The odyssey that we embarked upon was part of a plan – the second of three stages. We had recently sold our home and had purchased a new 5th wheel trailer for extended living, thinking we could stick it out for perhaps two years while we searched for a new property, and still be on speaking terms at the end of the exercise.

The first stage, which was to locate a property to build on, had been accomplished, but it was too late in the season to start building. We had no desire to stay in Ontario in our trailer over the winter, so the only sensible alternative was to travel south, returning to build the following spring. We had spent a few months in Mexico the previous winter during which time we had met up with a couple whose circumstances, aims and desires were not unlike our own. They intended to "do" Mexico in its entirety the following winter, and why didn’t we do it together?

So on September 4, 1983 we set out on the first leg of our adventure, heading from Toronto to the Yukon Territory where one of our sons, Bob, his wife Maggie and our new grandson, were living on a mining claim.

Here is the story of our trip, as told in the 13 letters we sent to our four sons, one daughter, two sisters, one father and friends during our 7 1/2 month, 33,489 km odyssey.

Centreville BC, (Near the Yukon border)

September 25, 1983

Dear friends and family,

The delay in getting this off to you has been due to the fact that for the first nine days we travelled from dawn to dusk, and there was little energy left in the evening (and no electricity, since we camped in out of the way places as much as possible.) The distance run from Aurora to Centreville is 5400 kms. Since we arrived here at Bob’s we have been in a race against time to close in the addition he started a few weeks ago, so it’s been another dawn to dusk effort. But we did have help from Maggie’s Dad, who was here in his Airstream when we arrived.

Today, however, we are going to take a few hours off and only cut and haul wood for the winter fires. So at the moment, since the diesel generator is running, it gives me the first opportunity to dig out the electric typewriter and have at it. Mac and Ealinor have gone – they left yesterday – as Ealinor was anxiously watching the snow line on the mountains around us as it slowly descends. It came down quite a bit more yesterday and Bob figures it is there until next July.

The scene here, for a city person like the rest of us, defies description. What Bob is in the process of acquiring is a pan-abode type residence, with a few outbuildings, all on a mining claim. He will eventually have to buy the land from the Crown, or sell the whole thing to the next guy. In one of the outbuildings there is a two-cylinder diesel, which drives a 6500-watt generator. It can be started from the house, but it is only necessary to do this for the water pump, the laundry machine, the vacuum, or various power tools. Dining is by candlelight; lights operate on four 12-volt batteries in parallel, and everything else is driven by propane or wood. After roofing and closing in the two-storey 15 x 24 ft addition, we have turned our attention to the possibility of problems in the basement because of a 12-foot deep frost. Before starting this addition, Bob was able to take advantage of a neighbour’s power shovel to dig a new well, into which he dropped a long 24" culvert. The water pump and the hot water heater have been relocated, and Bob intends to install a small barrel stove for the coldest nights, all of which is accessible through trap doors.

The cabin is located on a loop of a stream left over from dredge mining in the ’40s; we are surrounded by mountains on all sides, the north slopes of which are now snow-covered. The colour here (fading now) is equally brilliant, but quite different to that in the east. It seems to consist mostly of brilliant yellows of aspens and poplars, and contrasts sharply with the dark greens of the spruces. We’re about 12 miles from Cassiar, and about 60 south of Watson Lake, Yukon.

Cassiar has a large grocery, as well as a few other necessaries such as a booze store, but everything else has to come from Watson Lake on the Alaska Hwy, at about 1020 kms from Mile 0 at Dawson Creek, BC There are two other people working mining claims here in Centreville, and we can hear their equipment – one of whom works three shifts around the clock The other we can see just across the stream. The procedure here is to use either a front-end loader or a power shovel to load into a sluice box (using a bulldozer). Water for the latter is pumped up from the stream, and BC law requires a settling basin before the water can be returned to the stream. The entire operation is quite interesting. It will come to an end in a couple of weeks when freeze-up occurs, so we plan to leave before then, probably the 29th or 30th, and head south on Hwy 37, through Dease Lake and Meziadin, to Kitwanga.

Monday a.m.

Snow on the ground this morning in large puffs – not enough to last, but an indication that it is time for us to leave. We are taking Bob’s truck to Watson Lake today to do a variety of chores for him and Maggie and ourselves. We all need refills of various kinds – gasoline, propane, bank, dentist, etc. Bob buys gasoline in 45-gallon drums which he hauls from Watson Lake, but his 500 gallon propane tank will have to be filled by a visit from the propane truck We’ll take advantage of this visit to get our own truck tank filled since it’s 660 km to the next propane fill-up spot on Hwy 37, which is stretching it for our truck. Maggie wants Lois to track down the health nurse in Watson to find out when the dentist will be in town and to make an appointment. There is grocery shopping to do, a few odds and ends of lumber to pick up, and we all need bank refills. We had to spend a half day in Watson on our way in for a trailer spring repair, and I will pick up another spare, just in case.

To go back to the start of the trip, it was pleasant but uneventful. Just past Portage La Prairie, we turned north on the Yellowhead Hwy, and then left that and went north to Prince Albert, west from there via Meadow Lake, Lac La Biche, Athabaska, Lesser Slave Lake and into Peace River country near Spirit River, and thence to Mile 0 at Dawson Creek.

We were very pleasantly surprised at how little gravel road remains on the Alaska Hwy. Last year coming south it seemed that there was mile after mile of gravel, flying mud and stones, alternating with dust, etc. There was no dust or mud this time, and almost no gravel. Most of the original roadhouses and other stopping places have gone since almost everyone who travels the road today is self-contained. The highest elevation on the highway seems to be at Trutch, which is no more than a cafe and a gas pump and with the inevitable diesel generator. But the scenery, in parts, is mind-boggling, particularly in Muncho Park. We stopped at Liard Hot Springs, parked, and walked in the 1/4-mile or so on the duck boardwalk to the natural hot pool. Its level is maintained to about four feet, and it has a few benches anchored to the bottom. The temperature at the cool end is about 122° F, which is about as hot as one can tolerate. Few can get to the upper end, which is hotter. 15 or 20 minutes is about all the body can stand, and it was quite an effort to walk back to the parking lot where a hunt was in progress. An RCMP constable armed with a rifle was trying to get a sight on a black bear, which had been causing havoc in the area. We could catch glimpses of the bear just inside the bushes beside the parking lot. The constable held his fire, and in the end did not shoot it, since it seemed it was not the dangerous one which had killed a couple of people recently.

Yesterday as scheduled, we went in both pickups and Bob’s trailer to cut and load wood on the McDame Post Road. A dead spruce still standing close to the road is ideal when you can drop it across the road. The only choices here are spruce or poplar, in that order. We made two trips, filling trucks and trailer both times. Bob says he needs about 10 cords to get through the winter, and he has sufficient now. The road in leads to McDame Post on the Dease River. It was a Hudson’s Bay store, and is still owned by that company, but is leased out. In the 1880’s and again in the 1940’s the area was supplied from Telegraph Creek on the Stikine River. Freight was hauled by road overland from there to the Dease River, where it was barged down as far as Lower Post on the Alaska Highway.

Next issue: Leaving Centreville BC