We left Nugget City RV Park at 830am on Tuesday for our trip down the Cassiar Highway to Stewart. Nugget City was a little pricey for what we got - electric and water hook up, WiFi was $10.00 extra, no sewer hookup but a sani dump. The spaces were pull through more than long enough for the truck to be left hooked up to the 5th wheel. We had rain all night Monday night and were a little apprehensive about the road conditions on the Cassiar, however, we were determined to take this route as another "once in a life time opportunity". We had heard that the scenery was outstanding and the possibility of seeing wild life was excellent. The very first part of the highway was paved and, being novices, we thought this is going to be great!
We had traveled only a short distance when the pavement ended and the road turned to mud. We were stopped by a flag man, along with two other trucks in front of us, and waited for an escort truck to take us south. The road deteriorated from that point on. They were doing construction on this part of the Cassiar, and with the rain the night before, it was a mud mess. I don't mean just a little mud. Interestingly enough this section of the highway was called Mud Hill Road and boy did it live up to it's title. We were slipping and sliding; throwing mud half way up the 5th wheel. Thank goodness Bob was driving. I would have been in a panic, but he was cool, calm and collected. We eventually got through the muddy construction area and hit gravel road. The traveling was somewhat better, but still slow.
The scenery was magnificent for the first day of fall with the birch and aspens showing their vibrant colors. We were only able to travel between 35 to 40mph - between the frost heaves, road construction and windy, hilly stretches. It took us four and a half hours to go from the intersection of the Alaska Highway and the Cassiar Highway to Dease Lake - 125miles. I had relieved Bob driving and we were both tired. We had stopped at a pull off at the Dease River for lunch - an area that was suppose to be populated with moose. Again, we saw lots of moose dropping, but no moose. It had started to rain and the driving was slow going because of the frost heaves and construction in some areas that we were concerned about reaching Stewart before dark. We really did not want to be caught on the narrow, windy, hilly Cassiar Highway in the dark.
We decided to play it safe and we pulled into the Mountain Shadows RV Park at Mile Post 254.1 about 3Km north of Iskut at around 3:30pm. This is absolutely the best RV park we have stayed at on our trip - very clean, beautiful views of Mount Edziza and Kluachon Lake from the RV sites. We are still approximately 247 miles from Stewart. It was a short day, but we were afraid that we would not be able to find another place to stay for the night. The RV park is in a valley and we watched the clouds move through and obscure the mountains at times. When the clouds occasionally thinned, we were able to see snow on the peaks of Mount Edziza from the storm last night. It started to rain shortly after we parked, so we may see additional snow on the mountain tomorrow morning.
When Bob started the truck this morning (Wednesday), the windshield wipers were frozen to the windshield. It reached a low of 32 degrees last night and the rain stopped, clouds cleared and the stars were out. We woke to a beautiful morning with the first sunshine since we left Wasilla, Alaska. The sun was shining on Mount Edziza this morning and we were able to see the snow on the peaks. I could stay here forever. It is so tranquil and beautiful, but our goal is to finally reach Stewart, BC today so we were off and rolling at 7:20am with high expectations.
We left Nugget City RV Park at 830am on Tuesday for our trip down the Cassiar Highway to Stewart. Nugget City was a little pricey for what we got - electric and water hook up, WiFi was $10.00 extra, no sewer hookup but a sani dump. The spaces were pull through more than long enough for the truck to be left hooked up to the 5th wheel. We had rain all night Monday night and were a little apprehensive about the road conditions on the Cassiar, however, we were determined to take this route as another "once in a life time opportunity". We had heard that the scenery was outstanding and the possibility of seeing wild life was excellent. The very first part of the highway was paved and, being novices, we thought this is going to be great! 
We had traveled only a short distance when the pavement ended and the road turned to mud. We were stopped by a flag man, along with two other trucks in front of us, and waited for an escort truck to take us south. The road deteriorated from that point on. They were doing construction on this part of the Cassiar, and with the rain the night before, it was a mud mess. I don't mean just a little mud. Interestingly enough this section of the highway was called Mud Hill Road and boy did it live up to it's title. We were slipping and sliding; throwing mud half way up the 5th wheel. Thank goodness Bob was driving. I would have been in a panic, but he was cool, calm and collected. We eventually got through the muddy construction area and hit gravel road. The traveling was somewhat better, but still slow. 
The scenery was magnificent for the first day of fall with the birch and aspens showing their vibrant colors. We were only able to travel between 35 to 40mph - between the frost heaves, road construction and windy, hilly stretches. It took us four and a half hours to go from the intersection of the Alaska Highway and the Cassiar Highway to Dease Lake - 125miles. I had relieved Bob driving and we were both tired. We had stopped at a pull off at the Dease River for lunch - an area that was suppose to be populated with moose. Again, we saw lots of moose dropping, but no moose. It had started to rain and the driving was slow going because of the frost heaves and construction in some areas that we were concerned about reaching Stewart before dark. We really did not want to be caught on the narrow, windy, hilly Cassiar Highway in the dark.
We decided to play it safe and we pulled into the Mountain Shadows RV Park at Mile Post 254.1 about 3Km north of Iskut at around 3:30pm. This is absolutely the best RV park we have stayed at on our trip - very clean, beautiful views of Mount Edziza and Kluachon Lake from the RV sites. We are still approximately 247 miles from Stewart. It was a short day, but we were afraid that we would not be able to find another place to stay for the night. The RV park is in a valley and we watched the clouds move through and obscure the mountains at times. When the clouds occasionally thinned, we were able to see snow on the peaks of Mount Edziza from the storm last night. It started to rain shortly after we parked, so we may see additional snow on the mountain tomorrow morning. 
When Bob started the truck this morning (Wednesday), the windshield wipers were frozen to the windshield. It reached a low of 32 degrees last night and the rain stopped, clouds cleared and the stars were out. We woke to a beautiful morning with the first sunshine since we left Wasilla, Alaska. The sun was shining on Mount Edziza this morning and we were able to see the snow on the peaks. I could stay here forever. It is so tranquil and beautiful, but our goal is to finally reach Stewart, BC today so we were off and rolling at 7:20am with high expectations.
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