Dear Diary,
We had a nice dinner last night of steaks on the grill, s'mores with giant marshmallows and a game of Scrabble, Pat won but Chuck is catching up. No rain last night at least we think, we were dead to the world. We are leaving the campground by 7AM after breakfast and very nice showers. This Cassiar is supposed to be a 'bad road' but so far so good. Maybe people just don 't have the experience driving remote roads. Where we stayed, Bell 2, on the Bell-Irving River, is a heliskiing center. Given the amount of snow in this area and how long it stays on the mountains it must be a good place for it. There were campers from Oregon and Arizona last night. We not seen any Ak convoy people for a couple days. Right after leaving the campground a black bear greets us by the road. They are all eating grass as fast as they can. This one doesn't run from the RV, danger! Clouds are off the peaks and sun is trying to come through. We pass a camper hauling a carry-all that has boat, ATV and deep chest freezer in the back. Looks like someone is setting up a fish camp. Soon after that we spot a grizzly and he is having a stare-down with a car that is watching him. Lots of melting avalanche chutes and glaciers in this area. We are in an area of high pointed peaks and we realize this is why you come via the Cassiar. No snow along the road at this level but springtime changes depending on what elevation we are and can change quickly. There are still big trucks using this route, most just hauling goods not logging. We pass through a forest fire area, BC fires are legendary probably becasue the area is remote and hard to fight the fires. Road surface continues to be good, smooth, no shoulder though. We think these improvements are part of the 2010 road improvment project completed. Suddenly we move from smooth pavement to a hard packed stone with what is called seal coat. It's not unpleasant, still narrow, still no shoulder. Knock on wood that this is as bad as it gets. These areas including Alaska are known for cracked windshield, a badge of honor for locals to have several cracks. We don't want any if we can help it. Many of the bridges have metal grate or wooden plank floors, This may help with freeze. Most of the provincial and private campgrounds and lodges are still closed. Ravens have been with us for some time now. Yesterday we thought we heard a child talking up in a tree and realized it was a raven. They immitate sounds, creepy. We advance north into the coastal mountains which include the Cassiar Mountains. We have left any signs of rainforest behind us. Mostly black spruce, birch, no mosses. We pass by a rare lodge, the gas station has the fuel tank above ground. When sides get steep off the shoulder they are using cement block formed like barriers and tongue and groove joinings They look better than the old style guardrails.We pass Taggoda Lake and it is at that very moment the road goes to hell. Rough, washboard, potholes and the shoulders are subsiding with big cracks running along. The shoulders are non-existent actually and there are deep culverts on both sides. And to add to that we run over 2 big piles of fresh bear scat in the road and hope we don't break down here and meet that bear. The rare villages all have tire repair centers which reminds us to slow down. We are in a 3k+ pass and it winds down at 8% grade and switchbacks. We hit an area midway that turns into dirt and loose gravel. Finally get to the bottom and cross the engorged Stikine River, overflowing its banks. We ascend to the other side of the valley and realize we are now in tundra. And to make it official as a caribou with pretty new velvet antlers strolls across the road in front of us. They are the kings and queens of the tundra. We have left elk and cougars behind. Moose and caribou, griz and black bears, wolves are the new combo. We reach 3600ft and the beaver lodges are all over the place. There are patches of snow around and the high lakes are still partially frozen. The old road runs parallel to us for some time. Looking at it we realize there is no way we would ever have traveled it. A one lane dirt track. It's only recently that the Cassiar is reasonably traveled and it still shakes the RV constantly. This is where the shaking is such that screws pop out. This RV is pretty tough, but have to make sure that everything is tighly contained and protected from constant movement. We have had our first encounter with mosquitoes. They are huge and zero in, still only a few but a good reminder there is more to come. Sometimes the shoulders on the road just ravel away. We have had to slow down for sure. We do pass one empty log truck. The big rigs are pretty courteous and we give them as wide a berth as we can. We come to the village of Dease Lake, home of Northern Lights College (tiny), amenities, conference center, health center. It was founded in the early days by the Hudson Bay Trading Company and was a site for ship building during the Cassiar gold rush. There is a float plane base here too. At this level if you went over the mountains to the west you would be in Juneau, Alaska, the state capital. Dease Lake is incredible. It's a huge lake that fills the valley and runs for miles, can get trout up to 30 pounds. It is still mostly frozen. Some great views with it and big peaks in the distance. This area is in the Arctic and Pacific Divide, water flows north to the Arctic Ocean and south to the Pacific. Spot another black bear and finally a moose! We were beginning to think they were only a myth in BC. We pass over the Dease River where fishing is for arctic char and grayling. Finally we get to Jade City, somewhere where Pat can shop for jewelry! haha. As we come into town we pass an operational gold mine. We hear the whole mountain and the operation have been bought by the Chinese. The Jade City jade shop has all their cutting saws with diamond blades outside where they work. There are boulders of Jade all over and some small rock and pebble size. The shop is a log cabin and the staff are very friendly and knowledgable. 90% of the world's jade comes out of the Princess Mine 90 miles away. The Chinese buy most of the jade from this family business who hold multiple claims. The carvings and jewelry are done in China and then sent back to the store for sale. We buy two wafer thin hand size pieces that have holes in them to be hung. We can see the light through them and all the pattern in the jade. It's nephrite jade which is the most common type. The Kobuk Jade Mining in Alaska is the same type. As we drive on we have to stop as 7 mountain sheep are along the road and in no hurry to leave. They use sand and gravel for the roads in winter, but there is some nutrient that draws them there to feed. No sign of lambs. We pass by Good Hope Lake and a few more after it are the most beautiful blue green, not sure if from glacier or minerals in the water. It's pleasant at about 55 degrees and partly sunny. We have left the Cassiar Mountains behind. At one point of elevation we can see the Yukon River Delta spread before us, it is awesome. But then we're back to a pretty boring drive, high trees on either side, no views. Then we begin into a fire area. It is devastating to see. Thousands of acreas of burned forest, but not just that, the fire was so hot it scorched the earth. Eerie to see nothing on the ground but ash with burned trees fallen and standing. There is no sign of wildlife. We think this is the fire we read about last year. We have not seen a home or a business for a long time, hopefully no one was killed. We have learned that BC is rich in many resources. Their mountains hold all kinds of gems and minerals and there are trees and seafood. Then we cross from BC to the YukonTerritory. We have come to the end of the Cassiar, Rt 37. Yeah! It's true, more than half of this road is awful and would hesitate to do it again unless further improvements are made. So glad we took pictures and took down lots of detail. At this juncture we are at the Alaska Highway. The beginning of the highway began at Dawson Creek (the route we opted out of). But instead of moving northwest on it we go southeast to Watson Lake, population about 1500. Mining, logging and tourism. It's a total of 28 miles diversion but there is a campsite there that's easy and accessible. This is the home of the Sign Forest. People from all over the world have brought a sign from their hometowns and nailed it to big wood pillars. There are hundreds of them to see. There is a bird banding station on the way into town. A reminder that the Yukon Delta is a big bird migration area. There are amenities here so easy place to stop for the night. Unfortunately, RV campgrounds are generally boring. There are mostly level gravel so you don't have to level, have electric, sewer and water hookups. Usually have laundry and showers. There is usually a grocery and gas near by. When you have driven all day in this season it doesn't pay to take chances with campgrounds. We will try to have a few nights in a park if we can before we are done. But this is not the usual vacation. We have a deadline to deliver this RV so that schedule pushes us. We passed one of the Ak convoy RV's. They are moving on up the Ak Highway. It means they brought the route out of Dawson Creek and not the Cassiar. No wonder they look so relaxed. We have cable TV hook-up tonight and Chuck has found a hockey game. We also have Internet but no cell. Brats are done on the grill. Might try to get Chuck into another Scrabble game. More adventures tomorrow. Nighty night. 9 hours 307 miles.
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