September 2-4, 2006 (Days 101-103)

Saturday:
It was an amazing sight today when we got up---the sun! It was warmer this morning,too, with 51 degrees, but it was still very buggy. Our friend, Ed, had misfortune with his motor home, as it broke down and wouldn’t start. The self-made mechanics in our caravan worked for a couple hours to get it started, but to no avail. Ed called Good Sam Travel Assistance and they contacted a place in Terrace, which is about 160 miles south of where we are, and sent a tow truck. He was still awaiting their arrival when we left. The Kolley’s stayed with him until the tow came. With this a holiday weekend, Labor Day (which is also celebrated in Canada), he is fortunate anyone could be contacted at all. It was a little sad to leave him go on his own.

We traveled with Steurer’s and Water’s on our trip to Stewart, BC. We stopped at several turnouts for pictures. It was a beautiful drive. The road was bad in spots, but there were also stretches of good chip and seal and later, blacktop with middle and side lines!

Our breakfast/lunch stop was at Bell II Lodge. This was a home to winter heliskiing and guided fly fishing packages in the summer-fall. The restaurant was not expecting such a big group, as most of our caravan stopped to eat. They were out of their famous cinnamon rolls, but the rest of their food was home-cooked and very good. We were sad to miss the cinnamon rolls.

We were on the road at 12:05 p.m. We saw a gamble quail and several hanging glaciers and many waterfalls from the steep mountains along the road to Stewart.

Before entering the campground, Rainy Creek Municipal Campground, several of us went to the RV wash to clean the gooey mud off our rigs. There were four of us piled up at one time, so we all helped each other wash each rig. It took almost two hours before we all headed into the campground. This campground is in a forest of pine trees and is a nice place. We had a difficult spot to park in, but we got the trailer in just fine between two trees on a corner.

Three of us couples then teamed up to go eat dinner. We had a very good pizza at a recommended eatery. It was called “Sealaska”. There was a hotel and motel there, too. We had to laugh when we walked in to order (walk-up window) at a sign placed there by the menu that said what they were out of. There were many items on that list. So, as we pondered the menu, we also had to check to make sure they were not out of that item. After we ordered, the cook came out and marked off the items the six of us had ordered, then turned and looked at us and said, “Don’t worry. I have enough for your orders.” Some others came in and after they ordered, she came out and marked off some more items. Then after we got our food, the cook made a new sign that said, “Items we have.” Underneath the sign was a note that said, “Closing sometime tomorrow, September 2.” We figured she was glad for all our orders, as that meant she could close earlier the next day. And, I am talking about closing for the season.

It seems things here all close around Labor Day. People close up their shops and go south (in Canada) or “hunker down” for the winter. Snow will probably be falling in a couple weeks. They get 15-30 ft. of snow each year. It’s as if they hibernate until June, like the bears!

Stewart is at the head of the Portland Canal on the AK-BC border. Hyder, AK, is 2.3 miles beyond Stewart, BC. Population: Stewart--699; Hyder—83. They are at sea level and Stewart is at the head of Portland Canal, a narrow saltwater fjord approximately 90 miles long. The fjord forms a natural boundary between Alaska and Canada.

Both Stewart and Hyder have historic old buildings, some still open and others in a state of disrepair. Hyder seems to be a dying town with very little businesses; a couple gift shops, a photo studio, a hotel and motel, and a couple little rustic restaurants. They actually have a post office. Mail is picked up and delivered here by float plane when the weather is permissible. I mailed some belated cards from there today.

Hyder is known as the place for night life. Hyder has earned the reputation and town motto of “The Friendliest Little Ghost Town in Alaska.” You can also become “hyderized” here by drinking a shot glass of 190 proof whiskey. I didn’t try it. Dan said it would knock me on by butt!

We can see our stay in Stewart/Hyder is going to be interesting….

Sunday:
We had light rain in the night. Guess we shouldn’t complain about the rain since we are and have been in a natural rain forest for several days. That is why the flowers and grasses are so green and beautiful and lush.

In the Stewart/Hyder area is a well-known Fish Creek Wildlife Viewing Area. It is located three miles from Hyder, owned and operated by the U.S. Forest Service. Both black and grizzly bears can be easily observed and photographed here as they fish for chum and pink salmon in the shallow waters of Fish Creek from mid-July through early September. Viewing is from a boardwalk above the creek area.

Fish Creek is a spawning ground for some of the world’s largest chum salmon, mid-summer to fall. It is illegal to kill chum in fresh water in BC. It is legal to harvest chum from both salt and fresh water in Alaska.

We slept in this morning and were glad to be here when the Kolley’s arrived around 10:30 a.m. They had waited with Ed for the tow truck at Iskut until 7:30 p.m. They left and drove until 11 p.m., and then they came the rest of the way to Stewart this morning. After they got set up, we took them for a tour of the towns (having to go through customs each time and showing our passports and answering questions). We stopped at a converted school bus that serves local seafood. It is operated by a local woman in her 40’s that has a couple sons. Her husband is a fisherman and catches the fish she cooks. They also own a fishing business that catches, cleans, packs and delivers fish to Washington, Oregon and Montana. It was very rustic. A dining room had been built behind the bus for seating. Ray and I had scallops. JoAnn had halibut, and Dan had a steak that she cooked special for him after he told her he was allergic to fish. We don’t know what kind of steak it was, but he said it was good. She didn’t even have hamburgers or chicken on the menu. He didn’t even eat the French fries, as she said they were fried in the same oil as the fish.

After lunch, we drove out to Fish Creek to see the salmon and watch for bears. The salmon were thick in the creek and fighting to swim up stream to lay their eggs. Then they die. These are very big fish. It is a little sad to watch them struggle. We saw one black bear come out of the bushes and “fish” and eat salmon. Right now the bears are eating a lot to build up their endurance to get them through the winter. Forest Service rangers are always present to make sure the people don’t get too close. While the bears are “cute” and you just want to pet them, we must remember they are wild and can attack and kill someone any time.

After the bear excitement, we drove on past Fish Creek about 14 miles along a dirt road that got narrower and narrower as it climbed up the side of a mountain with no berms or guardrails. (Kate, you would not have liked this!) We saw some old mines that are no longer in operation. Some were silver mines and some copper. The view was breath-taking. We saw another spectacular glacier, the Salmon Glacier. A lot of people do not chose to make this trip, but we were glad when we did and that we were safe.


Monday:
We were free to be on our own again to do sightseeing, or whatever. The Kolley’s and we decided we would sacrifice sleeping to go early to the bear watching area, as that is when the bears come out (daybreak). So, we all got up and went out at 6:30 a.m. and stayed two hours. While every other day, bears were seen, today proved the opposite. We finally gave up and game back to town to a bakery for bagel breakfast.

Then we worked around our rigs at the campsite and went into Stewart and Hyder in the afternoon to visit the shops. Most of them were closed. I think we are closing Alaska behind us! Some of the group decided to have a potluck dinner, so we did that. They only thing I had in the trailer to fix (without going to a grocery) was macaroni and cheese. We had a nice potluck with everyone just fixing what they could. We had our driver’s meeting around a campfire, as we will be leaving tomorrow for Hazelton, BC. Till then…..