Rancheria River, YK - Sunday, June 12

People have told us about a town in the northwest corner of British Columbia - we decided to take a side trip today to check it out. Atlin is located sixty miles south of the Alcan Highway and only one road leads in or out. On the first try we missed the turn off and that required one of my now famous u-turns. The road began as a nice pavement but after five miles we hit two patches of graveled road repair. The dust was thick and the road was very rough. Karen and Charlie voted for a turn around. I agreed and back to the Alcan we went. Later in our travels we were told by another RV’er that the second graveled area was the last and we missed out on a beautiful spot to visit. My bad. As it turned out this was an omen for our travels today. 

We had planned only a short drive today, Johnson Crossing being our next stop. This campground did not appeal to us so we stocked up on a cinnamon bun and scone for tomorrow’s breakfast and set off looking for another campsite. The next fifteen miles was under construction and the graveled road was in OK shape, IF PEOPLE DRIVE THE 70 KPH POSTED SPEED. Large Class A RVs and trucks do not believe this means them. As promised before the trip by other travelers, we took a few rocks in the windshield. It will need some repairs when we return home. Every day my Alaska experience gets another event! 

The Provincial campground near Teslin looked good on paper but we could not find a comfortable spot, so again we headed out. I like to keep the gas tank above half so we stopped for gas a few miles down the road. We found out that the area was closed with a power outage. We had plenty of gas so that was not a worry. From our Alaska Camping handbook, the next campground was described as one of the best places to stay on this stretch of the Alaska Highway. When we arrived, we found The Dawson Peaks Resort and RV Park to be a lonely campground that was uncared for and operating on the “drop your money in the box, we have no services, and enjoy your stay” philosophy. The only RV in the park was either abandoned or being used as a meth lab. We were now getting a bit tired but this place was not going to work either.

This is becoming a long day. We chose another park seventy miles down the road and I told Karen we would stay there even if it was the Bate’s Motel. The Continental Divide Resort and RV Park was one we had tried to visit on our way up. It was closed then but is now open and for sale. From the road it looked questionable but turned out to be a good choice. It has all my favorite requirements. Cheap, clean, quiet and no people. Of the 30 sites here we were the only people for a while. Now, two others have arrived so I think we will survive the night. We have power and water so we are happy. Charlie is happy also. No other dogs or sketchy people and no bear or moose smells. To him life is good but I think he is getting a little homesick.

We knew something was amiss - even the gas pumps had a sign "Cash Only"

Nicely laid out campground on the river - for sale but . . . location - location - location