I hope you all are enjoying a nice Fourth of July weekend - Sandy and I are tired of being cold.
We woke up at the Continental Divide RV Park about 7:30 am and I tossed and turned most of the night. I just couldn't get warm and Sandy had a similar experience. The bike said 45.5 degrees and it didn't break 50 until noon.
We headed out and rode about 75 miles down the the junction of the Alaska Highway and Highway 37, otherwise known as the Cassiar Highway.
We had breakfast there at a rustic little cafe and chatted with some other travelers. Then we headed down the highway.
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| The gift shop |
The Cassiar Highway is essentially a parallel route to the Alaska Highway but to the west and through more mountains. The highway was just paved a few years ago and it is narrower with no painted centerline or shoulders. And the buffer area is narrower with brush right along the sides so speeds are slower, usually about 50 to 55.
We hadn't gone more than 20 miles when I caught a movement to my left, and in an instant I caught a glimpse of a black bear and a cub scurrying off into the brush. I pointed to them but apparently they were gone when Sandy went by.
A little while later I came around a corner and there was a bighorn sheep on the side of the road. As I slowed and approached it took off, and then I saw a momma, poppa, and 3 little sheeps (fairly mature). They walked away into the forest before we could get cameras out.
Then after an hour or two I caught sight of a cow moose in a small lake. We pulled over and got some good pics of it.
The Cassiar Highway is much more remote than the Alaska Highway and has few services or towns. There are long stretches of just winding road through the forest with many lakes and streams and rivers. It is a much more scenic ride but you have to manage your gas and know where the next stop or two are. I stretched my first tank to 235 miles and was on a blinking empty light. But not to worry, Sandy's BMW GS is my spare gas as he is carrying 8.8 gallons!
You may not remember but I saw on the news that there was a large forest fire that closed the Cassiar Highway for a week in April. We rode through that area today and it was a terrible thing to see. We could even still smell the burnt wood once in a while.
We finally got down to the town of Dease Lake (also a HUGE lake). Got gas there and talked to some bikers. Then we rode through the small town and down to the lake. We saw a couple of seaplanes there and noticed one. It was a Turbo Otter on floats and they were loading a bunch of two by fours lumber into it. As we started to leave I noticed they were casting away from the dock so we got our cameras out and took videos as the pilot started the turbine engine and it took off. Really makes me wonder who and why someone has the money to pay for a Turbo Otter to fly a bunch of lumber to someplace they can't drive to. Again - life in the great Northwest.
Let me see if this video will work here...
We rode for a few more hours south until it was getting late, about 6:30 pm, and we started thinking about where to stay. We stopped in a little gas station in Irkut and looked at my Milepost travel log. It was a cool 50 degrees with a strong wind and then it started to rain. It was looking pretty miserable. I saw that the Tatogga Lake Lodge was just 10 miles down the road so we went down there. By the time we got there the rain stopped and it cleared a little and the wind amazingly stopped too. The weather here is uncanny. But I know not to complain too much. I recall stories from friends and some previous years' ride reports that it can rain here for days on end...
We inquired inside and they said all they had then was a few rustic cabins (the 'nice' ones were all taken). These had no electricity, no heat, no water, and were $50 a night. After the last several nights of cold sleeping we wanted to get some better cover at least. So we rode down to look at them.
Wow, we hit the mother lode! They were indeed rustic, very small about 10x10 with bunk beds and mattresses but nothing else. But they did have little wood stoves inside. And they were RIGHT on the lake! With a beautiful view! What a gorgeous setting! And for $25 each we were sold!
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| Sandy's bike in front of the cabin |
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| Very basic cabin but it had a wood stove in it and would keep the mosquitoes off of us |
So we rode back up the hill and checked in and ate at the restaurant. Sandy went down to get a fire started and I have stayed here in the restaurant using their wifi for the last 2 hours catching up on the blog. I hope you all appreciate it! I should be down there enjoying the fire and relaxing with Sandy! But I know you all want to know how we are doing so that's why I am doing this. But it is very time consuming...
So now I am all caught up on the last several days. Tomorrow we should get down to Stewart and then run over to Hyder which is a popular place in Alaska. It is so remote they don't even have a customs border crossing - you can't go anywhere from there!
After that we will head down to Prince George. We may split up or possibly ride a little further south from there, just not sure yet. We haven't studied the maps that far ahead.
I haven't taken any pictures of this place yet so that will have to wait till the next blog update. Wifi has been spotty and unreliable the last several days which is why you haven't heard from me. I hope you all have been following the SPOT tracks to see our progress.
Ok, nuff for now. I gotta go down to the lake and enjoy the peace and quiet. And hopefully sleep a little warmer tonight!
Jerry
