Canada, eh? From border to border!

Well....with much trepidation, we made it through! Really it wasn't too bad of a wait and we had a very nice woman agent who took it easy on us. The lane was super narrow and when I drove in I said to the agent "whew, that was close!". She said I did a great job and I knew we'd be OK. She asked all the normal questions about guns and our route but we did get pulled aside to have a watercraft inspection. That actually took longer than the first agent. Still no worries as our kayaks were nice and clean. On to our first stop, a Harvest Host farm that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. It was perfect as we were able to replenish our fruit, including fresh strawberries! We had a nice night and enjoyed a walk around the farm.

It was such an interesting terrain, all the rolling hills around yet we found blooming cactus! 

Our next stop was in Prince George at another Harvest Host. The location was great and there was even a Costco!  Too bad it rained like cats and dogs the rest of the time and hatched a huge batch of mosquitos. We still enjoyed the "big city" and had a lovely dinner at Northern Lights Winery.

The food was terrific and the flowers and grounds were so pretty. I do miss all my flowers at home. 

Our next stop was K'san campground and museum. The location was amazing set next to a river and towering mountains in the background.

They had some great walking trails around the campground and down to the river's edge. It was a shame the campground wasn't kept up as much as it should have been but the views were just spectacular!

The museum was interesting and we had a tour of a few of the longhouses. Each was for a particular clan, the wolf or frog (shown below). Each longhouse held 20-30 families so as many as 150 people lived in each building. You never marry someone from your own tribe so our guide was a wolf but married a frog. The children take the mother's clan so they would be frogs. Apparently for years in British Columbia it was illegal to discuss these traditional practices or even speak their language, it was nice to see that they are able to do so now. 

Our next stop was in Stewart, BC where they have this amazing Estuary and boardwalk. The town is so small but even smaller is Hyder, Alaska which is right next door! Boasting only about 60 residents their slogan is the friendliest ghost town in America. 

What the area is really known for is the Wildlife Observation area when in July you can watch the salmon spawn and also watch the Grizzly bears enjoy some salmon! We were a little early so no salmon or Grizzly bears for us but it was an incredibly beautiful spot. 

From there another 23 miles on a gravel/dirt road you can four wheel up to the Salmon Glacier! I think it was prettiest from about 10 miles in (picture to the right) but we still had to continue to the top to get a closer look. The snow plows were still out clearing the way but we made it to the top.

We even went down the other side a bit to an abandoned mine. You could hear water gurgling but we played it safe and didn't go in. Good thing we did because the snow plow was coming and we sure didn't want to have to follow him back down the mountain!

It was a long rough day in the truck but the views were worth it!

Another long day of driving but this time in the motorhome took us to Dease Lake. Too bad there was no cell service at all to be able to get all my birthday wishes from family and friends, sorry mom!

Yup, another day of driving but can I just say that British Columbia might not be exaggerating when they say it's the most beautiful place on earth. So far the roads haven't been too bad, no shoulders and not even any painted lines but the traffic is pretty light and the views just lovely!

On our way to Watson Lake we had to stop at Jade City. Not just a tourist attraction but when the majority of the world's jade comes from. Too bad most of it is shipped off to China and then resold to us. A nice stop and again, wow...the views!

We finally made it to the Yukon and to Watson Lake, another famous stop on the Alaskan highway. In 1942, while working on the highway, Private Lindley decided to add his hometown to the direction post at the camp there. From then it has grown to a forest of signs! We added our mark too, probably the first "Smokies Life" sticker that place has seen!

It was just crazy walking around seeing all the thousands of signs. Dave found one from Lowell, MI and check out the few below and their locations.

 

Back on the road again with tonight's stop at Teslin with it's claim to fame having the longest bridge on the Alaskan highway at 584 meters (or 1916 feet in American! 😁) It was a little daunting driving over it with the metal floor that makes you wiggle a bit and the fact that they are building a new bridge right next to this one; glad the old one got us across!

More driving again tomorrow and only fitting that I wrap up this post as we'll cross the border again back into America for our next stop in Skagway, Alaska!

Olympic & North Cascades National Parks

Hello from Olympic National Park. Wow, this is one huge park and our campground location probably wasn't the best in terms of seeing the whole park. We stayed at Potlatch which is by the southeast entrance of the park and the Staircase area. Too bad it was over 3 hours to the Hoh Rain Forest area so we never made it there. We did love the campsite however as it was right on the Hood Canal.

After a VERY rough road leading to the Staircase area we made it to the North Fork Skokomish River trails. Probably one of the worst roads we have ever been on, I was amazed when it finally turned to pavement and we were in the park area and an actual entrance station! 

We hiked along the Rapids Loop and saw some amazing Douglas Firs and a huge fallen Cedar tree that was 14' across.

 

Some of the trees were a little smaller and made nice bridges for us as we crossed over the creek. Another lush green forest and a perfect day for a hike and even some bird watching!

Crazy huge trees but I liked this "pair" especially. I liked how they were two different species of trees (Western Red Cedar and Douglas Fir per Dave, my tree man) but yet grew right next to each other in harmony. Kinda made me think of another couple who are quite different but seem to co-habitat in a 36' RV pretty well!😍 

Dave showing off how big the trees are and we're back at the bridge to take that crazy rough road home. The view of Lake Cushman was at least a lovely distraction from the rough road.

Some home baked gluten-free cookies, milk and a campfire was a perfect way to end the day!

The next day was a lot of drive time going almost 2 hours one way to Port Angeles and then up to Hurricane Ridge. It was quite a bit cooler up top and the road past this point was still closed due to snow.

 

Wish the picture was a little clearer but we got to see these two marmots come out and play; they were so cute!

 

On to Elwha Valley and Madison Falls. We thought we would at least get a hike in for the day but the falls ended up only being about .1 from the road. 😏We had a nice stop for lunch though and a beautiful view.

The road just past the falls was closed due to a wash out but we walked part of it running into this cute little friend...who had other friends. 

 

Our last night at Potlatch was Dave's birthday so the best present I can offer him is to not cook! 😜 A prime rib dinner and he's one happy birthday boy.

Next stop was North Cascades National Park. Our timing isn't the best here as a lot of park is closed off due to the FBI hunting a man who murdered his 3 little girls (so sad!). The day trails were open so we stayed close to the road and again Dave was missing his gun!

Probably one of the cooler entrance signs we've seen with the rocks and the "snow" (it was paint, not actual snow). An interesting park because in the middle of it is Newhalem where there is a dam and power plant that gives power all the way to Seattle.

Behind the power plant is a trail to Ladder Creek Falls. At one time the trail was a thriving botanical garden but has been neglected and needs some love. We still saw lots of beautiful flowers along the way.

We were even graced with this striking butterfly who stopped long enough for me to get a photo. The falls were lovely too!

 

Next was the Trail of the Cedars (more big trees for Dave) which started with a cool suspension bridge. In contrast, it was hot afternoon with our truck registering 95 degrees. Not what we were expecting for northern Washington state but we'll take it!

We drove a little further to see the Gorge Creek Falls which this picture just doesn't do it justice. The depth and the massive amount of flowing water was impressive. Of course the view once it opened up into the lake wasn't too bad either.

Our time at North Cascades has ended with an amazing Strawberry moon tonight. Tomorrow is a big day as we cross over into Canada. We covet your prayers for a smooth and uneventful border stop for us! Stay tuned in to find out how it goes...