We ended our last blog with our fun bear observations. We made several trips back to the creek for bear watching and Helen took a few more photos to share. While hanging out on the observation deck, we got to know several of the rangers and it was fun learning more about the bears that frequent this area.
In my last blog, I neglected to mention that Stewart, BC, with a 2021 population of 517, is located at the end of a 90-mile-long fjord, named the Portland Canal, which is the fourth longest fjord in the world. The city was founded by settlers due to its gold and silver resources. There are still active mining operations today. In its mining heyday, there were thousands of residents between Stewart, BC and Hyder, AK. The city leaders wanted to name the town Portland City, after the fjord, but the Postmaster said no. There were too many other cities named Portland.
The day we were leaving Stewart, BC was my birthday and Greg and Helen’s anniversary. We planned to go out to dinner the night before to celebrate, but the only “nicer” restaurant in the area was going to be closed that night for a private event, so we went a night early. We all thoroughly enjoyed our meals at El Tostador, enjoying Surf ‘n Turf, Seafood Vegetable Curry, Shrimp Tacos, and Surf ‘n Turf fajitas. The only disappointment was they did not have any desserts. Greg & Helen rectified that by bringing me a piece of chocolate cake with a candle the next night. I was able to blow it out all by myself, even at my advanced age. A big thank you to Greg & Helen for the yummy birthday treat.
Speaking of desserts, I have found a new yummy dessert, Nanaimo bars, pronounced na-NY-moh. The bars are named after the Canadian city of Nanaimo in British Columbia. The no bake bar consists of three layers, the bottom is a cocoa, coconut, and nuts crumb base, the middle is a custard filling, and the top is a scrumptious chocolate ganache topping. So good! I can’t wait to make them when we return to Florida.
As the four of us are all cyclists, we pay attention to the cyclists we see along our travels. We were able to meet three of them in our Stewart campground. Tim & Cassie, from Montana, are cycling “the Americas.” They have already cycled from Montana down through Mexico, Central America, and stopping in Boliva in South America. On this trip, they left Prudhoe Bay on the Artic Ocean and are cycling down Alaska (they also headed east to explore more of Alaska), south through Canada, and back to Montana. From there, after a brief stop in Montana, they are getting on a plane to Bolivia to finish cycling south through South America to Cape Horn. They will have then cycled from Prudhoe Bay, AK to Cape Horn, Chili. Amazing! You can follow them on Instagram at @funpedaler. As you can imagine, they have lots of adventures under their belts.
Ryan, who goes by his trail name Indiana (“Indy”) is an endurance athlete and he has completed some unbelievable events, including a 1,000-mile trail race and in Leadville, CO he ran in a half marathon, a marathon, and then a 100-mile trail race. Seriously? He definitely is an elite, endurance athlete. His current goal is to cycle around the world, currently riding the America’s (plus hopping down to Antarctica from Cape Horn). He had been chatting with Tim & Cassie on a group chat and they recently met up. They plan to ride together until Tim & Cassie head back towards Montana. You can follow Indy on Instagram @cycling_kindness.
Our next adventure was to see the Salmon Glacier, the world’s largest road accessible glacier. The three cyclists also wanted to go, but it was their day off from cycling and it was a 17-mile uphill climb to the glacier. Not really what you want to do on your rest day. We offered to take them with us, so Tim & Cassie rode with Dave and I (with Murphy in their laps – they use to have a female chocolate lab) and Indy rode with Greg & Helen. We had a great time listening to their adventures. The glacier was just as beautiful as we had heard it was. On the way down the mountain, I sat in the rear left so I could not see the edge of the mountain as we headed down. I made it!
To get to Stewart, BC/Hyder, AK, you turn off the Cassiar Highway at Meziadin Junction and drive 40 miles, passing by Bear Glacier. We were leaving the same day as our new cycling friends, so we offered to take them to the junction if they wanted a ride. Tim thought since they had already ridden the road, it would not be cheating if they got a ride back to the Cassiar. The next morning, we loaded their 3 bikes with all their gear into Mini-T and headed to the junction, stopping at Bear Glacier along the way (as it was windy and raining when they rode by). We said our good-byes at the junction and watched them ride off, continuing their adventure to ride the Americas. What fun!
Our next stop along the Cassiar was at Kitwanga, to see more than a century old cedar totem poles. There were two sites, both in First Nation’s land, that displayed the beautifully carved totem poles, displaying the owner’s clan status and family traditions. We also visited the nearby Battle Hill, which was a fortified village strategically placed atop a hill with views of the river and valley. The warriors would roll logs down the hill to stop attackers.
We were a day behind Greg & Helen and they went on a canyon hike at their campground. Pretty cool pics! As we were traveling to our next stop, we were able to meet them at their campground. We went on a short hike to see the beautiful canyon.
As the four us of left for our next campground, Helen, aka Eagle Eyes, spotted a black bear in a creek. Greg was able to pull over and Helen scurried off for the photo opportunity. The encounter was brief, as Mr. Bear sniffed Helen’s scent and stood up to see what she was all about. Both decided to part ways…it happened so quick, the bear was gone by the time Greg got there.
The four of us have arrived in Prince Rubert, along Canada’s west coast. We did not have this stop on our original itinerary, but our campsite in Jasper National Park has been cancelled due to the horrific fire they had not long ago. So sad. We now have a few extra days to explore before we have campsite reservations at Banff National Park.
Great birthday “bear” week Brenda, Happy Birthday Brenda Dave, and why can’t I pee on a totem pole Murphy.
Happy Birthday, Brenda, and Happy Anniversary, Helen and Greg! You’ll never forget this year’s celebration!
Black Bear thinking…”Is that small woman dinner or a threat”? Um, NOPE, no thank you, but thanks to HELEN for nearly sacrificing her life for some most awesome bear pics.
Happy Birthday to Brenda (hey, it’s within a week of the actual day so it counts in blog-land), and Happy Anniversary to Greg and Helen. So thoughtful of them to present you with a birthday cake and candle!!! So glad you have some friends along to help celebrate your big day. And great job conquering all those way up there sights. You’re amazing!
Exciting birthday bear sights! Glad you didn’t experience any bear hugs!
Happy Celebrations! Your dinner looked fabulous and fresh! Were the old cars parked in front of the El Tastador?
What a glorious time you all are having! Spending time with your new biker friends was really cool. I know you all had fun sharing stories….And the adventures continues…. The photos and literary is incredible!
Thanks to all of you for doing what you do and sharing this amazing journey with us down here in the lower latitudes!
Love to all,
Annie