NORTH TO ALASKA 2025 - DAY 77 - CASSIAR HIGHWAY TO KINASKAN PROVINCIAL PARK

Even though it was still kind of rainy and dreary, it seemed like the worst of any storms have now passed.  At least there are no high winds, thunder or lightning. We avoided the worst of the downpours by being holed up for 2 days at Dease Lake in Brown Bird RV Park.

We left Dease Lake in British Columbia and continued further south on the Cassiar Highway.

As we wound along in between snow capped mountains, the clouds were slowly rising up to reveal their peaks. We sipped our coffee as we drove along, and appreciated that the section of road here had been completed the previous year. It was smooth and beautiful and we let the scenery unveil itself as we moved along.

It was almost like a movie...

   

We climbed a bit upwards in elevation, as the mountains were getting higher around us. We were now going to enter Gnat's Pass, the highest spot on the Cassiar Highway. It is at 4,000 ft.

We were twisting and turning along, not sure if this was the highest part of the pass or not. Suddenly we saw the sign! You could see the rain drops on the windshield because it started drizzling again.

We noticed the absence of trees again as we climbed in elevation. Here and there we could see spots of snow. We knew it had snowed here during the two days prior, and we were quite surprised to see some still around, even with the rain. The temperatures had dropped and there was no sunshine, so the snow was still hanging around.

It was strange to see the snow dotting the hillsides in the foggy misty morning.  I guess our minds were still thinking about how it's nearing the end of July, how can there still be snow??? We just had blistering hot weather up at Dawson City in the Yukon and needed our air conditioning.  But I suppose this area near the ocean, at 4,000 ft, it doesn't melt fast. 

As we worked our way down the other side of the mountain pass, the trees started getting thicker and taller, but the rain sure didn't go away. It was a very peaceful morning to be out with very little traffic in such a pretty part of British Columbia.

I think the rainy weather was making us feel drowsy and dreary. We only traveled 79 miles when we saw the sign for Kinaskan Provincial Park. 

https://bcparks.ca/kinaskan-lake-park/

We decided to loop in and take a look around. We were thinking that we really didn't want to drive all the way into Stewart BC and Hyder AK on a rainy day. We knew the upcoming scenery driving in through that route in 37A would be absolutely gorgeous. We wanted to wait for a sunny day to do that. 

So we might as well hole up in a provincial park before getting there, while it's still raining for the next day or so?

This place didn't disappoint at all, even though it was a rainy day. We had absolutely gorgeous views across the lake of the mountains.

Like I said before, how many wonderful mountainside lakes are we going to find to camp by? Our luck of the draw is just amazing lately. 

We found a campsite that was really close to the water. We think we have voted NUMBER ONE that this campground is having the most beautiful picnic tables!

The bottom metal pipes were all freshly painted in brown and attached nicely with strapping to the cement patios. 

The top portions of the wood were all beautifully varnished in a golden color. It almost reminded me of the tung oil that I used when I refinished one of my first Union Looms in my weaving studio. It was somewhat wet from the rain, but later on we were hoping to be able to sit here for a while or maybe cook a meal?

The lake was really calm and we watched the clouds roll up over the tops of the mountains.  This really was a beautiful campsite, and I sure wish the sun was shining.

We were originally thinking about pulling the motorhome in nose first, so we could look out the front windshield. But instead,! it was more level to bring it in backwards and position it further away from the table. We still had room on the other side for our slide. And this way the bedroom would stick out over towards the water.

This was the incredible view from the kitchen window as I got some lunch put together. Food just tastes so much better when you cook it when you are camping... Lol. Even if it was just grilled cheese sandwiches and raw vegetables to snack on.

In between rain showers, we did look out and notice a pair of loons floating around. We heard them calling to each other. What a peaceful relaxing summary sound. Although we have lots of loons in Wisconsin, it was a treat to see them here too.

I took some clothes up photos on my big camera too. But do you know what? They are now missing just like the up-close photos of the moose. I have gone back and forth through my files and I just can't find them anywhere. I'm usually pretty good about labeling and listing everything and saving it in files to the backup external hard drive. Somehow they either got accidentally deleted during a cut and paste? Or they're hidden in some sector that is no longer visible? 

But here is proof that I did take some close-up photos! 

Sometimes I snap photos of the back of my big camera using my cell phone, while we are traveling. I send those via Messenger to my two friends Linda and Rosie, as well as to our kids or grandkids while we are actually traveling. That way they don't have to wait until the blog comes out. I usually just send them the most exciting or best photos as we are moving along down the highway. It's great to have Starlink operating while we drive down the road!  Of course there's absolutely no cellular service just about anywhere on the Cassiar Highway.

We dozed off in the afternoon for a while and had a little nap with the rain going pitter-pat on the roof of the motorhome. What an absolutely peaceful sound, and with the dog curled up at our feet, the afternoon slipped away with sweet dreams.

It sure turned into kind of a lazy day with only a small amount of travel, and not a lot of effort. Since it was raining, we weren't going to cook outside. I decided to whip up my easy casserole that is made with canned Aldi potatoes, frozen green beans, yellow beans and carrots, and sliced kielbasa sausage. I also add sliced Vidalia onion and chopped up garlic and spices. I will post the recipe below:

Aldi One Pan Baked Sausage Vegetable Potato Casserole Recipe:

Have dinner ready in less than an hour with this simple casserole. Prepared with just a few simple Aldi ingredients, this is one dish the entire family will ask for over and over again.

Half of an Aldi Parkview Polska Kiebasa.

One Aldi can sliced potatoes or you can use raw ones.

Half bag of Aldi Prince Edward frozen veggie medley.

and added thin sliced raw onions and minced garlic and spices, and 2 TB olive oil, and five or six pats of butter.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

I slice up some sweet Vidalia onion and put some minced garlic into the bottom of a glass casserole dish, liberally sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.

I love these Aldi canned sliced potatoes! Cut open the top of the can and drain out the water. Then put in 2 TB of extra-virgin olive oil into the can. Put the lid back on and shake it around a little, or carefully tipping it up and down, until the potatoes are coated with the olive oil. Then dump them in the pan with the onions and minced garlic.

We really like the Polska Kielbasa from Aldi, it's the Parkview brand that they carry. I only use half of a ring of the kielbasa for the two of us. You're making a meal for 4, of course use the full ring. I slice it on an angle that makes it look kind of fancy.

Dump the sausage in over the potatoes and onion mixture. Then I liberally apply some spices. I like Lawry's, and black pepper, as well as dried parsley flakes. Then our local grocery store has a mixed seasoning bottle similar to Mrs. Dash called Harvest Blend.

Next, I cover up the entire casserole dish with tin foil and seal it around the edges, tight to the rim of the casserole dish.

Place the dish on the center rack and bake the potatoes and sausage for 20 minutes at 400°F, stirring halfway through.

Now for my third part of the ingredients, add our favorite Prince Edward Medley frozen vegetables. They are green beans, yellow wax beans, and little baby carrots. I use half a bag of this for a serving for two. I might add it's a very generous serving because Steve usually has a double serving and I have one. If you're making it for a larger group use the whole bag.  If you can't find these anymore, use other frozen green beans, yellow beans, carrots etc. 

(Note--If you have to use fresh carrots, I boil them up in advance separately in either the microwave or a small saucepan so they are halfway tender before I put them into the casserole. Otherwise they take too long to cook all the way through and end up being hard and everything else is completely done)

I just sprinkle the veggies over the top, add the pats of butter, and then I seal the tinfoil back around firmly on the edges. That way the steam from underneath of the potatoes and meat cook up through the vegetables. Return the dish in the oven and continue baking for an additional 20 minutes. Stirring halfway through so that all of the ingredients are fully cooked.

Enjoy!!!

It's nice sometimes to have familiar foods and a familiar meal even if we are in different locations. Really, we aren't just traveling from place to place, or just camping. We are also living day-to-day in our motorhome. When we are at home we cook almost all of our meals, so why not do it when we are on the road? We do enjoy our own cooking so much more than restaurant food. We take the time to plan ahead, shop for the items, and cook inside of our motorhome rather than just stopping off for fast food. 

When you are way out here in the mountains, where in the heck do you even find fast food? Hahaha

The rain let up for a little while and we went out for a walk. Things were wet but if we stayed on the road it wasn't too bad. A little dog though has to sniff along in the ditches and got himself a tad bit dirty. We were down by the lake's edge and decided to rinse off the muddy wet feet of this little dog from his walk. He really did not enjoy it whatsoever. Just look at that face??

Shelties are definitely not "water dogs". But we got the mud off his paws and his long fur of his underbelly, and dried him off with a towel before bringing him inside of the motorhome. That helps keep things clean on the inside. 

He says thank you very much, but he really didn't appreciate the bath and the lake!

It continued to rain throughout the evening, so we curled up with some YouTubes and travel videos. The soft pitter patter of the rain on the roof lulled us off to sleep. I think we slept 9 or 10 hours!! 

The only thing that woke us up was the calling of the loons out on the lake in the morning. What a great way to wake up with nature's alarm clock. 

I know I tried to not write about a lot of cooking on the blog, but here's one of the little mixes that we really like the flavor and taste of. It's made by Betty Crocker (sorry, I ripped off the top of the envelope before I took this photo) and it's the kind in the envelopes, not the box.  We appreciate the fact that it only needs water or milk. No eggs, no oil. Easy peasy mix.

The motorhome smells so good in the morning with our coffee and the baking of the blueberry muffins. The mix makes four large muffins or six smaller ones depending on the pan you have.

It's just enough for us for an early treat with our coffee. Then later on we cook a regular breakfast if we want.  This little guy gets a little teeny piece of each of ours as his "last bite" portion. Spoiled dog..

Well, it looked like it was going to be a better day and we were going to drive on down further on the Cassier Highway. We may make it as far as Meziadin Lake, and then figure out our timing to drive over into Stewart BC and Hyder AK.

Here is the video YouTube that goes along with today's blog: 

79 Miles traveled today

6,590 Miles traveled so far