My concentration was maximised by the earlier experience, and I still had several hundred kilometres to travel. Some of the road signs further encouraged me to keep my wits about me.
The views were becoming more dramatic
but there was now the constant presence of an electricity line, with a multitude of pylons and a swathe cleared through the trees. I don’t know enough about the economic benefits of this power transmission, but it certainly has a large negative effect on the countryside.
And then there are oddities, like the Bob Quinn Lake Airport, which seems just to be a 4200 ft runway alongside the highway. It does have an official IATA airport code, and clearly there’s an interest in maintaining it. However, I can’t find any scheduled flights from it.
Suddenly, the deciduous trees were in leaf, and the scenery changed dramatically.
At last, the turn off to Stewart. About 40 km through very steep mountains, and the famous Bear Glacier looms over the valley.
Mobile phone coverage is established again as I enter Stewart. This town boomed in the early 2oth century, as silver mining flourished. However, it’s population has dropped from a height of some 10000 to the current 500 or so. From the look of things, decline is continuing. It’s got some attractive features, but I think the annual total of some 5 metres of snow must make life pretty hard. There was some sunshine today, but Stewart is one of the cloudiest places in the world.
This is the border with Alaska. There are no US border staff, but you need to stop at Canadian customs coming back.
Looking back into town. Logging and fishing, rather than silver, provide employment for some
A boardwalk into the estuary provides a vantage point for viewing birds and plants
I was interested to find that the school (Bear Valley School, lol) has an enrolment of 75, and covers the whole age range of (the equivalent of) FS1 to Y12. I would love to get a look at how that works and what the teaching groups look like.
Weird to think that the whole population of Stewart is about the same as the population of a large primary school in Derby (eg: Griffe Field – 481). I guess that must foster a better ‘sense of community’.
I’m told that there are only two classes – essentially primary and secondary. Certainly the school has two entrances, one for each. The building also houses the public library for the town. Picture in next post. I found two other schools in town, which have been closed and mothballed – ready for some future growth, lol.