It was chilly in Smithers. The Hazelton Mountain Range,
just to the west, has glaciers on it. There are some interesting Indian
stories about those mountains.
Rev. 07/04/01
Alaska & beyond - continued 7/4
Smithers to Iskut BC
It was chilly in Smithers. The Hazelton Mountain Range,
just to the west, has glaciers on it. There are some interesting Indian
stories about those mountains.
I
stopped at K'san, located at Hazelton. It is a model indian village
that has a great craft center with model Indian houses. Wandering through
the exhibits, luckily I found a small print by Roy Vickers. About fifteen
years ago I met his sister, Margaret, in Honolulu. She had grown up
in the Hazelton area, and showed me a print her brother had made title
"Steelhead." I've always wanted a copy. Now that I have his address
and phone number, I'll see what I can do
From Hazelton I drove north to the small village of Kispiox.
There is a great group of totem poles there. About forty years
ago I went Steelhead fishing up on the Kispiox River. One day I drove
down to the village and discovered the totem poles. Many had fallen
to the ground and were decaying, still I was impressed. When Carol
and I came up here six years ago I showed them to her. I'm glad they
are carving new ones and protecting the old.
From Kispiox, I drove to Kitwanga and started north on the Cassiar Highway. Now I'm traveling roads I've never been over before.
Coming
over the top of a rise in the road, I surprised a black bear. He decided
he really didn't want to cross the road after all, and scampered back into
the brush. He was too quick for my camera.
At Meziadin Junction, I finally made up my mind to drive down to Hyder, which is in Alaska. The road is in a very narrow canyon formed by two steep mountain ranges. About half way down I came across the Bear Glacier. It ends in a pool right at road level, and even calves small icebergs into the little lake.
Following the road on down to sea level, and driving through the town of Stewart BC, I crossed the border into Hyder, Alaska. Now I've actually been in Alaska.
Returning
to Meziadin Junction, I headed north again. Traveling along the road,
I noticed something move up on a large boulder at the side. Looking
closer I realized it was two bear cubs. Again, too slow on the camera
draw.
Finally stopped for the night at a RV camp at Iskut, about half way from Hazelton to Watson Lake where I'll join the Alcan Highway. So far it has been a very good road, paved and pretty well maintained.
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