The Cassiar Crawl

Aug 28/07 - Even before leaving on our trip we talked about returning on the Cassiar Highway. Every chance we got we asked about the condition of the road as various reports concerned us about the wisdom of our choice. The last traveller we questioned assured us that although recently washed out in the Dease Lake area by early, heavy rains it was now in passable condition. For the past two days we have averaged about 50 km/hr as the road is in many places, still being repaired with many stretches covered with loose gravel. The rains must have been torrential as in several places the road had been completely rebuilt. The scenery however was no disappointment. For several miles we travelled beside a wide valley containing swamp, lush grass and clumps of low willow - and not one moose!

A young black bear and a cross fox on the road was all the wildlife we encountered. But tonight the drive seems worthwhile as the motorhome is sitting mere feet from the edge of stunning Kinoskan Lake. Fish are jumping, (trout-not stocked) the water is still and in the background rugged mountains slope down to the lake. After a delicious outdoor supper we sat beside the water and watched a loon searching for his repast. To reiterate - the weather has been superb so tonight as we hunker down we don't mind that a few raindrops are falling. Better this than snow as we have heard is the plight of our friends who we left days ago further north.

Aug 31 - This evening finds us in Cache Creek - cheek to joul with long week-end campers and a delightful young couple from Germany - who say my name sounds like it came from the south of Germany in the Tyrol area.

To sum up the past few days - rain, mud, road repairs and gravel. and when the Cassiar finally became a road - hills and valleys with lots of twists and turns. No complaints though - even if we are spoiled Albertans.

We've decided to slide over to Vancouver to Nan's grandkids and therefor have done very little sight-seeing in our attempt to make miles. The country-side, lately, is not mountainous but still offers a lot of scenery. Travelling along the Fraser the hills are sometimes tree covered, other times valleys open up and farms and ranches appear. The farms almost all sport old log buildings - cabin, once grand houses and even bank barns. I'm reminded of books I've read by Grant MacEwan about the cattle drives along this route to the gold fields of the Yukon. Those men were a tough breed as they pushed large herds through uncharted country and across large rivers and lakes. You can't begrudge them the princely sum of a dollar a pound they got for the their beef!

That concludes our Yukon adventure - stayed for further developments.