk.
Two bald eagles.
This is the first time that we really noticed that it's getting dark at night! After spending two months in eternal daylight, it almost seems strange to experience the dark!
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Great price on the Cuisinart 5-in-1 Electric Griddler
And in Canada...
That road sure reminds me of the road to Seward, AK. We were in Alaska three years ago today heading to Seward, AK to do the boat tour and see glaciers, whales, sea lions, sea otters, eagles, puffins birds and so much more. Yukon and BC is every bit as beautiful. I've never been north of Vancouver but always wanted to drive to Whistler. I heard it's beautiful drive. Enjoy your travels and be safe.
ReplyDeleteBTW we walked several board walks in Alaska and saw salmon in rivers but fishing wasn't allowed. You could practically scoop up the salmon...the rivers were thick with salmon. I see the fire weeds have blooms at tippy top which means winter is near.
DeleteThis road was definitely a beautiful drive. We loved the Yukon and are really looking forward to seeing more of British Columbia now and we know that we will love it!
DeleteYes, Vancouver to Whistler is a beautiful drive but it is also a fairly busy road, Whistler is very much a tourist attraction so there would be lots of people there. We were there back in 2006 when we did a tent camping trip for a couple of weeks.
We saw lots of salmon from the observation platform in Hyder and there is no fishing from it either. And yes, according to the fireweeds summer is just about over up here.
Beautiful BC indeed. Stunning scenery.
ReplyDeleteWe are really going to love our time here in your beautiful province. :-)
DeleteBinge reading again so glad that I was able to listen to the CBC interview. Great Interview! It really came across to me that you two are very happy with your decision to travel North America in your RV. Good for you and thanks for sharing it with us! Looking at your awesome pictures makes me want to lock the door and go right now!
ReplyDeleteGlad that you enjoyed our interview! And yes, we are very happy about our decision to travel in our motorhome, but also just to travel anywhere. We have absolutely no regrets. Well maybe one, and that is not seeing our families as often as we would like but we try to see them every chance we can.
DeleteJust do it, lock the door and go before it is too late! :-)
Amazing pictures of the wonderful scenery you drove through. Glad you are away from the smoke for awhile. Good you found a place to park for the night especially now that there actually is darkness. Enjoy your stay. Your CBC radio interview was great by the way. It was a very interesting program.
ReplyDeleteThank you Brigitte! The scenery was definitely stunning and yes, we are happy to be out of the smoke at least for now.
DeleteGlad you enjoyed our interview, it was fun to do.
Your photographs are always so wonderful. Makes all your readers feel like we are there with you!! I listened to your interview and having never met you in person, was great to hear your voices. I have taken leaps of faith throughout my life at various times. I left a job with a company and opened my own law office. Then I retired from law at age 50 and went back to school to become a massage therapist. Now I am transitioning to retirement and opening my horizons to *frugal* enjoyment now that I am 62. Where there's a will, there's a way!! It's always worked out for me and it seems to have worked out well for you too.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! We love to show people what is out there with hopes that some will follow in our same tracks and see some of the wonderful places.
DeleteFor many it is a leap of faith because you don't know what might happen, good or bad but no matter what you will always learn and grow from the experience. We always figured that if it didn't work out for us then we would go back and start living a normal life again. You don't know what will happen if you don't at least try! Nice to see that you have given it a try a couple of times and that you have made it work. :-)
Recognized the picture of Bear glacier right off. It sure has shrunk since I was there. Plus I remember all the waterfalls along that road! When I pulled into Stewart I asked where I could camp. I had a off road tent trailer and they said because of the bears they did not allow them in the RV parks. I asked what should I do and he said where are you going. I said I'm going to Hyder, and he said oh. You'll be able to camp at their RV parks since they let you do anything in Alaska. I crossed over and yes it was OK and cheap as I recall. I did make a point of sleeping away from the canvas walls though. Plus had my tiny air horn and bear spray at the ready! If you go into Hyder, and the salmon or other fish are running they got a xlnt raised boardwalk to see bears fishing in safety. Plus the Salmon Glacier which I think is the forth largest in North America.
ReplyDeleteThe scenery all along that road is amazing and yes, lot of waterfalls to see.
DeleteI am surprised that the campgrounds in Stewart wouldn't let you stay in a soft sided tent trailer. When people go backcountry backpacking they are sleeping in tents in the middle of bear country, seems like a strange rule. As long as all the food is stored at night in your vehicle or a bear proof locker we don't really see a problem. Glad that you were able to camp over at Hyder though.
We went to the viewing platform three different times yesterday and stayed for quite a while each time but never saw a bear. :-( We also we up and had a look at the Salmon Glacier, it was definitely something to see.
I have followed your blog and another travelers YouTube adventures along similar paths this year. I must say your written commentary and great pictures are in many ways better than the excellent you tube channel. I think both you and the you tuber are excellent at taking us along. It is hard to say why I almost prefer your written blog. It may be because your is daily while theirs is usually every other day. And it takes much less time to read than watch... anyway thanks for all the effort you put into this..
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the wonderful compliment. I know with us, it uses too much of our cellular bandwidth to do any real kind of YouTube videos plus lots of work and we just aren't ready to do that, we like to keep things simple and easy for everyone, including ourselves, not that writing a blog is simple or easy! ;-)
DeleteYou are welcome and we are glad that you enjoy following along on our adventures.
What a great drive in beautiful country!
ReplyDeleteI am pretty sure you are going to a lot more beautiful scenery as we travel through British Columbia. :-)
DeleteWell that was a day and a half. Love a scenic drive and that sure was a fabulous one.
ReplyDeleteIt was a great day! Loved it all. :-)
DeleteThat Salmon and Bear glacier! Wow!
ReplyDeleteYep, they sure are something! :-)
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