June 23 - we stayed at Baby Nugget. So far, this is a pretty nice campground. Not too busy yet, we did chat with the owners and this little gem can be your for $1.9 million, but they had a COVID horror story, as many of these sites did that are so dependent on the U.S. travellers. No business for 2 years. I’m going to do a slight political side note (I try not to do this), I hope that if we ever face this again that we have learned something. Anyway, enough dabbling in a controversial subject (probably will touch on this again when we get to the missing indigenous girls on the Yellowhead). Shorty made corn on the cob and salmon burgers. We tried as hard as we could to sit outside, huddled under the awning, trying to avoid the rain (rain is probably an exaggeration, it was more of a heavy drizzle) Ryan made dirty mothers and then we called it a night.
June 24 - headed south with the greatest expectations of seeing so many bears. I’ll tell you what we saw so much of…..bear shit! Honestly, every 100 feet there was a steaming pile of bear poop, but no bear! And so much poop. We did see lots of squirrels. Unfortunately, most were suicidal squirrels, dead on the highway. We did stop at Jade City where I learned 2 things: 1. Jade is beautiful. 2. Jade is expensive! We did do some “light” shopping. I bought the most beautiful, soft mossicans that I think I will probably be buried in. Again, to begin with the highway was rough, with no shoulders. I would like to take this opportunity to share, as a co-pilot, I am pretty sound. I’m not usually scared but no shoulders are my Achilles Heal. Fuck it scares me when there is no room for error. I try not to gasp or reach for something because it stresses Ryan out, but Jesus fuck do sometimes. Also, the Milepost book has been our bible on this journey, but now we are reading the book backwards, sounds easy but it isn’t. I am the navigator and if I don’t say so myself, I am nailing it (do not ask any of my travel companions as they will give you specific details of the times I have messed up) but we were headed to Iskut and it was going to be a 5.5 hour day, so imagine my surprise when we were suddenly in Iskut in 4 hours! We stayed at Red Goat Campground and it was right on the lake, beautiful but in desperate of a chain saw. We are so seasoned that wiggling a motorhome is now second nature. Also…this campground is for sale too….
June 25 - going to Stewart. This is our only off-shoot from our loop (again, not counting the Haines Junction debacle) and we debated about this leg a fair bit (this was Jen and I, a martini and a bottle of wine in, with the map unfolded on my deck, with a phone in our hand, determining camping spots in late April) but this leg was so worth it. SO WORTH IT! We are not home yet, but, I think I’m calling this as the highlight of our trip. We have seen breathtaking views, amazing snow capped mountains, rushing waterfalls, massive rivers, serene lakes, but nothing as magnificent as this short 60 km drive. But still only bear shit on the road, these bears are elusive. We arrived at our campground and, it was our best campground to date. We went on to register for our 2 night stay, when we were informed by the register lady that we booked for 3 nights. Well this clarified alot for Jen and I (again, refer to our planning method which includes cocktails on the deck) our remaining days all fell into place with this discovery. We knew we were missing a day but we were not too concerned (we were completely concerned because we are both super type A) but we were pleasantly surprised that we were staying longer in Stewart. First night in Stewart - Jen and I stayed up to ensure that nighttime now included darkness (it does). Fuzz gave us 3 wishes before he went to bed. Wish 1 - can he get us the speaker? Granted. Wish 2 - can he get us phone? Granted. Third wish was differed until it was most advantageous to us. So we sat, had our drinks and sang along in perfect pitch (as we do) and contemplated our third wish - I don’t think it takes a brain surgeon to call our third wish - snacks and another drink. Unfortunately, we had waited too long for our third wish so I gave the signal - Caw, caw, caw, in melodious tone - no answer. Luckily he had supplied me a phone so I called him - no answer, so I left a message, * whispering, “Fuzz, it’s Riggs. Can you bring my mom and my Auntie Jen a beer and some snacks?” He loves Riggs so I thought this would ensure my request would be fulfilled. Nope. One more call - slightly threatening, “Darren Williams, you little fucker, I know where you sleep and I will stab you! We have decided on our third wish and we would like snacks and more beer”. Waiting, waiting, waiting. One more “caw, caw, caw” and FINALLY, “What do you ya-hoos want?” So, it was interrupted as, “Yes ladies, what can I do for you?” We shared our third wish and he happily (not happily at all, was a little grumpy to be honest) granted our final wish with a finality that I did not appreciate. I told him he shouldn’t grant three wishes if he didn’t want to follow through, he then reminded me that WE told him he was granting us 3 wishes. Semantics. At this point I cannot remember if he did bring us more drinks or not but if I was a betting woman, I would say he didn’t!
June 26 - surprisingly, a slower morning. Took the dogs for a walk and then walked into town with Darren and Jen. While we were walking, minding our own business, 2 dogs ran out of a yard at us. Now this is the true test of a friendship. We both grabbed each others arms while we tried to push the other behind us. Not a proud moment🙄. Went in and walked the boardwalk and then Howie and Terry picked us up and we headed the 3 kms into Alaska to Hyder. Even Howie attempted the border (if you know, you know). Well who know 3 kilometres equated to 50 years?! It was like the light post at Narnia!! Hyder is lost in time - a little nostalgic and neglected. We had the most amazing seafood at The Bus and then went for a beer at The Glacier Inn. Alas, we did not get “Hyder-ized”, mostly because Jen and I were hungover and no one else was interested. Darren did have a deja vu moment when he realized that he had, in fact, been there 25 years ago and had signed a dollar bill and had it stapled to the wall (sorry, if you haven’t been in the bar, there are literally thousands of dollar, $5 dollar, $10 dollar bills stapled to the walls with names on them all). A bit of searching and we found it! Successfully made it back to Canada (after an incredulous border crossing guard acknowledged everyone in the truck!). That night a camper van pulled in across from us, and Jen and I, in true Murder She Wrote form, were trying to understand the disfunction that was on full display. We, unabashedly, watched them for 2 hours, it was extremely entertaining. Gives me faith that there is far more disfunction than us! After the reality show across from us went to bed, we too called it a night.
June 27 - Okay, get it together guys, we have a plan today. We booked a tour to the Salmon Glacier. A three hour tour, not unlike Gilligan’s Island Tour, this was a tour that Shorty quickly regretted. Shorty, being short, is opposed to any heights. Well this experience is up a mining road that is, at times, one lane with sheer drop offs. Shorty hated everyone but especially Gord, our driver. Bless him, he was a story teller and he likes to talk with his hands. And to turn and make eye contact with the passengers. All while driving. Twice I grabbed Ryan’s leg. His stories also included gems like this: “This is where there was a landslide and a bus was washed off the road” or “This is where a worker fell asleep when he drove over the bank and the Canadian and American government argued over who was responsible for the autopsy” so ya, not a super relaxing drive, but holy cow the end justified the means! It was so beautiful. Gord also shared that it take 100 feet of compressed snow to make 1 foot of glacier and, in places, this glacier was 800 feet thick. Impressive. If you are ever in Stewart I highly recommend this tour, it’s called Whitecaps to Icecaps. Made the treacherous trip down the mountain and got Shorty’s feet back on sea level. I would like to say she was happy but she was the opposite of happy. I did make her a Caesar and then Howie guaranteed her wine glass was never emptied. Fuzzy did have to help her to bed but I think, in fairness, I think she was concerned that Howie may have moved the motorhome and she didn’t want to get lost 😉. Ryan also had some difficulty getting himself to bed. I finally left him to find his own way home and at some point he was successful because when I woke up he was in bed. Good job buddy!
June 28 - sadly our Stewart chapter is over. Stewart is under-advertised. This is a more remote, less touristy Tofino. I loved it, we all did. On our way to Smithers. Quiet drive - shoulders are getting wider and diesel is getting cheaper. Keeping with our theme - still only bear shit but no bears. Fairly uneventful day. Went out for supper in Smithers (very good Greek food) and then home to bed (losers).
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