Finally got out of Salem around 3pm on Monday (May 18) and drove the 300 plus miles to the Walmart parking lot in Bellingham, WA. Arriving around 9pm, then leaving around 5:30am on Tuesday.
Stopped briefly in Hope BC (British Columbia) to visit with Ed’s Cousin Anna and her husband Ed. Anna just had brain surgery and looked wonderful considering what she had been through. They were both optimistic that her surgeon did an excellent job and got all the cancer! Our prayers are with her now. We hadn’t seen Anna in over 30 years and had never met Ed. Seeing them was indeed a delight, in spite of the consequences.

Drove another 394 miles (now being called kilometers) north up Canadian highway 1 to another Walmart at Quesnel (Kwe-nel). We love Walmart. Can generally park overnight without charge and they’re open all night so we can stock up on supplies. Fueled up with diesel at $1.059 per liter ($3.29 gallon USD). Lowest price we’d experience in Canada.
Departed again about 5:30am (Wednesday May 20) on the 350 mile trek on Canada 1 to Prince George, then on to Canada 16 to Hazelton, BC. Enjoyed the awesomely breathtaking scenery all along the way.

Once Once settled in Hazelton (no Walmart here), took some time to drive along the Skeena River to the small Gitksan village of Kispiox to view a few area totem poles.

Hagwilget Bridge is a single-lane steel suspension bridge over the Bulkley River canyon near Hazelton, BC…on the way to see the totems. Quite remarkable. There are awesome rivers everywhere.

Leisurely depart time on Thursday (May 21) to drive the short distance to Meziadin Provincial Park along the Cassiar Highway. A beautiful setting right on the lake.

Later that morning, we left our trailer parked and drove the 40 miles down to Steward, BC and Hyder, AK. Fantastic is not a strong enough word for the breathtaking view along this road. Waterfalls everywhere. We even saw Bear Glacier across the river from the road!

Friday, May 22, continued up the Cassiar Highway (Canada 37) from Meziadin Provincial Park for 350 miles to the junction of the Alaskan Highway (Canada 1), then another 260 miles all the way to Whitehorse, Yukon! A tough drive, considering heaving pavement full of chuck holes, so made it a long day. But the beauty of the drive made it all worth while. Connie counted 7 black bear and a GRIZZLY. How fun is that? Talk about fun…we found the Yukon Brewery in Whitehorse! Many fine beers “worth freezing for.” We like Whitehorse so much, plus needing a little rest for from all the miles, we stayed 3 nights.