Alaska/Yukon Road Trip 2015

In early June this year we ventured  on a somewhat different road trip.  From Victoria we drove almost 1000 miles ( not sure what it is in kms) to Prince Rupert.  When we arrived at 1 P.M. we  had a few hours to explore the town,  in fact several,  as we had reservations on the Alaska State Ferry and it was not scheduled to leave until 4:30 A.M.

The one thing I wanted to do in Prince Rupert, which is why we were in town so early, was go to the Prince Rupert Archives.  We eventually found them tucked in the bottom of City Hall.  I knew that somewhere in there were pictures taken by my father and a recording he made shortly before he died.    He recorded stories of his experiences as a new teacher in Inverness Cannery, several miles south of town.  He told of borrowing chalk from the cannery and writing the  lessons for his 20 students,  on the floor as there were no blackboards, desks, paper or  books.  He talked of cannery life and a landslide that almost destroyed the school  one school day afternoon.  I wanted to hear him again.

The lovely lady looking after the Archives was so very pleasant and helpful.  She invited us in to sit at  table and found the books with photos and set up the equipment  so we could listen to the recording.  She did all that she could to give us an easy experience and recognized that listening to my dad telling stories from long ago was bittersweet.

I really appreciated her friendly enthusiastic help.

The Archives closed at 3 P.M. so we had 13 1/2 , foggy, wet hours until our boat left for Alaska.   We now know most of the streets of Prince Rupert.  In the sunshine I think it is probably a very pretty little town.  But even if the weather was not great , the people were, and that is what is important

The second person I gave a card to was the desk clerk at our hotel in Petersberg Alaska.  Petersberg is a small town on a small island off the Alaska coast.   We arrived early evening  in fog and rain and had to be there for 24 hours before we could continue our trip on a different Alaska State Ferry.  The town was very still and quiet, not at all what we expected on a Saturday night!  We found our hotel and also found we had a flat tire!  Guess what...there is no place in town to get a tire fixed on a Saturday night.  We changed the tire and decided to wait until morning to see if it could be fixed.  In the morning there was a wonderful woman at the front desk.  She confirmed that we could not get the tire fixed on a Sunday but did tell us where to find an air pump so we could at least fill the tire with the slow leak.  Then she gave all kinds of information about the area to help us enjoy the day.  She was so friendly and outgoing that the rainy and foggy day did not seem so gloomy.  Actually, I would have liked to have given the whole town one of the cards.   Not much was open on a Sunday but the people we did meet were delightful.  The woman in the tourist information building was very concerned that might not find enjoyable things to do and was a bit upset that we had just missed the local Sunday afternoon movie.  In a coffee shop where we had lunch, the chatty owner greeted us like friends and before we left she and four other customers all sang Happy Birthday to me.  Every person we met was very friendly and helpful.  I'm just sorry we did not see the island in the sunshine.  I've seen pictures and I know it is a beautiful little island.


We left Petersberg Sunday evening and disembarked at Haines Alaska about noon the next day.   From there we drove back into Canada and stayed a couple of nights in Whitehorse  so we could explore and see the changes from 40 years ago when we used to live there.  There were lots!  Our next overnight stop as we drove south on the Alaska Highway was in Watson Lake and we chose to stay at the Air  Force Lodge.    It was a very nicely restored 1942 Pilot Quarters.    We were all treated more like family than guests, even so far as we had to remove our shoes when we came in and quiet time started at 10:30 P.M.    The owner was so very much fun and obviously really cared about his guests.  Staying there was a unique and happy experience. If I am ever back that way I know that is where we will stay another night.

These were just three of the people I gave the "Thank-you" cards to, although we met very many more.  There is something special about the people who live up north!