Fifteen years ago Lois and I had travelled to Oaxaca state en route to the beachside community of Puerto Escondido where we spent a memorable 10 days. Memorable, for the great weather, great surf and as always, the people we met. Memorable as well for the windiest, most nauseating, and at times breathtaking journey we had ever taken in a minibus – a journey from Oaxaca city to the Pacific coast ( to get to Puerto Escondido ) on “Highway” 175. While only 235 kms on the map, it was back then, and turned out to be again, all of a 6 hour journey, only this time, driving ourselves, we battled a torrential tropical storm, dodged downed power lines, and crossed many overflowing creeks and partial mudslides. Turned out Mexico’s “rainy season” was not quite over yet. Nice to have had a high clearance 4×4 – we saw many smaller vehicles turning back. One of those times as well where, having descended 5,100 feet there was a palpable sense of relief when we finally reached our destination. Note – the following images were shot through the windshield, wipers on, in heavy rain, hence the reduced quality – couldn’t open the window in that downpour !
Creek overflowing from the rainsOne of many mudslides on the 175 that dayAnother, a waterfall of mud, with crews on the road clearing debris And anotherWho needs a truck when you can fit this much “on” your car !
The destination in this case was Huatulco, or rather the nearby beach community of San Agustín. Having enjoyed the relative cool of the highlands for a few weeks it was definitely time to switch gears and spend some down time on a beach – great reviews on iOverlander, subsequently endorsed by our new friends John and Kayoko, steered us to the Dutch-run “Don Taco Overlander Beach Campground”. While the Dutch owners, Franz and Anneke were on vacation, their ( Dutch ) caretaker, Mark, ran the place like it was his own and was great company for the 3 days we stayed there – even sharing some freshly caught tuna fish with us and another overlanding couple from Germary ( who, like us, were headed ultimately to Ushuaia, Argentina ). Probably one of the best true “beach” campgrounds on the Mexican coast, at Don Taco your rig was on the sand and literally just yards from the waves.
Mark, with the eponymously named ‘Don Taco’ ( the owners dog )I had just always wanted to take a picture like this !Rock bluff off San Agustín beach, Huatulco Fishing boats on the beachThe beachLois in the hammockView from door of our camperBeach to the westCampground from the road Lois, swimmingThe German’s motorhome and our camper, Don Taco’sCampground from the beach
Don Taco was just the recipe we needed to recharge the sightseeing batteries – one can get a little ‘churched out’ and ‘ruin weary’ in these parts unless you periodically change it up. What really surprised us at San Augustin was the sunrises. Being on the Pacific coast of Mexico ( ostensibly its “west” side ) one expects only sunsets, stunning examples of which we had seen all the way down the Baja. On closer inspection however, when you are this far south in Mexico the country kind of lays on its side – when looking out at the Pacific you are thus looking more to the south, not west, and depending on the particular angle of the beach you are on, you can ( and we did ) experience impressive sunrises. See below. The sun setting on the mountains behind us at night also gave a very picturesque orange glow to the whole campground. We kind of had it both ways at Don Taco’s. A small bit of misfortune while there – we realized we had “blown” one of our two, 100 watt solar panels. Not a single volt was coming out of it. Yes, we could survive on 100 watts but it would mean the occasional shore power top up and more careful use of the fridge until we could replace it in Mexico or ship one down from Canada – being a lightweight “flexi” panel dramatically limited our options in Mexico at least.
Sunrise at Don Taco’sThe orange glow of a sunset on the campground John, a resident Canadian and solar guru, confirmed it – not a single volt in that panel !
Continuing east in Mexico ( that just seems wrong – feels like I should be saying”south” ! ), the plan was to reach San Cristobal de Las Casas in Chiapas, spend time there before heading to the ruins of Palenque at which point we would enjoy our last weeks in Mexico in Yucatan. As was our experience going from Oaxaca to Huatulco, the distance on the map and the time required to get to some of these places seemed totally at odds. A combination of drastic elevation changes ( sea level to 7,200 feet ), narrow shoulderless roads, many small towns in between and, in the case of Huatulco to San Cristobal, a taxi blockade along the way, meant the latter journey took all of two days. Scenic- yes. Tedious – that too. We realized, only once we were there, that this segment of the south would have us crossing the “isthmus” of Mexico – that “skinny bit”. Technically known as the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, it represents the shortest distance between the Pacific coast and Gulf of Mexico. In the low lying parts it is extremely windy with lots of cautionary signs along the road. We managed to stay upright but were not at all surprised to see more wind turbines there than either of us had ever seen in one place.
Wind turbines all across the Mexican isthmus – the skinny bit of Mexico !Mexico’s Pacific coast near the Isthmus of TehuantepecThere were some long straight stretches ( but lots of curves too ) !
Both Oaxaca and Chiapas states have been somewhat restive over the past decade or so with their indigenenous populations making their feelings known on a whole list of grievances – teachers’ salaries, taxi fares, truckers’ pay and a history of other perceived areas of discrimination. Road blockades, imposition of unofficial highway “tolls” and the like are not uncommon. We saw a truckers strike ( clogging the main road into town ) in Oaxaca city and had to re- route ( 2 hours out of our way ) around a taxi blockade in Ixtepec en route to San Cristobal. A funny way ( in my mind ) to display your dissatisfaction, but hey……T.I.M.
During our “detour” the GPS sent us down this road…….you just can’t always rely on it !
Very disconcertingly, during that part of the journey, a smorgasboard of dashboard lights suddenly came on – “ABS”, “Brake Fluid Low”, and “Stabilitrac Alert”. Odd, because we had just a few days earlier had a full service. We nursed the truck carefully into San Cristobal ( thankfully, with questionable brakes, we were “ascending” 7,200 feet rather than descending ).
Despite the trials and tribulations of getting there, San Cristobal de las Casas certainly lived up to the high expectations that had been set. Probably Chiapas’ prettiest city, the combination of great weather ( always nice and cool at that altitude ), a lively arts and crafts scene, cobblestone streets, many locals ( especially the women ) wearing traditional garments and just the vibrant church colours and colonial era buildings give the place a special appeal – so much so that it was packed with foreigners; travellers in general, ex-pat residents and many students here to take Spanish lessons. Not without good reason is it one of the most popular stops on the overland route south.
Street scene, Centro Historico, San CristobalColorful church, San CristobalView of the city, San Cristobal San Cristobal’s most famous churchPedestrian street San Cristobal Colorful buildings, San CristobalAdorable Chiapas child, all dressed up, San CristobalCampground Rancho San Nicholas, San Cristobal
As we closed out our week in San Cristobal in preparation for the “Road to Palenque”, some good news. What with washed out roads, failed solar panels and shaky brakes we needed some !
First, the brake issue on the truck was quickly identified by the GM dealer in San Cristobal and rectified. It seems the dealer in Oaxaca, when doing the brake fluid flush had not properly dealt with the passenger rear disc brake and it was indeed leaking and draining brake fluid. Some sort of seal, or cap, was not in place in any case – lucky we took it in promptly. As an added bonus they also took care of an outstanding recall issue on the vehicle – now everything was up to date and this would hopefully be our last visit to a dealer for another 10,000 kms at least.
Hopefully our last visit to a GM service bay for some time !
Secondly, “Truck Camper Adventure“ just published a review I had been asked to do on our truck and camper (and they have asked for a couple more articles); our first published story ! For anyone interested in some of the more technical aspects of our “rig”, read all about it here:
Following a restful 6 week hiatus back in Kelowna that was definitely the feeling as we set out Tuesday this week to continue our journey.
So, what took almost 6 weeks you might ask…? Well, there was quite a lot to be done and frankly a good part of it was just some very enjoyable relaxing ‘family and friends’ time since the next segment, as planned, would have us away much longer. Heading out on a more or less indefinite trip requires a great deal of logistical planning and preparation and that consumed much of out time – vaccinations, some over a series of weeks, putting financial and legal matters in place for an extended absence, examining health insurance decisions for an extended trip, making certain camper modifications, and generally just attending to a host of other household minutiae.
All cleaned up and ready to go !
A farewell present from our 5 year old neighbours, Gavin and Leo !
First port of call after leaving Kelowna was to stop in and catch up with long time friends Deb and Garth in Chilliwack, an easy 3 hour drive west and directly on our planned route. Had a delightful evening there before heading to Abbotsford where we were fortunate to catch up briefly for a Starbucks coffee with old friends Ed and Mae who had recently moved there from Kelowna. From Abbotsford we crossed into the US – not the easiest of crossings as the wait time was long and the questioning fairly intense; possibly the destination and duration of the intended trip played a part – I just don’t think the border guy could really wrap his head around why anyone would want to do what we had planned !
Deb and Garth in ChilliwackCoffee with Ed and Mae at Starbucks
Having had 5 weeks on the road up north we learned a lot about the truck and camper and it’s “liveability”. We had always planned to use that experience to make necessary modifications, fix any obvious flaws and correct some initial notions of what we really needed to bring along – as with any trip, we took things we didn’t need and forgot some things we should have taken. Ditching the heavy and bulky 2nd spare tire that had been stored inside the truck ( in anticipation of multiple possible Dalton/Dempster punctures ) freed up an amazing amount of space much to our delight. It was quickly filled with other stuff. We also fashioned a few modifications to the camper that we had either seen others use or that we felt would be helpful on the road – better storage for dishes and pots in what for us is a very confined space; an external BBQ / cooking shelf ( useful when camping without a table ); additional tie down points in the truck for securing bulky items; an “in a pinch” internal shower for periods of extended remote camping; and, finally, mounting points for our awning ( on both sides of the camper ) that would enable us to carry the awning inside the truck when travelling and place it outside when camped moving it easily from side to side as the sun moved. It should be hot in the Baja and the awning was something we definitely missed up north. Thanks again to Andy and Jason who helped with all that !
Removable cooking shelfOur logo and website – added to the camperAwning mounts – amazing what you can do with UHMW ! Thanks to Ian’s creativity at Industrial Paints and Plastics in Kelowna it all came togetherAwning now slides on and off – on either side of the camper
Destination on day two was Seattle and our final ‘friend’ stop. After our visit there with Gary and Mayumi we do not have a single contact between Canada and Argentina so it was wonderful to enjoy an afternoon and evening with these two old friends from our life in Japan back in the mid ‘80’s. While we’d remained in contact over the years we had not seen each other since 1990, over 29 years ago ! Wonderful hosts, and Mayumi, the dinner was delicious. Thank you !
Mayumi, Lois and Gary at their home in Woodinville, near Seattle, Washington
We’d travelled many times to Seattle in the past but it had been a while and we’d forgotten how congested it was – travelling during rush hour as we left our hosts did not help of course. The “I5” took us south through Tacoma, and Olympia before turning west to the 101 – it would be that road which would essentially take us all the way down the three western US states generally hugging the coast all the way to the Mexican border, of course with a few planned detours along the way. Stopped to camp for the night at a quaint county state park in southern Washington where we enjoyed the company of some overlander bikers from Chile. Matias and Paulina ( www.elrovano.com ) had ridden a BMW 800 from Santiago, Chile ( where we are headed ) all the way to the USA and were en route to Alaska ( where we had just been ) – we shared some great tips about our respective journeys over a few glasses of wine and bid them “hasta luego” as they rode off in the morning.
Drinks with Matias and Paulina from Chile Our Chilean friends heading off north
The morning saw us, too, heading out of Washington and ready to tackle the famously beautiful Oregon coast. More details of that on our next post…….
After 11,233 kms travelled ( distances are huge up north ! ) and a full month on the road, the week closed out with an eagerly anticipated pit stop in Kelowna where we planned to spend a small part of our beautiful Okanagan summer with family and friends before continuing on south .
Odometer reading on the day we returned
From Beaumont Lake, Highway 16 took us across to Prince George where we stopped briefly to visit some old work colleagues. In a former role Prince George was in my ‘territory’ so I knew it quite well. By far the largest city in BC’s north, it seemed to have grown even more since our last visit in 2011 and ( like Whitehorse in the Yukon ) appeared very vibrant. This stood in stark contrast to a lot of the smaller communities we passed through on the Alaska Highway on our way north ( in both B.C. and Alaska ) many of which were ( sadly ) in very obvious states of economic decline with quite a number of businesses closed altogether.
Heading south from ‘PG’ ( as Prince George is more commonly known ), Highway 97 would ultimately take us all the way to Kelowna. Our first attempt at camping for the night was at 100 Mile House Municipal campground. This appeared to be more a campground for the otherwise local homeless than for genuine tourists. Since our arrival was met by some pretty sketchy stares we decided to move on. Next stop was the scenically beautiful Lake La Hache Provincial Park campground where it was puzzling to see a lot of folks leaving the campground at around 4 pm ( normally ‘arrival’ time ). A big place, it was also eerily empty. One needed only to open the truck door to discover why – infested with mosquitos ! Two nearby bikers were packing their tent up so we figured this might not be our best option either. Onwards it was.
These kinds of things do happen from time to time and are the reason most folks will tell you to find your camp spot by mid afternoon ( which we generally did ) – always time for a ‘Plan B’ then. Fortunately the drive on south was easy and in less than an hour we were in Clinton and comfortably settled at the Gold Trail RV Park – famous for its on-site restaurant. We took the night off from cooking and enjoyed a nice meal and the company of some interesting fellow travellers….and no mosquitoes.
Kept bumping into an Alaskan couple driving this 1931 Model A Ford truck, parked here at the Clinton RV campground we stayed at. They travelled slowly……..
Finding a great coffee shop in small towns is rare and the holy grail of good coffee AND fresh baked goods almost non existent. While Clinton did not serve that up the next morning, nor Cache Creek, a short drive through the streets of Ashcroft, not far to the south, brought us to the delightful Ashcroft Bakery and Coffee Shop. Definitely a stop worth making if you travel through – obviously a local favourite, rated a 4.8 out of 5 on Facebook and I can see why. Just one of those little gems you sometimes stumble upon ( and the best scones – ever ! ).
Enjoying a morning ‘wake up’ – best coffee and scones at Ashcroft bakery, but best hot chocolate at Bugwood Bean ( Smithers ), seen above
Climbing out of Ashcroft took us past the massive Highland Valley copper mine, through the town of Logan Lake and on to Merritt where we were happy to take full advantage of an all out local ‘gas war’ that was raging. Filling up ( 140 litres ) at 113.9 was a considerable saving when we had just passed Prince George ( normally home of BC’s cheapest gas ) and seen it at 135.9 everywhere. Having paid as much as 1.70 in the Arctic, a Merritt fill up was noticeably ( and happily ) lighter on the wallet than we had become accustomed to !
Just a 90 minute drive from Merritt and we found ourselves coming around that sweeping bend on the Coqhihalla Highway where one gets that first, magnificent view of Okanagan Lake. It never disappoints and on a beautiful, sunny, 30 degree day it’s at its best. You know you are home when ! The lake, and entry to Kelowna itself was as beautiful as ever. Where had a month gone ?
For the next month or so we will be regrouping, catching up with friends and family, getting our personal affairs in order and taking our learnings from the month up north to make necessary modifications to our vehicle and camper to ensure maximum comfort and functionality for the trip south to come. With hindsight, we both agreed that splitting the trip up this way had been a wise move. We learned a ton about what works ( and what doesn’t – or probably won’t ! ) for what is ultimately planned to be an extended overland trip through many countries. We now have time to make changes, dump what we won’t use and add what we know we will.
We’ll pause on any further posts for a few weeks and provide our next update just before we set off, likely later in July. Meanwhile we plan to enjoy the rest of what is shaping up to be a wonderful Okanagan summer ! Stay tuned ……..
Last post we had reached the end of our journey north, over 7,500 kms of driving ( indirectly ) from Kelowna, BC, and camped for the night in the tiny Arctic hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk. While we were happy not to have gotten any ‘road rash’ souvenirs from the Dempster, one souvenir we did want, but could not find, was a ‘Tuk U’ t-shirt. Short for the fictitious Tuktoyaktuk University, I’d heard of them, but alas could not locate anyone in Tuk who would sell me one or who even knew of their existence. We would try later in Inuvik.
Crossing the Mackenzie River on our returnMy first ‘drone shot’, 200 feet above the Dempster Highway, north of Tombstone Park
Like anywhere, heading ‘back’ never holds quite the same appeal as arriving at a destination but we made great use of the time spent retracing our steps ( at least as far as the Klondike highway, at which point we would explore some new territory). As always, we bumped into many of the same folks at campgrounds on the way back as we did on the way up, so renewed those acquaintances and compared experiences- these usually related to road conditions and wildlife sightings, or particularly appealing territorial park walking trails. By unanimous agreement, Tombstone Territorial Park ( at the bottom of the Dempster ) was the standout highlight….definitely a park not to be missed for any that come this way !
Preparing for a hike at Tombstone
Off the Dempster ( and another self congratulatory high five for completing both the American and Canadian Arctic highways with no vehicle damage ), the Klondike Highway took us south to Carmacks and on to Whitehorse. Notable really for a lack of vehicle traffic more than anything else ( but more wildlife sightings as a result – 5 bears in all ), the Klondike highway was our first paved road after almost 2,000 kms of dust and gravel. While 2,000kms of gravel is tough in a truck and camper, spare a thought for those doing it on a bicycle – and yes, like the Dalton, we passed a few hardy cyclists while on the Dempster. Most notable was ‘Kamran’ , a fellow from Pakistan who had cycled all the way from Ushuaia at the bottom of Patagonia in Argentina ( our own longer term destination ) and, after almost 3 years in the saddle, was about 10 cycling days away from his destination in Tuk. Read his blog ( www.kamranonbike.com )…..fascinating chap ! Speaking of the interesting folks you meet in places like this, while overnighting in Carmacks we met a few young German lads who were ‘canoeing’ the Yukon river – we caught up with them on the stretch between Whitehorse and Dawson City. Cycling the Pan American highway, canoeing the mighty Yukon – we suddenly felt like relative lightweights doing our thing in the relative comfort of a truck camper !
“Kamran” from Pakistan – cycled from the bottom or Argentina to Tuktoyaktuk !Camping by the creek at Tombstone – choice camp site !Brown bear up close on the Klondike Highway near Carmacks
Soldiering on south took us back through Whitehorse where we replenished our supplies, serviced the truck, topped up the propane tank and rotated the tires ( the combination of 1600kms of Dalton gravel and 1800kms of Dempster gravel had really chewed up our rear tires, while the fronts were in relatively good shape ). Lois had a distant cousin living in Whitehorse who had just given birth to her second child so we celebrated that while there – ironically the baby was born in the very same hospital as Lois – so it was nice to catch up and take advantage of the timing.
We stopped at Marsh Lake, outside Whitehorse, where Lois’ family once owned a cabin. A group of school kids were playing at the time ( but no one was swimming – check the clothing ! )
This week just must have been the week for meeting particularly interesting people – as we checked in to the campsite in Whitehorse we were parked behind a smallish Ford RV with an Aussie flag and map of North and South America adorning its back wall. Recognizing them as likely overlanders, I chatted as we checked in and found they were two Aussies, Roland and Arun, originally from Goa, in India, who had also ( like our Pakistani friend earlier in the week ) travelled overland from Ushuaia at the bottom of Patagonia and were heading for Tuk ( read about them at www.freespiritcoelhos.wordpress.com ). The typical travel tips were shared and best wishes exchanged before we headed off in opposite directions the next day.
The Coelho’s from Australia just finishing their Pan American journey in this RV – no 4×4 !
Whitehorse had typically not delivered us good weather and apart from some sunshine as we drove in, this stop ( our third there ) was no exception. The drizzle that we experienced throughout our stay continued as we headed east towards Boya Lake Provincial Park in B.C. The long drive was uneventful apart from the many bear sightings, this time including 4 browns – rarer than the blacks it seems ( one of the sightings included a brown and a black bear seemingly playing together, something we had never seen before ). I can only say that Boya Lake lived up to its reputation – known as one of B.C.’s most beautiful provincial parks, we had to agree. Probably the prettiest park we had ever visited, a fact enhanced by the wonderful camping neighbors we met there, including Janet, the Ontario mum (doing it all solo) who we had crossed paths with at campgrounds in Eagle Plains ( both times ), Inuvik, and Tombstone ( and with whom we would cross paths with yet one more time). None of these encounters planned I should add !
One of many black bears munching on plants by the road outside Whitehorse – we got quite close
Boya Lake is at the very top of the Cassiar Highway, a route we had not taken on our previous trip north due to forest fires there at the time. We were very much looking forward to our trip on the 875 km long Route 37 that would take us south through Boya Lake, Dease Lake , Meziadin Lake ( our next camping stop – almost as stunning as Boya Lake – and final rendezvous with Janet ) and on to the intersection with the Yellowhead Highway ( Route 16 ). It did not disappoint – in places, far more stunning scenically than the better travelled and more populated Alaska Highway that brought us north. The Cassiar going south, like the Alaska Highway we had taken north, delivered a comparable abundance of wildlife but perhaps the generally better quality of the road itself ( or the fact we were seeing it for the first time) made it our preferred choice – in any case, both great road road trips !
Boya Lake Provincial Park CampgroundJeff at Boya Lake
Starting at Boya Lake and continuing south we began to notice three significant differences from the trip up. Firstly, mosquitoes were starting to become a problem – to the extent it was actually difficult to get in and out of the truck and camper without at least a few sneaking in. We were very thankful to have started the trip in mid May as they become wicked up north by mid June ( and we had encountered very few in our time there ). Secondly, it was becoming noticeably darker at night making sleeping much easier ( north of the Arctic Circle in Alaska and the Yukon there was no darkness at all and it made sleeping a challenge). Our week closed out at yet another beautiful campground – Beaumont Provincial Park campground right on Fraser Lake, just west of Prince George. Dipping our feet in the lake we noticed the third difference; it was ‘Okanagan-like’ in its warmth, a sure sign we were not far from home !
Meziadin Lake Provincial CampgroundTypical Cassiar Highway scenery – sadly it rained much of that day
I’ll close this post on a more unusual note. We’ve seen many monster RV’s and often marvelled at how much ‘stuff’ and how many ‘toys’ some folks travelled with; RV’s pulling boats, Jeeps, quads, small cars, some carrying motorcycles and the like. Not unusual at all. But, just outside Meziadin Junction, while taking a break at a rest stop, this pulled up beside us……look closely – yes, an RV ( from California )………… pulling its own helicopter no less !
Now we have officially seen it all.
Jeff + Lois
We are Lois and Jeff, of Kelowna, BC, Canada. Recently retired with a serious overlanding travel bug, we hit the road in our truck camper in May 2019, initially tackling the Pan American highway. The PanAm completed in April 2022, and truck camper sold, we plan to continue exploring again later in 2022 in our Sprinter 4×4!
