To Ft Nelson, BC - #52-08

June 20, 2005 (Mon)
Mile 0 Campground, Dawson Creek, BC (2)

After breakfast we headed into downtown Dawson Creek in search of a free WiFi hotspot. Well that's not exactly true. We knew where it was, we found it yesterday. We went there to use it this morning. As we sat in a parking lot outside an IGA food store we saw Bob and Pat go by on their way to the campground. They were in the midst of registering when we got back. Chip and Kim got here about an hour later. We're all here now and ready for our great adventure.

After lunch we all toured the "Pioneer Village" that is part of the city owned campground complex. The buildings and furnishings inside represented life at the beginning of time for this area - the early to mid 1900s. It was interesting in that a lot of the items reminded us of those used by our parents and grand parents when we were young. After that we hopped into toads and went over to a museum and art gallery near the original mile one sign post - the official start of the Alaska Highway. Then it was home for naps to restore our energy for the evening fare - a shared dinner and conversation. We also watched a video about the building of the Alaska Highway on Ed and Kathy's outside entertainment center (build into one of the storage compartments in their motor home.
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June 21, 2005 (Tue)
Mile 0 Campground, Dawson Creek, BC (3)

Gail and Phil left to return home this morning. It sure was good to have so much time with them, in their home, on their boat and on the road. Thank you guys!

Gas bargains are rare in Canada. Prices have varied only a penny or two in all the time we've been in British Columbia. A place here in Dawson Creek offers 7 cents a liter in the form of a discount coupon for a supermarket in the complex. that's nearly 27 cents a gallon! We took advantage of it and found the store to be a good one. We saved $5.84. Before lunch the four couples sat down to plan our next few days then, after lunch, we went with Ed and Kathy to the Dawson Creek Walmart. The rest of the day was for us - lounging, napping and reading. Tomorrow we're off again.
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June 22, 2005 (Wed)
Sikanni River Campground #26 dry $14.98c C

Dawson Creek, BC to Fort Nelson, BC (174/4418 miles) Q016732

We started up the Alaska Highway at 7:50 (54°) after an abortive attempt to connect to the WiFi network in Dawson Creek. We also stopped by Walmart for a printer cartridge. No luck there either.

The Kiskatinaw River Bridge is the only original timber bridge on the Alaska Highway still in use. It is uniquely curved and well worth the side loop to see it. Except for occasional glimpses of the Rocky Mountains off in the Northwest the scenery was a lot like the back woods of Maine - mile after mile of trees - mostly evergreen. The signage, including mileposts, along the highway is sparse. That's good for the scenery but not so good when trying to find something. Therefore we missed seeing the world's largest golf ball (actually Joy saw it out of the corner of her eye as we went past), the world's largest glass bee hive, a giant sculpture of a lumber jack, and the historic village of Wonowon (milepost 101) - population 150. In Fort St. John we stopped at the visitor's center where there was a heritage quilt on display and free wireless internet service.

We saw our first moose of the trip just south of Pink Mountain, BC. Unfortunately it was road kill. It was like living a Gary Larson cartoon! We did see a live one though - on the way back to the campground from hiking out to see Sikanni Chief Falls. There was also a black bear on the side of the 10 mile dirt road to the trail head and another one was on the access road. The falls were spectacular, even at a distance, and worth the effort to get there.

Sikanni River Campground is rustic to say the least - pit toilets etc. - but the location is peaceful (if we ignore the few heavy trucks on the highway). There are hook-ups but we chose to dry camp to save a few bucks. Our site is semi-wooded with the Sikanni Chief River flowing about 50 feet away out our living room window.
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June 23, 2005 (Thu)
Westend Campground #G dry $14.00c dry D

Fort Nelson, BC to Fort Nelson, BC (139/4557 miles) Q016871

Two campgrounds with the same address 139 miles apart! That shows you how rural this area is! There is nothing but trees for miles and miles. And miles. At 6:00 in the morning there aren't many vehicles on the Alaska Highway either. We drove most of the way at under 50 MPH and only few vehicles, three or four 18 wheelers with trailers, a pick-up truck and a couple of campers, over took us. Human traffic was light but the wild life was out. In the first ten miles we saw a white tail deer, two black bear (separately), and three grizzly bear (in a group) by the side of the road. Joy says that if she'd known there were grizzly bear so close to where we hiked yesterday, she wouldn't have gone.

When we went to bed last night at just after 10:00 the sun was shining brightly on the hillside across the river. When we woke this morning the sun was again shining. The days are really getting longer!

When we got to Fort Nelson proper, we hunted up the visitor's center. Questions: Where is the cheapest gas? On the Dene indian Reservation (10 cents/liter less). Where is the local quilt shop? We got directions. Where is there free wireless internet? There isn't any. Actually they were wrong on the third answer. Mark got a signal from the motel across the street and up/down loaded email. We also found that the campground has it too. The quilt shop was small, had only been around for 10 months, but the gal who owned it was delightful.

After lunch the eight of us went to the museum near the campground. A lot of old stuff. Late this afternoon Bob and Pat build a campfire and we all sat around it and chatted until supper time. Note the name of the campground.