Another Long Day!

 July 7 – It was another long day!  We were on the road by 5:45 and it was a long day.  Not much change in the roads or scenery and you just don’t tire from seeing the beautiful tree covered and snowy mountains.  We saw a black bear, a fox and a porcupine on the drive today. 

We were driving like crazy as we were to either go to the campground and get into our spots and then meet at Cariboo Crossing Trading Post or drive there directly and park and drive to the campground after our visit.

All but 1 RV went to the campground first and what a cluster that was!  The spaces are on the narrow side and you are so close and you can’t always put your slides out.  Lots of trees to try and avoid hitting as well.  Most of us are on the same row and that’s an issue to all be trying to get settled.

So once we got parked, we doubled up with other couples to drive fewer cars.  That’s become the way we go sightseeing and to restaurants, etc.  The Wagonmasters were waiting for us as we were scheduled to have lunch there then visit their museum and see all of the animals.  It was OK but it was a long drive out there for a bbq chicken leg, mashed potatoes and slaw.  Oh, and a piece of crumb cake.  It was supposed to look like and “old town” with false face fronts and there was a petting zoo of sorts.  They had 2 alpacas, 4-5 baby goats, horses, and a lot of husky dogs.  You could go for a ride in a land rover pulled by huskies.  Those dogs get so excited and anxious to get out there and run.  When the dogs know the guy is getting the land rover ready ALL of them start barking “pick me, I wanna go”!  They probably had at least 50 dogs.  They had 10-12 pens on that back side of the property with kennels for all of the dogs.

The drive back was just a ride but we road with Dave and Donna and stopped along the road at another beautiful blue and green lake.  There was one guy on the lake and the water was so still.  Just beautiful.

Yukon here we come!

July 6 – The Wagon Masters had us all line up in the big lot in the front of the campground.  A few had to get gas so we waited for them and then we headed out.  No stops along the way as it was only 130 miles to Watson Lake in Yukon Territory.  It was another drive up mountains but still just as beautiful as we’ve seen.  Today was also the day we were to drive over the temporary bridge that washed out a few days ago.  We all expected a long line but we arrived at the right time and the Pilot Car was ready and waiting so we didn’t waste any time there.  It was one of those over the river and thru the woods kind of drive.  They had just bulldozed a swath wide enough for 2 lanes and packed it with dirt and we were glad there was no gravel.  So it was easy peasy!

About 50 miles down the road we halted for a herd of Wood Bison to cross the road.  There were at least 30.  Wood Bison are different than Buffalo, but I couldn’t see any difference other than they live in the woods.  I also spotted a little fox on the right side of the road.  Any wildlife is better than none!

We had instructions to pull off again at a large rest area.  This time they specifically told us the order we were to go in.  I don’t know what the big deal was but I think it had to do with the parking and they wanted the longest rigs first.  We were staying just one night and what we went to see was withing walking distance.

A few (like us) pulled in to the gas station to fill up for tomorrow.  We learned that the entire Yukon Territory has no WIFI or cell service.  The fiberoptic cable that supplies the territory was cut or damaged.  Most of the places in Lake Watson were closed.  The gas station we went to could only take cash – Canadian preferred but they would deal with US.  Luckily, we had enough Canadian to pay for the diesel.  Later after we parked we walked over to the street with the few businesses and the bank was closed and we had hoped to get money exchanged.  There was another gas station that had a sign that said groceries so we went there and there were no groceries.  He was remodeling the store part but was pumping cash and would take a CC like in the old days where you fill out the slip and he would enter it when the service comes back on.  Some of our people wouldn’t do it as they didn’t trust them.  That guy did exchange $200 US cash for us to $225 Canadian.  We wanted to make sure we have some more fuel money.

The big draw here are the Sign Boards.  In 1942 a traveler posted a sign on a post here when he started a fad.  Now they say they have thousands and thousands of them.  There was some information about the Sign Boards and the building of the Alaska Highway at the Visitor Center.  Bill and I enjoyed the movie and info on the signs. 

We all made or brought a sign and posted them today.  Bill and I put ours at a fairly new arch on one of the down posts.  We had a group photo of us all with our signs before the posting went on.  It’s an amazing site! A lot of people had metal signs made with their names, city, state and date they were here and others are painted on wood and there are license plates from all over the world.  It would take hours to walk all the signs and see them.

There were some issues with the 30 amp here and we can only run one AC and that kept turning off.  Our neighbor was having the same issue and he moved to another area and ours started staying on.  I did a load of laundry and got my bed sheets changed.

It was leftover meatloaf tonight with store bought potato salad for Bill and I had some pickled beets and an egg that one of our caravan ladies gave me.  It was a nice change and something I haven’t had in many years.

Tomorrow we are leaving at 6 AM.  I guess I better sleep in my clothes!

Headed to the Springs

July 5 – Before heading out this morning we attempted to wash the RV.  They have a self wash station at the back of the campground and it’s a dollar (loonie) for a minute.  We spent $8 and it looked good until later when it dried and it was a waste of time and money.

The gang was on the road by 8:45 and no one had gone too far when we stopped for a road work.  We sat there for close to 45 minutes to cross the one way side of the road.  The second time we stopped was not as slow and we were definitely driving slowly as to not have rocks hit the RV.  We did have a lot of noise going on and I’m sure we have a ding or two or more.  We were following two couple who always follow each other and at some point they both pulled off in a rest area but we just went on our own. 

The weather was great today and we were pretty much crossing mountains again.   A lot of up and down and all around.  We stopped for lunch in the RV and kinda took our time so we would not arrive before 2.  That is check in time and we had stern instructions to everyone NOT to arrive early.

We did see a black bear along the road.  Another car was stopped and the berm was really wide so I pulled off without hesitation.  Bill thought I was crazy.  He took pictures with his phone but I got out my good camera and got out and got a good one even though we were quite a way past it. That was very exciting!

As we got close to our destination for the night, Laird Hot Springs, there was a beautiful blue green lake that is a mile long.  There was not a soul on the lake and it was as still as could be.  We didn’t make a stop but we know a lot of the group did.  We came to a huge pull off along the river so we pulled in there to wait out the 2:00 rule.  I walked over to the water and took some photos of the river and then realized I needed to take some shots of our RV with the mountains in the background.

When we arrived at the campground Vicki waved us in and Richard gave us our site numbers.  I think everyone was in and parked in under 10 minutes.  They are all pull thrus which makes everyone happy.

Bill went to the hot springs with a lot of the group and I had an issue I needed to deal with on our apartment Airbnb.  Then I put meatballs and sauce on to simmer with some of my fresh basil.  That plant is a monster! 

There is NO cell service and NO wifi here.  You can pay $5.25 for a day for wifi but can only use it in the office.  Lucky for me Marty was there and once he got the wifi his texting worked so I could text my sister to sort out the Airbnb issue. 

It stays light most of the night.  The window shades are doing a good job!

The sites are OK but very narrow and Bill didn’t get me right in the middle so we didn’t put all of the slides out.  No big deal for a one-nighter. 

Happy Independence Day!

July 4 - Happy Independence Day! 

Nothing too exciting today!  This morning Barb and I went to “town”.  We went to 2 stores kinda like Big Lots but smaller and we each found some craft items we were looking for.  Then we went to a thrift store where she found some kind of purse that you change the exterior.  She had that purse but their house burned down a few months ago and she got a great deal on this brand new one with about 8 different covers.

After those stops we went to the IGA store where we both did our share of grocery shopping.  She needed more than I did so I think we are good to go for a few days.

At 3 this afternoon we had our group picnic for the holiday.  The Wagon Masters provided and grilled the burgers and we all a side dish.  The weather was great and we all filled up and had a nice time.  Some of the group stayed to play Left Right Center.  Bill came home for some quarters and went back but lost all of his quarters. 

We head out tomorrow but not as far as the bridge issue.  AT least we are moving in the right direction.  We got our instructions from the Wagon Masters about what time we can leave and arrive to check in.  Once we check in we can go to the hot springs if we want.  I do as that is so relaxing.

My laptop is getting full of photos so I did take my 2016 and 2017 photos off and put them on flash drives instead.  I need to take a lot off of my phone as well!!

The word is we are heading on to our next stop and if all goes according to plan, the following day we cross the temporary one lane bridge.

Long day and getting closer to the downed bridge!!

July 3 – Today seemed to be endless driving!  We were 5^th to get on the road this morning and we left at 7:45. I was up at 6 so no point in waiting any longer.  It was a lot of mountain crossing today but fortunately not super steep going up or down.  Not a lot of traffic with the bridge closed so we passed only a few coming our way.

The only wildlife we saw for the whole day was a dead black bear cub and a dead deer.  That is no fun at all!  The scenery is still just as beautiful and amazing as it’s been for weeks.  It sure will be different when we get back to Florida. 

Bill and I pulled into the campground in Ft. Nelson, BC,  I think 3^rd in line and they asked us to go back down the road a bit and park until 2.  The campground is 1200 spaces I think and a lot of coming and going with this bridge closure.  We are all pretty much parked in the front near the office and restaurant.  We are in back in since the RV behind us got to pull in.  But, I did a great job as usual!  Since we have full hook ups here I will get caught up on laundry and Bill’s cleaning rags as who knows what will be further up the road.

The Wagonmasters arranged for us to have a buffet provided in the restaurant here.  We had a nice room to ourselves.  With the new couple we are now 15 RV’s but 3 of them are singles.  I’m not much on buffets as it’s been cooked and sitting for who knows how long and I steered away from the starchy foods and fried stuff.  Of course, I kept my mouth shut about it and just found a few vegetables and fruits to add to my dried-out piece of chicken.  Apparently, most of the group eat this on a regular basis and piled their plates.  One guy insisted he had tender road beef but others said it was meatloaf!  Does that tell you about the crowd?

They have cable here so I spent a while trying to get it hooked up and a lady came by who said she ran her cable thru the window directly to the TV and it works.  So I did the same and we get 8 channels I think and enjoyed a night with some TV.

Not long after arriving we were informed that we are here for 2 nights.  That means we lose 2 nights at Whitehorse but hopefully the crossing will go well and we will have some time to see a few things we are marked to visit.  Sometimes we just have to accept that Mother Nature is the boss!

The Bridge Washed Out!

July 2 – Our day definitely didn’t go as planned.  We had instructions from our Wagon Masters that they would leave at 8 and no one was to leave until 8:15 – 8:30 or later.  They have had issues with people leaving before them and when they arrive at the campground they pick sites that should be left for the bigger rigs to get.  So Bill and I went to leave about 8:15 and their RV was in the parking lot so we pulled up along side so we didn’t leave before them.  Well, the bottom line was they had gotten word that a bridge we would be crossing in a day or so was washed out and no one was coming or going.  The campgrounds that we had booked before arriving at the river were full as those people couldn’t leave to cross the bridge, therefore there was no where for us to stay.  Luckily we were able to stay tonight where we were.  There was supposed to be an update by noon but the word was we couldn’t get into the 2 parks we have booked as their guests have no where to go to.  So we made the best of the day as we could.

Barb and I were going to Walmart and out to lunch.  It ended up her husband Mike went with us to Walmart as Bill was not feeling good this morning.  I was up since 5 this morning and could not go back to sleep so I wasn’t sure how today would go.  We were just leaving Walmart and Bill called and asked if we’d had lunch yet.  I told him no we were just loading the truck.  He asked if we’d come back for him so we did.  That meant I didn’t have to drive the truck any more today!

One of the other couples texted that they were at a Pub and Grill place if anyone wanted to come eat with them so we headed there.  The service was a bit slow but the food excellent.  I had a fancy salad with grilled chicken and Bill had some kind of burger and fries.  We enjoyed the company of Laurie and Dave from Wisconsin.   They are newlyweds and he’d a farmer.  I asked a lot about his farm and he used to be a dairy farmer with his dad and then he inherited the farm and eventually stopped the dairy and does corn now.  Super nice people!

Bill saw a Dollarama store earlier today and took us there where he, Barb and I each bought stuff but Mike is NOT a shopper!  Then I suggested we stop for ice cream and realized a Diary Queen was right by the restaurant we had lunch at.  So we sat in the truck and enjoyed our dessert and conversation.

When received a text that we had a group meeting for 6 with an update on our travel stance.  So shortly after we got home and put our stuff away we walked over to the pavilion for the update.  We have been assured we can get spaces at the campground we were supposed to be at tonight and they are pretty sure we will be able to get into the one after that.  Then it’s the bridge.  They are in the process of putting in a one lane bridge so it will be slow crossing but slow is better than not at all.  We are scheduled for 3 nights at Whitehorse so if we lose 1 or 2 nights we lose them there and can keep on track for the ferry and Alaska.

Since we had a big lunch we didn’t really plan for a dinner but I had 2 mini chicken tacos around 7:30.  Bill went to one of the other RV’s for a crafting session.  He made a sign for us to post when we get to Alaska at the Sign Post with thousands of other signs.  Bill did a nice job on ours.

That wraps up our day – hoping for a great tomorrow!

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly!

July 1 – Travel Day!  Ugh!  There was the Good, the Bad and the Ugly today! 

The Good was we made it safely to Dawson City, BC.  That is where the Alaska Highway starts.  We all went to the big monument and did a group picture and Bill and I got one with just us.  The other good stuff was all the animals I spotted on the way.  There was a mother moose and her baby, then I spotted a Mule deer.  Later there was a male deer with velvet antlers, followed by a female deer, a black dog ( which was NOT wildlife) and a young fox!  So we had a good animal spotting day.

The bad was the price of fuel was higher once we crossed back over to BC from Alberta.

The ugly was how disgusting the truck and the RV looked with a coat of mud all over.  Once we got to our campground spot Bill was washing the truck and the front of the RV and someone who worked here told him he wasn’t allowed to wash his truck.  He said he didn’t know that and was told he could only do the window of the RV but once he left Bill did the front and most of the back! 

Our Wagon Masters hosted frozen margaritas and appetizers for the gang.  We had a lot of laughs.  So it was a good day in the end!