The Big Trip - Toad River to William A. Switzer Provincial Park

Greetings at Toad River Lodge.

2915 km - We're having a pleasant drive on Hwy. 97, we've seen six more sheep, a black bear, and some deer. We also made a pit stop at Toad River and had some scrumptious cookies.

Hey sheep!

Space sheep.

That'll be close enough, thanks.

Bears are best from a safe distance.

3004 km - Foiled! Or maybe 'saved' would be a better word. A friendly gas station attendant told us the road in the NWT was in rough shape and apparently it has been closed and washed out for awhile. We are disappointed to miss the NW but we'll try to take advantage of the time in Jasper/Banff. For now we will make do in Fort Nelson.

What more could you want in a store?

Stay classy, Fort Nelson.

3005 km - After a nigth at the Lakeview Hotel, we are heading out on our altered route. We showered, which was great. And Dan's Neighbourhood Pub supplied us with a hot meal. Life is good.

3308 km - Our detour route is a pretty boring drive, there was even an odometer check at one point. We have seen some wildlife though. We saw a mother bear with three cubs putting our black bear count up to 17. We saw 6 wild horses but what we've really been looking out for are moose or caribou. Unfortunately we saw one a few minutes ago, she was dying a slow death on the shoulder of the road.

It was strange to see horses just wandering around by the road.

In Dawson Creek.

3480 km - We have spent much of our trip on Hwy. 97, but after reaching Mile '0' of the Alaska Highwway we are heading southeast on Hwy. 2. This will be our last BC highway. We're almost in Alberta.

3521 km - Weeeeee! We are in Alberta. We will miss BC. BC Parks and Tourism sure made planning the first leg of our trip easy. Thanks to all the wonderful people we've encountered so far in BC, AK and the Yukon.

Province #2!

My, that's a big beaver you've got there. (In Beaverlodge.)

Grand Prairie is the proud home to the 2nd biggest Sun Dial in N.A.

3852 km - So, Cam and I are chickening out. We drove over 800 km today to camp a couple of hours out of Jasper, only to decide to drive another 100 km and find a hotel. The reason? Crazy lightning and intermittent downpours. Rain we were ready for, we have the tarps to prove it. But the lightning scared us off. Are you supposed to sleep in a tent among the trees in lightning? I guess the truth is that Cam and I are still fine tuning our camping skills. We still have many camping nights ahead of us - let's hope we actually camp.

3937 km - Ok, I take back some of my last entrry. Cam and I did camp after all. We drove about an hour closer to Jasper and the lightning storm seemed to stop - so we set up camp. And saw a moose, completely alive and everything. Now we are off to Jasper.

Moose at night.

Cam at night.

Cam's hair at dawn.

The Big Trip: Boya Lake to Muncho Lake

2334 km - Not much to see on the road today. We did see a fox, and the welcome sign to Dease Nutz . . . I mean Dease Lake was pretty awesome. We're just leaving Boya Lake P.P. now. It is a gorgeous spot, the water is coloured like Lake Louise and it is surrounded by thousands of trees and some mountains.

Technically leaving BC for the third time on the trip . . .

. . . This time for the Yukon.

2482 km - We have now been to the Yukon . . . and left it. The last stretch of highway in BC was pretty dodgy, but our tough as nails Loon made it through. We toured the sign forest, picked up some essentials (gas, ice & chips) and now find ourselves back in BC. We have our eyes peeled for buffalo and are looking forward to some hot springs. The people sure were friendly in Watson Lake, maybe one day we will be back with a sign of our own.

The sign post forest's size is mind-blowing.

No towns named Cam, but I bet your hometown is there.

Salt Spring and Waterloo content.

2628 km - The Alaska Highway is a pretty smooth road. So far we have seen two buffalo and stopped to see a whirlpool on the Liard River. It's a pretty hot day for buffalo so the ones we have seen weren't interested in doing much besides wagging their tales.

Whirlpool action.

En route to the hot springs.

Steam coming off the pond.

Awesomeness.

2683 km - We just saw a buffalo pee. It is going to be a good day. The Liard River Hot Springs were all we expected and it was great to relax in them. They were too hot for us at the source, so we chilled near the middle with all the American RVers. It was another great night. It was still light out when we packed it in at 11:30 last night. And after calling home and filling up with gas, we are on the road again.

Buffalo pee action shot!!!

Trout River valley.

2720 km - We are now in Muncho Lake Provincial Park and have just returned from an unsuccessful sheep hunting expedition. The Trout River is home to a mineral lick which sheep frequent, just not this morning. It is likely that Frito Lays Muncho snack is named after this park since Munchos are basically salt licks.

Tasty minerals.

Approaching Muncho Lake.

Muncho is the first big lake in the Rockies . . .

. . . And it is gorgeous.

2741 km - Muncho Lake is beautiful. It is certainly a rival to the other famed lakes of the Rockies. The water is a stunning aquamarine caused by jade and other mineral deposits, and on a clear Sunny day like today the mountains and trees all reflect clearly on the surface. AND!! As I am writing we spotted two sheep! A female was right in the middle of the road and the male (with big horns) was off to our left. We stopped on the road because we didn't know what to do, but an impatient truck driver pulled out from behind us and drove right between them. That was enough to get the sheep off the road and now we are once again heading south.

The waters of Muncho Lake.

Road sheep.

Apparently she has the right-of-way.

I'm a ram.

The Folded Mountain.

The Big Trip - Bear Glacier to Dease Lake

At Strohn Lake.

Bear Glacier cutting through the valley.

And emptying into Strohn.

Entering Stewart.

1702 km - Stewart, BC and we have just now reached gas more expensive than Victoria at $1.40/L.

The paved road ends at the border.

Good advice while in the Tongass National Forest.

This pylon is all that marks this particular border crossing. Easily the least intense American border crossing we've ever been a part of.

End of the road. Even in June the road to the edge of the glacier was snowed in.

The Salmon Glacier in all its awesome glory.

Marmot sighting!

Trapped! There was just enough room to manoevre around this rock slide.

Swords?

1767 km - Just leaving Stewart now. So far today we've crossed the Can-U.S. border four times and seen two glaciers and some marmots. Hyder, AK is the dustiest town I've ever been in, the Loon has gone from green to grey. Glaciers are awesome to behold, massive rivers of ice. Parts of them are white, some are a vivid light blue and other parts are dark with the earth they are dragging along. The road to Salmon Glacier from Hyder was pretty treacherous but we survived and the scenery was worth it. Today Alaska, tomorrow the Yukon, our trip kicks ass.

1840 km - Our black bear sighting count has increased to 6 so far. No grizzlies yet. But we did see a porcupine.

Bears like it near the road.

Bell II?

1856 km - Make our count 9!

1926 km - Ouch! 148.9 ₵/L for gas in Bell II, one of B.C.'s most ridiculously named communities.

1991 km - Finally we have escaped the clutches of the nefarious CBC, we are unable to pick up any radio signals and the MP3 player is out of juice. I am slowly going crazy, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, switch.

2011 km - Holy fuck! Brenda's swift action just saved the trip, and the Loon's brakes saved us from injury. A black bear bolted out on to the road and we just missed it, seriously, like within a foot or two. Holy fuck. Our bear count is now at 11.

Setting up at Kinaskan Lake.

Another gorgeous spot.

Nice pokey stick.

2046 km - We have our first campfire of the trip going now, it was too windy yesterday. Once again we are right on the water, today we are on Kinaskan Lake. Also once again we are the only intrepid explorers with a tent, everyone else has RVs or are sleeping in their trucks. We are also into the vodka for the first time on our trip and I am full of hot dogs, life is good.

Angry grey jay.

Brenda at dusk.

2063 km - Day 6 & we are Yukon bound. We had a great night despite the valve to the air mattress not being closed properly. We saw some new birds and I survived an attack from a couple of angry birds. I wonder what today will bring.

Breakfast on the beach.

DEASE NUTS!!!!!!!

The Big Trip - Vanderhoof to Meziadin Lake

1005 km - Day 4 and we have just entered Vanderhoof, "The Geographical Centre of BC."

1145 km - We just stopped for a quick lunch in Burns Lake. Burns Lake also lays claim to being the geographical centre of BC. Driving through all these small towns is a lot like driving through Northern Ontario. Why is it okay to leave rusted out cars, buses and tractors on your lawn?

World's biggest Fly Rod!

1292 km - Right now we are in Smithers. It's a pretty little place with mountains on both sides and a busy downtown area. Today's journey has been interesting in unexpected ways: In Houston we stopped for a walk in a park and discovered the world's largest fly rod. As we drove into Telkwa we saw the "Rainbow Adult RV Park." I thought, "Wow, what a welcoming community for being in the middle of nowhere." But on the way out of town we saw a sign that implied you would get breast cancer if you had an abortion, so maybe Telkwa isn't so tolerant. In Smithers we saw a black dude with a huge 'fro, big chops and pink pants and there was not a disco in sight.

A sense of humour in Smithers.

1311 km - After a brief detour we are back on 16 heading west. The Loon just hauled us up and down an old dirt road so we could get a look at Twin Falls. One fall cascades down the mountain and seems to turn to snow at the bottom before gushing out into a stream. Pretty crazy.

Disappearing waterfall.

Twin falls.

Nice spot for a rest.

1522 km - We are now on Hwy 37 and just entered the Nass Region, though according the sign we just entered ANASS.

1622 km - More fun with signs: We just crossed the Ass River.

At a small museum near The Hazeltons.

A suspension bridge over the Bulkley River.

View from the bridge.

Our AWESOME camp site at Meziadin Lake.

Living the good life.

1635 km - Wow! What a great camping spot! We just camped right on the lake. We had our first bear sighting but we were safely in our car when we spotted 2 black bears. It was a windy night last night but a very still morning with only loons making noise. And no bears stole our food, only a pesky crow attempted.

Perfectly still.

We were the first ones up. Everyone else hid in their RVs.

Getting a little exercise in.

Making toast.

Eating toast.

The Big Trip - Mount Currie to Prince George

258 km - Just the other side of Pemberton we approached an area of what we thought was construction, but turns out the road was flooded. We made it through and would be once again flying down the highway if we weren't behind a school bus.

We were behind this bus for miles.

Lillooet Lake Rodeo.

345 km - We just entered Lillooet, "B.C.'s Little Nugget." It's a pretty crazy drive to here from Pemberton. I am amazed by the rivers here. We crossed Cayoosh Creek on one-way bridges four times on the way here; I'm not sure of the difference between a creek and a river, but Cayoosh should be a river. The mountains here are also awe-inspiring and there is almost no human development to get in the way of your views.

Lillooet Lake.

On the road to Lillooet.

I miss B.C.

353 km - 508 km to Prince George. It's going to be a long day. Ouch.

430 km - Finally off of 99 and on to 97. Prince George here we come!

771 km - Finally 'the guy' played the Beatles. Brenda's torture has ended. We are tied at 3. This note needs some explanation. 'The guy' is my mp3 player and we had a competition to see who could pick which band 'the guy' would play next, it was on random play the whole trip. Brenda had the Beatles picked for most of this day, and there were more Beatles songs on 'the guy' than anything else so she got pretty angry when it didn't play any for most of the day.

878 km - We made it. It is the morning now and we are at Jessie's. We covered almost 800 km yesterday, that should be the longest day of our trip.

We decided to lighten the Loon's load and ship some stuff to Barrie.

894 km - Today we went to Exploration Place which is P.G.'s museum. I learned lots more here than I did at Science World, but Brenda and Jessie mostly just played with waterboat toys.

Okay, I played too.

901 km - Delicious! We just came back from an incredible meal at Shōgun, the Japanese restaurant at Jessie's hotel. I think it was the best beef I've ever tasted. It blows my mind that now two of the best meal's I've ever eaten have been in Prince George. How can a town look so lousy but taste so good? Big thanks to Jess for taking us out and thanks to all the great staff at Coast Hotels.

Our awesome chef Andy lights it up.

Thanks Jess!

Ending the night at Jess's place.

The Big Trip - Horseshoe Bay to Pemberton

Picturesque Horseshoe Bay.

174 km - We just stopped at Shannon Falls Provincial Park. The falls are awesome and high. We missed the turnoff and HAD to double back after seeing them from the highway. Day 2 is off to a great start.

Shannon Falls.

More Shannon Falls.

Shannon Falls, the video.

Brenda at the look-out point.

196 km - Our latest stop was the Brandywine Falls Provincial Park about 30 km outside of Whistler. The falls shoot straight down into a canyon with concave walls. It is amazing how the trees stay alive at the top of the concave walls. Unfortunately the suspension bridge was closed, but we did see the Whistler Mountaineer train pass by and waved to happy tourists.

Precarious trees.

Brandywine Falls.

The slowest moving train ever.

215 km - Stopped for lunch at Citta in Whistler. Whistler is a gorgeous spot. Every thing looks new and expensive. Our lunch was tasty but the service was poor. The Whistler lager is nothing special. It would have been nice to spend more time here and it would also be nice to be rich.

Missing Victoria beer already.

246 km - En route to Pemberton we stopped at yet more falls. This time we did a short 1.5 km hike to Nairn Falls, which flows into the Green River. These falls were very powerful. Now off to Pemberton to get some gas.

The upper section of Nairn Falls.

Green River, photo credit to C.C.R.

Making friends on the trail.

The Big Trip - Victoria to Vancouver

Hi! It's been a love you long time since we last posted but here we go!

Since moving back to Ontario our lives have been pretty hectic. We ended up living apart much of the summer, Brenda in Hamilton and Toronto, and me in Barrie and Oro. That certainly wasn't the plan, but a torturous apartment hunt, and job circumstances made it difficult for us to be in the same place during the week.

Now we're settled in our new apartment right near the water in Toronto. Looking out from our tiny balcony we can see a little sliver of Lake Ontario and planes coming in to land at the Island Airport. Now that we're together in one place we're excited to share our trip home with you.

Like on our trip out to B.C. we had a journal with us and recorded some details and highlights in there. If you see blue text, that is me writing, and purple text is from Brenda. Anything in black is something we're just adding in today.

0 km - And we're off! Bye Bye House!

Just about everything we own is in this picture.

6 km - We just stopped at Mile 0 of the Trans-Canada Highway. We thought it would be a symbolic start to our journey. Of course we're only on Hwy. 1 for about a kilometre until we get off and on to Hwy. 17.

The journey begins!

The greatest Canadian! (So says I.)

Our home for the next two-and-a-half weeks.

Our farewell ferry trip.

40 km - We're getting ready to get off the 9 a.m. at Tsawwassen. Back on the mainland. Part of me always feels like going to the mainland is returning to Canada. That part of me is somewhat right I guess, since we do go through U.S. waters for a bit. Bye Bye V.I.

TELUS World of Science in Vancouver.

OH NO!

Big thanks to TELUS for pointing us towards the anus.

Blue skies, from Rose and Kate's apartment.

Relaxing at Graham and Caroline's.

90 km - It is 8:38 a.m. and we have safely made it out of downtown Vancouver and are headed towards Whistler on Hwy. 99. We had a great time in Vancouver. Our afternoon was shared with a couple of hundred kids at Science World, which, as it turns out is really just a huge arcade. But it was a good way to spend a grey afternoon and when we left, the Sun had come out. We then went to check out my cousin Graham and his fiancée Caroline's place. We had a great visit and dinner at Timbre. Overall, it was a great way to spend our last day in Vancouver. Thanks again Rose and Kate for your hospitality and the Dove chocolates, Yum!