Leighton’s Blog

Good morning! This was taken a few days ago and many many miles ago on the Dempster Highway in the Yukon. In Delta Junction, Alaska now making my way to Fairbanks and then Anchorage. 

Thank you Duke Cannon for sending me 100’s of your Cold Shower Field Towels at different stops on my trip. Folks are loving them! Me too! Sometimes I’m on the road for days before I can grab a shower! These fill the gap perfectly. 

A Walmart boondocking oasis. 1st image...Fairbanks, AK (This Walmart is like an RV park.) Tried to find a spot in the woods but the valley is too smokey. 2nd image...Calgary, BC last week. Trees make it a whole other experience!

  Went to this great church service in Teslin in the Yukon Territory this morning. Pastor Sheldon and his wife Cindy have been there 9 years. Teslin only has a population of 300 with three churches.   Prior to that they were missionaries for three years at a bible camp in the Alaska bush near the Yukon Delta.   It’s the farthest west you can go in Alaska. It took them two plane rides to get there...pretty remote! Must’ve been an interesting place to raise children compared to Pennsylvania where they are originally from. After service they invited me back to their house to roast hotdogs and marshmallows over an open fire. No…they have a real stove in a very modern home. They just like to hang around a camp fire as a family on Sundays. God Bless them for all they do!

Best picnic table ever!  Found a great site at Tylee Lake Provincial Park a bit north of Houston, British Columbia. Did just over 400 miles today. Would have done more but had to deal with a blown fuse because I plugged my tea kettle into a different 12v outlet without the Jeep running. :) ( I boiled water while I drove today.) From here it’s about 750km to get to the Yukon to head left to Alaska. From the Yukon border it’s about 1,700 miles to Anchorage. But you know I’m going to take a few detours on some trails before heading that way. Today was much better drive than yesterday. Less trucks and construction. 

Every community has people experiencing homelessness. Every community. On my way through Prince George, BC I stopped at the Ketso Yoh shelter for men and the AWAC shelter for women to drop off some hygiene kits. Prince George’s population is roughly 80,000 and 2% of the communities population is homeless and all for the same reasons as the rest of North America...addiction, unemployment, mental illness, family strife and high housing costs.   Before taking a photo with some of the staff of Ketso Yoh I took some time to speak with them about their programs. They are one of the larger shelters in BC and offer the most programs for their guests.  Very nice staff and very clean facility. Ketso Yoh means “home & family”. 

Yesterday morning I left very rainy Calgary, AB after boondocking in a Walmart parking lot. I headed north west to Hiton, BC via a bunch of small towns. Early yesterday evening I went thru Jasper National Park. Beautiful but it was like being on a major city expressway complete with construction and lots of big fast moving 18 wheelers. Made it thru the park and made it to British Columbia and tried to do some backcountry roads but hit closed gates. I boondocked it last night at the trailhead for Robson Mt. in BC. This morning I am making my way towards Prince George. I haven’t decided if I am going to go north east and catch the Alaska Highway via Dawson Creek or go north west more and catch the Alaska Highway via Watson Lake in the Yukon.  Since I have more time to get Anchorage and less time to get to Seattle on my way south I may go north west today.  Whatever way I go I want to have less 18 wheelers on my bumper. Let’s see how the spirit guides me today.