Kula Boy's Great Alaskan Adventure: Gitxsan Village, 'Ksan Campground

Monday, May 9, 2011 – Woke up late for us, 8:30. Driving to K’San Native Village today to meet up with our caravan group. The sun is out and it’s about 57°. We left Dave’s RV Park around 9:30. We drove through several charming little towns amidst rugged mountains. As we got closer to the K’San RV campground, we had to drive across a single-lane suspension bridge. Then we got fuel at the Esso (the Alaskan Native gas station). Spike had already worked out a deal with them to give his caravan group a discount. We save about $8 (it’s about $1.34/litre—fuel is even more expensive in Canada).

We arrived at the campground around 2:30. Another easy drive today. The campground is surrounded by the stunning views of the Seven Sisters and the mountains known as “Stegyowdenhl” to the Gitxsan people, and the Roucher de Boule mountain range towering above the campground. We set up, took Kula for a walk and met Spike, our guide and his wife, Lindy, Roger (tail gunner, caravan mechanic), and his girlfriend, Teresa. We had dinner and went to the local Pub/Bar (there’s only one in town) to watch the Canucks play the Nashville Predators hockey playoff game. The Vancouver Canucks won! It was still light out at 9:00pm when we returned.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 – Rained last night and early this morning, but stopped by the time we got up. It was in the 40s this morning. We went out to breakfast this morning to a great little café in town. Came back to the campground so Roger could start to check out the motorhome and make sure it’s Alaska-ready. He put on a radiator screen (mesh netting) and transit shield on the front of the motorhome to avoid rock chips damage. He also put mesh netting on the jeep too. Apparently, we’re going to be going through some pretty rugged roads.

This afternoon was pretty uneventful, while Kenny washed the jeep, I did laundry and straightened up the motorhome. We went to our first orientation meeting with Spike and his staff from 4:00-6:00 and got a lot of information for our trip.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011 – Slept in a little this morning. It was cool when we got up and kind of overcast all day. We drove to Smithers, one of the charming towns south of here that we came through on our way to Hazelton to find a lumber store. It was a very nice drive, about 45 min. Kenny went into the lumber store and got the wood he was looking for. As we were strolling along, we stopped in at a local bakery and got a few cookies. Then we went into the local sausage shop and bought some freshly made bratwurst. We came back to the campground and Kenny built a shelf for our closet to keep the drawers (full of my shoes) elevated. Then, he built a foot rest for me too J. We went to our 2^nd orientation meeting tonight from 4-6 where Spike described our maps for each leg of the journey. Everyone introduced themselves tonight. We have people on the trip from NY, WY, NM, NC, WI, OR, FL, VA and AK. They all seem like a nice group of people. It will be fun getting to know them better. Our Wagonmaster, Spike has been all over the world, but makes his home with his wife, in Alaska.

Kenny wanted to build a fire tonight, but it’s been raining so probably not tonight. But, we did take Kula for a walk in the rain and used our rain gear and it works great. Instead of the fire, we’re going to have movie night, seems a good night for one. Actually, we ended up watching a DVD of Alaska…getting us excited for our adventure.

Thursday, May 12, 2011 – Woke up to a sunny, clear morning. The mountains around us look amazing. At 10:00, we all got into Spike’s two vans and drove to the Kispiox Totem poles and learned about early Native history and totem poles in this area. When Spike began to tell the stories of the totem poles, he always prefaced the story, “in a time before this.”

Later, he took us on a walking tour to the “Meeting of the Waters.” It’s where the two rivers come together, the Bulkley and Skeena. Then we continued our walk to the Native Gitxsan Museum, Frog House (the House of the Distant Past) and interpretative tour. It described the Gitxsan people before contact with the outside world. This was amazing and so interesting. We weren’t able to take pictures in the “frog” house or the museum, but I bought a few postcards to show some of the detail of the two. The Gitxsan people got their name for the “people of the river of mist.” They lived in large, single room cedar houses, communal style with up to twelve families in one house, divided by cedar boxes where they stored their clothes and other belongings.

At 5:30, we had a potluck dinner where everyone brought a delicious dish to share and Spike and his staff made fresh baked salmon and a ham. I made my baked bean which seemed to be a hit. After dinner, we finally had our campfire…great way to end a great day!