July 12-13, 2006 (Days 49-50)

We left Prince George this morning at 7:45 a.m. It was a heavy mist and 54 degrees. Our traveling partners were Ed and Joyce Hawkins from Calgary. The last gas stop was $1.17/liter, Canadian. I think that calculates to around $4/gal. A sighting of a bear or moose will take the edge off of that!

We drove about 4 hours (199 miles) to Chetwynd where we stopped for sightseeing and lunch. Thankfully, it had stopped raining and the sun came out. Chetwynd is about 3,000 in population and is known for being the “Chainsaw Sculpture Capital of the World.” There are sculptures all over town. We walked around a couple blocks after lunch and saw them. The craftsmen are very talented, as some of the sculptures are really awesome. I hope Dan will include some pictures in the blog.

Chetwynd is also known as the forestry capitol of Canada. There were a lot of mills and pulp plants around town. Other industries of this area are forestry, mining, natural gas processing, ranching and farming. We saw some of the pipeline today.

Tumbler Ridge lays about 56 miles south of Chetwynd and one week prior to our being in Chetwynd, a large forest fire went through the ridge. Over 4,000 people in that area were evacuated. Neighboring towns and villages took in the people, some staying in persons’ homes who had room for them. We were told that they just take care of each other. I don’t believe any homes were lost, and the people had been able to return to their homes.

After leaving Chetwynd, we drove the last 60 miles to our next campground in Dawson Creek. With the rains in the area, the campground was rather muddy. There was no grass; only some gravel in spots and dirt in the rest. So, our muddy and sandy shoes sit at the door!

Dawson Creek is milepost “0” of the great Alaska Highway. It runs 1,390 miles to Delta Junction, AK. It is where we will leave from on Friday morning. Till then……….



Next day: (Thursday)

With two days scheduled for Dawson Creek, it gave us a chance to sleep a little while this morning. Yet, we were up around 7 a.m. I was up for a potty break at 5:30 a.m., and it was already daylight. The nights are getting shorter and the days longer. It doesn’t start to get dark until 10-10:30 p.m.

After breakfast in the trailer, we took a short tour on the old Alaskan Highway to see the curved wooden bridge over the Kiskatinaw River, which is the only original timer bridge build along the Alaska Highway that is still in limited use today. The old highway is still usuable, although in bad condition, to the locals that live along it.

Then it was our daily routine to get gas, ….$103.xx American dollars at the pump today…. get some lunch and pick up a few groceries and supplies. We had earlier visited the Visitor Center and watched a video on the making of the Alaska Highway. Then one of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were near the center, so we had our pictures taken with HER.

Till tomorrow from Fort Nelson, B.C…….

Note: A “Cheechako” is a new comer, greenhorn or tenderfoot, and the opposite of old-timer. I guess we are “Cheechakos”!