Thursday June 13, 2013
True to form, I slept fitfully last night, which I?ve always done prior to a ?big trip? the next day for which I had to arise early and get going quickly. I awoke at 4:30 am, boing!, eyes wide open. So I got up, without waking Don.
The twin mission of getting out early today: Make it to the RV campground in Dawson Creek BC reasonably early, and see lots of wildlife on the way by driving early in the morning. Faced with a 6-hour drive, mostly on 2-lane roads north of Hinton on the way to Grand Cache and Grand Prairie and finally, Dawson Creek, we thought this was the best strategy. I was brain-dead by 3:30, needless to say, and a bit cranky by dinnertime. Oh well?
We gulped our protein smoothies, ate our bananas, had big cups of fresh hot tea at our elbows, unhooked & dumped, and drove out at 6:29 am. Wow! For us that is history-making! Made a quick stop at the local IGA to get 2 things I had forgotten, and were on our way. Fortunately, a large construction truck was just ahead of us, and I stayed in back of him all the way to Grand Prairie, to let him hit the deer or elk or caribou on our behalf! We had spits of rain, lots of low-hanging clouds to drive through when visibility went to 5 feet, and finally, heavy rain as we neared Dawson City. Wildlife? Four deer scampering close to the road?s shoulder early in the day. We struck out.
Stopped at Grand Prairie to fuel up, and had brunch and coffee at 11:15?eggs & bacon for me, oatmeal for Don. Then, back on the road.
Dawson City is Mile 0 of the Alaskan Highway. Not a thrilling town, but an interesting one. There were a few pretty views of hills and valleys along the way, but nothing breathtaking. Fertile farmland. Lots of trees in places. And lots of timbered-out (clear-cut) areas stretching for miles, since this is big lumber country. Plenty of oil and gas wells. Dawson City itself has a pioneer village, which we skipped due to heavy rain. Instead, we dashed into the town?s Art Gallery in the converted grain elevator. A few good pieces, vastly overpriced for what they were, but mostly low-grade student-quality work on exhibit. Ho hum. Next door was a cute little bakery for which we had a 1-%-off coupon, so we zipped in and bought a couple of very good oatmeal-raisin cookies and 4 fresh-made granola bars to put in our backpacks for hikes.
The rain had tapered to drips, so we went to the downtown Alaska Highway House, a small museum dedicated to the Army troops who constructed the Alcan in 1942 and 1943, against all odds, literally moving heaven and earth to push through the wilderness to establish a vital connection so Alaska could be protected from the Japanese. It is a great place! We spent the rest of the afternoon there, watching the movie, reading everything, and deciding to stop at critical points along the highway in coming days to do a bit of hiking and celebrate the remarkable feat that was accomplished for the country?s protection, in the astonishingly short time of only 8 months!
Perhaps I had once known that the Japanese actually attacked and conquered 2 of the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska, during 1942, but I had long forgotten that fact. We retook those islands from the Japanese in 1943, after the highway was completed. But by then, other war news had completely eclipsed news of the wondrous accomplishment of the Alcan Highway?s construction and usefulness.
Caterpillar bulldozers were as much the stars of the heroic Alcan effort as the men who built the highway. Reading the wall plaques and watching the video recounting the massive project, Don my DH proudly said, ?Peoria made this highway possible! We could never have done this without Caterpillar equipment!? As the son of a career Caterpillar engineer?a Cat-Brat, as they say in Peoria?Don was mighty impressed with the critical role of dozens of enormous, indestructible and powerful Caterpillar bulldozers that forced their way through hundreds of miles of thick forests, over mountains and through valley bogs to create a 2-vehicle-wide trail that could carry military supplies and munitions.
Northern Lights RV Park is very nice. Good price, great bathrooms and showers (although the showers cost $1 for 3 minutes), and fairly level gravel pull-throughs. It?s outside of Dawson City a couple of miles, on a hill, and most sites are well away from the main highway. Good breezes. Naturally, the skies are clear and sunny now that we?re parked for the night. Quick picnic-style dinner tonight?going to bed early. Don is a happy camper watching the NBA finals, with the Spurs and Heat tied right now at the end of the first half.
Tomorrow, on to Fort Nelson BC, another fairly long day. Today and tomorrow are our 2 longest drives of this trip. Supposedly after we pass Fort St. John at about the halfway point, we?re out of cultivated farmlands and into the wilderness, and ?the adventure really begins,? according to the guidebooks. We?ll see about that. Yeah, I?ve agreed to get up early again tomorrow, but I guarantee it won?t be 4:30 or 5 am! I?m retired, for heaven?s sake, and I shouldn?t have to do that any more!
We spoke to some folks from Minnesota today who are RVing it, also, and who never make any reservations anywhere on their trips. I?m just not comfortable doing that?I like to know where I?m ending up, and not end up having to take some lousy site at a lousy RV park just because it?s late in the day and I didn?t plan ahead. If we want to stop for a hike, or a lunch, or an afternoon nap along the way, I want to be able to do that without worrying that I won?t arrive at my destination by 3 pm to get a decent site for the night at the place where I?d prefer to stay.
On that note, I confirmed our RV park reservations for all nights from the 15th through the 20th?We can always cancel if we want to go with the flow and change our minds while on the move.
Night all!
