From Haines, Ak to …
Leaving Haines, we take the ferry to Skagway, Ak.
At $111, it’s not terribly expensive (about the same as it would cost driving there) and it saves us two days of driving.
Please God, don’t let those brakes fail us here…
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The “cruise” takes about an hour and we’re surprised by how “luxurious” the boat is. Snack bar, dining room, movie theater, souvenir shop, kids corner… If your travelling takes you further, you can rent a cabin or even set up a tent on the rear deck and enjoy a relaxing nap in one of the lawn chairs and under the heaters (artificial sun…) at the solarium.
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Not bad.
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Of course, a little sun wouldn’t hurt…
On the car deck, No4′s fan club is getting bigger… Funny how the picture taker prefers it over the “brand new”, totally decked out FJ Cruiser. Cool.
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Skagway. It must be one of the worlds biggest tourist trap. YUK!
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We get fuel, buy beer (still cheaper than in B.C.) and get out of there. But not before meeting Juan Ramon. A Spaniard now living part time in Skagway and part time in Mexico’s Puerto Vallarta. He’s very impressed by our vehicle and by our trip and is very eloquent about it. Next thing we know, we have a friend who invites us to meet him in P.V., if it should happen to be on our way. The funniest thing about this is that we had driven across town completely without seeing any gas station or beer store but we decided to turn around and find what we needed. Had we decided to keep going, we would have never met Juan…
Cool shot of No4.
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Taking the road out of Skagway, you’d think you’re climbing to the moon. 60 kms of 3rd and 2nd gear up to the top.
But we can’t complaint. The firsts would be gold finders had to climb over White pass on foot to make their way to Dawson city back in 1898, so what’s wrong with waiting to get up there while No4 does all the work?
Atop the pass.
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Finally, the clouds are breaking up.
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And by the time we’re in Tagish YT, it’s nice and sunny! Aaaahhh, alone on “our own” campground.
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You got to love Yukon if only for it’s campgrounds. Always near a body of water, free all you can eat fire wood, and $12. Sold.
On the other hand, fuel can be expensive out here… Just before hitting Watson lake again, we veer off on “highway” 37 (the Cassiar highway; they use the term highway very loosely here, it seems). Looking at the map, it doesn’t look like we’re going to run into a whole lot of fuel stations on the way down until we hit hwy 16 in BC so we play it safe and fill her up at the corner station.
$1,55.9/LT or $5.89/Gal.
That’s $0.37/gal more than we paid in…. Prudhoe Bay !!!
So back to the Cassiar. 700 kms cut (probably with a machete) through British Columbia wilderness to lay a trail that links western Yukon and BC. The first part reminds me of the Dalton, only it’s paved, sort of.
We were expecting to see a lot of wildlife and beautiful scenery here but only got some of this…
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…And a lot of that:
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And a great sunset at the end of the day.
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So, did the girls enjoy the drive, you ask?
Are you kidding? They loved it !
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Serious stuff.
When we began planning this trip, we thought we should try and do it differently.
Let me explain.
Most overlanders who undertake trips like ours often use the same route, go to the same places, get to see the same things and finally come up with the same photos and stories on their blog.
We thought it’d be nice to show a different view, a different side of the same places or countries.
And so, now that we’re here, we debate a lot about going thru Jasper and Banff National parks in Alberta. After all, it’s only a 700 kms detour!
But, it would mean going to the same place all tourists go, probably taking the same pictures all tourists take (name a traveller who has been there but didn’t post a photo of lake Louise on his blog?) Also, being from Canada, we could always go back. But most of all, France is getting a little tired; I take that back; she is getting very tired of trees and mountains. Getting tired of near freezing temperatures. And looking forward to experiencing different cultures, different life styles, different stuff…
M: “But Honey, it doesn’t make sense! The most scenic part of Canada and possibly the world is only 700 kms away from here! It’s so nice, some people even go twice, in the same trip!”
Guess what. We’re not going.
Think we fought about it? Yes sir, we did ! Pretty serious stuff, I tell you, but…
We’re not going. Period.
And you know what? When I think of the original goal we had set for this Adventure, it makes sense. And we’ll try to keep that focus for the rest of the ride.
So, a decision is made to pit stop by France’s sister Denyse, who lives in Chilliwack, BC. and then head south. More south.
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Back on track.
We end up being delightfully surprised by B.C. as it’s very diversified in climate as in scenery.
Like everybody else, we pictured British Columbia as snow covered mountains surrounded by evergreens. Oh, we knew about the Okanagan valley/desert but had no clue of how wide spread that desert like climate really was.
Tonight, we sleep right at tree line. Above us, pine trees, below us, sagebush and cacti. At the bottom of the valley flows the Fraser river.
We find this perfect spot.
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Great place to enjoy grilled pork chops. (Excuse the squished beer can in the background…)
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A little wine with your chops? Well, why not? Now, that’s life !
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We’ll spend just one full day at Denyse and Steve’s and then we’re on the road again.
A warm Thanks to our hosts for their hospitality. It was great to see you guys again! À la prochaine!
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In the next episode: “C’mon Honey, I’m taking you to the States (again?) !”
Stay tuned…
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