Our Journey : Kinaskan Lake PP

5/28/2024

May 24th, 2024 - Cassier, Alcan, Bears, OH MY!

We continued our journey north this morning and, yes, it was still raining and cloudy.

The good road we had to Iskut...disappeared. This was our two lane road for the next 100 plus miles. It was not too bad but we had to watch for "frost heaves".

Interesting set up in the middle of nowhere - LOL!

Folks who truly live off the grid:

We saw these white pipes at every culvert - not sure of the significance:

The road:

Many bridges:

I called this tundra land - where the trees are sparse, don't grow very tall, and they may be over 100 years old.

Frozen lakes just breaking up:

That red sign signifies a "frost heave". In other words...damaged road - go SLOW!

Here is Highway 37 - Cassier Highway:

Continuing our journey:

OH MY!!

More frozen lakes breaking up:

Jade City - just had to stop:

There was a sign outside about their pets so when I went inside because I wanted to see the cats! The owner came by and we talked about our pets and she brought down the youngest cat so we could see (they live upstairs). What a treat. We chatted with her for a while until she was called for another customer.

We wandered the store and I asked about the raw jade and they sent me outside to talk to Mark - one of the workers.

He told us about the mine and their raw materials are sent to Russia, New Zealand, Whitehorse, and Anchorage where they produce all sorts of items. Jade City has them send back all their "floor scrap" and there were a few bins there. When I told him I was looking for small pieces for jewelry, he took me to the one bin where I found so many little items. AWESOME!

The view from Jade City:

Interesting carvings:

Look at that raw jade - just WOW!

We continued our journey:

I could not get a good picture but look at the colors nears the shore - just beautiful!:

This lake was green - like a lime green:

What a treat! Another bear! (Up to now, we saw a duck, a rabbit, and a turtle - LOL!)

And then we hit the burn area:

The road on the right was the old road that we took in 2009. I think the new road is because of the fire:

This went for miles - it must have been super hot to disintegrate these trees:

An oasis:

Another treat - Mama and her two cubs:

Her cubs are brown - how about that!:

We crossed into the Yukon:

The Alaskan Highway - WOW! It is like a superhighway!:

The last 150 miles on the Cassier was so so different from 2009. Then it was a "trail that wanted to be a road" and was mostly dirt and gravel. Now it is paved and wide open. Amazing!

Another view of the Alaskan Highway:

We debated on going into Watson Lake but decided that we would spend more of our time in Whitehorse for supplies and laundry so we headed west on the highway.

Our stay tonight was at Big Creek Government Campground (in BC, it is Provincial Campground - In Yukon, it is Government Campground.)

Our site:

Our red truck is almost gray - so much dirt!:

A great campfire night:

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled: 247 Miles

Routes Traveled:

British Columbia: BC-37 (Cassier Highway)

Yukon: YT-37 (Cassier Highway); YT-1(Alaskan Highway)

Tomorrow we continue our journey on the Alaskan Highway so stay tuned and enjoy today!

May 23rd, 2024 - A Rainy Day on the Cassier Highway

(Note: the next few blogs will be picture intensive!)

We woke to blue skies and off we went:

As we started on the Cassier Highway, it became cloudy and rainy and stayed that way. I know it is what it is but I was a little sad because the scenery is beautiful.

So here are some pictures along the way:

Snow covered mountains and rushing rivers:

Many logging trucks:

Yes, they do have electric - LOL!:

So many lakes and ponds:

This is the southern end of the Cassier. To get to Alaska by car, there are only two routes - the Cassier Highway and the Alaskan Highway. The Alaskan Highway is the main route with services not too far apart. The Cassier is remote with only a few services in 450 miles. Since the Alaskan Highway is closed due to the wildfires, this is the only way north.

I have to say that there was very little traffic. We were told that all the trucks were being diverted to this road. We did see some but not what we expected.

We took this road in 2009 and there were some areas that were little more than a trail. There were areas (like 150 miles) of dirt or gravel and very narrow. So we are interested in seeing this journey.

Here is the road today:

Sometimes there are lines, sometimes not. Our opinion for today...the roads are no different than many of the Pennsylvania back roads. However, the scenery is more spectacular - LOL!

Large river beds:

Mostly wooden bridges:

Talking about the services - this was a great map for us because there was no cell or internet on the Cassier.

We fueled in Kitwanga and tomorrow we will fuel in Iskut. Then we should be good until we are on the Alaskan Highway.

We passed the turnoff for Stewart and Hyder and kept going. We were there in 2009 and it is quite an interesting area. However, the big draw is the glacier and the bears when the salmon are running. The salmon will not be running for a few months. Last time we went to see the glacier, it was raining and the road was very slippery. So we decided to bypass it this time.

Our first stop was Meziadin Provincial Park. We went thru the campground and it is BEAUTIFUL! But it was raining and cold and would be that way for the next two days. So we decided to continue north.

We did end our day at Kinaskan Lake Provincial Park. I just LOVE the British Columbia Provincial Parks. Our site: