Friday, August 30 - Foggy morning here in Fort St. John. But supposed to go to nearly 20 today, which will be the warmest we've had since leaving Vancouver two weeks ago. We actually sat out in the sun in the late afternoon yesterday, and were very content.

Driving down from Fort Nelson is quite a contrast from the days before, as there wasn't much to do or see along the 400 km. route. Pleasant scenery, with a huge mesa in the west at one point, and a lot of valleys to be crossed. The most treacherous parts of the highway have been eliminated, at one point the new stretch eliminating some 200 plus curves in a relatively short distance. The traffic was light, so Gail had a go at driving the rig for 100 kms and did just fine. It was her anniversary present. Fifty-five years yesterday, she deserved it. What a generous guy I am.

My new theory of driving in the north is that it's not all ups and downs. Sometimes it's downs and ups. Gail thinks I'm silly, but when you're in the mountains, you often go up a rise or a pass and then down the other side. That's the up and down of driving. Coming from Fort Nelson, it was the opposite. There were many fairly deep valleys to be dealt with, so down we went to the bottom, and then back up the other side. The down and up of driving. A whole new concept.

As we neared Fort St. John, we saw a huge temporary town, set up as workers accommodations for people employed on highway projects and other construction activities. We talked to our camp host, who said there's a similar 'town' set up north of here where a dam is being built. That one has a Starbucks and other amenities aimed at making life a little easier for the workers. Fort St. John simply can't handle the large number of workers involved in these projects, so required the companies to develop their own facilities away from town.

These are huge projects that require a lot of workers, and there are problems finding enough of them to get the job done. A lot of foreign workers are in the area, doing service jobs to support the projects. In our r.v. park there were quite a few highway workers staying here until the project is done in two or three weeks. Not counting those 'villages', Fort St. John Metro area has about 60 thousand people. When I came here as a youngster in the late 40s, there were only a few hundred. Oil and Gas have had a tremendous impact on the area.

We had two sightings along the route yesterday. The first was a lovely mule deer at Pink Mountain, who was quite content to search for salt on the road, looking at us quite intently but without fear. The second guy was the bear, who was clearly injured, his left rear leg not much help to him as he limped along. A couple of times he stopped his browsing to look at us, almost as if to say "I'm hurting, folks. Can't you get me some help?" Not possible, I'm afraid, so we hope he is able to manage until his leg gets better.

We met a neat young lady in the r.v. park last evening. She works on the highway as a pavement tester. She goes through a series of tests with samples of the gunk they're laying down on the road to make sure it meets specifications. She's living in a trailer during this gig, which she's been working at since January. Her husband runs a business in Kamloops, but drives up on week-ends to see her. She's finished in three weeks, and then will be able to go home (and draw EI). Long days, but she's making good money, so the separation from hubby is worth it. We've run into quite a few people who are seasonal, work long days and long hours, and look forward to things shutting down in a few weeks, so they can have the winter to enjoy.

The day awaits. We'll wander about Fort St. John for awhile, then head to Dawson Creek, to take pictures at the mile zero signpost that marks the start of the Alaska Highway. Then over to the Peace River district to visit my old village, Brownvale, before moving on to Edmonton. Stay tuned. More later.

Wed. Aug 28 - Now in Fort Nelson, in north-eastern B.C. Being in the north has its problems so far as connectivity is concerned. Half the time there is not much, or you have to go to designated spots, only to find that this computer rejects the provider. So there are some frustrations. Last night we were in a park 80 kms from here, where they had wifi, but after composing a brilliant post the connection crashed, and it wouldn't publish. So we'll try again.

Yesterday was one of the finest drives done by these r.v.ers anywhere. Coming down from Watson Lake on the Alaska Highway rivals the drive from Jasper to Banff. The road may be a little rougher, it's lonelier and tougher, but it has spectacular views, and quite an abundance of wild-life. We saw three black bears yesterday (pretty close), two large herds of bison, as well as some strays, and 4 cariboo. So that wasn't a bad day for this old photographer. A few photos are posted at the end of this message.

It's been raining off and on most days, but fortunately no snow. Where we stayed last night had 30 centimeters last week, which shut them down for 4 days, and left a lot of tree damage. Not something you wish for in August. Today is brilliant sunshine, probably the brightest day we've had since leaving Vancouver 12 days ago. Temps have been mid-teens, lows around 6 or 7. So not bad, really.

We enjoyed Whitehorse. It's a nice small city, right on the Yukon River. Twenty thousand of the thirty thousand Yukoners live in the city, so there is a lot of territory out there without too many people. There is a lot more presence of the Indigenous people in the north, as they represent a significant proportion of the population, and their culture is much more front and center than in much of Canada. We hit the highlights of Whitehorse, including a visit to the Yukon Wildlife Preserve, where we did a lengthy hike in order to see the major species of the north in a very natural environment. We followed that with a visit to the nearby hot springs, where we had a great chat with a couple from Alaska. We also did a hot springs yesterday in a very lovely wooded setting, with water temps ranging from hot to very hot to very very hot. A nice break in the middle of the day.

We had a spirited chat with our campground host in Watson Lake when we checked in. He had a lot to  say about the ills of the town, but feels helpless to do much about it. Sound familiar? An interesting guy, who used to work on submarines as a hydraulics specialist. He worked all over the world, including on dives that uncovered the mysteries of the Titanic. He was actually down in a sub that did some of the exploratory work on the ship, and lamented that the wreck is in danger of deterioration because of the intervention of humans. Sound familiar?  And here he is running a campground in Watson Lake. A lot of the folks up here have stories to tell about how they ended up in the north.

We've had very little t.v., so aren't in touch with much of what's going on. Kinda nice. We've come to an even greater appreciation of the vastness of our country, of its fantastic geography, its people, its emptiness, and the options it offers to travellers. Now that we're heading back to more populated areas, we have a little sense of sadness, as we've appreciated the quiet, the lack of bustle, the towns that go at a much different pace, the lack of traffic. But on we'll go...maybe stay here in Fort Nelson, as there's a good r.v. park nearby, and two good hikes that might be good for our old bodies.

That's enough for now. Let's hope this publishes. Thanks to all who have forwarded birthday greetings to Lar, who is now feeling just a little older, but still spunky and rarin' to go. More later. Stay tuned.

Saturday Aug 24 - Long time no see. We have had no wifi for the past several days. And then I developed computer problems, which have finally cleared up. So with a limited 30 minutes of time allocated on this r.v. park's wifi system, I'd better not mess around.

Suffice it to say we arrived in Whitehorse yesterday. This is our turnaround point, as we will head back on Monday in order to get to Edmonton as scheduled. All has gone well, the rig behaving very great. So good on us for that. If you're tracking us at all, we completed highway 37 at the junction of the Alaska highway, and pointed west. Stops were at Fort Telkwa, just east of Smithers, then Bell 2, Boya Lake ( a very nice Provincial Park), Teslin, where we visited their excellent native cultural center, and finally here in Whitehorse.

Have to mention coincidences as I like to do. The gal managing the resort in Bell 2 was from Stirling, and had worked at one of the local wineries. A fellow worker heard us talking about Belleville, and told us he was going to a wedding there next week.  In Carcross we met a young guy who is from Trenton, and has been teaching in Whitehorse for 5 years. His mother was with him as a new grand-mother, who is a retired teacher from Trenton. The young man is moving back to Trenton in a couple of weeks to try getting a job, as he's got paternity leave, and can afford to take some time to try to find something. His job here is guaranteed for 2 years.

Just a sample of folks we've met who have a connection of sorts with our home area. Have to mention the experience we had this afternoon at the Yukon History Museum. As we were making the rounds, staff came to us to tell us there was a presentation about to start, being given by a 'musher'. We thought it would only be for a little while, so sat in. The musher is Rob Cooke, complete with his beautiful Siberian Husky. Two hours later we left quite enthralled by his depiction of the 1,000 mile Yukon Quest, which runs between Whitehorse and Fairbanks each year in February. He's done it 5 times, and had many stories to tell about the hardships, and the strength and amazing endurance of his teams. A totally fascinating presentation. We will follow him next Feb, as he's going to do it again.

That's all for now, folks, as I may soon run out of time, and this missive will be lost in space. So will try to do a little more tomorrow, after we do the hot springs and the wildlife preserve. So stay tuned. More later.

Rainy Monday evening, near Smithers - Aug 19 - 

Before I forget, I have a couple of interesting stories from people we met. While walking the trail in Quesnel, we stopped to chat with a very nice woman who was out walking her dog. She is not complaining about the fact that it's been a cool and rainy summer in this area. Two years ago, she and her husband had to evacuate their property, along with 150 head of cattle, because of the forest fires. Somehow they managed to find places for the animals, but had a month of intense anxiety before they were safe to return home. And last year, they were on the verge of yet another evacuation order, but were able to hang in until the fires were controlled. She said the smoke was so thick, you could hardly see your hand in front of your face. So no complaints about the weather from her.

Second person: as we were waiting to get the front brakes of the rig looked after this morning, we met a tall very good looking youngish guy who told us of his t.v. experiences. He and his father own a gold mine, but they 'ran out of land', which means their search for gold was over. A friend offered him a job on another mine site, which happened to be the focus of a reality show called 'Yukon Gold'. For 5 years he was miked in the morning before starting work, and recorded as he went through his duties. This show is one of those typical reality shows that gets into the lives of everyday people. He was often featured in the edited version of the show. But he got tired of the routine, always having to watch what he said and how he behaved. If you have Netflix, see if you can find the show. Look for a tall, dark, good-looking guy doing mechanical work, and it might be him.

We spent the morning getting the front brakes fixed. The shop and Mike, the man in charge, were very helpful, and it's a relief to know that brakes all round are now in good shape. Mike had just returned from a trip to Whitehorse, so had a few tips for us. No problem finding campsites, as they are numerous along the way, and always have room. Case in point: we drove into the Fort Telqua Riverfront RV Campground, are parked by a very fine river, and yours truly enjoyed the finest shower facility in all of our travels. The pace was a little slow today, as construction crews are doing a lot of resurfacing of the highway, which caused a number of delays. The road is in very good condition.

Downtown Prince George, where we wandered during the wait for the brake job, was very quiet. A number of stores close on Mondays. There were quite a few native street people hanging around, but the whole downtown area was pretty quiet...tidy and quiet. So we decided to head off once the job was done, and made pretty good time to get nearly to Smithers. Many miles still to go. But the scenery is very pleasing, as we moved from farm country into more hilly areas, then the beginnings of mountainous country. Most farms seem to focus on growing hay and raising beef cattle. And lots of the land is on indigenous holdings (I hate the word 'reserves') as we wended out way west. Still no wild game sightings. But we're hopeful, as there are many signs warning us to be vigilant. 

Rain tomorrow, so we'll try to put in lots of kilometers, as we're heading west, to the cutoff to Prince Rupert (not going there) before heading into sparsely populated lands that go north to Watson Lake. So who knows when we'll next post. Just thankful the little guy who got lost near Prince George was found. We promise not to get lost. 

Stay tuned. More later.

From the top: Mount Robson; The Canadian number 1 chugging along into the Rockies; Gail enjoying a Caesar in the Park Car; the Peace Museum in Winnipeg; Gail coming ashore after her epic boat ride from the Key to the Beach on Pender; enjoying a post boat ride drink with Dan and Di; Lauren and the twins at Shannon Falls; Cap'n Dan, loving being on the water; Gail overlooking the mighty Fraser River just below our campsite; and finally, enjoying refreshments under the flowers in Quesnel.

Sunday, Aug 18 - Three days in a row we have wifi. And this time it looks like a nice strong signal, out here in the 'wilds' south of Prince George. Funny, it feels like we're a long way north, but when you look at a map of western Canada, you realize we're only a little north of Edmonton, and quite a bit south of Fort St. John. So we have some distance to travel before we're further north than we've ever been.

Had a nice day in Quesnel, which is quite a fine small city. Twice they're been winners of BC's best floral city. They have huge baskets hanging everywhere downtown, and rows upon rows of pansy plants along the Main streets. Homes are also well-tended with lawns and flowers. They also have a great display of historical artifacts going back to goldrush days, not far from the confluence of the Quesnel and Fraser Rivers. We did a nice hour-long walk along a fine footpath that follows the river, then rewarded ourselves with treats at the Granville Coffee Shop. Largest and best cinnamon bun ever.

We were only 90 minutes from our next r.v. park, south of Prince George, but decided it would be nice to have some time for a few household chores, so rather than going into the city, checked in by 3 p.m.. Then the sun came out, and we had a nice hour reading in the warm rays before a thunder storm came along. Checked out the yellow pages for shops in town that may be willing to do a brake job for me tomorrow, so let's hope one of them comes through. Then we'll be all set to trek north.

I mentioned previously that we met some interesting people on the train trip west. Here's a partial account.
Jody - a fellow in his late 30s from Montreal who has packed up his life there and is moving to Vancouver. He's a sound/light tech designer, and has worked all over the world doing various events and setting up for major bands. Things in Montreal have slowed down, so when a friend called from Vancouver and offered him a job and penthouse to share, he grabbed it. Sold everything, packed up and he's off to new adventures.
Manoel- from Belgium, he's taken a year off from work to travel. He is in the hotel business with Accor, a large international chain, has worked as hotel manager, then 10 years in headquarters as Marketing Director, then got tired of that and went back to management. Most of his work has been in Africa, various countries, which is where he'll probably go when his year is up. He'll call the head office on May 1st, when his year is up, and find out where they plan to send him. Meantime, he's not thinking about work...just travelling.
Alessandria - from Mexico City, a transportation specialist who works at home. Every year, she takes two weeks off, leaves her 11 year old daughter with her mother, and takes off on her own. She was a lovely lady, and because she and Manoel were neighbors on the same car, they became quite good friends. Both were spending a few days in Vancouver, so we have to wonder if they hooked up to enjoy the sights.
Garry - from the Sarnia area, a retired teacher, who had unsolvable hassles with his cell phone. A problem, as he and his wife Marilyn run an Air bnb, and he needed to be able to contact future customers. We had a long discussion about the problems of his area, the land covered now only 1.7 percent by trees, thanks to huge corporate farms that are tearing the land apart to grow corn and soy...nothing else. They'll leach out the soil and then depart, he figures, leaving a wasteland. He's fighting them, but with little luck. Reminds me of our Picton Terminal problem.
Who else? A young couple from Bavaria, both working in civil service jobs. He worked with the refugee situation for a few years, but happily moved to real estate acquisition for the state. So many headaches with the refugee situation in Germany
Anthony Calvert- A lively guy from Northern England very much involved in politics. Ran for. Parliament last election, and narrowly lost. He'll probably run again. When we stopped in Jasper, he saw someone get on the train that he thought he knew. Turned out it was the Assistant Chancellor of the Exchequer for Britain. They managed to get together for a chat when we stopped in Kelowna. Quite a coincidence.
We also overheard someone talking about Pender Island, where we were headed. I mentioned that we  were headed there, so turns out he knew our brother-in-law Dan's family. Another coincidence, not unusual when travelling.
Also, a couple of lovely ladies from Australia, another very nice young German couple, a fellow from Kentucky who shares my fanship for the Packers.
A couple moving to Edmonton from Australia, where she worked for 5 years, met him, and he decided to come along when she decided to move home. He's a great tall fellow with a big black beard. Hope it works out for them.
Finally, a chap who sort of took over the activity director's lecture on trains the first day. He corrected her about a technical item, making it clear he was a train expert. Turns out he manufactures replica train sets, all kinds, and has two factories in China. He is featured in a film we saw about the history of Canadian trains.

Enough of that. Just proof that there was a wide range of folks on this 4 day journey, which made it an even more memorable trip. We recommend you add it to your bucket list, as we're quite sure you'd enjoy it.

I'll do a separate upload of some pictures. Don't want to screw this posting up. So I'll close for now. More later. Stay tuned.

Sat., Aug. 17 - Here we go again, hoping the wifi will last. We are now in Quesnel, north of Williams Lake and south of Prince George. We had a good run today, enjoying the views along the Fraser River on Route 99. Sheer mountain faces, deep valley, winding road, hairpin turns, but generally no problem. We then hit highway 97, just north of Cache Creek, which we have followed for the rest of the day. Tomorrow we'll be in Prince George fairly early, as it's only 120 kms from here. Hopefully we can get my brake job done on Monday, and then be ready for further travel north.

A couple of things about today. We stopped for gas in Williams Lake. Two nice young guys did all the work, one of those rare full-service stations. That was very nice. But the washroom was the key to this place. It's unisex, and inside, it's like a small den, complete with a large wood carving, magazine racks, a large potted plant, and opposite the sit-down, a good-sized t.v., showing the Hamilton-Ottawa football game. Best service station toilet ever..

Secondly, we stopped at one of the fairly numerous rest stops along highway 97, and encountered two young guys who were searching the grasses and general environs with considerable concentration. I thought maybe they were looking for mushrooms; but it turns out they were geocaching, frustrated because they couldn't find the 'cache'. The one guy looked everywhere, while his buddy chose to chat with us instead. He was a most rotund fellow with two missing front teeth, dressed in a sloppy black sort of a track suit. Turns out they had gone to Washington State to pick up an old camper truck from his grand-father, and were heading slowly back to Alaska, where they live. On the back of the camper was the word "SECURITY" in big bold letters, the brand of the camper that Grandpa had manufactured. Big guy said it had served them well, as they camped in one of the rest stops the night before, and nobody bothered them, presumably because they were Security people. Ironically, however, somebody crept up to the truck in the middle of the night and syphoned off half a tank of their gas. So much for the Security sign working. Next day they went to Canadian Tire and bought a lock for the gas cap.

Before we left Lillooet this morning, we paid a short visit to the Visitor Center, which had a fine display of large jade stone blocks out front. This area is one of the finest sources of jade anywhere, so it gets a lot of play, with fine displays of the rock all around the town. Inside the center, I asked why they had named their big new bridge over the Fraser the "Twenty Three Camels Bridge". Turns out one of the early gold rush entrepreneurs figured camels would be better than horses to pack gear and supplies to the gold fields, so thought he'd make a fortune contracting them out. Didn't work!!! Turns out the sharp-edged rock in the area cut the feet of the poor camels, as they have soft pads rather than strong hooves that horses have. So all of the camels were retired to pasture, some living a long and contented life, enjoyed by the locals for years to come, and remembered by naming the bridge in their honour.

Chinese and Japanese peoples also played a part in Lillooet's history, the Chinese settling in the area after the completion of the Trans-Canada railroad, the Japanese in smaller numbers, some settling here following their WWII internment. The first Japanese Canadian to be elected to public office was from Lillooet, a doctor who was invited to practice here after being released in 1945. Another important figure was Ma Barker, a very well known newspaperwoman known all over Canada for her editorials in the local paper (which she edited for decades), in which she frequently blasted the politicos, local, provincial and national. CBC did a series about her a number of years ago, called "Ma". She worked the paper well into her 80s.

That's enough for now. I still have some fellow passengers from the train to tell you about, but I'll save that for another time. In the meantime, we hope the rain doesn't continue tomorrow. And we hope the 15 cms of snow predicted for the north-eastern part of the province doesn't decide to move west. We miss all of our friends and family back home, but manage to raise a glass as we think of you. Stay tuned. More later.

Friday, August 16 - At last we have wifi. So this may not be too long, as one never knows when the wifi signal might disappear. We are camped in Lillooet on the shore of the mighty Fraser River, which is flowing along with great swiftness right below us. We're told we might see salmon jumping, if we're lucky.

This is day 10 of our trip, so there's a lot to tell, and not enough time to tell it. Perhaps when we have more secure connectivity we'll provide some details, but for now, suffice it to say we had a very fine 4 day trip on the VIA Rail Canadian, train number 1. Met a lot of interesting people, enjoyed great food, and got to see once again the wondrous breadth of our country. We were outnumbered considerably by folks from other countries, which added to the interest. Some of them we'll tell you about in another post.

We were met at the station in Vancouver by Gail's sister Diane and her husband Dan. We had time to see their daughter Allie, then went to Granville Island to see their other daughter Shannon and her partner Stephen. A bonus to see both girls in such a short time. Shannon looks great in her fifth month of pregnancy. Lots of changes in their lives come January. Then we were on the ferry to Pender Island, to catch up with our r.v., and to spend a few lovely days lazing around. We were also lucky enough to get to see nephew Kevin, who by coincidence, had to go to Pender for a work project. He's an engineer specializing in hydrology, so is working with local authorities to deal with a problem being created by a bunch of beavers.

Thursday, yesterday, that is, we got the r.v. serviced, including checking the front end alignment, which fortunately is in good shape. We'll have to get new brake pads at some point along the way, but other than that, we're pretty much good to go. So that's what we did. We took the 5:15 ferry from Pender, and were in Tuwaassen by 6:40. We had lined up a campground in West Vancouver, which we reached after more than an hour's drive. The r.v. park is right below the Lion's Gate bridge, so it was a handy location for the start of our trip north.

Start we did this morning. First stop was at Shannon Falls, where we met Lauren, Kevin's wife, and their two neat kids, who live in Squamish. We wandered about below the falls, watching the young ones run and jump with great energy. Then on to lunch with them at a local Mexican restaurant. Fond farewells, and then a fairly major grocery shopping to fill the larder.

Up to Whistler, which was absolutely packed with cars, bikes and people. We did a quick turnaround and got the hell out of there. On to Pemberton, where we couldn't find a campsite, so we managed to book one here in Lillooet, another two hours away. A fine drive it was, up, up, and up some more. Then down, down, and down some more. Beautiful mountains, steep sloped, sheer cliffs, rockslides amany, lovely lakes and a vigorous creek that we followed for miles. First time through this area, and well worth it. And we finally got away from the hordes of tourists thronging the area from Squamish to Pemberton.

I'll stop there for now. Dinner awaits. Some more details about some of the folks we met on the train may tempt you to consider doing the trip. We'll see! So stay tuned. More later.