Left early this morning with my time zones mixed up and made it to Cassiar Highway and down to Iskut by 1:30... it became overcast and wind came up so seemed like a good place to stop. Iskut is not quite halfway, but stops just before the gravel portion begins. Hopefully the rain will pass through and it will be clear before I leave in the morning. I stopped at the Mountain Shadow RV Park, which takes you down a winding road into a green valley near a lake and sitting at the foot of the mountains. A magnificent view and the best I had for my stops. The person that pulled in next to me had traveled to Alaska in 1995 and remembered this place and intentionally arranged to stop here again. His rig was as dirty as mine, and when we found out we came from opposite directions, decided it was not worth washing them for another day. That will be a priority when I get through the gravel area tomorrow.
The Cassiar is a beautiful road, with the trees much closer and the road more narrow which gives you the impression of driving through a forest. Streams and small lakes flank the road as it winds through the hills. Rushing water in the streams and clear as glass lakes seem a strange contrast as occurring so frequently and close together. Beautiful snow covered mountains in the background complete the almost perfect view.
But... this is not the world's best kept secret as the road was busy with RVs and cars going both north and south. I was seldom by myself on the drive as I prefer, but would have to dodge oncoming RVs and Trucks, or watch for someone trying to pass me. The road was generally good.... asphalt but with many patches which caused you to "rock and roll" some, throwing thing on the floor in the trailer. There were some areas of gravel, but generally good surface, and the long stretch lies yet ahead. The manager of the RV park remarked that people coming from the South headed to Alaska and are seeing gravel for the first time, complain about how bad the road is... those that have been to Alaska and are coming back say "gee.. this is not too bad"... wait until they cross the Yukon..
No animal sightings this trip... hopefully with an early start in the morning I will get to see some. The traffic was so heavy it probably kept them away from the road, as a car or RV would be passing every few minutes. Also, best sightings are in earlier spring and Fall.... this area has been rich in bear sightings, and I was hoping to see some again before the end of the trip.
Tomorrow I am off to the Hyder/Stewart area which is about 200 miles, just on the other side of the gravel patch... Stewart is in BC, and Hyder is in Alaska (almost across the street)... in an area rich with glaciers. Stopping early here may delay my arrival in Vancouver until late Saturday.
