Cassiar Highway

Believe it or not, I spent much of the day in Alaska! Can you name the three towns in Alaska that can be driven to directly from BC, ie no ferries, boat and not going through another province. Skagway is one, Haines is another. For these two you drop down from the Alcan Highway in Canada's Yukon Territory and pass through some wilderness in BC. So, what's the third?

It's the little town of Hyder. Never heard of it. Neither had I. No paved streets, maybe a population of 100 people. A few gift shops, only two were open, and of course, a tavern. Their claim to fame is bears, lots of them.

Just outside of town there is this elevated boardwalk, under which runs Fish Creek. The bears come during the salmon spawning seasons to catch the fish and the people come to watch the bears.

Remember how impressed I was with the road to Prince Rupert. The road to Hyder and Stewart is way beyond description. I won't even try. Stewart is the larger BC town next to Hyder. It even has paved streets!

The Salmon Glacier is beyond Hyder, about 20 miles. I road the motorcycle to an overlook. That in itself was a real adventure. And I saw 4 black bears and two grizzly's today while driving around.

Here's an interesting fact about Hyder Alaska. The is no “Homeland Security” check point as you cross the boarder. Nothing. Just a sign welcoming you to Hyder. I guess the US Government isn't worried about terrorist plowing up something or someone smuggling things into Hyder. On the other hand, the Canadians do have a check point as you come back into Canada. Notice that I said “come back”. Hyder is a dead end. The only way out is the way you came in. I wonder what they are concerned enough about to staff a checkpoint. I felt like saying to the guard as he was asking me the usual questions “Hell, whatever I'm coming out with, I brought in from Canada”. But I though better of it. He had a gun.

And speaking of guns. I met this lady at the one shop I stopped at. She had fresh homemade fudge, which I needed badly. We had quite a long conversation. She said she carries an empty gun holster on her dash for protection. Anyone about to give her trouble would have to wonder where the gun is. That's probably not a good idea at a boarder crossing. I'm sure she gets away with it because the Canadian guards know everyone in Hyder.