Day: 97
Mile: 9266
Our bucket list is checked, our freezer is full of fish, we miss our family, friends and our home, especially our washing machine and shower, so we are on our way south. Many of you have heard us say, “We planned our trip north down to the day, but have no plans for going south.” I wonder what that says about how we plan? Well, as you can see, it’s a long way back to Waynesville, North Carolina.
It took us a couple of days to decide how to get back. Initially, we thought we would take a different route south and skip the Alcan. The Cassiar Highway runs south but is a more western route through British Columbia. The plan was to enter the US in Vancouver and make a stop in Oregon, however, it would have added an additional 700 miles to our return trip. So, we made the decision to retrace our original route through British Columbia on the Alcan. We will then head east in Canada through Edmonton, Calgary, Medicine Hat and Moose Tooth, entering the US in North Dakota.
Below are some highlights from our trip south so far.
Denali to Tok via Fairbanks
We said goodbye to Bill and Susie in Denali. They were going to drive back to Anchorage and fly home. (Why didn’t I think of that?”)
We headed to Fairbanks and then turned south toward Tok. Driving from Fairbanks to Tok means we completed the Alcan Highway, just not in right order.
With no plans for where we are staying we are camping were we can i.e. along the road if necessary. We are surprised by how easy it is in Alaska and British Columbia, however, we will not be able to camp “just anywhere” in Alberta.
Tok, Alaska to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory
Our least favorite part of this entire trip, both ways, has been the drive between Tok and Whitehorse. It’s 374 miles of ruts, pot holes, “frosties”, construction delays, dust, gravel; I think you get the picture. We can only go about 35-50 miles per hour or it shakes us and the camper to pieces. We did see some amazing sites.
Whitehorse to Dawson Creek, BC
The road between Whitehorse and Dawson Creek improves, however, this is the mountain part of the drive. Lots of long climbs and curves.
You can drive for miles and miles and not see another car, building or power line, however we found that gas and food has been available when needed in little places like this one which appear out of seemingly nowhere.
The best part about driving the Alcan in reverse is we could stop at places we missed the first time through. Muncho Lake is one of those places. There is a lodge and this amazing blue lake.
In full disclosure, I took a lot of photos from the camper as we were driving. Most I crop so you don’t see the dashboard, but I left this one as is, to show how close the road we were driving came to the lake. We felt like we were driving on the beach. No guardrails here.
As we moved out of the mountains outside of Fort Nelson towards Dawson Creek, the road stretches out and we thought it was beautifully “landscaped”. The purple is what is left of the fireweed flowers. The fireweed is everywhere.
There are several herds of forest bison that hang out between Watson Lake and Fort Nelson. We heard stories that they sometimes lay down in the middle of the road and cause a traffic jam as cars need to wait until they decide to move on. We were on constant lookout for wildlife on the roads. The young caribou below kept wondering onto the road right on a curve. We tried to use our camper to move him back into the woods.
At some point we noticed the sky changed. We noticed the blue sky was more muted almost grey. Then we went around a corner and there was a curtain of smoke. We did not see any active fires but you can see from the weather apt image below, they are all around us.
One night we stayed just outside of Edmonton and the air quality was really poor. We are the blue dot on the map above. We woke up singing that song by the Animals; ” We gotta get out of this place, if it’s the last thing we ever do!!”
Today, August 14, we are 1,831 miles and 28 hours from Indianapolis, where we will stay a while to visit with family and friends.
Southeast ward ho…….but first, meet another animal we saw along the side of the road; Canada home of the beaver.
Comments
3 responses to “Heading South”
So happy you have enjoyed a great trip and are now headed home.
Seeing the photos was a pleasure. The one of the beaver made me want to break into song: the Canadian anthem, e.g., “home of the beaver..:
Love you. Safe travels and good visit in Indy. ❤️❤️
So looking forward to seeing you both in a week or so!! I have thoroughly enjoyed living vicariously the past couple of months. What a fabulous trip!
Can’t wait to see you soon!! 💟