Dawson Creek, BC

I’m not really in a hurry, but I sort of am. I very much do not want to get stuck in snow, and with how crazy the weather seems lately who knows when that might start. Because of that, I’m trying a new way of travel. On my last trips, I always found campgrounds to stay at, and usually stayed two nights in a row somewhere. This trip, at least on the way to Alaska, I’m just staying wherever I end up when I’m tired of driving. So I’ve stayed in rest stops, parks, parking lots, anywhere I won’t get kicked out. The van is the perfect vehicle for that – totally self-contained, no trailer. Except for walking Lucy, I don’t need to go outside. I don’t fool myself that I look like a regular work van, though, or that no one knows I’m camping. I’m in the literal Land Of RVs right now, I’ve never seen so many everywhere. The towns are so small that if the locals don’t know you, you must be in an RV. 

From north of Banff to here has been seemingly millions of campers. There is a campsite on most every corner. The parking lots in Banff NP and Jasper NP were full, and they can accommodate hundreds at a time. Paving over acres and acres so people could come see nature. Not that I am arguing against it, I am taking full advantage. 

Other new things on this trip: the roof vent/fan, which is amazing. It makes the difference between going on trips in the van and living in the van (but definitely not in the snow).

As soon as I crossed the border into Canada, except that whole getting lost part, the parks and trails have been plentiful. My original idea was to drive for an hour, spend the day at a park, then drive until I was tired of it and find a place to sleep. At first I’d see a sign for a waterfall hike or lake and immediately pull off. I hadn’t planned driving this route so I didn’t know what to expect. But I soon learned that there is a nature pull-off  every 10 minutes. And they are all spectacular. The Provincial Park system keeps everything clean, and they all have a restroom. All pit toilets – ugh, gross – but they are the least offensive that I’ve seen. And they make you remember to check which pocket your phone is in, without fail.

There are so many nature stops that I had to start limiting myself to only the ones on the right-hand side of the road. Even then, I barely saw any of them. I had to start logging my mileage because one day I realized I had stopped seven times within 100 miles (161 kilometers!). That’s a little too many. 

As I mentioned earlier, Banff was crazy crowded. My only planned stop was Lake Louise, and each parking lot had a “Full” sign. Jam smashed full of RVs. So I got gas and moved on without seeing it. But everyone seems to be driving south (possibly I am the only idiot headed north now) so I’ll hit it on my way back south.  

I’m glad I got gas, since they get very far in between in the mountains. I skipped one, the line looked longer than my patience, and I ended up regretting that. The next one was in the town of Jasper on the north side of Jasper NP. And when I say one, I mean only one. Thousands of RVs parked everywhere, half the town fenced off for construction. I saw the line for the station and – hell, no. But the next one was far, far north, so I U-turned and got in line. It reminded me of the lines for the gas rationing in the ‘70s (of which I’ve only seen pictures). Lots of unhappy-looking people sitting in a line in their vehicles with the engines off, signs pointing toward gas. The station itself was a shit show, since even the ginormous RVs and people pulling trailers had to come to this tiny 4-pump station. I waited over 10 minutes (cry me a river, right?), then was finally pulling up to a pump when some guy in a pickup truck cut me off. At that point, I had been driving through mountains all day, Lucy was a stressed-out nightmare, and I hadn’t eaten in hours. I was irrationally furious. But I limited myself to hateful stares when his back was turned because I didn’t want an “Americans are all assholes” label, which is super easy to come by. Speaking of stereotypes, though, I never met a Canadian who wasn’t polite so getting cut off by a local was surprising. It reminded me of having to go to “downtown” Hanapepe every day for work and getting stuck in traffic because tourists were stopping in the middle of the road to take photos. Much, much smaller scale, but I could empathize with his state of mind (although not til after I had gotten out of town, eaten, and slept). 

Toward the north end of Jasper, which between Banff and Jasper is a drive of never-ending, oh-my-god-I’m-so-tired-of-mountains mountains, I was so ready to get out of the van. Lucy has been a wreck, even with multiple nature walks, and she will not – for a single moment – sit down during a drive. She has to be pressed up against my arm, straining so hard at the cargo net that keeps her in the back that she cuts off her breathing and I have to push her backwards. I am constantly covered in drool and fur, and I don’t know why she isn’t bald from the constant shedding. The worst is when she has her wet, rubbery dog lips on my arm leaving a slime trail. Even with a drool towel covering me and all the stuff in the front, it’s gross. So, tired and annoyed, I’m finally driving out of the mountains (this was before the gas station) and I see a traffic jam in the 2-lane road. Both sides are stopped and dozens of cars line both the lanes and the berms. I thought it was an accident, but it was a black bear. Everyone had slammed on their brakes to take pictures. You could barely see it, and all I wanted to do was keep driving, but it was impossible. A couple motorcycles were able to get around, but no one else. I was so looking forward to my first bear sighting, and it was lame. I threw my iPhone into the side window and took a picture since I was stuck there anyway, but, lame. 

Can you spot the bear in this photo?

Speaking of wildlife, I’m going to start a running list of animals I’ve seen, just so I remember. I did finally see a moose, but the poor thing was dead on the side of the road. Freshly dead. I saw the guy who hit it pulled over, talking on his phone. Just like the bear, I don’t want to count this as my first official moose sighting. 

With the million highway signs warning of beer, deer, moose, sheep, “wild game” crossing the road, I guess I expected more. But I have a long, long road ahead so I’ll try to be more patient. 

Finally out of the mountains for a short amount of time, I promised Lucy a full “Lucy Day,” which is 24 hours without driving anywhere. We pulled into “Mile 0 Campground,” where we are alternating long walks and naps. And I got to shower and do laundry. Heaven. 

Mile 0 is the start of the Alaska (Alcan) Highway in Dawson Creek, BC. From here it is north to Tok, AK, where you have drive through to get both in and out of Alaska, and which is currently on fire. 

I would like to add that I am writing this without any AI help. You may have already guessed that from the typos and bad grammar, but I’m always in a hurry to get my posts out when I have a decent signal, which is not often lately. I just wanted to clarify that.

I’ll probably start more running lists, if you have any interesting ideas let me know. I’m thinking of a wildflower list, but I don’t always have internet to identify them. Everything looks familiar, but different enough from the flowers I know to make ID 100% positively. Maybe a list of things that would make the van better, or repairs I need to do. 

I sincerely hope you are enjoying my posts. I am out of the writing habit but am trying to start again. Even if you don’t care, I’m enjoying the writing process. But really, thanks for reading.