Alaska Travelogue
4/11/06 8:56 AM
Fort St. John, BC
RV Dreaming
Spent the night in Fort St. John, BC. Parked the RV in town outside of a strip club, and got ready for bed. Just before I climbed in bed, I noticed that even though the sun had gone down hours earlier, the sky was not yet black - there was still a post-sunset blue tint to the sky at 10:30pm.
Woke up multiple times in the night because of the same dream/nightmare that the RV had slipped into neutral and was starting to roll into a ditch. Each time I had the dream I woke up in a panic and got as far as jumping out of bed before I snapped out of it and realized that the RV wasn't moving and that there weren't any ditches nearby anyway.
10:58 AM
Driving the Alcon
Elev. 3500
Metric
I like kilometers - it's a more precise measurement than miles and most of the roads we're driving have a 100km speed limit. A nice even number.
I hate celsius. The difference between 20 and 21 degrees C is something like 15 degrees F. Ok, maybe it isn't that bad, but it's close.
BC road report says "300+ km of frost heaves". Wonderful.
11:01am
Finally starting to see the snow capped Canadian Rockies off in the far distance. Besides a small group of deer, I have yet to see much wildlife - but Oslo keeps asking me things like "Did you see that big 'ol moose off on the side of the road a few miles back?" Either they know I'm coming and hide before I pass by, or I'm just oblivious and don't notice massive woodland creatures standing by the side of the road. I have been noticing a whole lot of road kill in the last couple hours of driving, and some of the carcasses have been huge. One interesting carcass was a new-ish Jeep off in the ditch, shiny side down, that looked like it had just been abandoned there. Odd.
11:21am
222km from Fort Nelson, BC
elev. 3300
stopped behind Oslo on a turnout a half hour ago, he needed to pee, so did I. by the time I finished doing my thing and returned to the driver's seat, he'd already left. Since he is driving pretty slow, I figured I'd catch up to him quickly. Have been running a pretty good pace since then, but haven't seen him ahead yet.
11:30am
Just past Sikanni Chief, BC
elev 3400
Still no sign of Oslo. I hope he didn't fall off the road, but I can't imagine not seeing him if he did - the roads along this stretch occupy the center of a 100 yard wide strip of land notched into the dense pine forest on each side. There's more and more snow on the shady side of the road now, and the mountains off in the distance are almost completely covered.
11:50am
Historical Bucking Horse River Lodge - mile 175
I've decided to stop at Bucking Horse for a little while, to see if Oslo might catch up. The Bucking Horse River looks like it's frozen solid. Haven't had cell service since we left Fort St. John this morning.
12:40pm
Gave up on waiting for Oslo. He must have decided to speed up the pace when we stopped.
1:10pm
~70 miles outside of Fort Felson
elev 2600
Finally caught up to Oslo. He'd gotten farther ahead than I'd thought possible given his slow pace, but he didn't seem to mind the wait for me to catch up.
Saw a sign on the side of the road advertising a CBC radio station at 102.3fm, but I'm not getting it yet. I pushed the "seek" button on the radio and it just spins through the dial over and over.
Oslo is worried about making it to Alaska in time for some work commitments of his, so the plan might change to me driving alone at my own pace after we pass through Fort Nelson.
More snow on the ground here, and the outside temp is around freezing.
More hills on the road now too.
1:32pm
elev 1800
Weather has turned from mostly sunny to over cast, with a few raindrops tickling the windshield - just enough to scrub the dead bugs off with the wipers.
102.3 finally comes in - seems to be a soft rock station outta Fort Nelson. Enjoyed a rock block including mike & the mechanics and canadian hero bryan adams. CKRX Energy FM!
Just passed over the Prophet River. Not frozen.
2:11pm
35km out of Fort Nelson
elev 1800
Nothing interesting to report.
3:04pm
fort nelson, BC - mile 301
elev 1300
Stopped for gas... this will be the last large town for a long time. Surprisingly, no cell service in this town. Since Edmonton, every town we've stopped in has been progressively dirtier, and Fort Nelson seemed to be covered in about an inch of dried mud.
3:50pm
elev1400
Just passed the junction of BC highway 77, which is the Laird Trail to the Northwest Territory.
Oslo says that we'll soon be turning westward into the Canadian Rockies. We've got a bet going as to what wildlife we'll spot first - I say caribou, he says brown bear.
4:42pm
elev3100
Finally getting into the mountains. Steep grades and beautiful views all around - and except for an occasional truck, no traffic at all. This would be a great road for a motorcycle if every corner didn't have loose gravel.
5:18pm
elev2700 mile 378
Overcast skies have started to snow, but the ground is too warm for accumulation. Tetsa River on the left side of the road.
Glorious mountain peaks miles ahead of us, the falling snow acting like a thin haze with occasional holes in the cloud cover projecting shafts of light on onto the hillsides.
5:32pm
elev3200
Crossed Tetsa River Bridge #1
5:44pm
elev3300
Tetsa River Bridge - spotted three Caribou in the river, jumped out and got some good video of them wandering off. For those keeping track, I won the bet. Caribou.
6:15pm
elev4200
Summit Lake. Spring is just starting to arrive here - the snow is just beginning to melt, but Summit Lake is still frozen. The highway snakes along a valley, and the view in all directions is beautiful. I don't have the vocabulary to describe the beauty here. The sun is peeking out through more and more holes in the clouds now.
7:30pm
elev2400
Just crossed the Racing River. Sun is still pretty high in the western sky, and continues to peek out through occasional breaks in the clouds. The Racing River is not as fast as its name implies.
7:45pm
elev2300
Toad River, BC
Stopped for gas in Toad River at the gas station/restaurant/hotel/post office/general store that features 6,834 hats stapled to it's ceiling.
7:53pm
elev2400
Sun is still going strong, saw my first moose. Tried to get a pic of him, but he was almost totally obscured by the time I got close enough.
9pm
elev2700
Muncho Lake, BC
Sun has dropped behind the mountains immediately to my left (west), but I still pass occasional gaps in the range that let sunshine through.
According to a sign I passed, Muncho Lake marks the northern end of the Canadian Rockies.
9:45pm
elev1500
Liard Hot Springs - mile 496
What an amazing little place tucked off deep in the woods so many miles from the nearest small town.
The Liard Hot Springs are spectacular. Formed by fissures in the earth's crust that allow water to seep down, become superheated, then bubble back up to the surface, hot springs are undoubtedly my personal favorite geological phenomenon. After driving 2,500 miles, what could be better than stopping in the middle of the Canadian wilderness for a soak in a giant natural hot tub? It's pure bliss, I tell ya.
Fort St. John, BC
RV Dreaming
Spent the night in Fort St. John, BC. Parked the RV in town outside of a strip club, and got ready for bed. Just before I climbed in bed, I noticed that even though the sun had gone down hours earlier, the sky was not yet black - there was still a post-sunset blue tint to the sky at 10:30pm.
Woke up multiple times in the night because of the same dream/nightmare that the RV had slipped into neutral and was starting to roll into a ditch. Each time I had the dream I woke up in a panic and got as far as jumping out of bed before I snapped out of it and realized that the RV wasn't moving and that there weren't any ditches nearby anyway.
10:58 AM
Driving the Alcon
Elev. 3500
Metric
I like kilometers - it's a more precise measurement than miles and most of the roads we're driving have a 100km speed limit. A nice even number.
I hate celsius. The difference between 20 and 21 degrees C is something like 15 degrees F. Ok, maybe it isn't that bad, but it's close.
BC road report says "300+ km of frost heaves". Wonderful.
11:01am
Finally starting to see the snow capped Canadian Rockies off in the far distance. Besides a small group of deer, I have yet to see much wildlife - but Oslo keeps asking me things like "Did you see that big 'ol moose off on the side of the road a few miles back?" Either they know I'm coming and hide before I pass by, or I'm just oblivious and don't notice massive woodland creatures standing by the side of the road. I have been noticing a whole lot of road kill in the last couple hours of driving, and some of the carcasses have been huge. One interesting carcass was a new-ish Jeep off in the ditch, shiny side down, that looked like it had just been abandoned there. Odd.
11:21am
222km from Fort Nelson, BC
elev. 3300
stopped behind Oslo on a turnout a half hour ago, he needed to pee, so did I. by the time I finished doing my thing and returned to the driver's seat, he'd already left. Since he is driving pretty slow, I figured I'd catch up to him quickly. Have been running a pretty good pace since then, but haven't seen him ahead yet.
11:30am
Just past Sikanni Chief, BC
elev 3400
Still no sign of Oslo. I hope he didn't fall off the road, but I can't imagine not seeing him if he did - the roads along this stretch occupy the center of a 100 yard wide strip of land notched into the dense pine forest on each side. There's more and more snow on the shady side of the road now, and the mountains off in the distance are almost completely covered.
11:50am
Historical Bucking Horse River Lodge - mile 175
I've decided to stop at Bucking Horse for a little while, to see if Oslo might catch up. The Bucking Horse River looks like it's frozen solid. Haven't had cell service since we left Fort St. John this morning.
12:40pm
Gave up on waiting for Oslo. He must have decided to speed up the pace when we stopped.
1:10pm
~70 miles outside of Fort Felson
elev 2600
Finally caught up to Oslo. He'd gotten farther ahead than I'd thought possible given his slow pace, but he didn't seem to mind the wait for me to catch up.
Saw a sign on the side of the road advertising a CBC radio station at 102.3fm, but I'm not getting it yet. I pushed the "seek" button on the radio and it just spins through the dial over and over.
Oslo is worried about making it to Alaska in time for some work commitments of his, so the plan might change to me driving alone at my own pace after we pass through Fort Nelson.
More snow on the ground here, and the outside temp is around freezing.
More hills on the road now too.
1:32pm
elev 1800
Weather has turned from mostly sunny to over cast, with a few raindrops tickling the windshield - just enough to scrub the dead bugs off with the wipers.
102.3 finally comes in - seems to be a soft rock station outta Fort Nelson. Enjoyed a rock block including mike & the mechanics and canadian hero bryan adams. CKRX Energy FM!
Just passed over the Prophet River. Not frozen.
2:11pm
35km out of Fort Nelson
elev 1800
Nothing interesting to report.
3:04pm
fort nelson, BC - mile 301
elev 1300
Stopped for gas... this will be the last large town for a long time. Surprisingly, no cell service in this town. Since Edmonton, every town we've stopped in has been progressively dirtier, and Fort Nelson seemed to be covered in about an inch of dried mud.
3:50pm
elev1400
Just passed the junction of BC highway 77, which is the Laird Trail to the Northwest Territory.
Oslo says that we'll soon be turning westward into the Canadian Rockies. We've got a bet going as to what wildlife we'll spot first - I say caribou, he says brown bear.
4:42pm
elev3100
Finally getting into the mountains. Steep grades and beautiful views all around - and except for an occasional truck, no traffic at all. This would be a great road for a motorcycle if every corner didn't have loose gravel.
5:18pm
elev2700 mile 378
Overcast skies have started to snow, but the ground is too warm for accumulation. Tetsa River on the left side of the road.
Glorious mountain peaks miles ahead of us, the falling snow acting like a thin haze with occasional holes in the cloud cover projecting shafts of light on onto the hillsides.
5:32pm
elev3200
Crossed Tetsa River Bridge #1
5:44pm
elev3300
Tetsa River Bridge - spotted three Caribou in the river, jumped out and got some good video of them wandering off. For those keeping track, I won the bet. Caribou.
6:15pm
elev4200
Summit Lake. Spring is just starting to arrive here - the snow is just beginning to melt, but Summit Lake is still frozen. The highway snakes along a valley, and the view in all directions is beautiful. I don't have the vocabulary to describe the beauty here. The sun is peeking out through more and more holes in the clouds now.
7:30pm
elev2400
Just crossed the Racing River. Sun is still pretty high in the western sky, and continues to peek out through occasional breaks in the clouds. The Racing River is not as fast as its name implies.
7:45pm
elev2300
Toad River, BC
Stopped for gas in Toad River at the gas station/restaurant/hotel/post office/general store that features 6,834 hats stapled to it's ceiling.
7:53pm
elev2400
Sun is still going strong, saw my first moose. Tried to get a pic of him, but he was almost totally obscured by the time I got close enough.
9pm
elev2700
Muncho Lake, BC
Sun has dropped behind the mountains immediately to my left (west), but I still pass occasional gaps in the range that let sunshine through.
According to a sign I passed, Muncho Lake marks the northern end of the Canadian Rockies.
9:45pm
elev1500
Liard Hot Springs - mile 496
What an amazing little place tucked off deep in the woods so many miles from the nearest small town.
The Liard Hot Springs are spectacular. Formed by fissures in the earth's crust that allow water to seep down, become superheated, then bubble back up to the surface, hot springs are undoubtedly my personal favorite geological phenomenon. After driving 2,500 miles, what could be better than stopping in the middle of the Canadian wilderness for a soak in a giant natural hot tub? It's pure bliss, I tell ya.
posted by steve at 10:01 PM
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