Saying goodbye to the Alaskan flag.
We arrived in Tok in anticipation of picking up our mail. Our dear friend, Margo, has forwarded our mail to us all along our travels and we have never had any problems. It had been well over a month since our last mail pickup so we were eager to get our news. We were also anticipating a pile of bills and insurance reports from David's hospitalizations in Wasilla and Anchorage. Well, our mail was not there. We considered having it forwarded to a location in British Columbia but the postal clerk warned us that that could take weeks, and suggested we keep the packet within the boundaries of the United States of America. So we arranged to have it forwarded to Sumas, WA, and figured we'd pick it up when we crossed the border on our way home.
We were also anticipating a side trip up to the colorful towns of Chicken and Eagle and then driving The Top of the World Highway into Dawson City in the Yukon Territory. However, the endless rains had caused hugh landslides which washed away part of the road out of Chicken. Nobody could predict when the road would be repaired and rumors had it that it would remain closed for the rest of the season.
We put the disappointments behind us as we headed for British Columbia. We had wonderful memories of the Cassiar Highway and were ready to kayak again at Boya Lake. You can imagine our shock when we learned that the Cassiar Highway had been closed off because of forest fires!
Luckily the road opened again day we arrived at the junction with Highway 37. The smell of smoke was in the air as we drove down the Cassiar. We passed smoldering trees and some small areas that were still in flames. We were happy to land safely at our old site on Boya Lake, and that evening we were blessed by a beautiful rainbow.
Our lucky rainbow over Boya Lake.
Having had our earlier plans thwarted, we decided to drive to Stewart/Hyder. These two little communities are right on the border of British Columbia and Alaska, at the head of Portland Canal. The attractions here include the Bear Glacier that can be seen from the highway, and the famous Fish Creek bear viewing area.
Main Street of Stewart, British Columbia.
We stayed at Bear River RV Park, just outside of Stewart, and drove up to Fish Creek the next day. After all the stories of the fantastic bear viewing, we were a bit disappointed when we learned that only one or two bears were still being seen, and they were usually only seen in the early morning or at dusk! We hung around all day and then when it was too dark to take a photograph, a grizzly finally came down the middle of the creek swatting at the water and eating fish as he went.
The show did not last too long, but was thrilling because it was "real".
David at the boardwalk viewing area at Fish Creek.
We were able to watch the salmon spawning in the shallow water.
Driving back along the spur road we got a wonderful view of Bear Glacier. After all the glaciers we had seen, I still got excited about being so close to one.
Me and Bear Glacier (along Highway 37A)
Next stop... Bowdon Lakes. We planned to take some extra time to visit Barkersville, and then kayak a portion of the famous Bowdon Lake Canoe Trail.
Little did we know that these plans too, would be thwarted!
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