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.
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.
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.
