Day 55 - Dease Lake, BC to Stewart, BC

Bill and Marilyn Kern #6 Monday, August 2, 2010


Today, the drive was smooth and scenic! With very few exceptions we drove over well-maintained roads. The surroundings were beautiful, starting with partly cloudy sky in the morning, and periods of sun and warm temperatures. At Gnat Pass Summit (4,072’) we were surrounded by mountains bathed in sunlight. There were large patches of vibrant pink fireweed all along our route – thicker, taller, and brighter than we have ever seen during both trips to this area.

We saw many “animal droppings” along the highway starting during the first 75 miles. But we never saw any wildlife today on our way to Stewart, B.C. There were many sightings by others in our caravan.

We ate lunch at Bell Crossing II Lodge, where we were joined by several of our group.

We pulled off the highway at Bear Glacier. WOW! It was spectacular! There was a beautiful waterfall to the left of the Glacier.

We arrived at Bear River RV Park, a nice park with all the utilities we needed to live in our “home.” We, along with the Tottens, explored Stewart, drove across the border (US/CAN) to Hyder, AK (pop. 64), stopped at “THE BUS” for dinner and proceeded to the Bear Observation Site in the Tongass National Forest. This site has a large viewing platform along a stream where grizzlies and Black Bears feed on spawning salmon, and berries. There was a large crows waiting to see/photo bears. After a long patient wait a black bear arrived, sauntered under the platform into heavy vegetation, and joined another black bear. We returned to Stewart via a manned border crossing.