Hyder/Stewart

Cassier Stewart Highway

Can you tell I finally have access to some internet?  ha.

Hyder/Stewart was a surprise.  Hyder is, of course, in the US, so you “cross” the border from Canada.  Hyder, however, is about 1 mile long, so when I went to get gas in the Jeep before driving out the gravel/dirt road to Salmon Glacier, I had to cross the border back into Canada and forgot to grab my passport.  I keep it by the driver side in the coach and it didn’t occur to me until I was at the border inspection that I didn’t have it with me.  Fortunately, there was a very nice Canadian official that let me cross with the promise I wouldn’t forget it the next time. 

One of the recommended places to eat in Hyder was The Bus.  For over 20 years, this very nice lady has been cooking her husband and son’s daily catch in this converted school bus.  I ate there twice and the fresh halibut was soooo yummy.  Once I had it sauté with garlic and the other it was breaded.

The converted school bus/restaurant is a popular idea.  I think there was at least one in every place I stopped and they were usually on the recommended list. 

The 27-mile drive to the glacier was good – no flat tires, no injuries – ha.  I am always surprised at the cars that speed past on these gravel roads like they have a mission.  I always expect to find them pulled over with a flat, but apparently, that only happens to me.

You know those signs that say “Beware of falling rock”?

 

I spent my two nights in a turnout facing the Portland Canal, a 70-mile-long ocean fjord that forms a natural boundary between Canada and Alaska..  For those of you non-RV readers, the “rule” is you can stay in a turnout along the road as long as it is not signed that you can’t and you are a minimum 10feet from the road at all times.  There is not as much road noise as you would think on these highways and the views are often spectacular, and the price is always right.  When I was getting ready to leave here, a man with a delightful accent offered me half of his morning’s salmon catch.  Unfortunately, I had to decline because of 1. I don’t clean fish and 2. I don’t have any freezer room.  But it was a nice gesture, and he was very complimentary about my coach. 

My coach is really in bad shape, between the body damage, the neglect and the dirt, that it is an embarrassment to me right now.  I feel anxious to get back to the “states” so I can clean it up and make it pretty again.  It looks really bad.

When I crossed the border out of Hyder into Stewart, I asked the Customs official what was the procedure if you needed to cross during non-working hours.  Of course, I also asked what would happen if you just drove up the US side of the road instead of using the Canadian side (there is no border check going into Hyder) ….. it is a $1,000 fine the first time; you don’t get a second time.

I basically had the road to myself again as I headed west, except for a black bear cub playing alongside the road.  I think the black bears are cuter than the brown bears.

I am surprised as I drive these roads how many of the mountains have blue ice at the top.  I bet it was spectacular before the glaciers started to melt.