The Cassiar Highway Lives Up to Its Reputation (Monday, August 31, 2009) We were positioned such that we had to wait until an RV finished “dumping” before we could vacate our site, then had to empty our own black and gray tanks as we would not have a sewer dump station for the next couple of days. Also, we added more potable water since we would not have a water connection the next couple of days. Also, we both had numerous bug bites that swelled to about the size of a quarter and itched like all get out. Consequently, it was about 8 AM before we left Mountain Shadow RV Park and Campground. The Cassiar Highway steadily improved as we drove further south, and the scenery was spectacular at every turn. We saw a grizzly bear after our second stop, but neither of us was able to photograph it because of a passing car traveling at an excessive rate of speed, scaring the heck out of the bear. As we traveled further south, the road improved, and even had yellow stripes separating the lanes—civilization at last (we say this with some regret and trepidation, because it means added traffic, more people, more semis, and fewer animals). We made the turn west towards Stewart, BC, and Hyder, AK; these are sister towns separated only by the Canada/U.S. border. The great views only improved as we saw several hanging glaciers, and one glacier was very close to the highway. Today, we officially changed our minds about the Cassiar Highway; it does live up to its reputation and is very worth driving. We arrived at our RV Park about 2 PM, set up under some large trees, and vacuumed the inside of both the RV and the car. Kay thawed a salmon filet which we grilled and had an early dinner of salmon, rice pilaf, and cole slaw. We then drove to Hyder, AK, for some serious bear watching at Fish Creek, a U.S. Forest Service site some 3 miles out of Hyder, and we were surprised that there was no U.S. Customs station. We were lucky enough to see two bears right away, then saw another come upstream relatively close, all feeding on salmon. When we departed, we drove further down the road and saw another bear, turned around, were driving back to Hyder, and saw two more. This proved to be a very successful bear-watching afternoon. As we drove back into Stewart, BC, we had to go through Canada Customs, but the agent didn’t even check our passports. As a side note, Stewart, BC, is on Pacific Daylight Savings Time, so Hyder, AK, is also on the same time; however, because the Post Office is a U.S. government agency, it has to operate on Alaska time, one hour earlier!

Stewart, BC, and Hyder, AK, Day 2 (Tuesday, September 1, 2009) With some grilled salmon left over from yesterday, we had salmon omelet, hash browns, and English muffins for breakfast—our anniversary breakfast one day early. After clean-up, we drove to the foot of Salmon Glacier, climbing for about 20 miles on what should be considered a 4-wheel drive road. We opted not to drive the remaining 5 miles up a very steep grade to the top of the glacier. After making our way back down, we stopped at the Fish Creek Bear Viewing Area, and didn’t even make it off the fenced-in board walk because a large grizzly was crossing the parking area within a few feet of us. He continued passing, within 10 feet, with a large salmon in his mouth. He did not look at me—the closest human to him, only about 6 feet away—nor did he budge one inch despite all the other on lookers, and one could tell that he was single focused, and was not to be disturbed. He crossed the small creek, went into the woods, and ate the salmon. We waited an hour or so for him to return to the creek or for other bears, but no such luck. On the way back to Stewart, we took photos of the post office at Hyder for our neighbor and friend, Loretta, and stopped at the “Bus” for halibut fish and chips. This is an old bus converted to a kitchen, and seafood is prepared on site; it is rated 5 stars by the Alaska Tourism Board. Today, the lady who runs the place offered fresh halibut, fresh sockeye salmon, and fresh Dungeness crab. Returning to the RV park, Kay did laundry and “toured” Stewart, BC, and I cooked hamburgers for a future meal. The Stewart Visitor Center has free wi-fi, and I was able to read email, discovering a humongous Verizon bill; when we get back in the lower 48, Kay will have a serious talk with Verizon. Since their buyout of Alltel, and the switch over to Verizon on July 11, we’ve have not had a lot of positive service! In the early evening, we returned to Fish Creek in Hyder for more bear watching; no bears, one bald eagle, lots of people.

Our caravan is just about over, two stops, one night each, after tonight. After the caravan, we’ll drive from Prince George, BC, to Icefields Centre, AB, on Friday, September 4, then to Whitefish, MT, on September 5 where we’ll spend 3 nights, have cell phone service and hopefully, internet via our broadband card. After that, we’ll decide on the route home, and will likely detour to Yellowstone National Park for a few days. Depending on the likely route, we have just over 3,000 miles to home in mid-September. Wow!

Kay’s Take Stewart, B.C. has a population of about 500 people and Hyder, AK has a population of 100. There are two gas stations, two small groceries, a few B & Bs, one motel, a couple of restaurants and that’s it. The scenery is gorgeous – mountains, glaciers, Pacific Ocean Portland Canal, blue sky and sunny all two days.

The bear watching is incredible! The people are up on an elevated boardwalk, looking down on the habitat – a creek with returning spawning salmon, birds, eagles, and bears eating and playing. We saw a black bear driving there tonight (Tuesday) who was hugging a utility pole and scratching it’s tummy, I think. He turned his head and looked at us like ‘yeah, I’ve got an itch, so what’. Many of the bear watchers are serious photographers – specialists and professionals too. Be sure to look at the picture of the ‘Bus’ restaurant. What a hoot! Well, the Cassiar redeemed itself on this lower part – but the upper 50 miles is pretty tough. Everybody is glad our caravan is close to ending and we’re also sad at the same time. Lots of good shared memories with many special people.

Our Recommendations for Steward, BC, and Hyder, AK We definitely recommend Fish Creek Bear Viewing Area, and the drive to Salmon Glacier is wrought with spectacular scenery. Our car sits too low to the ground, and we continuously dodged potholes and heavy equiPMent tracks. There are a number of quaint buildings and churches in both Hyder and Stewart worthy of photographing, and a meal at the “Bus” is an absolute must do.

Campground There are few choices for RV parks in the Stewart, BC/Hyder, AK area. We stayed at Rainey Creek in Stewart, and had marginal 30-amp electricity—no water, no sewer, no cable. The campground sits in a rain forest, and sites are surrounded by large moss covered trees, ferns, and mushrooms. The bathrooms were clean, and showers were $1. We would stay here again, but more likely would opt for the smaller Camp Run-A-Muck in Hyder, closer to the bear viewing area.

Driving Statistics
Beginning Mileage: 16,075.4
Beginning Time: 7:00 AM Pacific DST
Ending Mileage: 16,268.9
Ending Time: 3:30 PM Pacific DST
TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 193.5
CUMULATIVE MILEAGE: 6,876.8