Diary2

The fun house in the Amerihost Inn in Grande Praririe. It cost us for these toys but they were sure fun, especially the slide.

Welcome sign in Dawson Creek and the start of the Alaskan Highway.

Welcome sign in Dawson Creek and the start of the Alaskan Highway. Had to stop at this second one to get a picture of the whole family as we start this leg of the trip.

We didn't get far before we had the flat time, good thing it was in town but it only put us back about 3 hours and not 3 days. Thank God I paid for the SafeMove Insurance.

Road and view from Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson.

Here is a stop along the way out in the middle of nowhere at The Bucking Horse River Lodge/Restaurant. Met the couple from Ontario and had lunch with them.

Forget about beware of the deer, this is beware of the Caribou. We did see some so it was good that we were warned.

Bullwinkle along side the road, can't really see him that good but the video came in real good.

Road and view from Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson.

Ramada in Fort Nelson. Very friendly people and a very nice place to stay.

Road and view from Fort Nelson to Watson Lake.

River and view from Fort Nelson to Watson Lake.

A view of Stone Mountain. This is where the road started to get twisty.

Caribou along the road. No horns even though females get them too but this is not the season.

Road and view from Fort Nelson to Watson Lake.

Muncho Lake. What a view, you can camp on this lake also and take tours, it was quite a site.

Muncho Lake. What a view, you can camp on this lake also and take tours, it was quite a site. This is the other side of it.

Stone Sheep right around Stone Mountain. They are licking the minerals off the road and don't move very often.

Stone Sheep right around Stone Mountain. They are licking the minerals off the road and don't move very often. Tried to get closer on this one without them getting mad.

Muncho Lake. What a view from the top and the mountain in the back, what a view.

Horses along the road. The owners let them go and hope they don't get hit, it is weird but something we saw twice along the way.

Two black bear eating the grasses around Stone Mountain. It was a good day for wildlife and this one right here we hit the jackpot. The video we got to zoom in a little more so that came out real nice.

To fix the road they put gravel down and re-tar the road. It makes for a pretty dusty trip but it only goes for about 5 miles.

Watson Lake Sign Forest. There is over 40,000 signs all on posts here. It is a pretty neat story and there are family signs here and a whole lot of road signs. Started from a guy putting a sign that showed how long it was to his home town.

Watson Lake Sign Forest. We now are a part of history. This is what we could do with what we had, we talked about making another when we came back through but we will see. The cost to make it and post it was $9.50

Watson Lake hotel we stayed at The Big Horn Hotel. Very nice and good for the money, large room but if I didn't have the dog I would have stayed at the Air Force Lodge.

Road from Watson Lake to Whitehorse, very wide and very fast with nice wide open views.

The bridge at Teslin Lake, very nice view and looks to be a great place to camp.

A view of the Testlin Lake and a camping spot if you would like to stay the night. Looks to be worth it.

Klondike Inn, this is the place we stayed in downtown Whitehorse in the Yukon, nice..

Abby is getting wore out from this trip but it is almost over.

A whole bunch of elk just outside of Whitehorse, they were playing and we got a lot of video but we have hit almost all the wildlife.

Road from Whitehorse to the Alaska boarder. Very nice here but it is going to start to get crappy.

Road from Whitehorse to the Alaska boarder. As you can see it is starting to get a little tighter.

Road from Whitehorse to the Alaska boarder. Here we follow a pilot car through the rough road and one way. It is muddy but it is construction season and they look to be making it wider for the future.

Road and view from Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson.

Thursday, June 3rd 2004

By 5am it was time to start another day. We packed, loaded, and went to the breakfast area for some breakfast at 7am we were on the road. We arrived to the boarder of B.C. and Alberta at 8:13am. Right after that we went into Dawson Creek. We stopped at the beginning of the Alaskan highway at mile 0 and took some pictures. When we went to leave we realized the u-haul had a flat tire. We called U-haul and they sent Goodyear Tire Services out who took the tire off. Problem was that the rim was ruined and needed to be replaced. Luckily the guy had a rim back at the service station and was able to replace it.

We got the opportunity to talk to several RV couples traveling the Alaska Highway while getting the tire fixed. We even talked to a couple from Florida, New Jersey and there was a couple from N.C. So many drivers asked if we needed help. Everyone stops for a picture at the start of the Alaska Hwy in Dawson Creek.

After nearly 2 ½ hours we were back on the road. Today is now going to be a long day thanks to our flat tire.

We went one town up to Fort St. John to get the tire retouqued per the serviceman’s directions. Later that day we crossed another time zone putting us in Pacific Time which is three hours behind back home.

We saw a moose on the side of the road today.

We stopped for a break at Alaska highway mile 175 at the Bucking Horse River Lodge/Restaurant. There were several RVs there and we talked to a group of (6) six RVs that were all together driving to Alaska from Washington. We went inside and ordered a grilled cheese sandwich with fries to split. There was a couple from Ontario that we were talking to inside that sat down with us. They were driving across Canada in a minivan too. They said they might go into Alaska but are not sure at this point.

After taking about 45 minutes to rest we hit the road again. At Alaska mile 177 we saw another moose. We were able to pull over and get pictures and video tape him eating on the side of the road.

We arrived in Fort Nelson, BC around 4pm Pacific Time. We checked into our hotel which was a Ramada Limited. It didn’t have many amenities such as guest laundry or a restaurant but the hotel was nice and the two guys that worked there were great.

We are finding that Canadians are very friendly. They even make you breakfast themselves unlike most hotels that offer continental breakfast which have the items delivered. They make homemade waffles, ham-egg-cheese sandwiches, homemade muffins, and fruit salad. Plus they had cereal.

We were very happy with our stay there.

For dinner we walked two blocks to the grocery store and picked up a rotossier chicken and grabbed two cucumbers and two potatoes that we popped in the in-room microwave. We also washed laundry at a place right beside the hotel. We crashed around 9pm Pacific and woke up at 5am.

Friday, June 4th 2004

After our morning routine we went and got some hot breakfast from the lobby and then headed out. I grabbed a post card before leaving and they did not even charge me for it. By 7am we were heading out from Fort Nelson.

So far this morning we have had all kinds of animals in the road. The road is very curvy and hilly. We saw a bunch of mountain sheep on the side of the road and Wink had to stop because of moose that were on the road.

We had read that animals are in the road along the Alaska Hwy but I guess we thought not everyone would have the experience of seeing this. We were mistaken. The animals are all over the place.

There are creeks that just run along the Hwy. Some mountains have snow on them and some don’t.

Our day of driving is due to be six hours and will put us in Watson Lake.

We just went over a bride that crosses over Racing River. This is where the creeks have been coming from.

I totally feel that everyone should make the drive to Alaska at some point in their life.

We passed Muncho Lake Prov. Park at mile 655 of the Alaska Hwy. There were two caribou on the side of the road. We then stopped at a small gas station at Muncho lake to go to the bathroom

We would recommend going a few more miles to stop for gas and food at Highland Glen Campsite/Hotel/Restaurant around mile 463 of the Alaska Hwy. There you will find the Northern Rocky Lodge as well as gas that is less than the first stop. This property is on the lake and would be perfect for a stay over whether you stay in the hotel/motel or a camper, RV, or tent.

There was another gas station right after that which was the same price as Highland Glen but I did not catch the name of it. Both look much newer than the first stop and are more economical.

Muncho Lake was huge and amazing looking.

There were mountain sheep in the middle of the road in the same areas as the campsites. Wink stopped the car and got out to take pictures and to video them.

There was a pull off area marked as mile 463 which had a perfect view of Muncho Lake.

At trip mile 4894 we saw horses on the side of the road. Aft first we thought they were wild but then saw one had a branded mark so they must just get to roam around freely. They must be trained well for them not to go into the road. It was funny though because they had pooped on the side of the road where the shoulder is rather than in the grass. After about a mile we saw what appears to be where they live and there was horse poop on the shoulder all the way to where they live so they must walk along the road frequently.

Three miles up at trip mile 4,897 we crossed over the Liard River and passed the Liard Hot springs RV/Lodge area which was at the Liard Hot springs Prov Park.

Then at trip mile 4,907 we saw two baby black bears and stopped so we could get pictures and videotape them

The Coal River was located at trip mile 4,932 and ther was the Coal River lodge with gas station

We hit an area being worked on where there was gravel on the road. There were workers and cars in front and back of us so when we saw a baby brown bear on the side of the road we could not get pictures or film it. This was at trip mile 4,939 located around Whirlpool rest area. As we drove the dust and rocks were flying. You could even taste the dust from in the van.

We could not believe all the animals that had been seen along and in the road.

We crossed into the Yukon twice now. Apparently this Hwy runs into the Yukon then takes you out before talking you back into it. So, at mile 5,109 of our trip we crossed back in the Yukon which will take us to the border of Alaska.

We still can not believe all of the animals from black and brown bears to mountain sheep, Caribou, moose to even a fox. This trip has been INCREDIBLE!!!

We checked into our hotel in Watson Lake around 2:30pm. We stayed at the Big Horn Hotel which was really nice. The only bad thing is there was not an air conditioner. I know up here they don’t use it but I love my AC. We will probably have to get a window unit because our new house does not get built with central air.

After checking in the hotel and bringing our stuff in we went to the Sign Post Forest which was started by a construction worker building the Alaska Hwy who was homesick. He made a sign that pointed to his hometown of Danville, IL. The group of signs have grown to over 40,000 as travelers add their signs daily. The town of Watson Lakes maintains and keeps the area organized.

We did not bring a sign because we did not know about it but they had a little craft cabin where we could make a sign for only $9.50 Canadian. This included the board and use of paint, paint brushs, nails and hammer.

We made our sign and hung it up. We took pictures of our sign and all the other signs.

If we drive back this way again we will get a sign made by a professional and hang it since ours is not very artistic.

Jaeger enjoyed it because he got to walk around the sign post forest with us. By the time we left he was tired. He ended up crashing as soon as we got back to the hotel.

After leaving the sing post forest we went to take off but ended up seeing a couple that we talked to in Dawson Creek when we got a flat tire. It is really nice that all the RV’ers and Campers are so friendly and willing to help you out. We talked to them and another group of RV’ers before heading to the local grocery store to pick some sandwich meat and bread for dinner.

We went to the hotel and had sandwiches, cucumbers and chips for dinner - easy and cheap.

We were all pretty worn out from being outside in the sun so we crashed early. We did not plan to leave the hotel until around 8am since the drive from Watson Lake to Whitehorse is only about four hours. We didn’t want to go from Fort Nelson to Whitehorse because it would have been around 11 hours plus stops. That is too long for Abby and Jaeger so we planned to stop in Watson Lake and just have a short drive day to Whitehorse.

Saturday, June 5th 2004

We got up and gave Abby a bath. We moved pretty slow since there was no real hurry. By the time we had everything packed it was 8:10am and away we drove.

The wind was blowing and it was a slightly cloudy but beautiful day. All the RV’ers are on the road. There are beautiful snow covered mountains so close you could touch them. It is amazing.

I know that I have said this before but everyone should drive the Alaska Hwy someday. If you don’t you are missing out of an amazing trip. We are so glad we drove it.

We crossed the continental divide at 9:33am at mile 5,119 of our trip. This was right before we crossed the Upper Rancheria River.

We stopped for a bathroom break and to feed Abby at the Yukon Motel and RV park which sits just at the end of the Nisutlen Bay Bridge. This is the town of Teslin. This property was amazing. It sat right on the water. This would be a perfect spot for campers, RV’ers or another since they have rooms available too.

We arrived at the hotel around 2pm but could not check in until 3pm since they were full the night before and were still cleaning rooms.

We went to Wal-mart which was nearby, about two blocks, to exchange our inverter since it stopped working. We grabbed something to eat from the McDonald’s located inside the Wal-mart.

At 3pm we went back and got checked into our room which was really nice. We stayed at the Westmark Klondike on 2nd Avenue in Whitehorse. I found out from the gift store staff that the Westmark hotel chain is owned by Holland America and is used for the purpose of their cruise guests while staying over at the posts. She said that the hotel we were at is only open June to the end of September and is closed the rest of the year. This is during the Alaska cruise schedule.

For dinner we walked to Pizza Hut and ordered food to take back to the room.

While at the hotel we ran into a group of three ladies from the prior day. We also saw a couple from NY that we had met at the Yukon Motel and RV park in Teslin earlier that day.

After watching TV for a while we called it a day and headed for bed.

Sunday, June 6th 2004

We woke up and got ready for yet another day. We were on the road by 6:16am and heading for the border.

We ended up stopping to feed Abby and go to the bathroom at 10:30am at a small RV park, hotel, gas station/car and RV auto shop. We talked to a couple on their way to Alaska that had a blown radiator and was forced to stay there over night while the radiator was being removed and replaced.

The roads were not real good up to the Alaska border because of permafrost. This is when the road becomes bumpy/hilly because of the road and ground underneath freezing. I started to get nauseated as we bounced all over the place.