Tripping with MikenJudy 2012: June 2012

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Whistler, British Columbia to Watson Lake, Yukon Territory

Since leaving Whistler we have camped at McLeese Lake, Prince George, Dawson Creek, Fort Nelson, Muncho Lake (all in British Columbia and Watson Lake in the Yukon Territories). Tiny little towns with large mosquito populations that are very hungry. It’s amazing how effective a softener sheet is in repelling the critters.

Traveling was pretty uneventful as we went from an extremely curvy and hilly road for a long distance (one of the inside cabinets opened and there were pens and pencils and paper and more all over the floor), to fairly flat and straight roads where the trees really thinned out! We saw cattle and horses and not much of anything else. The next day we saw signs for moose, but we never did see any, nor did we see deer. What we did see most of this morning and early afternoon were lakes and trees on both sides of the highway. We are still on highway 97, which most of the time is just a two lane highway, in very good condition. On both sides of the road are orange and purple flowers. We’ll have to check to find what they are.

Dawson Creek is Milepost 0 of the Alaska Highway which was the engineering marvel of World War II. 2012 marks the 70^th anniversary of its construction. It is 1,422 miles, ending at Delta Junction, Alaska. The bombing of Pearl Harbor spurred it’s construction. The US Military considered Alaska to be a vulnerable target to a Japanese invasion. It was completed in an amazing eight short months.

We dry camped (no hookups) at Muncho Lake known for its jade green color that is attributed to the presence of copper oxide leached from the bedrock below. Our campsite was adjacent to the water providing us with another $Million Dollar$ view. It was cool by the lake so we had to break out the comforter to throw on top of the blanket.

After leaving Muncho Lake we saw a sign warning about buffalo on the road for 90 km. After we traveled about 30 we finally saw a large herd of them walking on the grassy area next to the road. There were many adults in the dark coats of fur, and quite a few young ones with a much lighter colored coat. We watched them for quite a while as they were walking the same direction we were going. Bears were few and far between, but we did see them. They seem to travel alone. Sometimes they were quicker than we were, so some didn’t get photographed. Good-bye British Columbia and……………….hello Yukon! Here we also saw bear.

We arrived at Watson Lake, Yukon Territory, and visited the Sign Post Forest, where we put up a sign from Bakersfield. Before we left home, Mike went to the Bakersfield Public Works Department and they gave him an old sign that he could hang up. The ‘forest’ was started in 1942 by a homesick U.S. Army G.I., while working on the Alaska Highway. He erected a sign here pointing the way and stating the mileage to his hometown of Danville, Illinois. The forest is world famous, and there are many, many, many signs from all over the world.

BC Roadside Stop

The Long and Winding Road

Emerald Green Lake

Up in the Clouds

More Beautiful Scenery

Mile Post Zero - Dawson Creek, BC

Riding on the Edge

Big Horn Sheep Licking Highway for Salt

Mountain Scenery

Muncho Lake Campsite

Beautiful Muncho Lake

Relaxing By The Water

Another Rough Day

Get Along Little Buffalo

One Mean Looking Dude

Sign Post Forest (Bet You Knew That)

Sign Post Forest

Recognition For Bakersfield

Where is the Bakersfield Parking Mall ??

Friday, June 22, 2012

Whistler, BC, Canada

We drove 71 miles (or as the natives say – 116 clicks, also known as kilometers) along the beautiful “Sea to Sky Highway” to Whistler. The highway meanders with water on the left and snow covered peaks on both sides. Our campsite has a million dollar view as we are facing snow capped mountains. Whistler was the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics, but has year round activities where you can spend your money.

After enjoying lunch we followed the recommendation of the two gals in the campground office. Whistler is located in prime black bear country and they suggested a place where we would be sure to see bears……..and we did! Seeing five bears dining on tasty grass by the side of the road made our day! We headed to the second place they suggested, Alexander Falls, and we didn’t even have to hike to see them. They were full and beautiful!

Our next destination was the Olympic Village where we had been before, but again enjoyed walking around watching people and checking out some of the shops. For a while we watched mountain bikers going up on the chair lift and then riding down the mountain. There were lots and lots of young people enjoying this. Some wore protective gear, and others wore nothing for protection except helmets.

We had an enjoyable dinner in the village. Our table was inside and not by the pane less window since there was a steel band playing outside and it was very loud. We were far enough away that we could still enjoy listening to the music.

We strolled back to the parking lot slowly, even sitting a few minutes and enjoying the view of the mountains with the chair lifts in the distance. The sun was out at times, and the temperature was in the 60s…….ideal for us! Tomorrow is National Aboriginal Day. Mike visited with two Squamish Indian artists in the campground who told him about the events and showed him their wood carvings and silver jewelry they would be selling.

The next day we drove to see Brandywine Falls and returned for more bear watching. We lucked out again and watched two bears enjoying the grass together.

Sea to Sky Highway

Our $Million$ Dollar View

bears, Bears, and more BEARS

Whistler - the fun place

Waiting for our medals

Olympic Village

Mountain biking down the ski slopes

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Vancouver, BC, Canada

Hi everyone, after four days we arrived at Vancouver, Canada, a beautiful modern coastal seaport city of 600,000 people. The 2010 Winter Olympics were held here and at Whistler (our next stop). We followed the advice of our favorite foodie, Guy Fieri, and had dinner at the Peaceful Restaurant that he recommended on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. It was a small Chinese restaurant where their specialty is making their own noodles. The food was excellent – he has never let us down with his recommendations. We enjoyed an appetizer, a soup, and a chicken with veggies dish. All were good, the chicken dish being the best. When we walked into the restaurant, it was full, mainly with Asians. I think we were the only ones using forks.

We drove to and through Stanley Park, which spans 1,000 acres and is just north of downtown. The trees are so green and there are beaches and trails to walk.

This is our first long trip with the fifth-wheel and we learned something that we never experienced before. Mike had wrapped a rug in plastic, to be used outside the front door of the rig. He had it in the open bed of the truck and changed its placement when he noticed the plastic was fluttering out of the bed. At our next stop, he noticed it had flown the coop and we never noticed anything. Now we are without an outside rug.

The weather has been fantastic. As we traveled north, the temperature progressively got cooler and cooler. It is in the 60’s during the day and the 50’s at night. Yes, we use the heat in the evening to take the chill out of the 5^th wheel.