Joe and Vicki's Blog: 9/1/07

In This Post: What's new with us:
Our Alaska Trip --

July 25 - Wednesday - Seattle to Cache Creek

We are on an Alaska RV trip. We'll try to update you at least once a week about our adventures. It has been a few years since we last drove north on I-5 from Portland, Oregon. So, we were sort of surprised when we encountered very heavy traffic all the way from Portland, through Seattle and into Everett, Washington. Especially around Seattle.

Our first day's journey (on a clear, sunny day) took us from the Seattle/Tacoma KOA to the Brookside Campground in Cache Creek, British Columbia. We left I-5 at Exit 256 and followed Highways 539, 546 and 9 to the border crossing at Sumas, WA. There was only one car in line when we arrived at Canadian Customs at 1:00 pm. The courteous officer wrote down our license plate numbers and entered them into a computer. Then he asked for identification (we gave him our passports). A number of questions followed: "Where do you live, How long will you be in Canada? Are you carrying any firearms? How much tobacco and alcohol are aboard? Any commercial products? Gifts for Canadians? Surprisingly he did not ask about food products, nor did he enter our RV.

We continued north a short distance and turned east onto Trans-Canadian Highway 1. Highway 1 is a pleasure to drive. As it leaves Abbottsford it crosses relatively level farmland, moves into tree-covered hills, and then through mountainous terrain with many curves and a number of brief 6 and 7 percent grades. The route follows the Fraser and Thompson Rivers. This is a spectacular scenic drive. The Fraser Valley is better described as a canyon with vertical, tree-covered cliffs. Building the highway and two railroad tracks along this route is an engineering marvel.

Traffic on the highway was extremely light. We arrived at the 97-site Brookside Campground in Cache Creek at 4:00 pm. There were only a few vacant sites when we arrived. The campground owner said we would take the last big-rig site he had available.

A level pull-through site with 30-amp electric, water and sewer hookup cost $28.00. WiFi was also available for an additional $2.00. There were a lot of rental RVs in the campground. Most, if not all, were occupied by Europeans. All the Americans we spoke with were heading south. There were mixed reports about the condition of the Cassiar Highway.

Read a detailed journal of our Alaskan journey in "RVing Alaska: Insights and Observations" Return To RV Know How ======================================================================================