Conky Tonkin' with The Pfeifers: We End Our Alaskan and Canadian Experiences and Start Heading for Home

At Kulane, N.P. again

We flew back to the Anchorage airport, picked up our larger bags that we had stored rather than haul them with us, and called the parking service shuttle to take us to our car. We were so happy to see her again! We drove off and stopped at some stores so Jane could pick up some Alaskan souvenirs before checking into our motel for the night.

The Kulane Mountain Range

The next morning Capt. Larry prodded Jane out of bed really early for the long drive to Beaver Creek, YT. We were on our way home and making hay. It would be a long drive over roads that we had passed over before, and a few that already seen twice, so we didn’t anticipate a lot of tourist stops. We arrived in Tok and bought our last U.S. gas before being raped again by the Canadian gas prices, and then headed for the border. Our crossing into Canada went well, but the border agent appeared more interested in whether we had a switchblade onboard (Capt. Larry reported he had a pocket knife) than a firearm. Really, who carries switchblades anymore and why? And why are we worried about switchblades? Shouldn’t we get grilled about the fruits and other agricultural products that we had encountered at our previous crossing? Anyway, we crossed the border and arrived at Beaver Creek, YT. We checked into a motel which she figured was the upper end of the Beaver Creek offerings (all 3 of them!). No TV, no internet, no telephone, and only two lights that worked in the room, but it did have an ice machine!

We had another early start the next day. The plan was to bounce through Canada and get back to the states as fast we could. We retraced our route to Watson Lake, but stayed in a nicer motel than we did on our way up (we do learn as we go!).

Fireweed back first after a fire

We visited the Watson Lake visitor’s center again to get an update on bridge construction on the Cassiar Highway we had heard about earlier. We also checked on our sign that we posted earlier in the Signpost Forest.

Lake along the Cassiar Highway

It was still there and announcing Killian, LA, quite well. The next morning we started down BC’s Cassiar Highway on our way to Smithers. The road was really rough at the start, but smoothed out as we approached the more populated areas and ski resorts. We travelled approximately 200 miles on this route and only saw 16 other cars (each way) until we exited and got on a more traveled route. We spent the night in a nice Smithers’ motel, and then headed for Prince George and Lake Williams, BC.

Bad photo, but grilling at the park

Jane had read the ad for our motel in Lake Williams- beautiful valley view, but no ice buckets, no TV, or internet (is there a pattern here?). That was Jane’s pick based on the ad, so we’ll ask some questions before we check into some of the places in the future. We went to a local park to do some walking and then grill some pork chops for a picnic dinner. We headed out the next morning and entered the beautiful Fraser and Thomson river valleys which followed our route and provided us with some spectacular scenery.

Our sights were set on Vancouver the next day to finish out our Canadian travels. We planned to spend a couple of days there to rest up and enjoy some sightseeing.

Along the Fraser River valley

On our way we passed through the scenic Fraser and Thompson River valleys where a lot of whitewater rafting is done.

Whitewater along the Fraser

The narrowest point on the Fraser River is a place called Hell’s Gate (we wondered how many places named Hell’s Gate we have passed through- two of them were on the loop and we think we can name a couple of others).

At Hell's Gate on the Fraser

The stop featured a tram that took anyone willing to pay $20 down 400 feet to a complex with a number of gift shops. We didn’t exercise this option and headed on. We made our way into Vancouver still wondering about all of the signs announcing a toll bridge for which no toll was ever collected. Jane was in charge again of picking a place to stay (groan!), but this time she came up with a gem.

The air tram

She read an ad for a motel located in North Vancouver on Horseshoe Bay, and we dialed in to stay there. We arrived at Horseshoe Bay and found a really quaint, delightful coastal village. We decided to stay two nights so we could relax and chill out for a short time.

Chilling out at a Horseshoe Bay pub

The motel receptionist recommended a great restaurant and we had a great meal.

Our recommended restaurant

The next day we decided to board a ferry and head over to Bowen Island for the day. Bowen Island is known for its hiking trails and small town tourist shops. We arrived and felt we were up for the long hike (60 minutes one way) to Killarney Lake, a featured nature hike.

Yummmmmmm!

The hike to the lake was really scenic and passed through a temperate or coastal rainforest that hosted a number of really large redwood and cedar trees.

Heading for Bowen Island

Arriving back in the town, we had a great al fresco lunch at a local restaurant. It was Friday and the annual Steamship Days was just getting underway.

A Killarney Lake

This is a wooden boat festival which we are familiar with from the Madisonville, LA, Wooden Boat Festival near our home, so we headed down to the marina to see the boats.

The wooden boats!

It wasn’t even close to what we were expecting with a total of 6 wooden boats at the docks.

A steamer with a wooden trailer

But there were a lot of activities for the kids (a kayak construction competition was especially entertaining), and Jane had a good time perusing the craft vendor and local merchant offerings.

Building the kayaks

The ferry took us back to Horseshoe Bay where we decided to have a light dinner and turn in early. The next morning we got an early start and crossed the border with no problems and hightailed our way through Washington and into Oregon where we spent the night in a neat little town named Roseberg. It was good to be back in the U.S. and we celebrated by buying lots of booze, gas, and groceries!