August 8-11 - To Hyder, AK

August 8 - Today day was a driving day to near Watson Lake, YT where the Cassiar Highway takes off southwest to Hyder, AK.  We stayed at the Baby Nuggest RV park; Jane and Roger stopped a few miles back at a provencial park.  We were going to stay there too but we missed the turn and we had gone another 7 or 8 miles before we found a place we could turn around so we just carried on. 

August 9 - Jane and Roger met us at our campground  and we carried on toward Hyder.  We decided to stay at a Provencial Campground at Kinaskan Lake.  The lakes up here are numerous and gigantic.  We saw people fishing on this one but most often you don't see a soul on the water. Portions of the road were under construction but not bad.  The Cassiar Highway in general has absolutely gorgeous scenery. Jane and I decided that if you want to see fabulous country and plentiful animals British Columbia is the place.

Construction Site

Jane and the Girls

August 10 - We arrived in Hyder about 3 pm.  Hyder, AK is surrounded by British Columbia and is barely over the border. It is recognized as the easternmost town in Alaska.

The minute you crossed the border into Hyder the roads are dirt and many of the business-type buildings are closed and run down. There is no cell service here. We do have some internet but it's very slow. We tried our satellite dish for TV but weren't successful. At least we can keep up with the world, especially the stock market, via internet. We went into Stewart where Gary had a sandwich for dinner and I had some soft-serve ice cream. Twice Jane has seen a bear crossing a street right here in town. Natives say just leave it alone and it will leave you alone

Hyder was originally called Portland City, after the canal. In 1914, it was renamed Hyder when the US Postal Service told residents that there were many U.S. communities named Portland.   The AMHS ferry that used to connect Hyder to Ketchikan stopped running in the 1990s, leaving the only public transportation between Hyder and the rest of Alaska the Taquan Air floatplane that arrives twice a week with US Mail.

Hyder was the only practical point of access to the silver mines in Canada; the community became the port, supply point, and post office for miners by 1917. Hyder's boom years were the 1920s, when the Riverside Mine on the U.S. side extracted gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, and tungsten. The mine operated from 1924 to 1950. In 1948, the abandoned part of Hyder, which was built on pilings, was destroyed by fire. By 1956 all significant mining had ceased, except for the Granduc Copper Mine on the Canadian side, which operated until 1984. Currently, Westmin Resources, Ltd. operates the only remaining mine in the area, a gold-and-silver mine on the Canadian side.

Hyder is the location of the annual "Hyder-Seek" gathering of long-distance motorcyclists who travel from all over North America each Memorial Day weekend. It is notable for being the only place in Alaska not to use the state-wide 907 area code instead using the area code of 250 allocated for British Columbia. Tourists will also find that Hyder uses Canadian time, the common currency is Canadian (with the exception of the US Post Office, which only accepts American currency), they observe Canadian holidays, send their children to Canadian schools, and if you call the police a Canadian Mountie will respond.

Hyder Main Street

St. Pauls Orthodox Church

There is no place to go from here. I don't know how is came to be part of Alaska.  It is adjacent to Stewart, BC., a town of about 800.  Hyder would have to stretch to be 100 people.  It is famous because you can go watch the bears in the river catching salmon and you can drive to the Salmon Glacier.  We're camped at Camp Run-A-Muck.

We drove up 3 miles from Hyder this evening to a U.S. run observation point and saw one bear but there were about 200 people there.  We're kind of spoiled because we saw bears every evening when we were in Haynes. 

Eating a salmon he caught

August 11 - It rained in the night and has continued to rain all day. It's nice and cozy in the camper with the fireplace going.  Jane and Roger went out to see the bears again at 6:00 am and said there was a sow and one cub in the river but as soon as a male bear started coming down the river they scattered.  We went into the Glacier Inn for breakfast about 11:00.  Good food.  Amazingly as I was writing this blog Stacia Skyped us and it came through.  Couldn't believe it.  We'll probably leave tomorrow and head for Smithers, BC. They have a 9-hole golf course we might play.  Can you believe I haven't played golf all summer?

We had lunch today at the Glacier Inn - very good food and reasonable prices - something new.

The walls are papered with money people have left. Must be thousands of dollars on the walls. See the sign, "Have you been Hyderized?"  Two of the town's bars issue certifications to patrons of being "Hyderized" if the patron consumes a shot of 150 proof (75% alcohol) Everclear.

Funniest thing I've seen for awhile.  A big caravan just pulled in - probably 20 campers - and the wagon master was dressed like a bear.



For your viewing pleasure - is this gorgeous or what?