This is a copy of 're-constructed' email which was sent to friends and relatives in April 2003.
Hi, it's nice to be back in New Westminster. Here are the full details of our nine-day trip. The green line shows where we went. It was over 3,300 km. After the ferry ride to Nanaimo, we went up the island stopping on the west side in a small city called Gold River. They didn't have any fast food restaurants even but we cooked all our dinners in the hotel rooms each night (with our camp stove or some rooms had a stove). From there ...
... we went north some more and then went back a short ways to Port Alice on the west side too (most cities are on the east). Then, we went to Port Hardy where we stayed the night. The next evening at 5:00 we took the ferry towards Prince Rupert. It stopped in Bella Bella in the night but we were asleep in our TINY cabin with bunk beds and toilet and sink. The truck cost $175 but each person was only $75, and the cabin was $50.
We arrived at Prince George at around 9:30 in the morning. After touring the city we headed towards Terrace. We stayed there for the next two nights. First, went to Kitimat where there is a big aluminum factory with 1700 employees. This was the only day when we had some rain. The next day, we went to Stewart which was the extra 240K green line on the map. There was a lot of snow, bears, and the beautiful glacier.
The city is very small, expensive, and the gas was 86.9 cents but we didn't need to buy from there. Next to Stewart is Hyder, Alaska. It was tiny and had only dirt road and looked abandoned. There was no US border guard, but when we came back to Canada, the lady checked our things at the customs and said we should carry proof of citizenship.
We came right back to the regular highway and spent the night in New Hazleton. From there, we travelled along the Yellowhead Highway all the way to Prince George, stopping at Smithers, Houston (which has the world's largest fishing rod), and Vanderhoof. We saw elk and deer.
