After

G - Reporting

So now back to alleged normal life! Just thought I'd take a moment and answer the most common questions I've been asked since returning, rather than write some monologue about how deep and meaningful the whole experience was.

It was an adventure, it was exciting and we enjoyed ourselves - done deal.

1 How was the trip?
Awesome* (is there another word to sum up a drive around the entire planet?)

2 What was the best country?
No real answer to this one but at a push I really enjoyed central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) and Russia was pretty amazing and not forgetting Mongolia and Korea - see no real answer.

3. How far did you drive?
52,000 Km (32,300 Miles) (to which one person said "is that all"!!)

4.. How much did it cost?
More than I really want to think about but lets say safely north of $45,000 without the cost of the truck

5.What was the food like?
For the most part great, apart from Mongolia (not a big fan of greasy mutton) 

6 Do you speak Russian?
Very little but its amazing how far you can get with a smile, some hand gestures and the following Russian words - Yes, No, Please, Thank You, Hello, Goodbye, One, Two, Three, Beer! and the phrase "I don't speak Russian(Я не говорю по-русски)"

7 What was the scariest moment?
This is a three way toss up between crashing the truck in the Gobi desert, camping on the Afghanistan border and getting through Customs/Narcotics checks on the way into Uzbekistan.
Having said that every border was a pretty stressful experience - going to the states will be such a cake walk now.

8.Why did you do it?
Easy one - watched "Long way round" with Charlie Boorman and Ewan McGregor and thought we could do that and did! - just without the massive support team ;-)

9.Would you do it again
HELL YEAH!



*This is the original use of the word "Awesome" not the new - ie your $1 slice of pizza is not "awesome" its merely very good!

October 21st

G - Reporting

So last day proper of the journey the return to our start point in Vancouver!

The last couple weeks have been spent staying with friends and family while sorting out stuff for our return to "civilian" life :-)

Today's drive was a drive I've dome more times than I care to remember so there were no surprises. Its a pretty drive down through the mountains and we took the longer route down through the Fraser Canyon just for the hell of it as after all this the end of a 52,000km drive around the world so I think we can take our time on the last day.

We arrived in Vancouver at around 6pm to our temporary digs and a celebratory bottle of wine.

WOW WE REALLY DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Parked outside our old place where the plan was hatched.

Septeber 28th

B - reporting

We left the Super 8 in Williams Lake for the last day of the trip, with mixed feelings. Sad to end the trip, excited to see family, a new chapter now as we have to stop being Adventurers and start becoming Job Hunters.

It was a rather cloudy gloomy day, which did not help. However we arrived in Kamloops in time for lunch (Triple 0's, one of my guilty pleasures!) then had a brief explore of the town which I, am ashamed to say, despite driving past Kamloops about a million times we had never actually looked at. We were impressed, the old downtown area seems very pleasant.

Then headed to Armstrong and martinis.

September 27th

G - Reporting

Not much to report today other than a 600km run from Smithers to Williams Lake, a drive I've done on a previous occasion, so after breakfast in the motel it was just an all day drive to our motel followed by dinner in the casino next door.

September 26th

B - reporting

We woke to Environment Canada Rain Warnings! Which coupled with the entire town's power scheduled to be switched off at 8am prompted us to make an early start, rushing down to the cafe for large coffees while the lights were on.

We rushed to the gas station, unsure if the ATM would work after 8am, then headed out of town in the heavy rain. The glacier was not visible today, nor really the trees, river or mountains! It was not too bad though when we reached the junction to Highway 16, and we headed west and south to Smithers.

Smithers is a very pretty town, surrounded by mountains and seemingly full of hippies. Lots of nice cafes. We found a motel, the Storks Nest (very nice) and then wondered round town and had a long walk in the nearby forest.  We finished off the day with delicious food in Rob's Mediterranean Restaraunt, so while not a super-exciting day it was very pleasant. We are now pretty much just going for long driving days till we reach Armstrong, BC, where we will stay with family.

Passed this sign years ago and always wanted go north. Now done it and then some :-)

Smithers looking across the scenic Safeway parking lot towards the mountains!

September 25th

G - Reporting

So with the whole day at our disposal and Stuart's attractions fairly short we started with a leisurely breakfast in the hotel, before a quick look around town.

But the highlight of the day was to be Fish Creek with the hope of seeing bears and the Salmon Glacier, to get to them you have drive through America and this has to be the only border in north America where there is no border guards you just drive in very strange when you consider the rest of the borders.

Once across the border you find yourself in Hyder Alaska which is a tiny place with maybe 100 people living there and no real reason to stop we carried on to fish creek to see the bear which fish there for salmon sadly the salmon run was over so no bears, apart from the one that wandered out of the bush right in front of us as we were getting into the car - a process that I might add the presence of the bear speeded up considerably!

After that it was a 20km drive up a very small and step deep road with massive drop offs on one side to the look out for the glacier, a perilous trip that was well worth it as the glacier was spectacular.

We rounded the day off by a quick look at the nearby abandoned mines before retuning to Stewart for dinner at THE local restaurant.

As its at the end of a long spur off the Alaska Highway not sure how its "Mile 0"?

Surprise Bear

The amazing Salmon glacier

Abandoned mine workings

September 24th

B - reporting

Very very chilly this morning, one of those days you just do not want to get out of your sleeping bag. We decided to just pack up and have breakfast in Watson Lake, which while this meant no morning coffee it did mean we were able to leave quickly-ish. It seems to take us even longer than usual to pack up when it's cold. However we were soon toasty warm with the heater on, and we found a nice diner in Watson Lake.

It was a very sunny day, and we had a beautiful drive down the Stewart/Cassiar Highway, one of Canada's scenic routes. Very windy and narrow, over golden hills and along twinkling rivers. It was a long drive, early evening when we reached the turnoff to Stewart, on the Glacier Highway.

We were looking forward to seeing glaciers tomorrow, we had heard that the road from Stewart past Hyder went very close to a magnificent one, but we were delighted to discover that the road we were on passed close to a glacier! They are quite strange, just like huge tongues of ice blah-ing into the river. And surprisingly dirty, especially at the toe, though the turquiose blue ice colour is visible underneath.

Stewart is very much a working town, a base for many of the mining operations in northern BC. I really liked it. We stayed in the King Eddy hotel, a large busy old-school place with warm comfy rooms. We escaped the icy rain by having some beers and TV in our room.

Our 1st up close glacier!

September 23rd

G - Reporting

Woke to a very wet and misty day which made us thankful we got our sightseeing in the day before, the route out of town went up and over a pass and into an area of high alpine aptly called "moonscape" as it was very strange looking with lots of exposed rock and small twisted trees and right in the middle of it all the Canadian border post, can't be the nicest place to work in winter!

Back in Canada we stopped at the tiny town of Carcross which seems to completely rely on tourists coming in by the train from Skagway on day trips because there was really nothing else there, apart from just north of town a small but perfectly formed sandy desert complete with massive dunes, which looks really strange against the alpine back drop apparently it was the bed of lake formed in the last ice age.

Then it was really just covering ground heading towards Watson Lake, stopping about 50km south of town to camp for the night.

Misty pass crossing back into Canada

Carcross Desert.

September 22nd

B - reporting

After a delicious breakfast at our B&B and a nice chat with our host we set off to explore the town. It was a Ship Day, so everything which had been closed yesterday was open, and the town absolutely teeming with cruise ship passengers. There were about 5,000 visitors. Insane! It was such a contrast to yesterday's empty streets! Very strange to see, a ghost town come to life.

We headed north to the historic Grave Yard, where some of the Gold Rush dead lie. For such a tiny town, Skagway sure has a lot of graves - in 3 graveyards. It really gives one a sense of how many people chased their dreams though here, and of course how many didn't make it. There are tragic tales of avalanches as well as more dramatic deaths from shoot outs. The little town today making all its money from cruise ships survived it all.

We then went back into town (about a mile) after briefly getting lost when we tried to walk by the river. The railway station is right by the harbour, and we mingled with the crowds excursioning on the Yukon and White Pass Railroad, one of the world's Scenic Railroads. We will go on it, as soon as we win the lottery.

More wondering, a bit of souvenier shopping, and we had had enough of crowds so drove out to the abandoned gold rush town of Dyer, in the next valley across. There is not much left now, the forest taking it all back.

It was quite cloudy now, and a bit chilly, so we drove back to the B&B then walked out for dinner, first stopping in the ex-brothel the Red Onion for a couple of drinks. We dined at the Stowaway on fantastic salmon, then went back to yesterday's brew pub where seasonal workers were celebrating (and I mean CELEBRATING!) the end of their season. Fun!

The Y.W.P.R.R.

A 2 cruise Ship day so only about 5000 tourists. (they have 4 ship days!)

One of the pioneer Graveyards

The main drag.

Septmber 21st

G - Reporting

Ferry day today just a short hop up to Skagway but out 1st trip down a fjord and 1st time on the Alaska Marine Highway, so after grabbing coffin and a muffin and a sandwich for lunch in the very nice local coffee shop we made our way down to the terminal.

While we waiting we got chatting to an Australian couple in a Land Rover that we had glimpsed about a week before coming off the end of the Dempster but hadn't stopped, turns out they had been on the road for 4 years coming up from South America and going back to oz once a year for a month or two and had covered 290,000km - made our 50,000km seem short!

The trip down the fjord was nice and sunny and very pretty and before we knew it we were in Skagway, checking out hotel options we picked a B&B which was really nice and then headed out for a look around town and then down to the point at the far end of town that extends out into fjord where we spotted a whale and seals.

We finished the day with dinner and few beers in the local Brewpub.

Sailing down the Fjord (or canal as they are called here)

Looking back

Arriving in Skagway

September 20th

B - reporting

We set of for Alaska this morning. We'd travelled some of this road before, and autumn has really set in now. The deciduous leaves are golden, glorious. We had a coffee in tiny Haines Junction, which is basically a collection of motels surrounded by mountains, then went south west to the US border.

This may have been some of my favourite countryside. Massive high plains, rolling up to craggy snow-capped mountains under blue skies. Ever so slightly reminiscent of Mongolia, only less green, and fewer yaks.

The US border was quite a ways south, out of the plateau and back into trees. After the very easy crossing we drove down the Chilkat valley along the Chilkat river. It was like going back in time, as the trees became greener, and there were even late blooming flowers by the roadside. The trees were huge, now, this far south. It seemed so incredibly fertile after the rather bare plateaus of the north.

This valley is a Bald Eagle sanctuary, and depending on the time of year one can see thousands of the birds fishing for salmon. We saw a few, and also a (very distant*) bear. The river widened and deepened, the trees were even more massive and then we emerged at Haines, a fishing/tourist village on the Pacific coast.

Haines is an extremely pretty town, nestled between enormous mountains and the ocean. It is very much a working town, very small but with plenty of motels. They offer all manner of out-doorsy adventures. We found a motel and wondered round the town, past craft shops and cafes, down to the harbour where we were in time to see one of the Alaska cruise ships steaming down to Skagway.

Hungry now, we found the gorgeous Fireweed restaurant, which was fantastic. And very crowded, so we put our name down and had a glass of wine on the patio, overlooking the ocean. Then consumed pesto rolls in such quantity that we had to waddle back to our motel.

* he was a long way away, not aloof

Amazing skies leaving Haines Juction

Heading towards the US again

Haines Valley

September 19th

G - Reporting

Another cold start then again is there another type when you're camping in the Yukon in late September! but the cold spurred us on to pack and get the hell on the road ASAP so we could enjoy the simple pleasure that is a heater.

It was a quick 200 or so km into Whitehorse our destination for the day beyond that not too much to report, basically Tims (our 2nd home on the road) laundry and then a warm warm motel for the night  and some planing for the last week or two of our journey.

One thing we did do in Whitehorse was jet wash the mud off the truck

The total mud had to weigh over 100lb!

September 18th

B - reporting

It was a very chilly morning, and nature called before the sun was properly above the eastern hills so at least we saw a lovely sunrise as we glugged down coffee. The drive south continued to be stunning, especially as on our way north the weather had been a bit cloudy. We now properly saw the gorgeous Tombstone Park, in a river valley with mountains ranging behind it.

Closer to 'civilization' (tarmac) we left the tundra, driving through the stunted trees of the north.

We didn't see any wildlife, though it is Huntin' season so we saw many groups of ATV-ers with big honking guns. It was also the time when the Porcupine Herd of cariboo are expected to migrate past the highway, and while I would have loved to see such an enormous massing of cariboo I was quite relieved I didn't witness lots of hunts.

I read in one of the local papers that the bears on the Dempster Highway are the only animals who run TOWARDS the sound gunshots, as they have learned that gunshots = dead cariboo and apparently bears stealing carcasses are a common hazard for local hunters!

We reached the tarmac after lunch, filled up with gas then headed south. Most of the campsites and 'touristy' stops are closed for the season, which while we were not planning on gold panning would have loved some coffee and snacks! However we stopped to camp at Tatchun Creek, by a river, and while still chilly was a lot warmer than the night before!

Tombstone Park

September 17th

G - Reporting

So after a pretty basic breakfast at our cabin which stretched the term bed and breakfast to the limit, we drove into town for a few souvenirs of our most northern location of our travels, the selection was pretty slim so we made do with a bumper sticker and a few postcards and then it was time to head south after a quick splash of gas to make sure we could get to the next gas station at the truly eye watering price by Canadian standards of $1.80!

The run back down the Dempster was alas without wildlife but it was an easy drive and we good time in the sunny weather as I can only imagine what a slog it would be in winter with heavy snow and no daylight.

Reaching Eagle plain mid afternoon we filled up and pressed on for another 200km and camped the night at Engineers creek it was a little chilly but once we got a roaring fire going it was a pleasant night.

Heading back down "The Dempster" in the sun

Sunset at Engineers Creek

September 16th

B - reporting

After a night in a v comfy bed, punctuated only by me frequently getting up to see if the Northern Lights were happening*, we woke in our lovely rustic cabin. It was great to have a non-travelling day, and we relaxed with coffee and TV before walking into Inuvik, about 2km.

It was Sunday, and the town was pretty much closed, but we had a really good time wondering around, looking at the coloured houses, and overground utility pipes**, and enjoying the general Arcticosity of the day. There are 5 places of worship (including a mosque) in this small town, but services were over by noon and then the supermarket/general store/clothing store/bakery/Pizza Hut/KFC (all in the same building) opened so we had coffee with about 50 elderly men and purchased some food.

We headed back for toasted cheese sarnies and tea, then went for a walk around the lake. It's really quite flat round here, though you can see snow-capped mountains on the western horizon. And it's surprisingly (well, to me) forested, with small arctic trees where I expected snowy bare tundra. Still v beautiful though.

Back in our rustic cabin, G did some car sorting and I cooked sausages, which we had with lovely Smoking Loon wine for a v civilized last day North.

* they weren't
** they were interesting, really!

Inuvik Houses

Above Ground Plumbing!

Post office (i know its just too exciting!)

The igloo church

Little mosque on the tundra!

September 15th

G - Reporting

What can I say today we drove across the Arctic Circle I know it’s an imaginary line but still "WE DROVE ACROSS THE ARCTIC CIRCLE!" stopped took some pics and calmed down!

After that it was another 340km of Depmster Highway but 1st about another 50km on was the border between the Yukon and the North West Territory and by crossing that we have now been to all 10 Provinces and 2 of the 3 Territories the 3rd Nunavut has no road access so that will have to wait.

The scenery flattened out as we got closer to Inuvik and apart from 2 ferry crossings there was not too much to see before arriving in town where we checked into our lovely log cabin for the night.

The Arctic Circle (cool pic by Al)

Log Cabin in Inuvik

September 14th

B - reporting

We were up reasonably early and quite* excited about heading north to the Arctic! After a quick wander round town, half of which is now closed for the season, we grabbed coffee and muffins and headed north! Then, came back into town to buy gas. Then, headed North!!

The Dempster Highway turnoff is about 40 km out of Dawson City, and even though it was quite overcast everything was new and interesting. The highway is gravel, so G decreased the tire pressure and we set off. We had booked a hotel (well, the only hotel) halfway along the highway so we knew we could take our time and not worry about accommodation.

It was  a lovely drive, despite the clouds. Quite hilly, even mountain-y, with a lot of snow on the mountains but none on the road. The road was not at all busy, and we stopped many times to take in the vistas and photos. We lunched at Two Moose Lake**, were we didn't see moose but did see two beavers busily swimming around.

We arrived at the Eagle Plains Hotel about 7pm. Surprisingly, it was not on a plain, but on top of a mountain pass, with snow-covered roof and muddy parking lot. You have to leave your shoes in the vestibule, fair enough as by now everyone was pretty mud-encrusted. The room was warm, and we had a late beer o'clock and then tuna sarnies in the room.

*well, ridiculously
** cheese sarnies

The Start!

Tombstone Mtn Park

Home in the wilderness

September 13th

G - Reporting

Left Tok after posting some postcards and got on the road to Chicken, Alaska - a town whose  fame is much bigger than the town, it’s a tiny almost ex-gold mining town which has built its fame on being a tiny almost ex-gold mining town!

Downtown is 3 buildings: Cafe, Bar and souvenir store and down the road an RV park and that’s it, we had a coffee, picked up a bumper sticker and left.

Then it was up into the mountains and snow to get to the US/CDN border which was super easy in fact we ended stopping for 10 minutes chatting with the very affable border guard, before descending into Dawson city another ex-gold mining town but now very much a historical town/tourist attraction, for a relaxing evening and drinks in an ex-brothel now a rather great bar.

September 12th

B - reporting

We had coffee and toast in the hotel, then did a bit of shopping in Anchorage (snow chains, beer, warm trousers, wine) then retraced our steps back north, stopping for gas again in Palmer. It was overcast, with low cloud and intermittent rain, so we didn't get the wonderful vistas of yesterday.

We did, however, see moose! Finally, after driving about 10,000km across the entire width of Canada. We had two separate sightings, both quite lovely.

We arrived back to Tok at about 7pm, found a motel and then did some much-needed laundry before cooking a delicious tin of stew in the microwave. Yum!

September 11th

G - Reporting

After what has to be the coldest start of this part of the trip we made quick work of the 300km to Anchorage stopping here and there to take pics of the stunning scenery.

Arriving in town we quickly sorted a place to stay, then we had a good wander around, what can i say it’s a big but not huge American city, what’s strange is you're aware its way way up north and miles from anywhere!

In the evening we had dinner as Humpy’s which has featured on Man v Food. I have to say I did not try the challenge partly as its huge and also it cost $174!! The more normal portion size food was good though :-)

September 10th

B - reporting

It was a gorgeous morning, the sky pale wintry blue behind the massive snow-capped mountains now visible in front of the motel. Very cold, though...when packing up, I discovered that the beers in the car left out of the fridge overnight were a lot colder than the ones actually in the fridge.

We drove off, heading towards Alaska, past stunning turquoise lakes, snowy mountains and forests ablaze with gold. It became cloudier, with a few light snow showers but no drama.

We got to Beaver Creek around lunchtime, and stopped off in Buckshot Betty's for coffee* and soup, emerging into snow. 5 minutes down the highway we were in bright sunshine again!

The US border crossing is about 30km further west was smooth, and we were in Alaska! We headed towards Tok. Tok!! Even typing it is fun. There we got gas for Swiss and crisps for us, and decided to drive halfway to Anchorage and camp. So we carried further south, the road taking us past orange highlighter trees and dramatic vistas of snowy mountains, pink in the setting sun.

We drove further, until we found a State Park campground**. It was quite chilly, so I thermal-ed up before even opening the car doors. Then, resembling the Michelin Woman, I fired up the stove.

We scurried into the car and consumed sausages in pitta, wearing all our clothes, including gloves. And only fear of bears inspired me to wash the dishes afterwards.

It was lovely and warm, though, in the sleeping bags, under the duvet purchased last year in a bazaar in Kyrgyzstan. If only I had not had to get up to pee!

*coffee with evaporated milk - deeelicious

** The Alaska ones are not as good as the Yukon campgrounds, which are cheaper and have free firewood - hurrah for socialist Canada!

Room with a view

Warm food in the snow.

Top left hand corner of America!

September 9th

G - Reporting

After a very wet day yesterday I was hoping for better but was disappointed as I woke to rain :-( so we got onto the road quickly stop after an hour when the rain stopped for a bit to have a coffee.

Thankfully the rain stopped by the time we arrived in Whitehorse which after the thousands of Kilometers of wilderness and small towns came as a pleasant surprise as it’s a large and from 1st glance pleasant city.

We hit up the visitors information center and then onto Tim’s for wifi so we could check the weather further north which to our dismay was not good with snow coming in so time to re-jig the plans and head west 1st then north so after getting gas, food and checking out the local brewery where we picked up the odd sample or 2 it was time to carry on along the Alaska highway stopping at Haynes Junction where as it was cold and we are wimps we got a motel for the night.

September 8th

B - reporting

Up early to a lovely sunrise over the bare mountains, turning the grey rocks all shades of pink. It was not too chilly, and we bumbled around having coffee and porridge, enjoying the view of the lake. We were on the highway by 8am, aiming for the Liard hot springs, which had been recommended to us by a random dude, and several guidebooks.

However! when we arrived we were informed the Springs are closed till 11am! This was due to tree felling, so fair enough, but we were still rather disappointed. We had a long ways to go so we carried on towards Watson Lake. We had been driving for about 10 mins when G said, excitedly 'look!' and pointed at a black bear in the middle of a large puddle, or small pond, near the side of the road. We stopped and looked at it through binoculars and the camera lens as it splashed around, scratching its ear and looking remarkably like a human (in a bear suit) having a bath.

When he got out of the pond we retreated to the car and drove slowly away. The scenery continued magnificent, autumnal trees exploding in gold and russet, and we enjoyed just being there until we rounded a corner to discover a herd of Wood Bison grazing beside the road. They are magnificent beasts. We watched them for ages, uninterrupted by any other traffic. They do seem a bit dim, though, wondering across the highway, and unfortunately they are often the victims of traffic accidents.

We reached Watson Lake by lunchtime, and really enjoyed the Visitor Information Centre with it's great film about the Alaska Highway and it's free coffee and plethora of brochures, maps, and other v helpful info.

The weather closed in a bit during the afternoon, and though it had stopped raining by the time we reached our campsite at Tesling Lake it was really quite chilly. G started a fire in the fire pit while I cooked another spamtastic meal, but we had to retreat into the car quite early. I was quite chilly at night, despite wearing
socks...maybe I removed the thermals too early.

September 7th

G - Reporting

It seemed a night in a Motel room and drinking my own body weight in tea did the trick as a felt a lot better than the day before, so we struck out north towards Fort Nelson the guide book said the drive would be boring but it was really pretty with forests in every shade of green and yellow you can imagine and the occasional information point with historic mile markers from the building of the Alaska Highway.

Arriving in Fort Nelson mid-afternoon we filled up with gas at the eye-watering price of $1.45 (I know, cheap compared to Europe!) and carried on our way the scenery changed quite dramatically once we got out of town with mountains rising up around the highway providing some stunning views.

We got the campsite around 4:30 only to find it closed so we pressed on to the next only to find that closed too so we crossed our fingers and went for the 3rd arriving around 6:30 and yay it was open and was as a bonus the best looking of the bunch right on the lake, so relieved we settled in for the night.

September 6th

B - reporting

After breakfasting (Cheerios!) in the hotel, we set out to buy winter clothes. Grand Prairie seems like a v nice town, with a lively main street and also lots of shops in the malls, unlike some of the towns we've passed through which seem, sadly, to have been killed by Walmart.

We then carried on north, through more grain fields and then mixed pine and deciduous forest, the trees turning golden yellow. The sunlight up here takes a bit of getting used to, for 'southern' brains. The sun's angle is a lot lower, so though the time is barely noon, the angle of the sun seems completely wrong, as if it's about 5pm.**

We arrived at Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway - Dawson Creek - at lunchtime. Dawson Creek is an attractive little town, today full of sunshine and blue sky. We had a coffee and updated our insurance as we are now back in BC, and had a wonder round the town.

G was not feeling v well, so we decided to stop early and so found a nice motel in Fort St John, a small but very pleasant town I walked around before buying some groceries and beer.

*because we are so good at planning ahead we are buying out thermals the day we head north

**I am, however, easily confused. I kept thinking it was beer o'clock already.

We're Back!!