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RE: Out the door....
Checkout Bull Canyon Provincial campground just east of Alexis Creek. Nice little campground on the Chilcotin River.
Soup.
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SideHillSoup
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09/19/20 08:38am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: alaska 2021 ???
We plan on going in 2021 if all is well, this would make our third trip up to Alaska. we'll be entering through Nagara Falls this and traveling east towards Alaska. For those who never have been to Alaska allow lot of time to travel it's a long drive.
I'll bet it was a really long drive to Alaska going east from Niagara Falls. You might want to stop and ask directions before you get to Nova Scotia.
If Columbus would have stopped and asked directions, he never would have discovered America.
Just so you know, Columbus didn’t discover America...about 500 years before him Leif Eriksson set up shop in what is now Canada, which is part of America.
And about 15,000 years before Leif and his troop showed up the asians walked over from Siberia to North America.
Now that’s what my history teacher told us back in the early 70’s... but... things may have changed since then, who knows...
grin
Soup.
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SideHillSoup
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09/17/20 08:03pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Out the door....
We loved Bella Coola.
Safe travels.
Soup.
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SideHillSoup
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09/15/20 08:28am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: 4 maybe 5 weeks....
Almost time...we are going to take off for a month long BC wander come Sept 15th. Probably drift thru highway 20 to Bella Coola, come back same way and Wells Grey Park, find some wild hot springs, watch trains in the Fraser Canyon. Spend a few days in Vancouver.
Can't say I ani't ready.
Gary Haupt
Done most of that, just not Bella Coola. Road scares me a bit :)
Oh, and I doubt I'd ever try towing in Vancouver unless I had no choice. Can't even stand driving down there :)
The Hill as they call it on Hwy 20 east of Bella Coola is no big deal. We drove it last summer after a trip up from Vancouver Island on the new ferry Sea Wolf.
The dirt section is 62 kms of a very well maintained “mostly” 2 lane logging road.
https://i.imgur.com/6WouLq6l.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/4DEQOQyl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/cG924mWl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/yKvtvtRl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/9ZYQyqsl.jpg
Soup.
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SideHillSoup
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08/30/20 11:19am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: 4 maybe 5 weeks....
Muncho Lake is beautiful if you go that way, but stay away from the logging and mining trucks. Despite the economic positives, seeing that destruction will ruin your trip.
Really, I take it you don’t live in a wooden house or have a flat screen TV etc.... there are a bunch of things I don’t like in the USA, but I don’t advertise it.
Now, the wife’s tomatoes are doing great... picked another 6 today.
Soup.
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SideHillSoup
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08/26/20 08:42pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Border closure extended..again
I see this story is in the politics section. Thats about right.
We are talking “ tomatoes”....
;)
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SideHillSoup
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08/17/20 07:14pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Border closure extended..again
But thank God Canadian beefsteak tomatoes are still being imported! Delicious even if they are commercially grown!
Grown in greenhouses not far from me in the most southern part of Ontario and canada.and south of Detroit...
Wife is growing them in the back yard.. yummy..
Soup.
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SideHillSoup
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08/15/20 05:45pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Paid Caravans to Alaska Worth it?
Funny.
I am born and raised in a small mountain settlement in South Eastern B.C. and I hate big crowds and cities.
I wish there were “Caravans” to help us backwoods people negotiate some of those big city Freeways ... ( grin)
We have for years budgeted money for our “extended camping trips” ( RVing) from about 1996 when my vacation allotment allowed longer trips. Our First extended trip was with an old 24ft 5er with a 3/4 ton 6lt truck. My Wife is a book keeper/ Computer programmer and she keeps records of all of our trips in a log book.
That First long trip we averaged $170per day CND , we got bigger and bigger rigs and the price of everything has “mostly” gone up in price over the years and 3 years ago we retired and down sized from a 35ft 5er to a new truck and new camper, which is what the same type of rig we had way back when we first got married.
Today we budget $175.00 per day and we have been pretty close.
Don’t forget the prices of things in Canada are more expensive than the USA, however your dollar right now is about 25% better than ours, so prices “ kinda” even out...Kinda” I won’t go into that to much but you get the idea.
To each their own, however I don’t see any need to have someone lead you on roads that are the farther north you go, sometimes the only roads you can take.
I suggest you buy the newest Milepost travel book which you can get on Amazon. Read it / review it first then see what you think.
Traveling up north ( Canada and up) in my opinion is much easier than in the big cities and super Hwys down below the 49th.
Have fun.
Soup.
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SideHillSoup
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07/09/20 09:52am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Help with Long Term planning for Alaska
Couple things which are my opinions and from my experience:
Followed my Cousin from Washington State from Oregon / Washington State boarder to Moab Utah and back. They at the time owned a 2018 150 3.5 EB pulling a 26ft trailer. Every time we hit a hill we slowed down to a crawl. I live in south eastern BC in the middle of the mountains so I have years of experience driving a hauling trailers in the mountains all months of the year. . I told them the last night we camped together before they headed back down to Vancouver Washington State that they needed a bigger truck, they agreed. They now have a new Ford F-350 Diesel.
If your going to be thinking of a new truck and your going to be doing a lot of traveling towing something, hands down a diesel is your best option. I had gas trucks and diesel trucks Over the years, and my last two trucks have been diesel, and we are sure happy they were / are.
If your thinking of a new truck the Long box or short box would be what you want, however I would get a crew cab for extra storage. The short box is a little easier to manage in parking / backing up a trailer around tight corners but even with my short box I take two parking sport when I park empty.
What ever truck you decide on make sure it has a transmission cooler if it doesn’t all ready have one. I’m pretty sure that when you get the “tow” package, when you buy a new truck, the transmission cooler is part of that package, so ask if it is part of the package, if it isn’t get one installed. Transmission have a hard time to dissipate heat, and when you add longer drives, mountains plus a trailer being towed, the transmission is having a much harder time trying to cool the fluid in the transmission. I see it all the time people broke down on a mountain pass becuase their transmission started slipping on HOT days, and it does get Hot up here.
There is nothing wrong with the trailer you have now is there? If you still like it why buy new and then find problems that come with a new rig, because all new RV’s have issues, again I know this from experience and seeing lots of people while out camping.
A couple things to do before you leave home with your present trailer. Repack and or replace all the wheel bearings, and put brand new rubber on the trailer. Not saying you won’t cook a bearing or get a flat, but the chances are much less and a piece of mind knowing, what’s rolling down the road is A-OK when you left home.
Our first trip up to Dawson City Yukon in 2004 we took our 1980 skylark 5th wheel and we didn’t have one issue. However I did go through that rig from one end to the other and repacked the wheel bearings and added new rubber including the spare as the rubber was checkered on the spare even thou it had a wheel cover over it.
Add a couple 100 watts of solar panels ether potable or attached to the roof. It’s day light much long the farther north you go so these panels will keep you batteries charged up when your not traveling and dry camping. ( boondocking in the USA) . I also use two 6 volt batteries for May last 3 RV’s and we do mostly dry camping for weeks on end no power issues. We do have a 2000 watt Yamaha Gen set, however we rarely use it.
My was if from Stewart BC ( Stewart B.C. / Hyder Alaska) and we have made many trips up to northern B.C. over the years. When we did the trip up the Alaska Hwy through Dawson Creek we bought Mile Post as everyone on here was talking about that book. Wife thought I was nuts spending that money on a book, however once she started using it while we traveled it sure was handy. I just got my 2020 Mile Post for next year trip to Tuktoyaktuk NWT. lots of new stuff in it since my last book in 2004.
Have fun on your trip
Soup.
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SideHillSoup
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07/08/20 10:09am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Longer closure gathering momentum...
Sounds like the Okanogan Valley and Vancouver Island will be busy this winter. Buddy who has been a snowbird for the last 22 years has ordered a cover for his 5th wheel, he says his rig doesn’t like the cold.
I live with in 40 minutes of the Washington State boarder, lots of people up here have summer cabins south of the 49th that they would love to get to, but not one of them that I have talked to wants the boarder open until it is safe to travel, in either direction.
We lost out on a cruise to the South Pacific last March ( 6 days before sailing all cruises Shut down) we lost thousands of dollars, that we are still trying to get that back, however we are safe at home and money isn’t everything,
Today are camping out in the bush about 10 kms up a Forrest service road, the rain has stopped, now its time to go out for ride on our side x side.
Be kind, be calm, be safe ( Dr. Bonnie Henry)
Soup.
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SideHillSoup
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07/03/20 08:57am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: hauling trailer to Alaska
Re-pack all the wheel bearings and or change if required, and all new rubber on your used trailer especially if you only have 1 axel.
When I bought my 1st used 5th wheel and then did our first time to “upper” Alaska, I did that for a few hundred dollars and then I didn’t worry and or have my issues.
Have fun.
Soup.
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SideHillSoup
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06/29/20 04:07pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: hauling trailer to Alaska
I forgot to mention one thing. The only regret we had visiting AK was that we had not done it years before. We're already planning when we'll make our next trip. I have already started my list of places we're going.
1-McKenzie Highway in NWT.
2-Denali Highway.
3-Spend time in the Brooks Range.
4-Still considering to Inuvik and on into Tuk just to say we did it and saw it.
Tuk is our next summers trip.
Soup
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SideHillSoup
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06/28/20 10:51am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: hauling trailer to Alaska
When I pulled my 5th wheel ( now have a camper) we would budget $175 per day. That includes fuel, food to cook in the rig, campsite, and $20 per day for “stuff”.
Now when you only travel for a few hours per day, you cut down on fuel costs.
When you stay in a campground for more than one night you save on fuel, but you still have campground costs, food ...etc....
The only time we hit the $175 per day was when we did long days drives and we stayed in a campground. Or if we ate out a lot or did a lot of tours/ museums etc to pay for.
Now if you dry camp ( a lot of people call it boondocking) you will cut your costs dramatically, but you will always have fuel costs and food.
My wife is from Northern BC ( Stewart) and we have done a lot of trips up there over the years. I’ll bet you will love northern Canada and Alaska, they are beautiful, and make sure you have “loads” of time available for your trip, which is about the one piece of advice we will all agree on.
And traveling to Alaska is not all the different from driving around where your from, it’s just a long ways to go to get there, and most major Hwys are paved. The distances are longer between towns as are fuel stops.
One tid bit of info on fuel is always fill the top,1/2 of your ya tank, meaning If your in a town or see a fuel station fill up if your fuel gauge is near 1/2.
We were caught once up north when I didn’t fill up at Bell 2 and I just rolled into the old gas station at Maziaden Jct. on fumes... never did that again...
Have fun.
Soup.
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SideHillSoup
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06/24/20 02:10pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: BC Residents only
I've been wondering about this very topic .....snip.
It's a tough call, .....snip
Gary
Hey Gary, I was out on my side X side on Thursday between rain storms and I was way up a logging road when I ran into a BC Natural Resource Officer.
After he checked me out for proof of insurance on the sxs, make sure we weren’t drinking alcohol, if we had helmets ( we were stopped having lunch at the time), we got to talking about camping in the bush this summer with issues around BC parks campgrounds/ c-19 etc.
He said that they will be doing extensive patrols in the bush this year insuring everybody is following the rules for camping in the bush and following The BC C-19 guidelines / regulations.
Now what Laws and regulations they will enforce I can’t tell you but they have really stepped up there presence around here in the Kootenays the last few year and from what this fellow said, they will be more prevalent in the bush in the months to come.
It’s going to be a strange summer coming up.
Stay safe everyone.
Soup.
That's interesting and good to know.
We always behave on our fishing trip, very respectful of the camping area, clean up everything, including debris from the last 5 campers that left stuff behind and do on.
We keep our music low, so it doesnt travel. We have a few drinks, never out of hand or rowdy.
We mainly sit around a campfire talking about what hurts and how great we used to be!
I just hope that they don't get snarky about my Alberta residency.
We have been checked on many times over the past 45 years of fishing trips, never once an issue, and always had a great conversation with the conservation officers. They check our fishing licences, which we always have. Our little aluminum boat has all the safety stuff etc.
I just don't want to be sent packing because I'm not a BC resident.
Your the kinda people I like.
I have two kids plus grand kids living in Alberta so you won’t hear trash talk coming From our campfire.
Stay safe
Soup
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SideHillSoup
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05/23/20 10:54am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: BC Residents only
I've been wondering about this very topic myself, and how things will play out. I have read some conflicting information, depending on the source.
A group of us are planning a fishing trip to a lake near Merritt the first weekend in June.
Several of us are attending. 2 from Penticton, 1 from OK Falls, 1 from Kelowna, and myself from Alberta....
I'm wondering if I will run into any kind of challenges since i am no longer a BC resident. I used to live in Penticton years ago.
Location is a rough, totally unserviced area by a lake, FCFS. Park ranger wanders through and collects a nominal fee based on nights spent.
Hope I don't drive all the way from Calgary, only to be turned away....
Could leave the TT home, come out in my car and occupy a spot in a buddy's MH. I prefer my own space though.
It's a tough call, if basing it on available info. There is a lot of real estate that is NOT part of the BC Parks system. I am thinking that if your lake is not a reservation type location, that you will be ok. Emotions are running high, right now and you will need to judge the situation accordingly.
Check your private messages
Gary
Hey Gary, I was out on my side X side on Thursday between rain storms and I was way up a logging road when I ran into a BC Natural Resource Officer.
After he checked me out for proof of insurance on the sxs, make sure we weren’t drinking alcohol, if we had helmets ( we were stopped having lunch at the time), we got to talking about camping in the bush this summer with issues around BC parks campgrounds/ c-19 etc.
He said that they will be doing extensive patrols in the bush this year insuring everybody is following the rules for camping in the bush and following The BC C-19 guidelines / regulations.
Now what Laws and regulations they will enforce I can’t tell you but they have really stepped up there presence around here in the Kootenays the last few year and from what this fellow said, they will be more prevalent in the bush in the months to come.
It’s going to be a strange summer coming up.
Stay safe everyone.
Soup.
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SideHillSoup
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05/23/20 08:47am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: BC Residents only
I hope BC residents remember that when the forest fires start, and they need out of province help.
Two totally different subjects.
Nice try.
Fighting Forrest fires falls under “ essential services” and the B.C. Govt ( Forrest Service) has been working on safe work plans since this all started, as there has been notices / bulletins stating some of their plans made public.
And just guessing they have been tweaking their plans as things change concerning C-19.
Fire fighters
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SideHillSoup
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05/22/20 10:21am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: BC Residents only
Funny... I can’t find nothing on first come first serve sites, BC Parks only talk about reservations.
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SideHillSoup
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05/21/20 08:00pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Canada border crossing
The Canadian side ( heading North) will be dictated when it opens to non essential traffic by Canada not then USA. As well the Province’s don’t have a say in, if or when the borders open; it is a Federal decision, they can only voice their opinion.
Hopefully the final date for reopening will be jointly made by both countries.
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SideHillSoup
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05/13/20 10:54pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Canada border crossing
Way too much fear based guesses here. Once across, regardless of what they might ask...24hrs to transit, there is not a chance anyone is going to say anything, unless a driver is spotted parking in Whitehorse going into bars and clubs..oh..wait...those are all closed.
And once IN Canada, you are golden...you are going to your country or origin...the US. There is no one being stopped or questioned as in 'where ya goin, bud'?
And...just an aside..it is not THE Yukon..it is ...Yukon.
Gary Haupt
Hey Gary, you English teacher skills are showing.
The Soup.
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SideHillSoup
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04/27/20 04:28pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Canada border crossing
The best place to find out what the horse is doing is ask the horse.
Travel.gc.ca
Soup.
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SideHillSoup
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04/27/20 04:20pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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