Destruction Bay Redux

 I alluded to a bit of a mishap when we boondocked near Destruction.  At the time I just wanted to put it behind me.  I was not sure I wanted to write about it at all, but the point of the blog was to document the entire trip, good and bad.  I probably should have taken pictures but I really was not in the mood at that point.

Destruction Bay was the beginning of a really horrible stretch of road.  Roughly 120 miles of nothing but potholes.  Average speed was roughly 25 mph this stretch so it made sense to overnight here since it would be a long stressful day of driving.

It was also the only overnight that was dedicated to boon docking as there was no true camping in the area.  The girls and I were actually looking forward to it.  I read so many accounts of how you can pretty much pull over anywhere on the AlCan that I wanted to do it at least once.  

The night before I posted in the FB group dedicated to Driving the Alcan on a good place to pull over for the night.  Someone suggested I could park right on the beach of Kluane Lake about 10 miles south of Destruction Bay.  I expressed concern about getting down onto the beach with a camper our size and they measured me that I'd be fine as theirs was similar in size and have done it several times.  

Because we had pulled over to check out a grizzly we missed the pull out so once we got turned around we found it and turned it.  I was just a cleared path in the trees so it was easy to miss.  About a hundred feet in we got to a Y.  I got out to walk each path to see what was up as I at the pint I was at I could easily back out if needed but would be a lot more difficult once I made a turn.  To the right someone was already camping, left was clear.

We pulled in and got set-up.  There was some soft sand and put the truck into 4x4 out of caution although I was not really concerned about getting stuck.  We got parked and set-up.  Since it was level and we were leaving first thing in the morning I didn't disconnect.  

Like most nights Davan wanted to go for a walk.  Since we were in bear country I was not real wild about that and we had a little bit of an argument.  I finally relented when she said she would take the bear spray and not be gone long.  

The other two and I goofed around outside enjoying the area.  Like most nights we lost track of time since it didn't get dark and I finally realized that Davan had been gone about an hour.  Libby and Summer were getting hungry so I made them dinner quick hoping that Davan would be back soon.  By the time dinner was made it had been about a hour and a half.  It was at this point I realized that the turn out was directly across the street from the grizzly we saw and I kind of panicked.  

Of course there was no cell signal so I sent the drone out hoping I would see her and could somehow communicate that she needed to get back.  I went along the shoreline about a quarter mile before the signal started getting weak and brought it back.  

I obviously was not thinking right in my panic and worry that I thought driving the truck along the shoreline would be a good idea instead of walking.

There was an obvious path along the tree line.  It was sandy but easily drivable.  I got to a point where a tree too large to move had fallen across the path.  I saw another path along the shoreline with about 100 feet of rock strewn area between it.  No problem, I'll just drive across the rocks to the other path.  I was so very wrong.

The second my passenger tire got off the bath it suck.  No problem, I'll just back up.  Nope, didn't move an inch.  Locked the rear axle so both rear wheels would get traction and I still didn't move.  I got out and realized that both passenger wheels were buried and weight was taken off the driver side wheels so that's why I was not moving.  

At this point I figured I better get walking to find Davan and I'd worry about the truck later.  I got about 10 feet from the truck and here comes Davan around the point.  While I waited for her to get to me I assessed my situation a bit more.  The entire passenger side was buried up the the frame.  Getting out was going to not be easy.  I also remembered that it was Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday and pretty much all of Canada shuts down for the weekend.  Since it was a Friday I was really worried that we would be stuck there until Tuesday if the tow trucks were also shut down.  

At this point I am fuming in anger and frustration.  No cell reception meant I was probably going to have to hitchhike to Destruction Bay just to regain reception and call for a tow if it came to that..  With the water heater, the broken wall on the camper and now this it was just too much.  I yelled at Davan so much from the truck back to the camper that I'm sure they heard me in Destruction Bay.

At this point it is now 10:30.  I go back to the truck to see if I can dig my way out.  I packed for nearly every contingency but I did not pack a shovel in case I got stuck on a beach.  

I started digging by hand hoping I can get a board or something under the wheels and can drive up on them.  Unfortunately the mud was the consistency of quicksand.  I had a good taper on the front wheel so I tried to wedge a board under it.  It was a 4 foot long 2x6 and I was able to push it straight down into the ground as easy as pushing it into a vat of soft butter.  There was absolutely no where I was getting out without assistance.  

I heard a dog barking from the other camper so I walked over.  I had several heavy duty tow straps and was hoping he could use his truck to pull me out.  I was hoping a few good tugs would do it.  He agreed to help, but in the morning as he had been enjoying his solitude with multiple substances.  He also said he had a Starlink in the event he couldn't get me out and need to call for a tow.  

I went back to the truck to dig little more before calling it quits for the night.  By the time I went back to the camper it was about midnight.  

After a very restless night I woke up about 7 to the sound of raindrops.  Just what I need was to have this thick mud, made muddier.  The other guy said he would be ready about 10 so I put on my rain coat and went out to dig.  I tired everything I could think of to get the truck unstuck.  I even dug a hole under the rear axle, filled it with stones and then laid the longest boards I could find to hopefully float over the mud and used a bottle jack to lift the axle up.   No go.  I had a cribbing of 4-6 foot long 2x6's and it still sunk into the mud with ease.  

I had pretty much given up by 9 and decided to walk over to see if the other guy was up and about.  As I got to his trailer another guy was rolling up.  He was in a lifted 3/4 ton with 35" mud tires towing an off road camper.  Stopped him and explained my situation, he said he'd give me a hand, had traction boards, a kinetic rope and a winch.  I felt like I just won the jackpot and would be out in no time!

We went to assess our situation.  I figured he would just yank me back with the kinetic rope or a the least anchor his truck to a tree and pull me out with the winch.  Instead he wanted to come from the front and pull me across the mud.  I personally didn't think that would work since as soon at the drivers side got off the hard pack the entire frame would be on the mud.  Although it did seem to firm up about 10 feet in front of me so I figured he had more experience than me so I kept my mouth shut.

He drove along the shoreline and floored it to get in as close as he could so his winch would reach.  The second he started plowing the much like a snow plow I knew we would both be stuck.

We got hooked up and he started to wind in the winch.  All that happened is he pulled himself closer to me.  We got the traction boards out and amazingly enough we were able to get the truck up on the boards and on some solid enough ground.  Th plan was to fill in the holes and ruts from the tires and try to drive forward.  It actually worked until the rear tire got to the point where the front tire started and it sunk back to the frame.  At this pint he thought he could get behind me and winch me out from behind like I originally thought we would.  Unfortunately he was also sunk down to his frame.  

At some point the other guy had come over.  He actually knew of a guy that owned a tow company and we called him up.  He was about an hour north of Destruction Bay and would be on his way.

It was in the 11 o'clock hour by now and I had not had any food since lunch the previous day so since we would be sitting for a while I went back to the camper to make myself some lunch.  I felt so bad for getting the other stuck I made him and his family sandwiches and brought them out along with waters.   They were understandably not happy so I just apologized and went back to my truck.

I must have dosed off because next thing I know the tow truck was there.  The operator was pretty cocky and confidant in his ability and got me hooked up.  It was not as easy as he thought.  I pulled down his truck and winch pretty good and I was getting a little worried I was not getting out.  It finally started moving though and Ince by Ince I started going backwards.  The only problem is that since he was at such a shallow angle relative to where I was that the mud sucked the truck off the hardpack until the entire truck was in it.  He had to back up and reposition several times and it was looking like he was going to have to drag me the entire distance back closer to the camper.  Roughly 300 feet.  

We got about a third of the way when the other guy yelled to stop.  The bed of the truck was up against a giant boulder and had caved it in.  Any farther and it would have been agains t the cab of the truck.  The plan at this point was for me to dig out the boulder enough that we could get a strap around it and he would pull it out with the winch.  Luckily the other guy had a small pack shovel so I didn't have to use my hands.  While I did that they worked on getting out the other truck.  The only issue was it was to sandy along the beach to get behind the other guy to pull backwards, and there was not enough room to get past me to pull from the front.  

After some walking around they realized that there was a spot up the hill on the other end of the tree line he could back up to.  With both winches fully unrolled they were able to link up and before too long had the other guy out on the hard pack.  There was also just enough length to reach the tow hooks on my front bumper and he was able to pull me at an angle back up on the path as well.  

While we waited for the tow guy to get his gear packed up and back down to him I gave the guy $300 and my contact info in case he found any additional damage so I could reimburse him.  I again apologized for getting him into this situation.  He was in a much better mood and told me that it's not in his nature to not help and it's all part of the adventure.

When the driver got back to us I asked how much, I was of course paying 100% of the recovery.   He said normally on a holiday weekend it would be $2000 cash American but he would take $1000.  During a break the three of us were talking and me and the other guy were talking about our trips so they knew why the gurls and I were on the trip.  Plus Summer was bringing us waters and would keep giving me hugs cause she knew how upset I was.   So I think he was moved by my story and gave me a break.  

Problem was, I only brought $1000 cash and $500 Canadian.  Before I could speak the other guy had my $300 out and was giving it back.  I gave it to the driver.  We exchanged numbers so he could send me a bill for insurance.  I then tried to give the guy the $500 in Canadian but he said they would be back in the States the following day and wouldn't be able to spend it all in time.  I did get him to take $!00 so he could buy dinner that night and told him to text me his Venmo so I could get him some more.  To date I have not received any kind of communication from him so I guess he was giving me a break as well.

Luckily, the damage to the truck was all cosmetic.  Once we got off the boulder the box popped back out.  The truck is now fixed.  Every panel except the hood and tailgate got refinish in some amount.  The rims were also trashed but I alway hated the chrome rims so I bought aftermarket rims at half the price and was able to pay the deductible with the remainder so I came out of it not paying a dine in repairs.  If you're wondering, $16,000 to fix everything.

Luckily I had a full tank of water so we were able to wash out the impacted mud from the wheel wells.  

After a quick shower to get the mud off we were on the road about 4.  Despite the road conditions we made record time to our next overnight.

Day 68- Home

 August 18

Our last day.   

We didn't want the trip to end, but we also wanted to get home.  Well the kids wanted to get home.  I could have kept on doing this forever.  

We had our traditional last day of camping breakfast of smashed cinnamon rolls and then slowly got packed up.  I really wanted to get the black tanks flushed out well so that took some time.

We left the campground around 11:30 so not bad considering all we did to get ready to go.  

Our first stop was the Corn Palace.  It was just up the road from the campsite.  The original corn palace was constructed in 1892 for the city's annual festival.  They out grew it 3 times before it was built in its current location.   

Each year the exterior is changed with a new mural.  Made entirely out of corn and other grains and grasses.  It's pretty impressive.  The current version is more of small arena.  It's a fun driving break if you happen to be driving by.  

The rest of the trip home was uneventful.  We finally pulled in about 8pm.  The dog was excited to see us.  The cat didn't care of course.  We unpacked the dirty clothes and started laundry.  Got the fridge and freezer emptied because I know I was super low on propane.  I'm surprised I didn't run out.  Also the girls had to unpack the souvenirs as their friend from across the street came over so they had to show all the stuff we got.  

The rest of the night we just hung out and relaxed.  

I'll probably post once more with a recap of our trip.  It might be a few days as there is a lot to unpack and the truck and camper need a top to bottom scrub, inside and out.

Day 67- Mitchell, SD

 August 17

Lake Mitchell Campground

I set my alarm for 7:30. I got up by 8.  Libby was awake like usual  but the other two were still sleeping.  I tired to get summer up but all I got was grunting and to go away.  I was just about to lay down for a bit when she comes out of her room yelling at me to not go back to bed.  We all worked together to get packed up and were ready to go by 9:30.  Libby and Davan didn't want to go back to Rushmore so they left with Heidi and we were going to meet up at Wall Drug.  

Instead of going thought the windy east side of the park I decided to go out the west side though Custer.  it was double the milage, but the same travel time as it was all freeway.  A much easier path with the camper in tow.  

Since Summer is into rocks right now she has been asking me to stop and any one of the many rock shops.  I figured it was a Daddy/Summer day so I pulled over.  We looked around at everything.  Surprisingly she did not ask to get anything.  I did let her get a piece of rose quartz.  

Since we had the camper I was able to drive through a special bus/rv lane and got right into the Mt Rushmore lot.  My parking ticket is good for a year so we didn't have to pay again.  Summer was really excited to see it in the daylight.  We didn't intend to stay for more than a few minutes but there was a program going on. It w as a guy that looked just like Abraham Lincoln talking about the lead up to the Civil War and slavery.  It was a very interesting talk and he reenacted one of Lincoln's speech.  Later in the day he was going to reenact the Gettysburg address so I was a bit bummed we wouldn't be around for that.  On the way out the fresh squeezed lemonade stand had just opened so we of course had to get some.  I'm really glad we made the decision to stop back out.  

We met the other girls at Wall Drug.  I've been there twice in my life and it didn't really seem it was anything like it was both times I was there.  The entire area is built up and it was surrounded by competing souvenir shops.  Overall it just seemed like another junk shop.  

I didn't really have any plans for our stop tonight.  I had thought about one of several KOA's just for a pool for the girls.  But with the distance we would have covered, plus loosing an hour for crossing a time change it didn't seem worth the money I would spend.  

For no real reason I was thinking about stopping in Mitchell.  On the way I called some campgrounds and they were all full.  There was a city owned campsite that was first come, first served and thought I would try that.  Luckily they had several spots open.  It's a really nice campground.  Sites are a bit tight but it's surrounded by woods and it's quiet.  Except for all the frogs and insects of course. 

I had some steaks left so Heidi, Summer and I had those while Libby and Davan had orange chicken.  

Since tomorrow is our last day the girls have requested our traditional last day breakfast.  Smashed cinnamon rolls on the Blackstone.  

Day 66- Casper

 August 16

Woke up to another beautiful day.  

Custer Park has various programs thought the day.  The only one we could really attend was the Bison Olympics.  

We got to the learning center early so we checked it out.  They had a mock mine entrance, a sand pit, some music things and another outdoor play area.  

On the way to the center we came across a bison on the side of the road having a little grass snack.

We were the only ones for the program.  It was fun with safety tips and fun facts about bison.  I knew would have thought they could run 35 mph or jump 6 ft high or 15 ft long from a stand still or 30 ft from a run.

After went decided to drive the wildlife loop.  This is where the majority of the bison heard is.  We of course saw the bison but we also saw prong horned antelope.

After we headed back to the camper for lunch.  We then headed to the Crazy Horse Monument.  They have a very nice museum of Native American items.  We also watched a short video on the creation of the monument.  It's pretty cool that the people responsible for carving are on the third generation.  There is an observation deck as well as the original scale model that was used to design it.  They also have cultural programs but they were done for the day by the time we got there.

After we left I wanted to drive the Needles Highway.  Needles Hwy is a 14 mile winding drive through forest, prairie and mountains.  It also had a few tunnels carved though the mountain that I was barely able to fit the truck though.  I had to fold in the mirrors or they would have hit the walls.  

Once we got done we needed to figure out dinner.  Our goal was to eat and get out to Mt. Rushmore in time to see it in daylight and then stay for the lighting ceremony.  We found out that there were several restaurants right in the park.  The one that we all found something we liked at was right at the campground we were staying at.  

It was fairly busy for the size.  The food was really good except there was only one waiter so the service was a tad slow.  He did pretty good for being alone though.

But the time we got done eating it was about 7:30.  WE were going to have to rush to see the lighting ceremony.  I was trying to follow Google Maps and the GPS navigation in the truck.  For some reason it put us on the Iron Mountain Road which was as slow and scenic as the Needles Hwy.  Normally it would have been a great road but not when your in a rush.  We also saw a lot of deer so we had to be careful of them as well.  A lot of doe's with baby's still with spots.  Although we did come across 5 bucks standing on the road.  

I read that the lighting ceremony started at 9 and the lights are turned on at 9:30.  However, I realized that I read it wrong.  That time is for the middle of summer and starting last week it starts an hour early.  So just as we were driving up they turned on the lights.   I guess the only good thing about that is the park pretty much emptied out so we did not have to fight with the crowd.  

Things have changed alot since I was there 30 years ago when I was in high school.   There are not 4 parking garages, and everything is paved.  I guess it did make it easier to park and get to the monument.  I recall having to fight for a space and walking a fair distance up hill.  

The gift shop closed at 9:30 so of course we had to go buy overpriced stuff.  Then we went ack out to get some photo's.

This was a specific stop for Summer.  When I first started the serious planning she made it very clear she wanted to "see the faces carved in the mountain".  Of course I had to make that happen for her.  She was very excited to see it.  However she did mention that she really wished she could have seen it during the day.   I told her that if we all went to bed right when we got bak to the camper and got up early we could maybe go on the way out of town.  

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Day 65- Custer, SD

 August 15

Custer State Park, Legion Lake

A shorter travel day today.  Only about 3.5 hours of driving today.  

Since we didn't have far to go we took our time getting ready to leave.  Davan and Summer wanted to ride with Heidi so it was just Libby and I in the truck.  

It was another uneventful drive.  Nothing but pasture land.  I did see a few herds of antelope.  

Just outside of Custer we saw a sign for Jewel Cave.  We decided to stop and check it out, maybe go for a tour.  Unfortunately all the tours were full for the day.  Grabbed some info and headed out.  

We beat the other girls to the park and got all set up.  They arrived shortly after.  Custer park has many campgrounds.  Just circle drives without about 20 slots.   I'm not sure of the others but this one has a lake across the street with a walking path around it, swimming and kayak rentals.  The camping spots are large and paved.  Really nice after tracking in gravel and dirt for the last 2 months.  It could be more level though.  The front of the camper is practically on the ground and I had to drive up on blocks to get it high enough so the door would shut with the stairs out.  It's a really nice, quiet place to camp though.

I was tired and ended up falling asleep on the couch.  Heidi made dinner.  We had taco's.  Summer wanted chicken nuggets.  Normally I wouldn't make two meals but the more we use up, the less we unpack at home.

We had talked about going to Mt. Rushmore to see the nightly lighting ceremony.  Not a lot of interest in doing it tonight.  Normally I would have been annoyed but I was kind of in the mood to just veg out so I didn't push it.  

The lake has a little snack shop and store so Heidi went and checked it out.  That's how we found out about the path.  I took the hint when she came back and told us about it.  Surprisingly the girls gave no push back when I said we were going.  I'm glad she mentioned it as we all had a great time and it was a quick little hike around the lake.  We talked about going for a drive on the wildlife trail, but it was getting dark by the time we got back.  We would not have seen much unless it was just standing on the road.  

The girls have been wanting a fire for a while now so I made one and we roasted s'more's.   

Day 64- Casper, WY

 August 14

Casper KOA

Travel day.  It was going to be a 6.5 hour drive without stops so I wanted to hopefully get moving at a decent time.  

We left a bit after 10 which was great except I had to get gas first.  Since we were in Idaho of course there was a baked potato cut out for photo's and they sold baked potato's.  

I had to bribe the girls to take a photo so I got them a treat and we all had a baked potato.   I didn't have anything for breakfast so it really hit the spot.  And now I can say I have eaten a gas station baked potato. 

We were there longer than I wanted but we were finally on the road.  

The scenery was unlike any we have seen on this trip.  The mountains and rock formations had a lot of browns and reds and everything was very dry.  

We had to drive through the Teton mountains so it was about 5 miles of 10% grade going up and the same going down.  To make it more complicated there were plenty of switchbacks.  Made it fun having little to no trailer brakes.

We finally got to the campground about 6:30.  It has an indoor pool so we hurried and got set-up.  Only Summer wanted to swim.  So I hung out with her while Heidi got dinner going.  

Pretty much the entire Northwest part of the states are under a fire ban and here is no different so we just hung out and watched some tv.

 

Day 63- Yellowstone

 August 13

Today was the lower loop and all the stinky, bubbly hydrothermal and geysers we could handle. 

We woke up to a pretty strong rain.  I was hoping it wouldn't have been over the park but looking at the radar it was moving in a north east direction.  I figured since we got to the park at 2 the first time we did the lower loop and not going up a portion of the North loop I figured we would have plenty of time to see all we wanted even if we left a bit late.

We got to the park about 11.  It was an on and off sprinkling.  

We stopped at all the same spots from the first day plus the ones we skipped.  Even though we saw the same features they were totally different with the change in weather.  With the rain and cooler weather it was a lot more steam.  Also not sure if it was the weather or the timing but everything was a lot more active today.  Geysers that had low or no activity were very active today.  The only downside was all the extra steam sometimes blocked the feature.

The big draw of the day of course was Old Faithful.  Using the app and the latest geyser info before I lost cell connection I figured we would be close to an eruption so we left the previous feature early so we wouldn't have to sit around waiting fro the next eruption.

While we drove up I could see that the eruption has started.  I told the girls to get out and check it out while I parked.  Since we were forced to sit for an hour and a half we checked out the visitors center.  The girls wanted to watch the movies again.  By the time the video's were done we had enough time to grab some ice cream and find a good spot to watch Old Faithfull.  

After the eruption we checked out the gift shop.  Each girl got a little something.  

Summer was saying she was not feeling the best again.  It was now about 6 pm and we could either continue the loop and take another 2 plus hours or we could go back and take about an hour and a half.  

The rest of the loop was mainly scenic so I decided to continue on.  We did stop a few times but mainly just drove.  We did come across some male elk with full antlers.  I of course had to stop for some pictures. 

 

The sun was setting behind the mountains and it was giving some good colors so we stopped for a bit to watch that as well.  

By the time we exited the park it was just before 10.  Since it was another 30-40 minute drive to the camper we decided on McDonalds.