High Level to Yellowknife

This is the third of three posts we posted today. The internet service at the Yellowknife library is really fast.
We left High Level on a beautiful bright sunny warm morning. You really have to concentrate on staying alert when driving up here. The road is flat and just goes on straight for km after km. A lot of people must fall asleep at the wheel up here. There are very few cars on the road and even fewer tourists. The most traffic you meet up with is transport trucks.
We arrived at the Alberta/NWT border at the 60th parallel with some large black clouds forming and a threat of rain. The NWT has a great visitors center, still under construction along with satellite wireless internet. We ate our lunch just as the rain and thunder started. The cloud cover must have done something to the satellite reception as I was just able to check for e-mail before it started performing slower than dial-up.

We carried on as far as the Territorial Park of Louise Falls. It is a lovely park with electric service, modern washrooms with exceptional fiberglass showers, and clean pit toilets scattered throughout the campground. The rain had stopped long enough for us to get set up. We had thundershowers off and on for the rest of the afternoon but managed to walk down a trail to Louise Falls. They are beautiful and impressive. They are one of a set of three falls in this area on the Hay River. The Alexandra Falls were only about a 1.5 km walk up river but the rain started up again and the walking along the gorge was slippery and dangerous. We decided that we would see them on the way back.
After dinner we went for a walk around the park. We ran into a lady originally from Halifax, who trained as a nurse there, came north to Fort Vermillon, met her husband there and now lives in High Level. Small world! 15 minutes later we struck up a conversation with a guy from Sault Ste. Marie Ontario. He called out his wife, who was French Canadian and an artist. Take a look at Lucie’s web site www.luciegagnonartist.ca. She works with graphite pencils only. Her husband, Bob, is a machinist and a mechanical genius, especially around diesel engines. We quickly became friends and they came over to out trailer later to talk. The conversations must have been interesting as they stayed until 12:30 am. We got to bed at 1:00 am and were up at 6:30 to get ready for a long drive to Yellowknife.

6:30 am came awful early for this old guy. However, it was up and at them. We got underway at about 8:30. Again, it was another bright sunny start to the day.   We have noticed though, that both the days and nights are starting to get cooler. We had a fifteen minute wait for the ferry that took us across the Mackenzie River. Boy, this river is wide at this point and runs with quite a current. From the Mackenzie up to Yellowknife all you see are warnings to watch out for wood bison on the road. We saw two lone bulls only. These animals are massive. The bulls weigh up to 2200 lbs. and the cows are about half that weight. As we drove along, we noticed the trees getting shorter and shorter. Again, not much else to say about the drive until we got to within 100 km of Yellowknife. The road is essentially flat and straight, with a few slight curves thrown in. For the last 100 km, the driving was a nightmare! Aside from being a bit tired after several hours of being on the road, the highway turned into a massive roller coaster ride. It was rough, full of heaves and dips. I had to cut our speed back to between 50 and 70 kph in order to keep 13000 pounds of 5th wheel trailer on the road. I swear that it was airborne at least twice. We finally arrived at Yellowknife by mid afternoon and got set up in the only RV park in town. We have electricity and a nice site. One slight drawback! We are opposite the airport and do get some aircraft noise. There is one blessing though, we are not on any of the approach paths for landing or take offs. Just after we got set up, the thunder storms and rains started. We were in bed and sound asleep by 9:30. I must be getting old. This kind of day never bothered me before.
We woke up late on Monday morning had a good breakfast and left for downtown Yellowknife to become tourists. Our first stop was at the visitor’s center. This is a great place. There is lots of information on the history of Yellowknife and on the diamond mining and processing that takes place here. The chap who looked after us was originally from Truro, NS. We bought our fishing licenses. Mine was free, because I’m a senior. N had to pay $20.00 for an annual license because she is not! They gave us a free parking pass for the city which means you don’t have to feed the meters. We found out where the grocery stores were, where different shops were and felt as if we had been treated like royalty!
We drove downtown and did some looking around. We went to an internet café and checked our e-mail but will go to the library tomorrow to post what you are reading now.

We had a great lunch at the Wildcat Café in old town Yellowknife, P. had beer battered white fish and chips and N. had a buffalo burger, absolutely huge,  with chips. The chips were deep fried long wedge cut potatoes and were delicious. We enjoyed the meal as the rain and hail came down. This café was built the same year as P. was born. When we finally post the picture of the café, you will think P. is over 100 years old! We were told to stop in at the oldest northern supply store in Yellowknife called Weaver & Devore. They have everything from food to clothing and still ship out supplies to trappers and prospectors by bush plane. They are the dealer for Canadian Goose parkas. Their prices for top quality clothing was so much cheaper than what we would pay at any clothing store in the south. We both bought lovely warm fleece lined mocassin slippers. N’s even have beadwork on them.
We left Weaver & Devore’s and proceeded to Bluefish Charters located next to Air Tindi in the old town. We are booked to leave with one of his guides tomorrow at 5pm for a five hour fishing trip and shore fish dinner on Great Slave Lake. We’ll be fishing for pike and N is probably going to catch the biggest fish ever! That’s all for now. I hope I can post this tomorrow morning at the library and that the internet is fast enough that I can upload some photos. If not, you will have to settle for text only and pictures at a later date.

Quote for the day:
He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.
  - Sir Winston Churchill
 Cheers

P & N

Grimshaw to High Level

We woke up to an overcast morning. We got on the road about 8:30 am and started up to High Level. What amazes us about this Peace River district is the amount of agriculture going on here. Grain fields going over the horizon, cattle herds and lots of horses. This area is the flattest piece of real estate that we have ever seen. It makes the southern prairies seem like hilly country. There were only two downhill and uphill runs, both for rivers that have created their own valleys. As well, the roads go straight on without a curve for kilometers. On one 57 km stretch, we counted three slight bends, not even sharp enough for me to have to move the steering wheel. We just sort of leaned around it.
By mid morning the sun broke through and it turned into a lovely day. Temperature got up to 23C. When we arrived in High Level we went directly to the tourist bureau because they had FREE overnight parking for RVs. However, Friday is time for the local farmers market and they take over the parking lot until 6pm. Since we wanted to unhook and drive to Fort Vermillon, the first settled Hudson Bay community in Alberta, we drove out to a nice little RV park, Aspen Ridge Campground. It claims to be the most northerly full service campground in Alberta. Another piece of useful information is that High Level has the most northerly grain elevators in North America.
We did stop at the farmers market. Most of the producers were Mennonites. There was a great assortment of fresh and preserved products. We bought a bottle of pickled beets from one vendor, and found another vendor who was an organically certified farm operation. Bought some home made 9 grain bread, home ground whole wheat organic flour, and farm fresh organic brown eggs. The eggs were $3/doz and the flour was $5 for five pounds.

We drove the 80km east to Fort Vermillon, only to find that the oldest building in town was built in 1905. It seems that although settled in the late 1700’s, there was nothing left but a National Historic site monument. Very disappointing! Nice drive though. We got some great shots of the Peace River and saw a lot more flat prairie and grain fields.
In High Level, we fueled up at the local Shell (Flying J) for $0.859/L. Five days ago we were paying $1.329/L in northern BC. Also refilled our drinking water supply at Extra Foods owned by Loblaw. Had a quick look around the store and to our amazement find again that food is the same price as Nova Scotia or even cheaper. We pay a lot for our groceries back home compared to the rest of the country.
We got back to our campground around 5:30 pm just in time to have the owner drop by to let us know that there was a black bear in the campground. Don’t think we’ll go for a long walk tonight.
We were cautious today, being Friday the 13 and so far all has gone well. Unfortunately, for a couple from Victoria who were returning from Yellowknife, they managed to hit a black bear between Hay River and high level. After pulling off the broken plastic and prying fenders out they continued on their way only to hit a deer 30 minutes later. They are her in High Level with a totally redesigned front end on their car. The 13th was not a good day for them!
Tomorrow we will be in the NWT, if the bear and deer keep out of the way!

Quote of the day:
Anything too stupid to be said is sung.
  - Voltaire

Cheers

P & N

Grande Prairie to Grimshaw

Had a good short 2 day stay in Grande Prairie (pop. 50,000). What a growing rich community. Oil, lumber and agriculture are driving this place as a boom town. All the shopping of a really big city, parks, walking trails, museums, colleges, you name it and Grande Prairie has it.
Our neighbours in the campground, who were there with their Montana 5th wheel, same model as ours but two years older, invited us to join them around the campfire. After comparing the differences between the two 5th wheels and good conversation around the fire, Lynn & Harold cooked up some smores for everyone with a twist. They were made from a toasted marshmellow and a thin flat square of chocolate sandwiched between two Peek Freans chocolate digestives. Really good treat.  We restocked our grocery larder, found a replacement for a broken closet door latch and made an appointment to get the wheel bearings on the Montana re-packed and checked. We already have 14,000 km on the rig.
The RV park we were at provided us with an invitation to a bar-b-q supper at the local tourist bureau for tourists only on Wednesday evenings. Bison was on the menu so we decided to go. It was not very crowded but the spread was quite good. We had bison smokies on buns, potato salad, green salads and assorted desserts. Coffee, tea and lemonade were the beverages available. Both N and myself were a bit worried about the smokies, which were huge. (about 9-10 inches long and a good inch and one half in diameter). They were well smoked, quite spicy and very lean but must have been good quality. Neither of us any signs of indigestion at all!
We were up at 5am on Thursday morning to get ready to take the rig to the RV dealer for 8am. He was squeezing us in and wanted us there first thing in the morning. Rain showers got us a bit wet as we broke camp but nothing serious. Unlike southern Alberta which is underwater, northern Alberta is bone dry, so any rain they get is welcomed! Took them all morning to get the job done and we were underway by 1pm with a slightly lighter wallet. It was a good job done and well worth the cost.
We drove up route 2 to Grimshaw and then on to route 35 which will take us to the NWT. We are at a golf course/campground about 11 km north of Grimshaw.  It is not a bad spot but does not match the grand description in the campground directory. Another campground in the area that we were going to stay at is not in business anymore. We are settled in for the evening and will be making a short haul tomorrow to High level, about 275 km from here. Apparently there is a lot to see and do in the area so we might stay for a couple of days. We’ll see!!

Daily quote:
One man alone can be pretty dumb sometimes, but for real bona fide stupidity, there ain't nothin' can beat teamwork.
  - Edward Abbey
 Cheers

P & N

Down the ALCAN to Grande Prairie

We left Toad River on a misty, rainy morning. The clouds were low and obscuring some of the mountain tops. We had planned to drive as far as Pink Mountain on the Alaskan Highway but were advised by a local in Toad River that the camp site there was not much. We didn't worry too much as there were another couple of "resorts" in the area.  The drive was a hard one. Lots of hills ranging from 6 to 10 % grades, narrow road with no guard rails, gravel stretches and some wildlife. We saw caribou, bison, and a roadkill moose (fresh). Not a lot of traffic on the road but still a long drive which was soon to get longer.
When we arrived in the area of RV parks at Pink Mountain after some 300+ km of driving, we found that none of the "resorts' were places that we wanted to stay at. A quick look at the maps showed that the next possible one was a BC Provincial park located at Charlie Lake, just west of Fort St. John, and another 180+ km of driving.
Not much choice but to carry on. As we got closer to civilization, Fort St. John, the roads got wider, traffic got heavier and road construction delays got a lot longer. Nor only were we muddy from the gravel sections but now we were picking up a layer of fresh tar over the mud from the new paving sections being done. On top of that, the rain had stopped, the sun was coming out and everything was drying to a hard coating on the truck and trailer.

We arrived at Charles Lake late in the afternoon and got settled into a nice site. Beautiful park as seems to be the norm for northern BC parks.
Had a good dinner and walk after dinner and got to bed earlier. It's easier to get to sleep now because the days are shorter down here and it actually gets dark by 10pm.
On the road again the next day, (Tuesday) drove through Fort St. John and headed towards Dawson Creek and mile 0 of the Alaskan Highway. The were some really tough long climbs in this stretch. It didn't help things that usually at the bottom of each long hill, there was a bridge being repaired, or one that needed repair with a 50kph speed limit. Needless to say that with our weight the diesel truck was working really hard to try and accelerate up the hills from a dead start.
I was reminded of a story from an old diesel mechanic we met somewhere who said "these things got to be worked hard to work good". Our truck seems to be working awful good!
We passed through Dawson Creek and carried on another 140km to Grande Prairie. The road was really good until the last 20 km into Grand Prairie. The "wows" were frequent and big. Twice we had to look back and see if the trailer was still attached!
We arrived at Camp Tamarack RV park on a hot, sunny afternoon. After we checked in we stopped at the RV wash and spent over an hour trying to get the mud and tar off. Got most of the mud off but the tar will probably still be on when we get back to N.S. Later we took the truck there to wash it as well. From a distance, both units look good. Up close is another story!
Compared to the last few days we are living in the lap of luxury. Level site, clean washrooms & laundry room, cable tv, high speed internet and diesel fuel at 89.9 cents per L as opposed to $1.33 per L at Toad River.
Got our shopping done today (Wednesday). Tomorrow morning we stop at the Montana Dealer to get our wheel bearings checked and repacked, then North towards Yellowknife.
Will post again as soon as possible.
Quote for the day:


Saying what we think gives us a wider conversational range than saying what we know.
  - Cullen Hightower

Cheers

P & N

In Transit

Again, just a short post without photos. We are in transit from Whitehorse to Grand Prairie. We left Whitehorse on Saturday morning and had an easy drive to the Continental Divide Lodge and RV park, which is located about 100 km west of Watson Lake. But before we arrived at the campground, we stopped at the Yukon Motel and Restaurant in Teslin and were treated by our friends, with whom we were traveling for the day, to the nicest grilled cinnamon buns we have ever had and a great cup of tea. Our stop for the night, Continental RV park is completely powered by a large diesel generator as there are no power lines. We had full hookups, a spacious level site with small trees, shrubs and fireweed separating the sites, and great neighbors next door, our traveling companions. We chose this location as we didn't want to stay in Watson Lake due to heavy forest fire smoke. We spent out last night of traveling together with a nice dinner and a few drinks in our 5th wheel. This morning, we said our good byes and we headed towards Watson Lake while our friends were joining the 1 KM line up of traffic that would eventually be led by a "pilot truck"down the Cassiar Highway, #37, through the area of the forest fire that is burning near the Yukon border. We hit the smoke about 10 KM west of Watson Lake and ran out of it almost 100 KM east of the town. A fairly brisk wind was blowing so the smoke was not very thick, just hard on the eyes and nose. We are spending the night in Toad River Resort and RV park. For those of you following us on a map, Toad River is on BC highway 97, located between Muncho Lake provincial park and Fort Nelson. The weather is cool here with light rain. The scenery today was spectacular again and we got pictures of buffalo bedded down and grazing - magnificent beasts.
We plan to overnight tomorrow in a place called Pink Mountain, which is also on Rt 97 between Fort Nelson and Fort St. John. If all goes well we will be in Grande Prairie on Tuesday. Wednesday will be spent topping up the grocery larder and starting our way north to Yellowknife.
The next post will probably originate in Grande Prairie on Tuesday.

Quote for the day:

Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.
Dr. Seuss

Cheers

P & N

Forest Fires

This will be a short post today with no photos. Our friends arrived last night from Alaska. It was great to see each other for the first time in 3 years and catch up with our respective lives. We'll spend the day today in Whitehorse area and getting ready to move out tomorrow.
Our friends had planned to drive the Cassiar Highway south but the forest fire reports as of this morning have the highway closed again. Several new fires have broken out here in the Yukon. Three of them are near Teslin, Watson Lake and Upper Laird village. All of these fires are in the proximity of the Alaskan Highway, which is the only way out of here with the Cassiar closed. The Alaskan highway was closed for a short period of time last night due to smoke and fire. We will take a look at the reports from both the Yukon and BC governments tonight and make our decision to go or stay. If we go, it will probably be a long run as we would want to get past all of the areas that are on evacuation alert along the highway, which would mean trying to get as far as Toad River, south of Watson Lake.
The fire situations in BC and now the Yukon have burned tens of thousands of hectares of forest in both areas. Hot and dry but not much relief in sight. It is cooler today with a forecast of 60% showers over the next two days.
Once we get past Toad River all should be well and we will proceed to Yellowknife.
All is well here and we are looking forward to being on the road again after a 6 day rest stop here in Whitehorse.

Quote for the day:

I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it.
  - Mae West

Cheers

P & N

Whitehorse

Well, here it is Wednesday. We have been in Whitehorse since Sunday. Good trip down from Dawson City. Slow going at times due to gravel roads and roadwork. Permafrost heaves gave us a few roller coaster rides when I got the speed up a little faster that it should have been but everything held together. The weather has been just fantastic here the last four days, 27 to 30C but humidity only 18%. Makes it really livable. Monday morning we left for Carcross. about 50 km south of Whitehorse. This is were the gold rush people were finally able to get rafts, crude boats and anything else that would float into the Yukon lake and river system and start downstream to Dawson City. You would think that you were in the Caribbean, with the white sand beaches and the colour of the water. The water temperature reminds you that you are not. Always seem to meet a multitude of characters on a trip like this. One guy rode into town on a 20 year old BMW motorcycle complete with sidecar and his dog. He was out looking around and the dog was sitting and waiting for him to return.
Talked to the locals to find out where to go fishing and got some great directions for a good fishing place. It was in the direction we wanted to go, down the South Klondike highway towards Skagway. The drive down this highway is nothing short of breathless. The lakes, rivers, mountains, glaciers along with a greater number of guard rails made this a great drive. With good directions from the Visitor Centre in Carcross, we found the gravel ruts for our turn off to go down to Windy Arm, a branch of Lake Bennett and the location of our fishing spot. The only way to tell you were on the trail was to look where the rocks were the most compressed. Got down to the bottom of the road, right on the lake.

After an hour or so of no luck, we decided that the fish didn't like us and we left. Driving out was a bit interesting. A steep climb over large rocks. We were in 4 wheel drive low the whole way up. We drove out of the Yukon and into BC before hitting the  Canada customs at Fraser, where we turned around and headed back. Tuesday was a day of chores. N cleaned out the dust and dirt in the truck that had been gathering there since we left Lunenburg. In the afternoon we took the truck in for routine service. oil change etc. While that was being done we played the role of tourists and toured the galleries and upper end craft stores in town. After picking up the truck, we got a major grocery order, 250 litres of diesel and headed home. Today we decided to go fishing again. On our way through Whitehorse, N made a hair appointment for Thursday. Then we drove 50 - 60 km out to a couple of lakes that were classed as good fishing. It was hot, very windy and again the fish didn't like us. Someday soon that will change. On the way out to the lakes, and back, we had to drive over 8 km of road under construction. It was being watered down heavily and our truck was a solid mass of mud when we got back. Pressure washed the truck here at the RV park so it's clean again. This is a nice feature about RV parks in the north. Most have pressure washers to clean your truck and rig. This is about all for now. We have friends that we met three ago on our trip and have stayed in touch with since then. They are coming out of Alaska tomorrow and will be here with us for Friday. We plan on heading south towards Grand Prairie on Saturday. From there back north to Yellowknife.
Quote for the day:

Knowledge is power, if you know it about the right person.
  - Ethel Mumford

PS More pictures being posted in a new gallery called Whitehorse as well as more in the Yukon gallery. Some readers have not realized that if you click on the gallery picture, it will open up a thumbnail gallery, in some cases with over 100 additional photos. These galleries are posted on the left hand side of the blog.

Cheers

P & N