Wed. – Thursday, May 18-19
Wednesday (yesterday) was my last day in Dawson Creek. It was filled with many errands. I took my Roadtrek (hereafter called “RT”) to a windshield repair place to see what could/should be done about the 6-inch crack I noticed spreading down from a star-shaped hole I hadn’t realized I had gotten at some point. Since it was on the passenger side and I hadn’t really even started the Alcan Highway yet (will probably get more rock dings before the trip is over), it was decided that nothing should be done at this point.
Another errand was getting Maggie and Juliet to a groomer for baths and trims. Don’t they look beautiful? (I wonder how long this clean white look will last?)
I also went to the Visitor Center to get some souvenirs and books. They showed an hour-long documentary movie of how the Alaska Highway was built. Very interesting and informative. Although pushed for by several people for many years, construction of this road was started in 1942 after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and the necessity of having a drivable road for US troops to use to access the numerous airfields that were set up in Northwestern Canada and Alaska became imperative. With thousands of troops and civilians, both Canadian and American, the initial road took only 9 months to complete. It stretched 1422 miles from Dawson Creek, British Columbia, to Delta Junction, Alaska. It was later improved so civilian vehicles, in addition to the rougher military jeeps and trucks, could use it, and extended to Fairbanks, Alaska. Improvements are continually still being made. When Dave and I drove the Alcan in 1984, part of it was still gravel; now it is entirely paved.
This is a very common sight along the highway (or ON THE HIGHWAY!). They are called mountain sheep, Dall sheep, stone sheep, or boghorn sheep depending on their location, color, and horn size.
Just 17 miles out of Dawson Creek, there is a 10 kilometer loop side trip I took which took me over the last remaining original wooden bridge built along the Alaska Highway that is still in use today. It goes over the Kiskatinaw River and is also unique in that it actually curves as it spans the river. I am happy to say that it is still standing after my heavy rig went over it.
Since we left so late Wednesday (6:30 pm), we only went 47 miles and spent the night in Fort St. John, one of the larger cities around here. We opted to dry camp (rather than spend money for an RV park) and parked along a frontage road in front of a Motel 8 because there were a bunch of truckers parked there and Motel 8 has free WiFi. Unfortunately I couldn’t use it because I had some problems setting up my new WiFi antenna booster.I'm going to post this now and will continue with Fort St. John in next post.
