We left Skagway after I did some shopping and Tom did the laundry. I got myself a Chilkoot Tee shirt and a photographic print of the Golden Stairs during the winter of 1898 and a bear paw bead for my Pandora bracelet as well as a little something for my kids. I also went to see Tracy, a friend of Peter's who is doing an internship at the Westmark hotel in Skagway.
The drive out of Skagway was beautiful. It would have been a whole lot more gorgeous had it not been raining AGAIN!! But this is coastal Alaska so I do understand. The drive up through the coastal mountains was beautiful there were uphill grades of up to 11% (one reason we drove to Haines and took the ferry from there to Skagway.) We camped Tuesday night at a place on the Alaska Highway right near the continental divide. They promised wi-fi... HA!
Wednesday we turned down the Cassier Highway, it was like a roller coaster at first, just chock full of frost heaves, but then it settled down. There were sections that were very beautiful where we were still driving through avalanche zones in August. The mountains rose straight up from near sea level to almost 4000 ft in some places. The place where we stayed (also promised internet at $1/megabyte - HA!) It was pretty but we camped in the middle of a lake. I mean that our trailer was in the middle of the lake. But they had really nice showers so I guess that made up for the muddy mess. This place was a center for heli-skiing in the winter, they must just get an amazing amunt of snow with all of the coastal moisture.
Thursday morning we turned off the Cassier Highway and headed toward Steward, BC and Hyder, Ak. This was to be out last stop in Alaska. Steward seemed like an ok town, but Hyder??? Sorry to any Hyderians, but this was the biggest pit I have ever been to. There is not one inch of paved road in the town, not even a gravel road, not even a dirt road...just all mud. Once we crossed the US-Canadian border it was like going back in time 100 years, and not in a nostalgic kind of way. But in the Tongass National Forest, there was supposed to be an awesome bear viewing place along the stream where the salmon were running. I was exhausted, really, exhausted at this point and decided to have a hissy fit, a Kate kind of hissy fit... and only those that know me well have ever experienced one of them... Enough said! There were no bears, I was tired and didn't want to wait 6 hours to see bears. I've seen anough bears for one summer. After waiting 2 hours, (me sleeping in the camper) we finally left and said goodbye to Alaska. We drove as far as Smithers, BC.
Smithers actually felt like we were back in civilization. There were real stores in town with names that I recognized and it wasn't raining for a change (at least for a short while). There was only one place to camp in town and that was at a municipal campground. It looked pretty nice and they promised free wi-fi (RIGHT!!) I decided that when I have cell coverage, I am in or near real civilization. Of course, it still rained...
Friday morning we left the campground and picked up a few groceries in Smithers at a Safeway and headed East. It feels really good to be heading home. We figured that groceries will be pricey in Jasper and Banff but we haven't had any fruit available for so long. Tomatoes in Alaska were $3.00 each and even more expensive in the Yukon. I got tomatoes, peaches, blueberries, apples and bananas :-) Today we drove as far as McBride, BC (about 2 hours from Jasper) we're right at the base of the mountains on the Frasier River. We are finally at an awesome campsite with wi-fi (YES!!!) that actually works :-). I was finally able to get my tent dried out from the Chilkoot trail after packing it up wet on Monday since we've had rain everyday since at least in the evening while we're in camp.
I'm looking forward to seeing Jasper and Banff and getting a little hiking in, but I'm excited about getting home and seeing my kids and dogs and friends. I'm even looking forward to a little heat and humidity. Today was the hottest day I can remember since we 1st got to Wrangle-St Elias NP and the high today was 66. We've had to have the heat on every night it's been so cold, in the hi 30's or low 40's.
Views from the highway coming out of Skagway
Fireweed - my favorite wildflower
Just east of the Alaskan-Canadian border in British Columbia
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