Day 18 Mt. Robson back to Vernon

Sunday morning and we are packing up the tent, sleeping bags and bed rolls for the last time. It has been quite a trip. Lots of scenery both landscape and wildlife. Now it's 9:00 am on our last day of travel together and we are heading back to Vernon - our starting and ending point.

Travelled a short distance west along the Yellowhead then turned south on Hwy 5 towards Kamloops and then southeast along Hwy. 97.

Arrived back in Vernon BC about 2pm local time on Sunday September 16th.



Thanks for sharing our trip with us. It was the trip of a lifetime.

From Vernon to the northern BC, to the Yukon, Alaska, back to the Yukon, BC, Alberta and back to Vernon - the trip was 4,271 miles. Sheila your Explorer made it with flying colours (that would be colors in Michigan). It has since had a wash and an oil change.

The Whitehorse to Vernon portion was 1,883 miles.

And we still have to get back to Ontario!

Day 17 Grande Cache Alberta to Mt. Robson Provincial Park via Jasper

On Saturday morning we were on the road by 8:30 and heading south down Hyw 40 to connect up with the Yellowhead Hwy. Turned west on the Yellowhead and arrived in Jasper about 11:00 am where celebrations were going on to celebrate their 100th anniversary. The National Parks staff had set up several displays to inform the public what they do.



After lunch and another gas fill up we headed back west along Hwy 16 to Mount Robson Provincial Park. The centre point being Mount Robson the highest mountain in the Rockies.After setting up our tents we took in some more sights including Rearguard Falls the last set of falls on the Fraser River that the Chinook Salmon can navigate over. Only the biggest and best make it that far. Unfortunately we missed the run. Brad had witnessed the run last August - too bad we missed it this year.

Another set of falls further up the Fraser are the Overlander Falls which the salmon can't make it over.

Mount Terry Fox is viewed from a beautiful park setting.








Our camp site was on a cliff above the Robson River. The park was busy with several family tenting. Another cool night with the sounds of the Robson River running down below. A family of deer were wandering around when we awoke.

Day 16 Fort Nelson BC to Grande Cache Alberta

Well it is now Friday September 14th and it continued to be cold overnight at -0'C. We left Fort Nelson about 8:30 am after gassing up @ $1.239 per litre and headed southeast. We were in Fort St. John about 1:00 pm and treated ourselves to lunch at McDonald's.

Continued to Dawson Creek - where the Alaskan Highway begins at mile Zero. Another leg of the journey has been completed.

We continued east into Alberta - stopping in Grande Prairie for some tourist info. Headed south from there along Hwy 40 to Grande Cache our stop for that night. We set up the tents at a municipal camping ground and a little while later a couple from Whitehorse set up their tent next door.

The campground was full of pipeline workers who all owned large trucks and 5th wheels - anything that wasn't at least a 3/4 diesel would be small. They started leaving for work about 5:30 am. - at least 25 of them. They moved out slowly, but how quiet can a 1 ton diesel truck be at 5:30 in the morning.

Day 15 Watson Lk. Yukon to Ft. Nelson BC

Well it is now Thursday and we got on our way from Watson Lake about 10:am. We had been advised to take it slow on this leg of the trip as there would be plenty of wildlife along or on the highway to view. We passed the Cranberry Rapids and came upon a couple of buffalo herds. One beside the highway and the second one pretty well on it.




We have left the Yukon for the last time at least on this trip, but plenty more to see yet.

Stopped in to Laird Hot Springs. Some of us soaked our feet others jumped in. After a hot dip we had lunch in the park - Laird Hot Springs Provincial Park that is.

Continued eastbound and viewed assorted mountain goats, and caribou.

Stopped at the Toad River Lodge for gas - and a view of the 1,000 plus hats hanging from the ceiling. Went onto Ft. Nelson where we camped for the night.

It was here that we decided on Brad's suggestion to alter our trip to head east into Alberta. After checking it out on my computer that it wouldn't add kilometres or in my case - miles onto the trip we agreed.

So off to bed with visions of Alberta dancing in our head.

Day 14 Tagish River to Watson Lake

Wednesday morning we were leaving the Tagish River area by 9:30 am. We decided to take a side trip down to Atlin which is in the northwestern corner of BC. The Atlin road isn't paved for the most part and the poor Explorer was covered in a dirt/oil mix until we could wash it off in Watson Lake. The scenery at Atlin was worth the trip.

At Watson Lake we stopped in at the Info Centre and had a tour of the Signpost Forest and then set up camp at a west end campground. Cost was only $10.00 and we got a further $2 plus off the next day from our gas bill as we had been camping customers.

A couple from Texas were also tenting there and shared the below zero temperatures with us. They also shared the camp cat who mooched food and attention. They had been over the Top of the World Highway and been a lot further into Alaska than we had.

There was also a power wash available to wash off the Explorer which by this point badly needed it. So with everyone washed up we got ready to head off to Fort Nelson BC then next day.

Day 13 Whitehorse to Tagish River Campgorund Yukon via Skagway AK

Tuesday - Got up early to have Explorer checked at Ford Dealers - abs light had been on for a while and I wanted to have them check that all the wheel bearings were OK. We had hit quite a few frost heaves along the Alaskan Hwy. They did this with no charge and I was out of there by 8:00 am.

Packed up our two new passengers along with some more luggage. Our vehicle is now full and I mean full! - and the cargo bag on top is full as well. All loaded up we head of to Skagway AK.


On arrival there we were in the middle of 4 cruise ships who had docked in town. It was a busy spot. If you are a railroad enthusiast then there is lots going on in Skagway. The White Pass & Yukon RR is a busy railroad with a potential of 8,000 passengers in town for a train ride up to Carcross and back.

After taking in the hustle & bustle of Skagway we got back on the road and headed back north through Carcross to Tagish where we camped again at a Yukon Govt. campsite.





We had two visitors who agreed to guard the campsite against bears if we gave them a little food. Had a nice fire, but the temp dropped - minus 1 or 2 by morning. Our campers thought that was a little cold, but we learned from that and dressed a little warmer the next night.





One section of the campground was flooded and as there wasn't any other water source so Brad waded out into the Tagish River to get some water to boil for our rice and farmer's sausage. We have seen at least one other tent in most campgrounds we have stayed in each night.
Another gourmet meal courtesy of Brad our Chef. Had a nice warm campfire with some new dry wood that was just dropped off - it's free in Yukon Government campgrounds and the cost is just $12.00 per night to camp

Day 12 Haines Juction to Whitehorse Yukon

Monday morning we attended at the Kluane National Park info centre and then headed off to Kathleen Lake for a bit of a hike. Conditions were extremely windy with large waves. After touring a bit more around the area we headed to Whitehorse.

Arrived in Whitehorse on Monday around noon. Brad & I had lunch then caught up with Chrissy & Mary who had been in Whitehorse since Saturday night. After seeing the sites we had dinner with Cary and Elaine who then gave us a tour of some of the more interesting sights. We went to the power generation station/fish ladder, a suspension bridge over the Yukon River and to a Eagle habitat where the adults teach their young how to fish.




We finished up the evening at an old watering hole where the odd beer apparently has been drank in Whitehorse.



We thank Cary & Elaine for their hospitality and interesting comments on the Yukon.