The Well Made Plans of Mice and Men ... Part Two

I found an "old" friend in Barkerville.

Billy Barker's discovery of gold on Williams Creek in 1862 triggered a stampede of thousands of miners to the area over the next eight years.  Many travelled by way of the Cariboo Wagon Trail which was the route we drove up when we first started our Alaskan Adventure in May. 

Barkersville was a typical gold rush boomtown.  Now it is a unique heritage site, and well worth the visit.  There are over 125 heritage buildings and museums, and lots to do, including live stage shows, mining demonstrations, gold-panning, stagecoach rides, and historic tours of Chinatown.   

Main Street in Barkerville.

David, visiting one of the many buildings in Chinatown.

From Barkerville we drove over to Bowron Lake Provincial Park.  After days of driving we were looking forward to spending three quiet days kayaking on the lake.

We found a campsite and then walked around to get familiar with the park.  David was feeling strong and healthy so he celebrated by doing 50 jumping jacks!

Our campsite at the Bowdon Lake Provencial Park.

Bowdon Lake beckoned to us.

The next morning we walked up to the Ranger Station to register since we planned to be out on the water for three days. 

However, that was not to be... thwarted again. 

David had been taking a powerful anticoagulant (Plavix) since his "cardiac event" and apparently the jumping jacks had caused internal bleeding. With a history of bladder stones and kidney stones, we could not ignore the blood in his urine.  So we packed up and drove to the closest hospital, which was in Quenel. David spent the night in the ER hoping that the bleeding would stop.  Fourteen hours later we were on our way to see the closest urologist.  We spent two more days at the Regional Hospial in Prince George. We were well taken care of by the Canadian health care system.

We had been thinking about extending our trip to include Jasper National Park in Alberta, meet up with our friends at the Lazy Daze Rally in Idaho and end up at the 100th Anniversay of the Pendelton Round-up in Oregon.  However, our focus had switched and we were eager to get home.

Upon discharge we high-tailed it to the border.

When we first started out on our Alaskan Adventure we saw young shoots of fireweed along the roadsides and in camping areas.  As the summer went by, the fireweed came to full bloom.  Now the flowers were spent, and the tall stems were topped with fluff and seeds which were carried off by the autumn breezes.

It felt like it was our time say goodbye to the summer too. 

Fireweed, at the end of the season.

When we returned to Eugene we checked in with David's doctors and then settled in at the RV parking lot at RiverBend Hospital. He enrolled in the Cardiac Rehabilitation Program for six weeks and graduated with flying colors.  

The main section of RiverBend Hospital.

There's our rig, next door to the hospital.

Behind the RV parking spaces there is a lovely path leading through a stand of old growth trees, to the edge of the McKenzie River. We walked it nearly every day and soaked in the energy of Nature.

This turned out to be a healing time for both of us. 

A time for rest and reflection. 

A time for renewal before our next RV adventure.

The path ... inviting us to keep moving.



The Well Made Plans of Mice and Men... Part One

                                                                             

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!