July 11th, 12th, 13th

Today heading for Whitehorse. (Have to get the tire fixed)!
Whitehorse








Made it to Fireweed R.V. Services ltd. in Whitehorse. Very nice owner said we could stay there with water and electricity till Monday morning when they could start work on the RV tire. So we went for a nice dinner at Klondike Rib and Salmon BBQ, Brad had the Muskox stroganoff and I had the Artic Char with sundried tomatoes +. Sunday we toured the city and went to a lot of museums. Found Starbuck's it's been awhile, Yummy! Monday morning David Robertson the owner of Fireweed RV, took a look to get started and saw we had another flat tire on the same side as the first one 5 days before.








As it turns out we had two cracked rims and one tire gone. Found rims at one store and got Fountain Tire to put the tires on them. They were great, put them on right away. Took the tires back to Fireweed and they put new studs in the one hub (one was bent) and put the tires back on. Can't say enough about this great RV shop! Professional, Friendly, Reasonable it made the pain $$$ a little easier to take.
On our way by 3:30pm and stopped to see the Conair guys in Carmacks (out of Whitehorse base). They seemed surprised when we drove up. Had a short chat with them and then went to find campground and have dinner. Saw them fly overhead going back to Whitehorse base.
Went for a drive around Carmacks, following the brochure that says Walking Tour (Very nice brochure). It's a dive! all the places to see were overgrown and run down. WE DON'T RECOMMEND THIS STOP! Tomorrow we are going into Faro for the day.

July 10th

Onwards to Watson Lake, YK. Here is a picture of the lake , and the sign villiage, where everyone puts up signs from their hometown or makes a sign with their name and date they were here. it’s enormous there are 65,000 + signs from all around the world.
Not much else to tell here, had to leave early the next day to get to Whitehorse so we can get the tire fixed.

July 9th

Woke in the morning to a flat tire on the RV.
I spent an hour trying to pump up and then changing the tire. Will have to wait to hit a big town to get fixed. Somewhere I hit a good pothole and cracked the rim (didn’t know that at the time).




Over the Lower Liard Suspension Bridge (Dar driving), a 1143 foot suspension bridge (look for video on youtube).


Early day into Liard Hotsprings. I went in both pools, top one not busy, bottom one very busy. Mosquitoes were atrocious around all that warm water!








Very nice Campgrounds here. Figured out it’s better to have Dar put the RV into campsites while I direct, less fighting.

July 8th

On the road again heading North and nice to be on asphalt. Stoped at Steamboat Café (closed now) at Steamboat Mountain Historical milepost 351, then on to Tetsa River Campground and bought a homemade cinnamon bun and loaf of bread as the Milepost travel planner says this is a favorite stop. On to Summit Lake Provincial Campsite for lunch.








Saw Stone Sheep and Cariboo on our way to Muncho Lake, BC to stay the night.










Breath taking Muncho Lake.

July 6th & 7th - Fort Nelson

Finally back onto asphalt, into Fort Nelson today and the first thing I had to do was take the truck and RV to the Truck Wash. A costly bath and one hour of work. Stayed two nights at the Westend Campground in Fort Nelson. We spent an interesting 2 hours at the Fort Nelson Heritage Museum. The curator (Marl Brown) certainly has a fine collection of Alaska Hwy construction memoribilla and cars. Fort Nelson Heritage Museum
Went to the Grocery store to buy milk and bread and wound up having to go get the truck to load the Groceries home, well stocked up on food again for our travels North. Went for a nice motorcycle ride around town and out the Hwy, stopped at Trappers Den which had Furs, Books, Crafts a bit of everything.

Videos

You can see some short clips from our trip if you search bradanddar on youtube.

The Nahanni

I FINALLY MADE IT!!!! "THE NAHANNI", After nearly forty years of reading all I could find and watching television programs, me and Dar got the opportunity to fly into the Nahanni National Park.
The Nahanni National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.It has canyons that are 3,000 feet high, a waterfall that is twice as high as Niagara Falls, hot springs and an amazing terraced calcium deposit, a gigantic whirlpool, incredible wildlife, caves that hold fossils from eons ago and unusual karst typography. The river and the surrounding area also has a fascinating history which has resulted in an intriguing mythology with place names such as Headless Valley, Funeral (mountain) Range and the Cirque of the Unclimbables…. It truly is a wonder of the world - not just a Canadian wonder.
The tranquility is inspiring. The silence is broken only by the river and by wildlife. Sadly it is too remote for frequent visits but the remoteness is what ensures the serenity will survive.
This opportunity will no doubt be with me for the rest of my Life, it was truly that heartfelt. It was that over-whelming.
FUNERAL RANGE AND SOUTH NAHANNI RIVER













VIRGINIA FALLS













BRAD AT THE TOP OF THE FALLS













THE RAM PLATEAU













LITTLE DOCTOR LAKE













Since our last post, we have traveled to Yellowknife (by motorcycle), stayed overnight at the Executive Inn Suites and back to Ft. Providence the next day. We really enjoyed ourselves in Yellowknife, saw all of the interesting sites of the city and lunch at the "Wildcat Cafe."














On June 30th we left Ft Providence en route to Fortt Simpson NWT, what a day that was, rain the whole way. I think I pushed two inches of mud virtually the whole way. You couldn't even tell what colour the truck and 5th wheel were.













On the way we stopped at Sambaa Deh Falls,



and at Jean Marie River turnoff we had lunch. On to Checkpoint and down to the ferry (crossing the Laird River) and into Fort Simpson, by late afternoon. Got setup in Fort Simpson Territorial Park and spent the evening with the rain and bomber size mosquitoes.







July 1st (Canada Day), had a fantastic time watching the local Canada Day Parade and BBQ. (good way to meet a number of local citizens). AND THEN WE WAITED, for four days until the rain stopped,s o we could get a plane into the Nahanni on Saturday.




Sunday, July 5, left Fort Simpson and on to Fort Liard. We had lunch at Blackstone Terr. Park and had the Park Attendant, play his guitar and sing a song in (Slavey tongue). The road from Blackstone Park, to Fort Laird was extremely rough. A lot of the way we couldn't do more than 20 km per hour. We stopped in Fort Liard for dinner, I had a Buffalo Burger. Dar bought some really nice Native Crafts that are made by local Dene women at the Tourist Info Place. We "dry camped" for the night, just inside the BC border.
MOOSE HIDE CC WALLET W/BEADING & BIRCH BARK CANOE

PORCUPINE QUILS AND BIRCH BARK BASKET



July 6, on to the Alaska Highway and into Ft Nelson,BC. Spent the day setting up camp at "Westend Camp Grounds" and washing the truck and 5th wheel. Wow, were they dirty.