Spectacular Stewart, British Columbia, Canada

I was happy with my choice to stay in a hotel in Prince George and get out of the rain. When I woke up it looked like I wasn’t the only one seeking refuge from the rain. Pretty cool seeing them. Obviously I am not the only one doing this.

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There are two routes from Prince George to head up to Alaska. One is up the Fort St. John, Fort Nelson and along Hwy 1. I decided to take the other route along Hwy 16 and up Hwy 37 to Hwy 1. I’ll take the other route on the way back.

I love reading the blogs of other motorcycle adventurers. Along this route was a place recommended by many of them – Hyder, Alaska, and Stewart, British Columbia.

The ride was pretty uneventful until the end of the day when I needed to find a place to stay. I was close to Stewart but would have to head 61 km down a dead end road in hopes that I would find a place to stay. I decided to go for it. I suppose I could always bush camp. I always say that but haven’t done it yet.

I don’t know about you, but when I get excite about something I get a huge grin on my face that I can’t stop. It wasn’t long down the road to Stewart I got that grin on my face. I love places that constantly have me saying, “WOW!” And this was one of these places – towering snow capped mountains, long ribboned waterfalls, a turquoise colored river, and best of all a glacier! Tomorrow I would take better photos.

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As I entered Stewart I saw a campground sign for Rainey’s. Bonus. A $15 Cdn camping spot with hot showers. See my review of the campground.

The campground attendant said to go to the Glacier Inn in Hyder for dinner.

Hyder is a weird little place. There is only one way in and out, and that is through Canada. Despite this, Hyder has it’s own little time zone and is one hour behind Stewart. Go figure.

I got to the Glacier Inn and no one was there. Huuuummmmm. I drove around town for a bit and it looked like most buildings were either boarded up or closed. Then I saw a sign saying, “The Friendliest Ghost Town in Alaska.” Now that explains it all.

Going into the town there is no US customs. But leaving Hyder there is Canadian Customs. Now I thought given the situation it would be more or less a wave through. But no. The Custom’s officer would not accept my enhanced drivers license and wanted proof of citizenship. He then wanted to know how long I had been there, where I had been, what I was bringing back and question my responses. At least he didn’t search my bike.

After dinner at the King Edward Hotel it was back to my campsite and a good night sleep. Couldn’t wait to look at the sites again when I leave the next morning.

Here was the day’s route for July 5, 2016.

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Rain Rain Go Away – Prince George, Canada

It looked like a great day for a ride.

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I would have liked to have stayed another day at the Brookside Campground but the weather report was for rain the next day. So I wanted to beat it by leaving today for Prince George. The forecast for there was decreasing rain. So I booked a campsite there and got out of Dodge.

It was a bit nippy out so I put on a base layer. After breakfast in Clinton I put on my heated vest without the heat turned on. The clouds rolled in and it started to drizzle. No biggy. But the drizzle turned to rain. Then mother nature decided to add wind to the equation.

You know how things seem worse when you aren’t expecting it to happen? Well, I was expecting a nice ride and now I had rain, cold and wind.

By this time I had turned on the heat on my vest to “Max.” To get the full effect I leaned on my tank bag to press the vest and heat close to my body and to shield myself from the wind and rain.

On a positive note, it was the first test of the Klim Badlands jacket and pants in the rain. They worked great! I was completely dry. The same was true for my Held gloves!. The damage was more psychological than physical Grrrrrr. I took a break in the best psychological place I know – Starbucks ha ha. I have been making good use of the Starbucks Gift Card given to me by my co-workers as a going away gift. Thanks everyone!

By the time I got to the campsite in Prince George it was still raining. Setting up the tent in the rain, while soaked from the ride, was not my idea of fun. Even if I was going to lose my reservation deposit. Off to McDonalds to use the wi-fi to find a solution.

A quick check on Expedia revealed a hotel in my price range – YAY! I got a nice room at the Riviera City Centre Inn. Time to dry out, do laundry, charge electronics, and better prepare myself mentally for the rain. It was actually great for this to happen now. A bit of a baptism for what I am sure will be much greater hardships in the future.

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Route for July 4, 2016.

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