Alaska Trip Update #3

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After three nights in Dawson Creek, we were ready to hit the Alaskan Highway to our next stop some 400km (248 miles) away – Fort Nelson. Highway 97 took use through farm land and the villages of Farmington and Taylor, along the Peace River. The Peace River Valley is known for all sorts of agriculture and livestock production. Fort St John, which the Alaska Highway passes through, is also mentioned many times in the history of the construction of the Alaska Highway. Most of these small villages (Fort St. John is not considered a small village) have some sort of services for the traveler, which included RV Parks. In the Village of Charlie Lake, BC there was another Rotary RV Park, on the banks of the lake. This area includes agriculture, logging and very evident the petroleum industry. We found the road to be for the most part a wide two lane road with the right-of-way on each side of the road free of brush and timber for probably 50 feet on each side. This provides excellent view of wildlife that might decide to come across or toward the road.

Winding through the foothills of the northern Canadian Rocky Mountains, it was a joy to drive, but almost to the boring side when compared to other sections of the trip so far. After passing Pink Mountain the road begins to climb and then go downhill. Slow to 35-45 MPH, then speed up to 60-65MPH.
We started to get below the ¾ tank mark on the fuel gauge and saw signs of “next services 178 Km.” So we thought we would stop for fuel at a little place called Buckinghorse River Lodge. There they had a public AFD Cardlock for fuel.

After attempting to get pre-authorization on two different credit cards – it was off to Fort Nelson without getting more fuel.

We arrived in Fort Nelson and pulled into the Triple G Hideaway RV Park. Again, without reservations, and followed in by three Motor Homes that had been in the Dawson Creek.
No reservation, no problem, pull through site with 30A connection, sewer and water and be careful putting the slide and awning out. This is a very tight RV Park with s few small trees between sites, ours also had a power pole.

Site with the neighbors gone

Sites across the way

When not used as a pull through site, they can put two short vehicles in back to back. This is again a gravel lot, we have 30A electric, water and sewer and that close up view of the neighbors RV. One couple beside us had a fifth-wheel trailer. About a ½ mile out of Fort Nelson, they had a tire blow out on the passenger side of the trailer. It destroyed the metal skirting around the dual tires, but they said that they had no damage inside and that it scared them. I can only imagine.
The RV Park also offers an RV wash pad – concrete pad, with a pressure washer. The pressure washer will do soap and rinse. Cost was a mere $1 per minute. We used it to rinse out the radiator on the motor home before we left.

A couple of older vehicles on display

Notice I called them "older"

We drove into Fort Nelson and located a Husky fuel station that we would have easy in and out. Then it was a stop to pick up a pizza from Boston Pizza.
Back at the RV Park, we had dinner and then I tried to get the satellite dish to get us a signal so that we could watch the Texas Rangers baseball game. In Dawson Creek I was able to get it to tune on Satellite 119W. Today, the antenna recognized Satellite 119W but the tuner just kept giving a signal loss message. Oh well – time to watch DVDs.

Today, (June 18, 2019) we are on the road for a short drive of about 150 miles. Destination is the Toad River Lodge, at historic Mile Post 422 of the Alaska Highway. After getting fuel at the Husky Station, and a call to CapitalOne to find out why our card keeps being rejected, we are on the road to what turns out to be the worst part of the Alaska Highway so far. The road goes up over Steamboat Mountain and this is where the road goes to a lot of gravel patches, and some continuing for several miles.

As you drive this section of narrow two lane road, that goes up and then comes down with 6 to 10% grades, you can hear the gravel hitting the underside of your vehicle as the tires kick up, and as a vehicle passes you hear the gravel striking your vehicle like a rain storm. I slowed down to 30-35 MPH in a lot of areas, simply to limit the amount of bouncing gravel under the Motor Home and reduce the amount that was kicked up onto the Jeep. The road continued for the most part to have the wide clear right-of-ways but narrow lanes that were not smooth, but not a washboard. The drive reminded us of the Lewis River road going from Woodland, WA to the head of the Swift Reservoir.
Along the wet and rainy drive, we stopped at the Testa River Lodge located at historic Mile Post 375. This is a small store (gift shop), RV Park with a couple cabins, and is billed as the “Cinnamon Bun Center of the Galactic Cluster.” Their Cinnamon Bun was chosen as one of the top 50 Iconic Desserts in North America by Food Network.

Interior of the Testa River Lodge

They also have Artisan meats. The Cinnamon Buns lived up to all the hype. They were fantastic. After consuming a Cinnamon Bun at the Lodge and getting a couple of them to go, and having a nice pleasant conversation with the owners, we were back on the road. We did find this interesting item right outside the entry door.

Let me think, do we know anyone that would have knowledge of one of these?...Gary

The narrow two lane road continues for the next 25 miles plus, winding along rivers, crossing rivers, creeks and streams and climbing mountains then down into the valleys.

One of the many bridges we crossed

We arrived at our destination the Toad River Lodge, in a rainstorm.

The Toad River Lodge, RV Park and Cabins, offers propane, gasoline and diesel. Inside the “lodge” they have a little restaurant, collectables and a hat collection numbering more than 10,000. The hats, most of which are signed, have been donated by customers for years. They hang from every part of the ceiling and on the walls.

For some reason while planning the trip, I decided that we would spend two nights at the Toad River Lodge. Did I mentioned that it rained and rained. We did spend two nights, as it kept us off the road for one rainy day. Limited cable television, good WiFi and walks outside when the rain diminished, along Reflection Lake filled the day off the road. 

The site at Toad River

Today, June 20, it was Toad River to Watson Lake, YT continuing on the Alaska Highway. First thing was to top off the fuel tank which we did at the Lodge, then before leaving we donated hat 11,202 to the Lodge's collection. The hat, from Billy Sims Trailer Town in Lubbock, TX is in honor of the dealership that sold us several RVs over the course of 15-16 years, and the service that they provided.

On the road, the first section was narrow, bumpy, climbing up and over a pass before dropping down and crossing the Toad River. Seems to be discrepancies as to how the river was named. One story as told in the MilePost Book, states it was because vehicles and equipment needed to be towed up the pass, so towed became toad.

After this the road improved and became a wide two-lane road with the wide right of ways - Today was good animal viewing, seeing two black bears, a brown bear, a cow elk and probably three dozen bison. The bears would run when cars came by, but the bison would lie just about on the shoulder.

Photos by Debbie Grossie

Laird River

Arriving at the Downtown Trailer Park a little after 2PM we got settled in our pull through site on the gravel parking lot. This is the RV Park that I had heard of. A gravel lot with facilities located on it. But, this is not necessarily a destination location.

We decided to spend two nights here, with the intent of exploring the area. Most of the RVs that came in to the park were just overnighters.

We took a trip to the Sign Post Forest. Took a few pictures, perused the visitor center and found many interesting facts. As of 2018 there were 11,800 signs in the Sign Forest - Started by a US Army Engineer in 1942, he was tasked with replacing the base direction sign along the road. He did repair and refurbish the sign, but added one of his own, showing the direction and distance to his hometown. That was the start. 

Over the years the City of Watson Lake took it over, provides more posts when needed. It does not appear that they will remove a sign once it is installed. Therefore some of the signs show some wear and aging. 

The visitor Center also has a great display and video on the construction of the Alaska Highway. We will put our sign up tomorrow.

Dinner at Kathy's Restaurant, then a quick stop at the grocery store before going to the Northern Lights Center to see two presentations in their planetarium. 

The first was on the Sun disruptions and solar storms and how they could impact power and telecommunication systems on earth. The second was on the Northern Lights - the Aurora Borealis. It was an interesting show and due to the time of year probably the only display we will see.

Day two in Watson Lake found us in the Sign Post Forest looking for an appropriate location to hang our sign.

Entrance to the Sign Post Forest

There is no rhyme or reason in the lay out. The signs consume everything. The City of Watson Lake will put up new cedar 6x6 as needed for more signs to be placed. The signs vary in size from big to very small. They are road/street signs (should have brought a Woodrow Road Sign), lots of license plates, pieces of wood with names painted on, engraved wood signs, you name it.

Some photos are attached, which will give you the idea. I finally found a location in the center of the forest. There was a picnic table and trash receptacle close by. Our sign is made of red oak and coated with a couple layers of exterior varnish. Only time will tell how long it will last. As I write this I realized that the position of the sign will probably have it covered in snow for six months out of the year. An even better test of how the sign will hold up. Maybe somebody that reads this will drop a note if they go there and see it. The sign states our name of course, but it also has some logos paying tribute to hobbies and a former employer.

After the sign placement, we checked out a fuel stop for the next day and then went west of the Alaska Highway looking for a restaurant call “Wolf it Down.” About 15 miles west we found it. It is part of a “Lodge” that has some cabins and an RV Park.

On our return trip to this area, we will probably stay here as it is close to Canada 37 which we will go south on to get to Washington State.

We then checked out Watson Lake, which is rather large. Large enough that there is a pontoon air service using the lake. We happened to find the place the plane was docked and photos are included.

Photos by Debbie Grossie

Another night of limited television channel selection, no Internet and DVDs.

On June 22, after refueling at TAG (Canadian Fuel Stop) - we were on the road. Road surface for the most part was fine, except for about 25 miles of gravel. Longest stretch was probably 15-20 miles long. Light misting rain for the first half the journey.

Once past Johnson's Crossing, where we may spend a night on the return trip, the road returned to good to excellent shape.

Only two animal sightings, one porcupine and one black bear. The bear was 25 yards off the road and just walking parallel to it.

Only one stop on the way for nature and to walk the dog.

Getting into Whitehorse, I noticed that the problem with the left turn signal and park light had returned - will need to check and see if it is the bulb or the wiring. Headlights/Marker lights on all day, seems maybe to be an over-heating problem, to much amperage draw or a poor ground connection causing the problem. Will need to investigate and repair before we go much further.

Arrived in Whitehorse about 2:30p - about a 6.5 hour drive. RV Park is gravel surface. Spots are close together, but separated by brush and trees. Hookups are at the back of the site, so 25 feet of power and RG-6 (TV Cable) and 30+ feet of water line.

Some exploring of town - first stop a car wash to clean the Jeep which was covered in fine gravel and road oil/tar.

Once cleaned, we attempted to find Wal-Mart, but Garmin took us to an undeveloped area. Went to Sav-On-Foods and when leaving there we saw the Wal-Mart across the parking lot – definitely not where the Garmin said it would be.

Returned to the Motor Home and the rain started about an hour later - heavy rain.

Day two and Day three in Whitehorse will follow -

Alaska Trip Part 2

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To go back to Lake Louise for a minute - The campground had a tent camping area. It had bear proof food lockers to store your food in. But the tent camping area was also surrounded by bear fence. Basically the same type of electric fence used to keep livestock contained, only built a little tougher. The fence carries 7,000 volts, low amperage. Where the fence needs to cross a road, they use a "Texas Gate" which is a cattle guard with the wires running in the "grooves." These same fences are also used around the Ski Resorts (see below). 

Bear Fencing

On June 12 we were off to the City of Jasper, Alb. After dumping the waste tanks and filling the fresh water tank we were on the way. A missed turn caused us to visit the small town of Fielding, about 15 miles west of Lake Louise and road construction.

Beautiful Scenery - even in construction zones

We made a U-Turn in the parking lot of the YooHoo Brothers fueling station and Convenience store. Back on the road toward Lake Louise we made the exit to Canada 93 and onward to Jasper, Alb. The road was a good two lane road with lots of traffic. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous. No matter which way the road turned, or which way your head turned the view was spectacular. This is called the Ice Field Parkway as it passes through at least one glacier.

So, I have scoured all the photos that we took and I will now include them. Many are not captioned as they are just the view through the windshield -We think that you will enjoy them - these are all along the Icefield Parkway.

Proof that I was keeping my eyes on the road

Visitor Center is the structure  in the lower right of the photo

The only real problem was the other tourists on the road. If there was a very great view or an animal sighting, people would turn off the road willy-nilly to see what it was. At one point, we thought we had come across a multi-vehicle accident, only to discover that someone had spotted a bear.

Accident? - Nope - Wildlife

Upon arriving at Jasper, we pulled into the Wapiti Trailer Park, only to find that they were full. They directed us to the Over-Flow camping area about seven miles east of Jasper. A U-Turn was made in the Sanitary dump area, with the Jeep going over the corner of a curb. Not bad, could have been the side of the Motor Home on one of the barrier posts. The Over-Flow camping area is a large gravel area with more than a hundred back in parking spots with picnic tables.

Jasper - Overflow Campground

This is totally dry camping, no electric and water only at two tanks located at each end of the camping area. The water is for people to put the water into jugs to take to the RV.

Water - fill your jug

When we arrived there were probably a dozen people in the camping area. By 8PM, there were probably forty vehicles in the camping area. It was quiet, even though there was a train track on the far side of the camping area.

We decided that we would change the schedule and not spend two nights in Jasper, Alb. But just one. We did get a picture of a rainbow -

Rainbow tops it off

The next morning we were off to Grande Cache and Grand Prairie, but first a stop in Hinton to get fuel and to make a resupply stop at Wal-Mart. We arrived at the Wal-Mart in Hinton and since we were in the Motor Home, parked at the very edge of the parking area. As we were disembarking to go into the store, it started to rain. Between umbrella and hat we made it to the store without a major soaking.

We found that this was a very compact Wal-Mart. They did not have everything a “full size” store does, but enough for us to get what we needed.

After braving the rain on the way back out to the Motor Home, it was off to find the Flying J listed on the app. After several wrong turns, we found the Flying J only to find it closed and abandon. OK, Plan B, Back to Highway 16 and see if we can find a station that we will fit into. The first up was a Petro Canada. Lots of room, but it would not take credit cards.

The next location was a Husky Fuel station. We pulled up to the pump island and I saw a yellow pump handle and the familiar green handle. So, I pulled up to the green handle. I put my credit card in and allowed a $200 pre authorization be allowed, then stared at the screen as it listed three options for fuel. Two with 10% ethanol and one with no ethanol. OK, 10% ethanol. Must be what they call biodiesel up in Canada. I stuck the nozzle in and started dispensing, then something did not seem right. I stopped fueling and smelled the product. Something was not right, this smelled like gasoline. I shut off the pump and walked to the Convenience store and asked if the green handle was diesel – No, in Canada diesel is dispensed on the yellow handle pump. Well shoot – They directed me over to the truck island and again I allowed a pre authorization for $200 to fill the tank with DIESEL. In checking, I found that I had only dispensed 1.4 liters of gasoline into a diesel tank with a capacity of about 361 liters – I figured that I was safe and needed to be more careful in the future.

After getting fuel it was off to Grande Cache and then Grande Prairie via Canada 70, billed as the scenic route to Alaska. This has to be one of the the worst road in Canada. We were no longer in the National Park and it appeared that is where they spend the money on road maintenance. This road was potholed and rough. It was narrow lanes with no shoulders and the travel was slow. Compared to the roads we had been on, this was the cow path. The scenery was not what we had become used to, this was nice forest and hills, but no fantastic rugged snow capped ridges and the like. There were climbs and down hills and there was rain.

We passed through Grand Cache and continued on to Grande Prairie, Alb. Our RV Park was the Rotary Club RV Park in Grande Prairie. We did not have reservations, but found that there was plenty of room, in this manicured and paved RV Park. The park is located right next to, if not on the Grande Prairie Regional College campus. The Rotary Club owns and maintains the park and all proceeds go back to the Rotary Club for the great work that they do.

Rotary RV Park - Grand Prairie

Grande Prairie appears to be a great city. They have all the major stores, fuel stations, repair outlets and the like. It is in a pretty setting and probably worth more time to explore.

June 14, off to Dawson Creek, BC – Mile 0 of the Alaskan Highway. After fueling at Flying J (yes, we found it and it was open) it was off on Highway 43, westward HO! This section of the drive starts out four lane divided going through mostly farmland, as it progresses through Beaverlodge, Hythe and other small villages and towns. The road goes back to a nice two-lane road and remains in farmland the entire distance to Dawson Creek. Along the way, the road number changes to Canada Highway 2, also known as Dawson Creek Tupper Highway. Once into Dawson Creek, we followed the Highway to the Round-About that is the official location of Mile Post 0 of the Alaska Highway. 

Mile Post 0 Alaska Highway - also known as the ALCAN

We circled the Round-about to Highway 97 which is the number for the Alaska Highway.

We continued out this for a few miles, taking a turn onto the John Hart Highway to the Northern Lights RV Park.

Entrance to Northern Lights RV Park

The Northern Lights RV Park is a nice little park. It is gravel roads and spots, 30 Amp service with water, sewer and cable TV at all the sites. We had a gravel pull through for three nights.

Site at Northern Lights RV Park

After getting setup, we decided that we would start the laundry process. This normally takes a couple hours to wash and dry the clothes, hang them, fold them and of course transport to and from the Motor Home. We had been told that no outdoor shoes were allowed in the Laundry Room, or in the individual shower rooms that they had, which occupy the same building. We brought the laundry into a small entry room, that had a chair to sit in to take off your shoes, and then into the interior of the building and into the cleanest laundry area that we have ever seen. When we arrived, the front desk person was vacuuming and mopping the floors of this front section of the building. There were six washers and six dryers. There were four or five individual shower rooms opposite of the laundry area. Each of them were immaculate, and shining. This made up for the gravel area outside. Plus the people were friendly.

Dawson Creek is famous for being Milepost 0, being the start of the Alaska Highway.

History tells us that Ft. Nelson was the original Mile Post 0, as there was already a “winter road” between Dawson Creek and Ft. Nelson. After the construction was complete, they decided that Mile 0 really was in Dawson Creek. A monument was constructed at the location and a Round-About was constructed. However, the symbolic Mile 0 marker was moved to a new location a couple blocks away, as people were endangering themselves trying to cross traffic in the Round-About to get a picture next to the marker.

Now, along the road adjacent to the Round-About is a rock cairn with bronze plaques commemorating the start of the Alaskan Highway. There is also a large sign over it. Across the parking lot is both an art gallery in an old wooden grain storage building and the Visitor Center which is located in an old train station building

When we visited on a Sunday, the visitor center had two people around the rock cairn offering to take pictures, with the visitor’s camera, of people standing under the sign with the art gallery in the background. This is a very nice service.

We again noticed that beer, wine and other liquors were sold in stand-a-lone stores and not in the main stores. We have also noticed a difference in the naming of things. Like I go into the store and I want sour cream or cream cheese, I would go to the Dairy cabinet. Not here, you would go to the "Cultures" section.

One thing we did see in the RV park was a lot of RVs that we had seen in other places along the route. I was under the Motor Home working on the steps and a man and woman in a golf cart stopped and said, “hey I told you we would see you again.” As best as I could remember we saw these folks in Great falls. MT.