Chena to Tok… across the border into Canada… on to
Whitehorse… to Boya Lake… to Bell 2 Crossing… to Houston… Prince George… to Little Fort… to Penticton… across the
border at Osoyoos and back into the US… finally arriving at Toppenish, WA 2,300
plus miles in ten days whew! Not our favorite style of travel but effective and
necessary. The heavy rains in Denali revealed a leak in Dimples’ back window
that was replaced last summer. The work
is under warranty and we need to get down to Portland to Airstream Adventures
NW and have them check it out. While
there we’ll also give Dimples a few upgrades… change out her tires and rims to
the 16 inch Eddie Bauer style Michelins and swap out the range for a cooktop
and micro-convection oven.
Crossing the Border into Canada is a breeze. The border guard is grumpy but he simply
checks our passport cards and waves us on.
The road from Tok to Whitehorse is rough and gets increasingly better
the further we venture into the Yukon Territory. At one point, rocks blast us,
when a semi passes us at high speed through a gravel patch. The two Plexiglas rock guards over the front
cured windows now sport multiple star shaped cracks… (This is why Dimples has
rock guards over the front windows, and it looks like we’ll be adding new ones
to our list-o-fixes in Portland.)
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| Klondike Rib and Salmon BBQ |
Whitehorse is the Capital and largest city in the Yukon
Territory. We stay at the Hi Country RV Park, go into town and do a little
shopping and grab a late lunch at the Klondike Rib and Salmon BBQ. The decor here is vintage tapper tent with log
beams and canvas walls covered with lots of turn of the last century memorabilia
and dead art. We order the Rib Tickler (tasty baby back ribs with generous side
of fries) and Robert Services Seafood Baked Dip with their famous focaccia
bread. The Ribs are melting in your
mouth delicious. The dip creamy and filled with artichoke hearts and fresh
seafood…yummy!
After checking maps, weather and road conditions we opt to
take the Cassiar Highway south through British Columbia. We stop for the night
at Boya Lake. Our space is along the
lake with spectacular views.
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| Bell 2 Lodge |
Traveling down the Cassiar we spot five black bears along the highway. Four active and one road kill :-( We stop at The Bell 2 Lodge. The lodge resembles a mini village with fuel,
lodging, restaurant and RV Park. In the winter months the lodge is home to Last Frontier
heli-skiing. It is considered to be one
of the premier heli-skiing operations in the world and boasts the largest
single Heli-ski area on the planet! The
ambiance is charming with pathways winding between the sod-roofed log
cabins. The restaurant serves up fresh
fare worthy of a high population urban eatery.
The daily special of Shrimp with Fettuccini is creamy and loaded with
succulent crustaceans and the BBQ ribs are fall off the bone, melt in your
mouth delicious. Service is relaxed,
friendly and efficient. When we asked
about their beers, the waitress queried as to what type and promptly brought
out an assortment to choose from. The next morning we arrive for the breakfast
Buffet to find that most of the fare has been devoured by really early
risers. The tailings look really good
and the assortment is impressive. They
are preparing more, but we’re hungry now so we opt for the traditional Bell 2
breakfast of eggs, potatoes, toast and sausage or bacon. Ironically by the time
our breakfast arrives, the buffet has been replenished. Next time we’re in this area we’ll definitely
stop here again.
We stop overnight in Houston (not the Houston we have a
problem but Houston B.C.) at the Shady Rest RV Park. It’s clean and perfect for
an overnight stop.
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| Dino |
In Prince George we stay a bit out of town at the Bee Lazee RV Park. After settling in, we head
towards town and grab lunch at Ric’s Lounge and Grill. Cocktails, salad, boneless beef short ribs
and a grilled duck breast were perfect to sate our appetites and tickle our
palates before we cross the parking lot to the Treasure Cove Casino and deposit
our small amount of Canadian Currency in their stingy slots. After checking on line for not to miss
attractions in Prince George we visit Fort George Park and the Exploration
Place. This is a small regional museum
with an impressive Paleontology Gallery, a Prince George Sports Hall of Fame, A
First Nations Gallery and a lot of information on local history and local
celebrities.
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| Rivermount Resort |
The Rivermount Resort in Little Fort is a real gem. This is a full service river front resort
with restaurant, hotel, RV Park with electric, water hookups and dump station,
laundry, showers and tent camping. The owners Derek and Melanie purchased the
resort last spring and have obviously been busy upgrading and improving. Melanie is an accomplished chef and she offers
her brand of “Home Cooking” at the resort
café. Home cooking is a bit of a misnomer though… the dishes may be of the home
style but her interpretation is modern and fresh. Her Chicken Kiev is mouthwateringly
melt-in-your-mouth wonderful, the Pork Schnitzel delectable and the
accompanying sautéed vegetables (snap peas, mushrooms and garlic slices)
vibrant. They have a decent wine and beer selection and an assortment of
quality spirits for cocktails. We are so
impressed with our dinner that we decide to return for breakfast and again we
are so not disappointed. We order
traditional eggs Benedict and a variation with fresh tomato slices and bacon
strips. Perfectly poached eggs and satiny hollandaise sauce satisfy our craving
for this breakfast treat. Another place
to return to.
We spend one night at the Park Royal RV Resort in Penticton and
then head across the border in Osoyoos. One Border patrol officer inspects the
back of Dave and another rummages through the fridge and cabinets in Dimples
and after finding no contraband send us on our way.
Although we pretty much bombed through British Columbia, we
did note the area’s riches, especially the wine country around Penticton and
Osoyoos. This is a must return to area
in the future.
We’re now back in the
lower 48, and we head to Toppenish to chill out while we wait for all the parts
for Dimples to arrive in Portland…
