July 31: We began our long journey back to Texas by first retracing our route from Whitehorse to Watson Lake. The drive was relatively short, and we stayed in the same RV park (a known quantity) where we’d stayed near the beginning of the tour.

August 1: Today’s drive retraced our route from Watson Lake back to Muncho Lake, an earlier stop at the first part of our tour. It’s rather interesting to see the scenery from a different direction. At Muncho Lake, we also stayed at the same campground at which our group had stayed several weeks ago. It already feels different, not being with the group and the advantages it affords (directions to campgrounds, reservations already made, some meals provided, etc.). However, it is nice to have more freedom and less regimentation. We do recognize that each way of travel has its advantages.

August 2: The weather was absolutely gorgeous today, sunny and clear! After a leisurely start, we made our way from Muncho Lake to Ft. Nelson.

August 3: We left Ft. Nelson a little earlier than we usually start, because we had a fairly long drive ahead of us today to Dawson Creek. The day began with sunshine, very pleasant temperatures, and little wind. For the most part, the roads were very nice and made the drive much easier. Along the way we saw lots and lots of vivid pink fireweed in bloom along the roadsides—what a sight to behold! We stopped for a mid-morning slice of pie and cup of coffee at the Buckinghorse River Lodge, near the entrance to the Buckinghorse River Wayside Provincial Park, B.C. There, we chatted with a couple from Golden, CO. Each one was riding a Honda “tricycle” with a trailer behind, and they were having quite a grand time! After that snack break, Dave and I had no interest in food until after we had arrived at our RV Park in Dawson Creek mid-afternoon!

Farther along the way we began seeing huge, bright yellow fields of canola in bloom, an amazing sight! We also notice LOTS of petroleum production activity in this general area of Canada—definitely a major contributor to the local economy. By the time we arrived in Dawson Creek, the sky had turned completely hazy. It looked a lot like smoke, but we’ve never detected any smoky smell. In any case, we are parked here for a couple of days, and at least for tonight, one of the other couples from the official Motorcade tour is parked here, too, just a couple of slots away from us. It’s likely that we’ll part company soon, though, because they’ll be heading toward home in California, whereas we’ll be headed south but more easterly.

August 4: Second day in Dawson Creek was a quiet one, catching up on household tasks and just kicking back and relaxing.

August 5: We left Dawson Creek this morning, heading for Hinton, BC. Along the way, we passed through the town of Beaverlodge, AB, where we visited a very nice quilt shop with friendly staff and lots of gorgeous fabrics! Later, along the highway we were getting hungry and hadn’t seen a restaurant for miles. Dave was driving and ready for a rest, so we decided to get our lunch from a popular little snack bar in a trailer (serving burgers, hot dogs, etc.) alongside the road. To our pleasant surprise, the food was fresh and really good! Just while we were there they got quite a bit of business from tourists and from oil crew workers in the area. Quite an eclectic bunch!

This roadside stand put out some fine hamburgers.

August 6: We left Hinton today, heading for the Lake Louise area, where we planned to pause for a full day. As we made our way through Jasper National Park early in the trip, we saw a couple of elk along the highway. We didn’t try to photograph them, though, because they were between us and the sun. The drive through Jasper was a lovely one, and numerous glaciers were visible along way. It’s very mountainous, lots of climbing and descending, and the highest elevation we reached was over 6600 ft. Fortunately, I did NOT have end up with an altitude headache as a result! We pulled into the parking lot at the overlook to the Athabasca Glacier, part of the Columbia Ice Field, for a brief rest, and there we encountered a couple of our fellow Motorcaders, Jeni and George Buchkowski. How delightful to see them again!

We drove on to Lake Louise and had intended to stay there a couple of days. However, the campground office there does not accept advance reservations for a site. Sure enough, when we arrived, the campground area was overrun with tourists and there were no open parking spaces, especially one big enough for us. The congestion was oppressive, so with plenty of the day left, we decided to head farther south to Golden, BC. We had no trouble finding a parking spot in a campground there, where we enjoyed a restful night.

August 7: We’ve enjoyed another rest day in Golden. We had a late lunch in downtown Golden at the Whitetooth Mountain Bistro. The food was tasty and beautifully presented. Tomorrow we’ll once again be on the road, this time toward Naples, ID. It’ll really be nice to be back in the good ol’ U.S. of A. again!

July 29: We left Haines this morning on our last leg of our Motorcade’s official tour of Alaska. We had a lovely trip back to Whitehorse, YT, on some of the best road surfaces we’ve had during our tour. The weather varied from sunny to a Texas-style rainstorm, but it was mostly heavy drizzle. Since we parked and got hooked up in Whitehorse, the falling weather seems to have let up for the time being, and I can certainly stand that! 😉

Along the way, we stopped at a place called Million Dollar Falls, a campground and scenic stop about a mile off the main highway that a worker at the campground in Haines had highly recommended. The site sits on the steep banks of a rushing mountain stream. It had cyclone fencing and a stair system for accessing overlooks to the falls in reasonable safety, and the overlook points provide very impressive sights and sounds! While we were at the point closest to the falls, Dave also got a video (with sound) of the area. Farther along the highway at Haines Junction, where Alaska Hwy. 1 intersects Hwy. 9 and takes us on to Whitehorse, we stopped for a snack break at a little cafe and bakery a block off the highway. We bought their last two pieces of raspberry/rhubarb pie and washed it down with a couple of cups of coffee. Very yummy! I do believe that was the best pie I’ve had this entire trip!!

We made it into Whitehorse safely through the rain and are now parked and set for the evening.

July 30: Today was the last day of our official Motorcade tour of Alaska. There was one last wildlife tour scheduled, but we opted instead to use the day to get laundry done and prepare for the upcoming trek south and east. In the evening, our entire Motorcade group gathered for a farewell banquet. The food was good and the entertainment was delightful.  It was also a nice opportunity for good-byes before we went our separate ways. In addition to the food and fun, we had a great chance to recap some of our favorite or most memorable times during the tour. It was indeed an amazing experience we shared, and I’m sure we’ll be in contact with some of our new friends again later, “down the road.” The couple who served as our “wagon masters” for this trip are retiring from those duties, having led these journeys for a number of years. A younger couple are taking the reins and I’m sure will do an excellent job of guiding the next tour(s).