My internal clock needs resetting, me thinks. I was up at 5:00 AM and on the road by 5:30. Daylight is now noticeably much longer. I brought a sleeping mask to keep the light out while I'm in the tent, but it slips off during the night. I'll just have to close my eyes tighter while I sleep.
I had planned to go to Skagway, Alaska, as quickly as possible, but the more I read and talked to people, the more I became curious of a few other stops along the way, including Prince Rupert and Stewart, BC. I hopped back on Highway 97 north towards Prince George. Since Hope, I had been trying to determine the conditions of Highway 16 to the west out of Prince George and then Highway 37 (aka Stewart-Cassiar Highway) to the north. The nice man at the Prince George Visitor Center nearly anticipated my question and provided me with a map of the Stewart-Cassiar Highway including all paved and gravel areas. From Prince George, I drove 447 miles west on Highway 16 to Prince Rupert. I stopped for gas and pictures in Burns Lake.
I arrived in Prince Rupert late. But it was still light out, so I drove around town a bit to get my bearings and to see about taking a ferry to Skagway, or perhaps further up along the Alaska coast. The Alaskan Marine Highway terminal was closed for the night, but the posted schedule told me that there wasn't ferry for 1.5 days anyway. Regardless, I looked forward to exploring the town the next day. The Park Ave Campground was crowded, expensive, and poorly maintained - but close - so I pitched my tent there.
As I cooked supper, my new neighbor, Tom, popped over for introductions. Tom, 41, had been hitchhiking in BC for 10 months. He dined for free that night at the Salvation Army down the street and thanked Jesus for making it possible. He pointed out a dirty pair of women's underwear lying in the grass and told me that the woman he was with the night before was trying to torment him by leaving them there. I declined his invitation for drinks and to pick up chicks down by the cruise ship and locked my car four times for good measure before I walked up the hill to take a hot shower.
I had planned to go to Skagway, Alaska, as quickly as possible, but the more I read and talked to people, the more I became curious of a few other stops along the way, including Prince Rupert and Stewart, BC. I hopped back on Highway 97 north towards Prince George. Since Hope, I had been trying to determine the conditions of Highway 16 to the west out of Prince George and then Highway 37 (aka Stewart-Cassiar Highway) to the north. The nice man at the Prince George Visitor Center nearly anticipated my question and provided me with a map of the Stewart-Cassiar Highway including all paved and gravel areas. From Prince George, I drove 447 miles west on Highway 16 to Prince Rupert. I stopped for gas and pictures in Burns Lake.I arrived in Prince Rupert late. But it was still light out, so I drove around town a bit to get my bearings and to see about taking a ferry to Skagway, or perhaps further up along the Alaska coast. The Alaskan Marine Highway terminal was closed for the night, but the posted schedule told me that there wasn't ferry for 1.5 days anyway. Regardless, I looked forward to exploring the town the next day. The Park Ave Campground was crowded, expensive, and poorly maintained - but close - so I pitched my tent there.
As I cooked supper, my new neighbor, Tom, popped over for introductions. Tom, 41, had been hitchhiking in BC for 10 months. He dined for free that night at the Salvation Army down the street and thanked Jesus for making it possible. He pointed out a dirty pair of women's underwear lying in the grass and told me that the woman he was with the night before was trying to torment him by leaving them there. I declined his invitation for drinks and to pick up chicks down by the cruise ship and locked my car four times for good measure before I walked up the hill to take a hot shower.
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