Saturday June 28, 2014 Dawson City, Yukon Territory, Canada

We slept in until 9.  I made the coffee and we hung out at the coach while we drank the coffee. 

Welcome to Dawson City

In the late morning we drove to downtown Dawson City.  We needed to make up for missing the walking tour yesterday.  First we drove down the main street, Front Street, along the river.  We turned around at the entrance to the ferry that continues YT-9 across the Yukon River.  We checked out Second Avenue, another street with a lot of businesses.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawson_City

Typical street

There were also businesses along most of the side streets.  There were several hotels, motels, B&Bs and cabins for rent.  The canoe/kayak races that we saw start in Whitehorse was finishing at a park along the river.  There also was a Farmer’s Market and Art Fair going on.  There was a lot of pedestrian and vehicle traffic.

There were several caches in and around the main historical district.  

Fixer uppers

Sod rood cabin

We stopped at one and were looking when we met a family from Australia who were also geocaching.  One of the young men found the cache under the boardwalk.

We drove around the town for awhile looking at both active and dilapidated buildings that were built during the gold rush and at the first part of the 20^th century.  It was interesting that many homes and businesses used artifacts from days gone by for yard decorations and planters.

We drove to Dawson Dome.  The Dome is a prominent hill that overlooks the valley formed by the confluence of the Yukon and Klondike Rivers.  

A view from Dawson Dome, http://dawsoncity.ca/attraction/midnight-dome/

I found a cache near the summit of the road circling the Dome.  We went back to town and found two caches at historic buildings.

We choose to have a late lunch at Sourdough Joe’s.  This restaurant is a continuation of one ran by an enterprising restaurateur during the gold rush.  In two years his income from the restaurant allowed him to return to New York a rich man and marry his sweetheart.

Gerri's salmon BLT

What a lunch!  Gerri had a Salmon BLT and I had a super burger.  We finished the huge meal, except for a few French Fries.

Police section of Hillside Cemetery

I dropped Gerri off at about 4:45 and went out to find a few more geocaches.  The first one was off the road to the Dome but much lower.  The cache was a short walk to the edge of a bluff overlooking part of the town.  The walk started at a cemetery founded in 1898 and still operating.  The area was well maintained.  It had several graves of historic importance.  I was especially attracted to a very well maintained section purporting to be the graves of members of the Mounties and other Constabulary.  According to the ages listed on the markers 41 was an old age to die.  https://plus.google.com/116858849678493194902/about?hl=en&review=1

The next cache was a short distance away but a 1/4 mile off the road.  The path was paved.  I got within 400’ and the batteries in my GPS went dead.  I debated returning to the Jeep for new ones.  I decided to go on and try my luck.  There was an observation platform at the end of the trail.  I poked around under it with my walking stick.  No luck.  I looked around for a place to hide a cache.  I remembered the hint on the cache and headed for a nearby spruce tree.  Within a few steps I saw the telltale UPS.  I signed the cache log and picked up a travel bug.

Planters made from old mining equipment

I would guess that years ago this was more important in the house

It turns out the road I took to get there was the long way.  I could have come right up from town.

I returned to the coach and hooked up the Jeep and filled the fresh water tank in preparation of a dry camp at Chicken.

Anticipating an early start in the morning we went to bed by 10:30.

Friday June 27, 2014 Dawson City, Yukon Territory, Canada

Last night I went to bed very early.  I didn't sleep well.  This morning we didn't get up until 9.  The group activity for this morning was a walking tour of Dawson City, we missed that.  I fixed coffee but went back to bed.  Gerri was doing wash but I slept quite a bid.  I didn't feel like I usually do when I have a cold.  Maybe it was just stress catching up with me from the repairs being timely with our plans and lack of sleep.  I hope so.

The last group activity for the day was a steak dinner.  Gerri went and brought me back a plate and then dessert before the Trip Log briefing.

Sun over the coach at 10 PM

Old tailings with a new house.

Tailings with trees growing

I was feeling pretty good by early evening.  I hope to see some of Dawson City tomorrow.  Some of the group are leaving tomorrow evening and spending the night on the road part way to Chicken.  We don't plan to do that.

At 10 PM Gerri took a few pictures around the RV Park to show the area and as close to a sunset as we will see tonight.

Thursday June 26, 2014 Dawson City, Yukon Territory, Canada

The Yukon River

We were up by six and having our coffee.  This RV Park has better WiFi than we experience in most parks.  I'm sure we will miss it.  I thought of our friend, Alan Howeth, this morning. Unlike us he is an early riser and greatly enjoys the sunrise.  On the other hand we enjoy the sunsets more.  In this part of the world neither of us would be fully satisfied.  Alan would have to get up before three and we would have to stay up until nearly midnight.  Even then the sun only makes a brief dip below the horizon.  It doesn't get fully dark this time of year.

Yukon purple wild flowers

After the shop finished with the coach last night, the technician left me three gallons of coolant to top off the radiator as the air was purged from the system.  Before leaving the RV Park for the shop to settle our bill, Brad helped me open the reservoir and we put in a little over a gallon of coolant.  At 9 we went to Inland Kenworth to settle up our bill.  We have an extended warranty plan through Good Sam, but with a $1000 deductible.  Since the repairs cost less than that I paid the entire bill.

We were soon on the road, YT-2 enroute Dawson City with Brad and Susan behind us..  Gerri was busy trying to master the intricacies of the Milepost magazine and didn't tell me of a turn onto a different highway.  Brad let me know of my mistake.  We drove about 4 miles without finding a suitable spot to turn around.  I finally spotted a turn off to a fire station.  There wasn't room to turn around without unhitching the Jeep.  So, it was unhitch, turn and re-hitch.  We were soon on the right highway again.

At the Bonanza Gold RV Park

Our street in the RV Park

We had been warned of rough road and the possibilities of frost heaves.  Well, it was mostly rough road all the way to Dawson City. About the time I would get to 50 mph I had to slow down or change lanes to avoid pot holes or poorly repaired pot holes.  Most of the bad parts were marked in someway but not with much distance to react.  I avoided the worst of the roughness by either slowing drastically or changing lanes when I saw spots ahead that had been repaired.  Fortunately traffic in the other direction was light, so I could use that lane many times.  There was some consolation to the rough road.  Much of the way there were purple flowers lining both sides of the highway for long stretches.  Gerri tried many times to get a picture that did the color of the flowers justice, without much success.  There also were many views of lakes and rivers.  Although it was thick and went further than the eye could see the forest wasn't impressive.  The majestic big trees had given way to stunted Black Spruce and Aspens that were not much beyond a bush.  Gerri read in the Milepost that the stunted vegetation was attributed to the type of soil with permafrost beneath it.  There was also a lot of marshy areas.  It is hard to imagine how hard it must have been to build this highway in the forties.  There are a few businesses still operating along the highway, but many business that are closed are just tumbling down remains of buildings and someone's dreams.

We pretty much brought up the rear with the rest of our group ahead of us.  Of course our tail gunners were always present just behind us or just ahead of us.   There were several stretches of construction and it had been raining before we reached Dawson City.  As we approached Dawson City we began seeing great piles of rock and dirt.  These piles were the tailings left by dredging.  Dredges were used in this area to unearth the gold ore as opposed to hard rock mining in Nevada so the mine tailings look entirely different.

We pulled into the RV Park at 6:30,  8.5 hours to drive 330 miles.  We also used 1/2 a tank of fuel. There were few times during the day that we were driving at a speed that got us into the overdrive gears where fuel economy is best.  I had planned to fuel up in Tok, but now will fuel up here in Dawson City.

I hooked up the utilities and unhooked the Jeep but didn't do much else else outside as it started raining pretty heavily.  Gerri doctored up some leftovers and made a salad for dinner.  I was very tired and went to bed with a Sudoku Puzzle at 8:30.  I finished one before calling it a night.  Gerri was still doing puzzles the last I remember.

Wednesday June 25, 2014 Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada

Pioneer RV Park

We were up early this morning.  It was still light when we went to bed last night and it was daylight this morning by 3 AM .  In between there was twilight, not darkness.  I made coffee and we took it with us to Inland Kenworth to drop off the coach for the water pump replacement.  We wanted to be back at the RV Park before 9:30 to join out group on a bus tour of the Whitehorse area.

Our first stop was in Miles Canyon for an overlook of the Yukon River.  It was o cold and windy that Gerri didn't get out of the bus.

Yukon River

Our next stop was the S.S. Knondike.  The Klondike was the last of the steamships in service between Whitehorse and Dawson City. We toured the ship and then saw a film about it and others on the Yukon River.

After the steamship we went to where the hydroelectric dam that provides power to the area is located.  They have the oldest wooden fish ladder in the country.  The ladder is more of a ramp, the fish don't have to jump, just swim upstream for 300

S.S. Klondike

S.S. Klondike dining room

Typical cargo aboard the S.S. Klondike

plus feet.  It was still too cold and windy to enjoy the outdoors.



















 The next stop was the visitor's center.  Gerri watched a movie and I watched the last of a bunch of canoes and kayaks leaving for Dawson City.  This was part of a big race on several Yukon rivers.

We returned to the RV Park and then made plans to meet Bob and Rebecca at the Klondike. Rib and Salmon BBQ...for a late lunch at 2 PM.  Gerri had a cup of halibut chowder and fish and chips.  I had the fish and chips.  The food was great.  This restaurant is in the oldest operating building in Whitehorse.

Klondike Rib and Salmon BBQ

Whitehorse is the territorial capitol of the Yukon and has a large RCMP headquarters.  The building is modern.  There is an interesting mural on part of the building.

Mural at Mounties Headquarters

We checked on the repairs status of the motorhome.  It wasn't ready at 4:30.  Gerri drove me to a couple of caches.  At a little after six the motorhome was ready.  We picked it up and returned to the RV Park.

At the RV Park I topped off both the Jeep and coach tanks.  The RV Park has good prices for the area and gives a 3 cent per liter discount to people staying at the park.

I also got the Jeep ready to travel.  We got caught up on e-mail and Facebook.  Gerri did have to go to the office and ask for another access code for more internet as we went over our limit.  They were nice to give us more 'free' time.  Right now Gerri can't get her email to send messages but she can receive them.  We were in bed by 10:30.

Tomorrow is a long drive, 332 miles, to Dawson City.  The report is there is bad road.

Tuesday June 24, 2014 Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada

Same scene, different day.

We woke up to a cloudy sky.  We got an early start and left the RV park in Teslin at 7:30.  We had our coffee on the way.  It rained most of the way to Whitehorse.  The only wildlife we saw were two rabbits chasing each other, they turned back before running in front of us.

I had called a Cummins service station in Whitehorse yesterday  They said they might get to me to check the coach if I dropped in.  We arrived at Inland Kenworth at about 10:30.  After paperwork we gave the service writer the keys with the understanding that they would try to get on it in the afternoon.

We went to the visitors center downtown and were able to get on the internet.  It wasn't very fast but we got everything done.  At noon we had lunch at Tim Horton's.  It is a Canadian chain of fast food restaurants.  Internet was faster there.


After eating we went back to the garage.  The service manager checked the water pump.  They had it in stock and will do the job tomorrow.  I also asked them to replace the crankcase filter.  I have gotten a check engine notice saying the crank case pressure was high.

We then went to the Pioneer RV Park and set up in space 71.  This is basically a dirt parking lot, now mud because of the rain.

We had a catered dinner provided by the RV Park as part of our package.  Roast beef with all the trimmings.  After dinner the group went downtown and saw a Vaudeville show titled The Frantic Follies.  A lot of the material was corny but it was great fun.  The cast were great singers and dancers and talented with several musical instruments, including saws.

We went to the show at 8 and it didn't end until 10:15.  It was still light for the drive to the park.  It was dusk when we called it a night at 11.

Monday June 23, 2014 Teslin, Yukon Territory, Canada

We were up by 6 AM and I made coffee.  With only 160 miles to drive, we didn’t hurry getting started.  I tried one more time to get internet at the office, but it was a no go. 

Brad and Susan came over and we filled the radiator over flow tank.  It took over two gallons to fill the tank.  Later Brian who had first noticed the problem came over.  We got wrenches and he was able to tighten one of the bolts that hold the water pump onto the engine.  Later when we stopped at several places I checked to see how much water dripped.  It was very little compared to yesterday.  Sometimes there were no spots.   I called Cummins customer care and explained the problem and they gave me the name of an authorized Cummins service station in Whitehorse.  We arrive there Tuesday and spend two nights.

We were on the road at 9:15 headed for Teslin, Yukon Territory along the way we experience rough road and several miles of construction with one area of one lane traffic.  There was a long stretch of gravel followed by a few miles of gravel that had been watered down.  Both the Jeep and the coach are a mess from the mud and dust.

After the construction the road was pretty good, most of the potholes had been filled. We haven’t experienced any frost heaves yet.  Along the way we saw four grizzly bears and a porcupine.  

The route took us back into British Columbia twice.  We arrived in Teslin at about 3 PM and we were parked in a pull through site looking out at the lake.  The planned activity for today was a potluck.  Gerri had started a chicken stew in the crock pot and again we travel with it cooking with the crock pot in the sink to avoid spills.

I tried the WiFi at the restaurant and couldn’t get online.  

The potluck dinner was great with lots of food and good company.  After dinner and briefing I passed the tri mascot on to another couple.  We had the dinner at some vacant sites by the lake.  It’s a good thing we were finished by 8.  The sites filled up after that.  

After dinner Brad and Susan came over and managed to get the bathroom blinds remounted.  They had fallen down due to the vibration on the rough roads.

I went to the restaurant and managed to get the blogs for the last two days posted with pictures.

Gerri went to bed at 9:45 and I stayed up until 11, it was still light outside so I closed all the blinds.

Sunday June 22, 2014 Watson Lake, Yukon Territory, Canada

We were up early and I fixed coffee.  We didn’t get in too big of hurry with only 160 miles to go.  Since we had no hook up, preparation for travel was easy, inside items put away, slides in and jacks up.

We wanted to see the hot springs before leaving. So we drove to the trailhead.  As it turns out that was the shortest part of the trip.  The hot springs is a large pool.  It is nothing like Radium Hot Spring.  The pool is natural but has changing rooms for bathers.  The spring comes out of the ground at 53 degrees Centigrade, but another cooler spring cools the water enough to get into.  The springs do not flow into a creek.  Instead they empty into a large swampy area.  There is a boardwalk above the mushy ground.  We saw two Canadian Geese with two chicks on the walk to and from the springs.

Before leaving I wanted to check the coolant level.  I couldn’t get the cap off the coolant tank.  It is like a radiator cap, you have to press down as you are turning.  Brad and Susan came by and Brad was finally able to get the cap off.  I then filled the tank.  Leaving the park was the reverse of arriving.  We had to leave the park before hooking up the Jeep.

Once on the road we immediately spotted some Bison.  They weren’t up yet all were lying down in a field.  Later we saw two more Bison one was galloping toward the road, so we had to stop.  He walked across the road and then started to run again as we pulled away.  He wasn’t close to us but he ran for about a hundred yards parallel with us.

Around ten we stopped at a rest stop and shared the remaining cinnamon bun after Gerri heated it up.

Of course I keep a close eye on the temperature gauge.  Even when climbing grades it never went over 201.  I also have been keeping an eye on the mirrors, one of the bay doors opens occasionally and we have to stop and close it.  When I shut the door it locks but somehow the flexing of the coach springs it open.

Even though I had over ½ tank I stopped at Contact Creek and fueled up at a station that gives discounts to Fantasy tours.  I stopped and found one cache after we crossed into the Yukon Territory.  This is a new province for my caching stats.  There were more caches along the way, but Ben and Nancy wanted everyone in the RV Park at 1:30.  The plan was to walk over to the Sign Post Forest and put up a sign commemorated our visit.  This place has row after row of signs from all over the world.  Supposedly it all started with a soldier working on the Alaskan Highway posting a sign with the mileage to his home town in Louisiana.  It is now a large park.  It is obvious that many people, including some in our group, come prepared with signs they have made or stolen from their hometowns. 

I found one cache in the forest and one in a part of the park outside the forest.

Back at the RV Park I met a man that had a travel bug on his truck and fifth wheel.  He was traveling with another couple that had one on their motorhome.  He wrote down the travel bug numbers from my Jeep and coach and we all posted that we had discovered the other’s travel bugs.

Dinner was provided by the tour staff.  We had what they called walking tacos..  They had cut open bags of corn chips and as you walked past first you got the taco meat and then choose your toppings.  They also had salad for taco salad if you preferred.

After dinner we tried without much luck to get on the internet.

At 10:30 we went to bed even though the sun had not set.

Saturday June 21, 2014 Liard River Hot Springs, British Columbia, Canada

With 190 miles to drive today we didn’t hurry up get started.  I made coffee and we got started on that.  Yesterday it rained quite a bit and it rained a little during the night.  But this morning it was only cloudy.  I cleaned up the mess of mud I made on the steps and the throw rugs just inside the coach and then started getting the outside of the coach ready to travel.  I had the sewer and grey water connected so I drained those tanks and put away the hose.  I also filled the fresh water tank; it was down to ½ tank and tomorrow is dry camping.  Although I don’t normally like to carry a full tank of fresh water, when I know we don’t have water at the next stop I like to fill the tank. No chance of running out of water that way.

We pulled out of the park at 10:00.  I think we were the last to leave.  The drive today was a repeat of yesterday, BC-97 all the way to the next RV Park.

Today was a different story on wildlife sightings for us.  We saw a small black bear, 

Stone Sheep

followed by two more black bears and then three black bears.  All those wildlife sightings were in the first 60 miles. 

We made a stop at Testa River RV Park and Services.  They have a restaurant renown for their cinnamon buns.  We bought two and split one before leaving the parking area.  The other we saved for later.

We saw stone sheep at mile 89.  There were several adults and several babies.  Just before arriving at the RV Park we saw a large number of bison on both sides of the road.

We had to stop across the road from the entrance to the camping area and unhook the Jeep.  During this stop I noticed that antifreeze was dripping from the engine.  It looked like it was coming from the water pump.  I had been keeping track of the engine temperature through the hills and it had never overheated.  I plan to make sure there is enough water in the tank and make it on to either Whitehorse or Dawson City and find a Cummins repair station and get it fixed.

Female Moose

Liard River Hot Springs is a Provincial Park and has no hook ups.  I found a cache at the trailhead to the hot springs and got the information for an Earth Cache at the ranger station. 

 We had breakfast for dinner.  Gerri used up the leftovers from Shepherd’s and added eggs.

Male Moose

Black Bear

Bison

Smores were planned at 5 before our briefing for tomorrow’s travel.  There was no fire pit so the park employees installed one during the briefing.  Then the fire was built and Smores were made.  I have never mentioned it but at the first briefing Nancy presented Teddy or Theodora.  Teddy is a stuffed bear that has been a tradition on Fantasy Caravans to Alaska.  A couple was chosen by Nancy to travel with the bear and care for it.  They are free to redress the bear or attach items,  and write in Teddy’s diary about their adventures.  That original couple then picks the next care taker and so  on through the whole group.  Tonight was our lucky night, we got the bear.  We will pick a new victim and pass the bear on in Teslin on Monday night.

After smores Bob and Rebecca came to our coach and we talked for awhile, mostly about grandchildren.

We were dry camping so we were in the power conserving mode.  I had turned off the outside refrigerator and the DirecTV equipment.  This far north we don’t get a TV signal anyway. We did do some Sudoku before bed time.  We were in bed by 10:30

Friday June 20, 2014 Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Canada

A new kind of selfie

With just under 300 miles to drive today, and the bad road warnings we got up early.  We started our coffee and preparation to leave.  We were on the road by 7:30.  The route was straight forward, north on AB-97A all the way to the RV Park in Fort Nelson.  The first part of the drive was through prairie and then a mix of prairie and forest, finally giving way to mostly pine forest with a few aspens mixed in.       

The briefing information about bad roads with frost heaves was based on last year’s information.  It was obvious a lot of work had been done and was being done.  We passed through two construction zones.  Here was a lot of heavy truck traffic.  We were passed in both directions by more four wheel drive Ford F-250s than you can imagine existed.  Automobiles were greatly outnumbered even by RVs.

Along Route 97A

In spite of signs warning of moose every ½ mile or so, we never saw one.  As a matter of fact we saw no wildlife during the drive.

We stopped and had breakfast at Shepherd’s Inn.  We missed the turn in, realizing our mistake as we saw members of our group waving from the parking lot.  We had to go about a mile and a half to turn around.  The restaurant was highly recommended.  It lived up to its name.  We both had biscuits, gravy two eggs and hash browns.  Gerri also had a rasher of bacon.  We both had leftovers.

Slide out casualty

The road continued to be in good repair.  I was able to comfortably maintain a speed of 55-60 mph.  In the town of Fort Nelson I fueled up even though we had over half a tank.  We arrived at the RV Park, the Triple G Hideaway, and were parked and set up by 3:45.  When I had to make a sudden stop at a construction zone the TV controls had fallen off the counter.  Gerri didn't see them when she put out the living room slide.  The TV control was crushed.  It probably won't matter for awhile, we are too far north for our dish to pickup a signal.

There was a briefing on tomorrow’s travel and the next campground at 5pm.  Besides road and parking information we got a list of all the wildlife we had missed but that others had seen.  The list consisted of moose, a black bear, a grizzly bear and a fox.

The RV Park had a restaurant that offered a buffet and a full menu.  We opted to have dinner in the coach.  Gerri fixed a large salad, oven baked some apple and chicken sausage.  Combined with asparagus left over from a few nights ago we had a great meal.

The Triple G Hideaway Office

Just before dinner a thunderstorm with hard rain passed through.  It lasted about an hour.  After it cleared up outside I walked to a cache about a third of a mile away.  It was very muddy out.  I walked by a small museum that has old vehicles outside, many of them had been used during the construction of the Alaska Highway.  The museum doesn’t open until 10 AM, so I don’t know if we will say until then or leave for Liard Hot Springs earlier.  It is 190 miles to the next campground and has no wifi.

The internet reception was slow and frustrating.  So we went to bed with our Sudoku books.  I did two puzzles before I was too tired to concentrate.  Gerri lasted a little longer.                                                    

Thursday June 19, 2014 Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada

At the Northern Lights RV Park, British Columbia

Breakfast was at 9 am prepared by our staff. We were up around 7 so I made coffee to start our day.  I tried to get on the internet with no luck  It bothers me to be so far behind posting the blogs.  I even went to the club house, it wasn't any better.

Breakfast was blueberry pancakes, ham, orange juice and coffee.  We had our briefing for tomorrow's travel after breakfast.  The only group activity after breakfast was a group photo at the Mile Zero marker.  The picture taking was near the visitor's center.  We went there and caught up on e-mail and managed to post some blogs with pictures.

The real Mile Zero marker.

Turns out I was missing some pictures, so we had to go back to the coach and load them on the computer. Internet reception was faster so I was able to get the rest of the blogs posted.  I also got my logs of found geocaches logged.

Later in the afternoon Gerri went back to the visitor's center for internet access.  I went to Walmart and then caching.

At Walmart I bought some braces for my elbows. I'm going to try to keep my elbows covered to stop the damage and bleeding when I bump them.  The braces are a material like a wet suit.  It's worth a try.  I also bought some highlighters for marking our log and maps.

I found one cache and then stopped at a tire store to see if they had tire valve extensions.  They had six inch ones and I bought them.

The marker where we had our group picture taken

An art galley in an old grain elevator.

I plan to replace the short ones as I need to check the tire pressure on the inside duals.   I went to another cache and when I was looking for access I met the Johnson's, they are are on the caravan with their grandson and also geocaches.  We did two more caches together before I went back to pick up Gerri.




While caching I found some Wild Roses growing.  We went through Alberta without seeing any.  Alberta is known as the Wild Rose Country.

Wild Roses

Back at the coach Gerri warmed up the beans from a few days ago and added, asparagus, celery, carrots and corn tortilla for a great supper.

It started to rain at about 9::30.  Rain had been threatening since late afternoon.

Some computer and TV time finished off the evening.  We were in bed by 10.  Tomorrow we go to Ft. Nelson for one night, the drive distance of 284 miles.  We have been warned of rough roads with frost heaves.  We plan to leave between 8 and 9.

Wednesday June 18, 2014 Dawson Creek, Alberta, Canada

We got up early this morning.  Today’s drive is 330 miles.  I think it is the longest drive scheduled on this trip.  We drank our coffee while getting the coach ready to travel.  Outside it didn’t take log, I had done most of the unhooking and putting away last night.

We left the RV Park at about 6:30.  We didn’t hook up the Jeep.  Our first stop was for fuel.  Hey sell fuel by the liter in Canada, the diesel was $1.29 Canadian.  That is $5.13 a gallon, less about 8% for converting to US.  After hooking up the Jeep we were on our by 730.  The reason for our early start was three fold; the distance, we had been told in the briefing to expect rough road, we wanted to allow for scenic and wildlife stops.  Our route to Dawson creek was on the Yellowhead Highway, AB-97 and Canada Highways 2 and 14.  I lost track when one highway changed to another.

A young male Elk

Caribou along te highway

Caribou along the highway

The first of the trip was mountainous and we stopped for a young bull Elk with velvet still on his antlers and later for three caribou grazing near the road. l  We also saw deer, but they were too far away for good pictures.  A small town named Grand Cache pretty much marked the end of the mountains.  I was doubly disappointed with the town.  One, the name was a reference to the fur trade not geocaching.  Two, I had no internet connection to check for nearby geocaches.  After we got out of the mountains onto the prairie we didn’t see any more wild life.  This area looks like any of the prairie states back in the states, only there is a feeling of a higher altitude.

At Grande Cache

We got to the park at 2:30.  From the briefing we had expected much rougher roads.  There were spots and I rarely went over 50 mph.  I did pick up a large rock chip in the windshield from a passing truck.  A glass company came to the park and filled it and several others that other coaches had gotten.  I also took time to clean the windshield and front of the coach.

At 6 dinner was catered by the park.  We returned to the coach and tried the internet without any luck.  I went out and found two nearby caches.  When I got back Gerri was in bed.  I saw the sun go down at 9:45.  I spent some time trying  to post blogs and go over e-mail.  It was very slow and I gave up and went to bed.