AUGUST 24th AND 25TH,2009, STEWART, BC

Our travel day to Stewart, turned out to be a pleasant surprise. The roads with the exception of 2 areas, where really great! I suppose because we are going south, the frost heaves are diminishing. However, the rain continues. Not only were the roads better, but as we drew closer to Stewart, once again we had some breath-taking beautiful scenery. Bear Glacier was one of the prettiest glaciers we have seen and we have seen a lot of glaciers. Our campground, Bear River Lake, had a large enclosed tent for our social this evening which was welcomed. After the social, some went to Fish Creek in Hyder and some of us went out to eat. Seward is in British Columbia, while Hyder is in Alaska and is only 2 miles away. Hyder doesn't observe Alaska time, however. Both are very small and I do mean small communities that due to their proximity, interact with each other. Of course this means, the Hyder community of 70 have to show passports everytime they go over to Stewart for supplies, etc.

Going thru customs has not been a problem. Going into Canada, they are more concerned with how much alcohol you have (1 litre per person), firearms and alcohol, and how long you are staying. Coming back into the US, they usually ask about alcohol, firearms, and maybe beef and potatoes and citrus fruits. At some of the borders, they didn't even ask anything but you never know.

We went out to dinner in Seward and found this delightful cafe called the Bitter Creek Cafe. The building dated back at least 90-100 years. One side was a coffee and bakery shop and the other side was a DR with may 5 or 6 tables. The food was delicious. They didn't serve any fried foods. Denny had a baked halibut sandwich which he said was the best he has had and I had baked halibut with puttnesca sauce. We just really loved the ambiance and food. Coming out, we ran into some of our group who had been next door having pizza.

This morning, our WM and TG had a pancake breakfast for us and then we were off to see the bears catching salmon at Fish Creek. Not only is it raining, it is pouring down!

Fish Creek is in the Tongas National Forest and they have a boardwalk erected high above the creek for safety purposes. When we got there a huge grizzly was feeding and we followed her all the way down the stream. She seemed totally oblivious to the people above her. Of course, we were quiet as church mice. Bob, Nora, Dave and Maddie were with us and we stopped at a couple of shops-one being the general store. The owner told us some of his stories about living there and I must say, he really seems to love it. One winter they had 42 inches of snow with drifts up to the bottom of his second floor. Bears are really plentiful in this area and he has had 2 on the porch of his store. As a matter of fact, our campground discourages anyone being out after dark as they have bears and wolves in the campground. Denny walks Rudy around 9 before it gets dark.

The days are getting shorter and the residence have resigned their selves that summer is over. Our trip is also coming to an end in a couple of days.

Tonight, we had a pot-luck supper and played some games. Lots of laughter and good food. Surely this rain will let up as we head further from the coast and back towards the center of BC. When we are all looking forward to drier, warmer weather as we head to Smithers tomorrow and our final destination, Prince George, day after tomorrow.