Fort Nelson, BC - Day 1 - Tuesday, June 14

Today was like a day at the zoo, but all the animals were in the wild. 

We started the day hoping for a nice breakfast but found the lodge and restaurant across the road from the park closed. This seems to be a general theme along the Alcan this year. The economy has taken a downturn in this area. We moved on and encountered a bit of heavy road construction. In one area they are moving the road completely to a new straighter area. It looked like a major reconstruction. We also had 6 km of gravel that slowed us down a bit. Beyond that point the road was ok but not the smoothest we have encountered.

Then we stopped to view our first herd of bison. It’s a bit like Yellowstone. If you see brake lights there are probably animals nearby. These may have been the same herd we spotted yesterday. There were lots of calves, mothers and a couple bulls, all grazing on the roadside. Karen saw one bull preparing for his morning chore with tail raised high in the air. Underneath the tail was a small calf who didn’t know what was about to happen. The mother used her head to shove the baby aside just in time. I guess all babies have a lot of lessons to learn. It was a good laugh to start the day. We took our pictures and moved on to our next encounter. Beside the road near Muncho Lake we spotted a small herd of Rock Sheep. They look like a smaller version of Big Horn Sheep. Next, was a grizzly (picture below), then a moose crossed the road in front of us and lastly a black bear was eating wild flowers near the highway. We saw a couple deer but they hardly deserve a mention. Driving the highway requires constant attention but makes the miles go by quickly.

We did find a place for breakfast at the Northern Rockies Lodge. The food was average but the lodge and cabins were beautiful. They do fly-in fishing packages and the scenery in the area is spectacular. We know that from the pictures we found in the lodge. The weather today didn’t allow for much of a view from the drive. Again, we knew there were huge mountains in this area but they were hidden in the clouds and rain.

We found another older lodge an hour later that advertised “The Best Cinnamon Buns in the Galactic Cluster”. We have tested a few of these claims along the way and have been a bit disappointed but this one spoke the truth. We left with two that will cover our breakfast for the next couple days. 

  

We are staying tonight in The Triple G RV Park in Fort Nelson. Again the park is nearly full of travelers mostly heading west to the Yukon and Alaska. We are told that next week the caravans (25 to 50 RVs) begin arriving and that will really make it difficult to find places to stay. Fortunately, we will be out of this area by then.  The weather is a bit stormy so we may decide to spend two days here. We have all the comforts of home and another rest stop will feel good.   

Home of GREAT Cinnamon Buns

Size difference

Keeping an eye on the young ones

Grizzly - glad we were in the RV

Watching us take his picture

 

Liard Hot Springs, BC - Monday, June 13

After a great night of sleep, we were on the road about 9:00 AM. Three weeks ago this would have seemed very late. Now that we are headed home, we seem to be in less of a hurry to get going. There must be a hidden meaning in that.

Yesterday, we drove longer and stayed closer to Watson Lake than planned. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Our intention was to stay at Watson Lake but it was dusty and windy. The campgrounds are open gravel parking lots. These are very low on our list of ideal places to spend the night. We are picky in our old age. We decided to find something better down the road. Watson Lake does have an interesting attraction. The Sign Post Forest is a tourist must see. In 1942 a homesick soldier working on the Alcan Highway, placed a sign with his hometown and mileage on a post here. It became a place for travelers to leave signs on their way up or down the Alcan Highway. Today there are over 45,000 signs from all corners of the globe. It was a fascinating place to wonder through.

We gassed up again (cha-ching) and headed down the road toward Milepost 0 in Dawson Creek, which is still 610 miles away. We joined the Alcan west of Watson Lake on our way up so this is all new road to us. The road was mostly good with only short graveled stretches. The wildlife viewing was fabulous. Along the highway we spotted three black bears and a dozen or more bison, which were re-introduced to this area from Montana a few decades ago. We tried to get pictures but the road shoulders were narrow so stopping for photos is discouraged. 

We had decided to camp tonight in the Liard River Hotsprings Provincial Park. That was a great decision on our part. The park had a few sites left so we were able to find a quiet spot in the heavily wooded campground. This place is visited by bears so Charlie is on high alert. As we drove near the entrance, Karen spotted a small group of bison in the tall grass alongside the road. Five or six adults and five newborn calves satisfied our need for a picture. They were laying in the grass sleeping off a full day of grazing on the abundant supply of food along the highway.

After dinner we laid out a plan for the next few days and now we are ready for a few hours of reading and relaxing.

Sign Post Forest

A different row in the Sign Post Forest

Lounging in front of our campground - notice the babies ;)

Rancheria River, YK - Sunday, June 12

People have told us about a town in the northwest corner of British Columbia - we decided to take a side trip today to check it out. Atlin is located sixty miles south of the Alcan Highway and only one road leads in or out. On the first try we missed the turn off and that required one of my now famous u-turns. The road began as a nice pavement but after five miles we hit two patches of graveled road repair. The dust was thick and the road was very rough. Karen and Charlie voted for a turn around. I agreed and back to the Alcan we went. Later in our travels we were told by another RV’er that the second graveled area was the last and we missed out on a beautiful spot to visit. My bad. As it turned out this was an omen for our travels today. 

We had planned only a short drive today, Johnson Crossing being our next stop. This campground did not appeal to us so we stocked up on a cinnamon bun and scone for tomorrow’s breakfast and set off looking for another campsite. The next fifteen miles was under construction and the graveled road was in OK shape, IF PEOPLE DRIVE THE 70 KPH POSTED SPEED. Large Class A RVs and trucks do not believe this means them. As promised before the trip by other travelers, we took a few rocks in the windshield. It will need some repairs when we return home. Every day my Alaska experience gets another event! 

The Provincial campground near Teslin looked good on paper but we could not find a comfortable spot, so again we headed out. I like to keep the gas tank above half so we stopped for gas a few miles down the road. We found out that the area was closed with a power outage. We had plenty of gas so that was not a worry. From our Alaska Camping handbook, the next campground was described as one of the best places to stay on this stretch of the Alaska Highway. When we arrived, we found The Dawson Peaks Resort and RV Park to be a lonely campground that was uncared for and operating on the “drop your money in the box, we have no services, and enjoy your stay” philosophy. The only RV in the park was either abandoned or being used as a meth lab. We were now getting a bit tired but this place was not going to work either.

This is becoming a long day. We chose another park seventy miles down the road and I told Karen we would stay there even if it was the Bate’s Motel. The Continental Divide Resort and RV Park was one we had tried to visit on our way up. It was closed then but is now open and for sale. From the road it looked questionable but turned out to be a good choice. It has all my favorite requirements. Cheap, clean, quiet and no people. Of the 30 sites here we were the only people for a while. Now, two others have arrived so I think we will survive the night. We have power and water so we are happy. Charlie is happy also. No other dogs or sketchy people and no bear or moose smells. To him life is good but I think he is getting a little homesick.

We knew something was amiss - even the gas pumps had a sign "Cash Only"

Nicely laid out campground on the river - for sale but . . . location - location - location