Author: Gerry Popplewell

A little report from the front lines in the battle of high fuel prices and RV travel to the Yukon. It’s now day 10 we were a little side tracked which is what the trip is about…getting sidetracked and enjoying the journey. We visited Elk Island National Park on the way to Edmonton, hopefully we can stop on our return trip as we have yet to canoe that lake. Night one was spent at St. Albert Walmart, not an easy one to get to, that’s probably why we were the only ones in the lot that night (thank you Walmart). After this trip to the Yukon we will probably not be able to sleep without the lulling sound of semi’s and jacked up half tons with the original exhaust removed and noisemakers added for maximum effect. Our little cabin is way too quiet.

Day two we arrived in Hythe, Alberta stopping at Hythe campground. Oour apps informed us it would cost $20 without services. This was great as we did not need any services. We were informed that we had to take them and the cost would be $52.50. We naturally left this campground. It is right along the main highway to the Yukon and very noisy. Searching on iOverlander we found a campground at Spring Lake 26 km away on a forest service road. It is located beside a small lake, no power boats allowed, nestled in the forest away and quiet, a beautiful well kept campground. Sites featured no power or water but a picnic table and firepit, wood supplied in the cost of $27. We would go back and spend more time there for sure.

Day three we arrived at a friend’s farm near there and joined a few friends for the next four days. A peaceful, enjoyable stay. While we were there we were told about an area to the south of us called Tumbler Ridge Global Geo Park. News reports coming from the Yukon at that time said travel not recommended due to the large number of forest fires close to the highways. Our son, a cook for camps, was flown from Kelowna to Pelly Crossing to cook for the fire crews. He beat us to the Yukon and had not even planned to be there. The washout of the main highway was detoured and traffic was moving again so we thought perhaps we would play in northern BC for awhile then head north.

Day 7, Sunday afternoon we travelled to Dawson Creek, BC Mile Zero of the Alaska highway and again where we spent the night at the local Walmart. That evening friends who we met at the farm Jess, Tanis and Josh joined us for a surprise visit bringing Ice Cream from Walmart of course.

Day 8, the next evening we had reservations at Mile Zero campground in Dawson Creek, time to shower up, dump tanks and fill with water. Great campground. We camped in overflow or tenting area with a large number of groups travelling by motorcycle and some in overland vehicles. Would recommend this park without services picnic tables only but use of the showers and dump site included $27. We toured Dawson city visited the gallery and visitors center.

Day 9, mileage 1459 km left Dawson Creek on Highway 59 south to Tumbler Ridge 168 km away. Tumbler Ridge is set in the mountains and is a mini Banff or Jasper with many services and the usual tourist stuff. The park is billed as a Global Geo Park. Geoparks are specially designated places that are recognized for their international geological significance by UNESCO ( United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organizations). The 34 accessible geosites include mountain peaks, alpine meadows, glaciers, canyons, waterfalls, caves, karst formations dinosaur trackways and fossils. Also within the park boundaries are wind farms, mines and forestry operations. No matter what outdoor recreation you’re into from mountain climbing to snowmobile or ATV or less motorized travel the park has it all. We realized it would require many more days to properly explore this park and we were not set up for the hikes so it is on our bucket list as a must try and get back to, perhaps on our return.

Again there is a lot of history here we checked out many sites along highway 29 to Gwillim Lake Provincial Park situated as the name suggest on Gwillim Lake. The sites were as most of BC’s provincial parks clean spacious and offered no hook up services. As most of BC’s provincial parks and why we like them there are no reservations, its first come first served, $20 per night cash only as there is usually not internet service. The bears at Gwillim were an added feature if you don’t mind bears. Would also definitely recommend this park. We enjoyed a campfire in our campsite overlooking the lake and debated spending another day there to do some kayaking, however the winds were even stronger the next morning and the lake was rough.

Day 10, 1665.9 km traveled left Gwillim Lake for Charlie Lake through 374 km of very beautiful and extremely hilly mountain roads in the Peace River country. Saw the Peace River Dam and the extensive 2.6 km berm they are constructing along with dozens of very high long bridges. Visited Hudson Hope museum, a very nice community in the valley. The old Ford did very well in the high steep climbs and deep descents very impressed with our 6.2 gas. One thing to remember when travelling this highway and these areas a lot of time it is cash only.

Ten days of our travels is enough to burden one with so will leave it there with a few images. Subscribe to be notified of posts and we look forward to seeing you down the road in the studiowest.ca Northern Lite. Lots of truck campers in this country, we are not unique here.

Our dream of visiting the Yukon is close to day one in our travels. That means the update on Douglas Provincial Park in southern Saskatchewan, Canada will be put on hold. Despite high fuel costs we have decided to go anyway as we would probably spend as much trying to amuse ourselves seeing the same old thing staying here in Saskatchewan.

The trip has been in the works for three years now and due to one reason or another has not materialized so it’s go time on a budget that if we can do it anyone can. We really are looking forward to the challenge we have no set time, no place we have to be, with our Northern Lite truck camper we can just pick up and move home when we want. We can spend one month or three months as our little cabin back home is looked after by a very dear friend for however long we choose to stay.

We are told by many the Yukon is fantastic and the trip will be well worth it, we appreciate the help of our fellow travellers who have shared some neat places to visit. Places off the grid and away from the tourist traps, places we may want to hang our hats and put out the mats for a little while. At this point our plans to visit Alaska are being put on hold. The Yukon has way too much to offer to rush our visit and cover too much territory in one visit. For us it’s not all about a destination (Dawson City) it’s about the journey and the beauty along the way. If I wanted to be run by the clock and calendar I would get a job…may have to along the way if fuel gets any higher.

I really am glad I traded the Dodge diesel off in favour of our gas engine now as diesel is more costly and may even get harder to find. With the high cost of fuel we will try and offset it by being creative where we stay, definitely not the 5 star campgrounds that have raised their rates due to covid and the popularity of RV travel. For those who have just joined the blog or do not know us we are totally self-contained in our 2017 four-season 9.6 Northern Lite truck camper. We have 100 watts solar on the roof and a 100 watt portable panel. We also installed a DC to DC charger, 2000 watt generator and two 6 volt 100 amp batteries. The truck is a Ford F350 4×4 SRW with stable blocks top and lower and factory sway bar. We have rear locking differential and 10,000 lb winch to get us out of most trouble spots (failing that we have a Spot X satellite phone for HELP). Also being only 22 feet this allows us a variety of areas to camp or spend the night.

That’s why we appreciate the experience of those who have made the trip with tips and places to stay and experience. There are a number of ways to contact us with information, the best probably being our email address, gerry@studiowest.ca or the blog comments section. We hope we can meet those who also are making the trip and love to hear from all you who we can share our trip photos and experiences with along the way. So if you want to see if we can do it on a buck ten and a prayer follow along, we will be glad to have you.

OK time to finish packing and in a truck camper one has to be the “master of compaction”. May you all enjoy your travels this summer and may the wind always be in your back. See you down the road….

Gerry and Charlotte

Leaving Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and heading south we arrived at Danielson Provincial Park, it was early in the season just after the long weekend in May and we liked what we found. On the way down just north of the Danielson Provincial Park is the Gardner Dam, the world’s largest earth-filled dam creating Lake Diefenbaker on which the park is situated. We stopped at the Gardner Dam Visitor Centre for lunch, it features a beach and picnic area, no camping or overnight stays.

Danielson has three camping loops, with, I would guess 300 sites plus and overflow area. Most sites are well treed and have power and water. The sewer dumps are new and very functional. The campsites can handle both small rigs and larger units in all loops. We found the sites well groomed and a very clean campgrounds. As it was early and we did not require power we opted to stay in the overflow area just off the lake. There are approximately 12 sites with fire pits and washroom with flush toilets. Potable water and a great view of the lake with sandy beach cost $20 per night. Regular spots run $33 with 15/30 amp power.

The lake was very low when we were there but as I write this blog the lake is starting to rise due to the rains and mountain run off finally starting in BC. There is an excellent paved boat launch which gets you onto Lake Diefenbaker, a huge lake with good fishing and water sports as described in my former article on Elbow.

Danielson is home to two major hiking and biking trails one being the Trans Canada Trail and the other the Prairie View Nature Trail. The latter forms a loop which starts and returns to the park. We hiked a section of the Trans Canada Trail which follows the shoreline of Lake Diefenbaker.

The Beach Side Pavilion is a small confectionary and burger/fries take out restaurant. The Pavilion is located right off the beach area that has lots of sandy shore line. Again we were there when the water was very low but can see it features a great swimming area and day picnic area as well. We hiked a long way along the expanded shoreline due to low water and could see the high dunes of sand pushed up when the lake is full and rough.

Danielson is open all year round with camping available from the May long weekend to Labour Day. Danielson is located at 51.25167* N.long -106.8692*W and is accessible by good paved highway suitable for all size rigs.

We did a little side trip to the Coldwell Recreation Site which was not open yet so we hiked in and found a small secluded group of about 30 non power small sites. These sites are well treed and with turns that any RV over 20 feet should not attempt as posted outside the camp area. Non potable water is available and did not see a dump site. The sites are available on a first come first serve basis. We were told some long weekends the campsites are full. The area also features tables and firepits for day use picnics. It’s a neat little rustic campground located in the South Saskatchewan River Valley and not really all that close to water. The rustic, away from it all, kinda appeals to our style of camping for a few days…perhaps we will when it’s open some day.

We found Danielson a great park to camp in and enjoy a big lake, we visited our southern parks in early and off season so have no idea what booking a site might entail during summer season, best check. In my humble opinion we need more sites that are first come and not reservable it’s hard to plan any length of stay when most sites are booked weekends only and you have no place to go…no Walmarts in the area. Or a least making sure booked sites are actually occupied and if not used a no charge cancellation policy if cancelled well in advance…just saying.

We have never stayed at the the other provincial park located on Lake Diefenbaker so we pushed on to Douglas Provincial Park, our impressions of that in my next posting. This trip, due to the fuel costs, we decided to take the back roads slow down and enjoy the trip the bonus was we saw lots of great country, I could look around while driving as we met very few vehicles and we got great gas mileage as compared to the major highways. Lesson learned: Enjoy the journey as the destination will arrive quickly enough. We all should have a destination in mind, but we are truly blessed when we can enjoy the beauty in getting there.

Right now we are back at the cabin saving our pennies so we can afford some fuel to hopefully get us to Dawson City in the Yukon starting beginning of July. While away our cabin will be well cared for by a dear friend. We will bring you along on that trip as well. Since fuel is so expensive we will be looking to doing a lot of boondocking and not staying at five star campgrounds regularly. This should be a learning experience. I told a friend we may have to eat road kill and pick pop bottles along the way he said as long as the road kill is fresh we should be OK. According to my trusty partner that will NOT happen I will be getting a job along the way… and she is emailing my resume to businesses along the Alaska highway.

Thanks to those who subscribe it saves me from always having to post to Facebook and Instagram as it notifies you automatically when I do post. It also gives me more incentive to keep taking, editing and sharing our travels in this beautiful country. Not all campgrounds are created equal so will keep you posted on that as well.

Take care thanks to those who tuned in may the wind always be on you back…. watch for us studiowest.ca in our Northern Lite as we hope to meet you down the road….Charlotte and Gerry

Lake Diefenbaker 2022….just add water. It’s been a number of years since visiting the lake community of Elbow, Saskatchewan situated on Lake Diefenbaker. I really don’t know where to start, the lack of water in Lake Diefenbaker or the building boom in Elbow. OK positives first, for years, 10 to be exact, the rodeo committee in Elbow hired Charlotte and myself to photograph their rodeo events for them. At the time we were professionally doing rodeo photography and being at many different events always found Elbow our favourite rodeo. I know we were paid to say that….not really, Kevin Volmar and his crew were the best we have ever worked with and treated us good year after year, we also like the small community of Elbow. Fast forward several years and we found we were in for a surprise.

I hardly recognized the community when driving in, new cabins/homes, new streets numbering in the dozens where there were none before and empty stores now with tourist/lake business in most spaces. RV parks expanded into streets and avenues in several locations. Pulling over on main street I talked to an elderly gentleman who lives in town, I asked him if they found gold in the area that created all the growth to which he answered “no Covid did”. Since 2019 I would say the town has doubled in size, and some say Covid hurt the economy….well not in Elbow. If one is going to work from home why not the lake, it appears this is the case.

For those not familiar with Elbow it’s situated halfway between Regina and Saskatoon on Highway 19. Elbow got its name from a bend in the south Saskatchewan River that reassembled an elbow. Elbow is now situated on Lake Diefenbaker and features a first class marina, golf course, miles of beaches and the sailing club. The lake is 225 km long with 800 km of shoreline so very attractive to larger boats and sailboats. I’m told fishing is excellent. Danielson Provincial Park and Douglas Provincial Park are also located on the lake. The lake was created when the river was dammed up for the Gardner River Power Plant. This trip Charlotte and I visited and stayed at both Provincial Parks which I will feature in the next blogs.

As mentioned the Marina is home to probably the biggest number of sailboats for sure on the prairies. Charlotte and I were lucky enough to visit with the owners of the Elbow Harbour Marina, Trish and Jake. Although early in the season they said the lake was the lowest it has been in 20 years. People familiar with Lake Diefenbaker know the levels vary over the season and count on the spring runoff from the mountains to refresh the lake levels every year. Well this year its appears runoff is later than normal and the lake is lower than normal. Boats that normally are going in are still on shore. One gentleman who we met and lives on his cabin cruiser in the summer and some of the other boaters remain optimistic it’s only a matter of time and the lake will rise. The lake has been known to vary by approximately 20 feet so it has a lot of water needed.

By the way for you RV types the Marina is not just for marine types, it’s also set up for those who travel and live in our land yachts. They have a very good stock of RV parts as well so if in need of parts near Elbow check them out the prices are good as well.

Just a little on Lake Diefenbaker and the boom community of Elbow, worth a trip to check it out just north of Number 1 highway and south of the Yellow Head highway. Highway 19 is in great shape and a nice drive from Elbow to Saskatoon right by the door of the Whitecap Casino.

Until next post on our visit to two provincial parks, take time to enjoy the beauty around us, drive safe and with these fuel prices may the wind always be on your back. Thanks to those who have taken the plunge and subscribed it gives this old guy something to write about and share some images.

Hope to see you down the road….studiowest.ca

Charlotte and Gerry

Yes we can be living small and have it all. At least all we really need to be well fed and comfortable. Those of us who have spent a lot of time living in a RV will understand and agree. We are trying to tax climate change to save the planet, ban fuel burning vehicles in favor of electric. I have yet to figure how mining for the minerals required for batteries and the production of electric cars is more environmentally friendly. How do we dispose of a billion spent batteries and how do we produce enough power when we all drive power hungry vehicles and live in power intensive homes.

As we love to travel and stay in our small RV (a truck camper), we totally appreciate the beauty of our natural environment and its diversity and definitely want to protect it. What it really boils down to is are we more interested in saving the economy or the planet, if so we would not have to reinvent the auto industry. All we have to do is live small with less “stuff” and eliminate 50% of our landfills.

I recently needed a micro data chip for a camera, it is approximately 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch and came in a plastic cocoon with a 8 inch by 5 inch brightly printed cardboard wrapper. Of course it was shipped protected in plastic bubble wrap and a paper envelope. That was just one of probably a billion world wide sold that day so the resources used to produce the excess packaging 99% of the item ended in the landfill.

I needed that item and it added value to my life, but I am also guilty of purchasing a lot of “stuff” to make myself feel better for working so hard for something that did not add any value to my life. We all need stuff however it comes at a cost when you figure the work hours required to obtain that stuff. Stuff that is either a status symbol or desire to fill our huge home and 4 car garage with toys and appliances. If you actually get the time to enjoy and use them to add value to your life that’s great. Most however will spend their day at work to pay for it.

Unfortunately we are not wired that way more and bigger is better at least the marketing people want us to think that. Our landfills are filled with products and packaging that created tons of carbon a lot more than the vehicles being blamed. Excess consumer consumption is killing the planet, we cannot even keep up production in a “Me To” drive to have it all. I’m not saying do without, we all need stuff, however if we really want to get on the save the planet bandwagon perhaps just more of what we really need and will add value to our lives. The new mantra should be “save a landfill” the planet will look after itself.

There are a few who really work at “saving the planet” by living small. Leonardo what’s his name is not one of them, either are our governments, how could you ask people to spend less on junk. No they love our taxes collected on the Chinese “stuff” and overpriced vehicles we purchase. Large homes the bigger the better as taxes are dependent on dollars spent and size of home. It’s a great way to keep people enslaved to producing taxable revenue, buy more pay more. Want more work more.

My doctor once asked me are you living to eat or you eating to live. I think he was saying eat what is good for improving your life, not the junk that is going to shorten it even if it tastes better. There are more who are starting to live full time in a RV or tiny home, these days 1000 square feet is considered tiny. People have often looked down on these individuals who have chosen to live with less and just what adds value to their lives. Municipalities have discouraged tiny homes as they do not add to the tax revenues as a 3,000 square foot home would, for two or three people, why? I ask.

Living in a RV has given me a sense of freedom from the stuff that ties us down in life. We are not full time but spend months traveling and camping, as we downsized you guessed it to a small tiny cabin 800 square feet and love it. I have been able to retire without a huge bank account and spend less on taxes, heating, cooling, unnecessary furnishings and no payments. We have learned and are still learning to purchase stuff that is needed for our comforts and that add value to our lives and leave the rest. Now we can spend way more time on the road in a truck camper we really paid too much for, but it has added much value and freedom and we have the time to enjoy it.

In our tiny homes and RV’s we learn not to waste water, power and propane, we are very careful to pack items that will be used and needed only due to space as well. It’s OK if people feel sorry for us living small, but for us the less in the backpack the lighter the load. I have said it before the bigger the fire the more wood needed to chop. So the next time someone tells you they live in their RV or tiny home by choice thank them for doing their part in “living small and saving the planet”. If we were really serious about saving the planet and not the economy more would walk the talk. I realize not everyone can or is willing to live in a RV or tiny home, but perhaps we could consider adding less to the landfills and conserve our natural resources.

These are my options and have not been peer reviewed yet so take them for what they are worth. Catch my next book how to retire on a whim and a prayer. If you are new to the site check out previous posts they are probably more entertaining. Your subscription is appreciated and thanks to all those who have given me that thumbs up it keeps me thinking and a reason for taking them photographs.

The photographs chosen are for your viewing and illustrates the beauty we are free to enjoy as we travel. Nature is fragile let’s look after it for our future generations to enjoy. Looking forward to meeting up with some real cowboys for a reunion at their annual bucking bronc school in early May…stay tuned.

As usual your comments are welcome on this or any other post….gerry RVcowboy and my trusted partner Charlotte. Hope to see you down the road look for studiowest.ca on the camper and truck and say Hi. Remember live small and have it all..

We love our wee cabin at the lake! But we do have cabin fever and who can blame us, 175 days of below zero temperatures. This time last year our lake was wide open and a neighbour’s boat in and we were having morning coffee on the deck.

The few good days we had allowed me to complete the modifications to our truck camper. A new enclosed front generator and modified rear storage allows us to haul our 16 ft. Sea Eagle kayak behind the passenger seat of our truck. Not that we have need for it now…but just in case winter decides to give up this year.

A funeral for a dear friend in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan was all we needed to get motivated. As long as we were heading north to our favourite part of the province we would take the Northern Lite and continue north for some winter camping. Yes even Charlotte was ready! I had spent some time in our camper this winter at Agribition so knew the four-season camper could handle the low temps. We would have to rely on our solar panel and two six volt batteries for all our power. The camper and stock solar panel and batteries came through with flying colours, our batteries never dropping below 12.2 volts.

Unfortunately our favourite northern campsites did not come through as well. If we thought we had lots of snow back here at Pike Lake, it was nothing compared to Anglin Lake, Waskesiu Lake and north.

The roads were great and plowed out in Great Herron Provincial Park as were the roads in Prince Albert National Park. We could get to the campground entrances but the campgrounds still had two to three feet of snow throughout. We stopped at Spruce River, Anglin Lake and then north to the Narrows north of Waskesiu townsite in Prince Albert National Park. We had hoped to see the otters playing, obviously they also were not in the playing mood.

The townsite usually very busy with people was quiet and snow piled everywhere. The main beach house had a five to six foot drift blocking the entrance, we sure need some warmer weather for the May long weekend.

We did however find open water on the Waskesiu River. Here we watched some confused Canada Geese arguing over whose fault it was they arrived back to this. Our journey north ended at the Hanging Heart Lakes where the marina road remained unplowed.

We totally enjoyed our province’s north again seeing a different beauty one does not experience in the summer months. The north is a great place to snowshoe, cross country ski and hike and enjoy the beauty of the green spruce against the stark white snow. As beautiful as it is it’s time winter to get lost and allow us a short but beautiful summer.

Short on campgrounds we were lucky enough to be able to camp at my cousin’s place at Northside, Sk. on Hwy. 2. June runs a great go-to-destination antique store, Northside Antiques and Collectibles, which also is home to the Black Spruce Art Gallery. Check the menu for more on this in a future article and photos.

Back at the cabin and another snowfall….perhaps this will be the last! For us our travels are starting again and we hope to see you “Down the Road”

We hope you subscribe and come back often….Charlotte and Gerry