Hinton to Dawson Creek (18 May)
We had a cold night and woke finding ourselves surrounded by fog. A long journey was scheduled (460 km) so we left the campground at 7.30, unable to see our surrounds. The road was bumpy, a result of heavy transport using snow chains over winter. The snow and road grit erodes the painted lines so finding the centre was a guessing game. For the first 140 km we kept breaking through fog and seeing the surrounds before we went back into the fog. When we could see them, the mountains had receded and we were in hilly country (rather like the Dunedin motorway) with trees everywhere. We stopped at Grand Cache, a small service town with an interesting visitor's centre/museum.
The next leg (another 180 km) took us to Grand Prairie. This journey showed forest harvesting and also oil and gas activity. We knew this would be an isolated section when we saw a sign warning us that there were no more gas stations for the next 184 km. In fact, we saw no signs of habitation other than a few working men's camps near oil rigs. We saw little wildlife (one deer) but were warned that there may be bears and caribou.
The last section to Dawson Creek was across prairie with the occasional traditional barn, crops, and even some stock.
We did come across this sign and there was a lot of green about.
Dawson Creek has the distinction of being the start of the AlCan highway (Alaska to Canada). It was build by US Army engineers to provide a supply route so that they could defend Alaska and use it in WW2. Staring at Dawson Creek, they formed 1,500 miles of road in 8 months, an incredible feat considering that they made mistake after mistake and that their surveyors were usually only about 10 miles in front of them.
Major American roads have mileposts on them. This is the post at the start of the road in downtown Dawson Creek, the 0 mile post.
Some places have strange names
The next leg (another 180 km) took us to Grand Prairie. This journey showed forest harvesting and also oil and gas activity. We knew this would be an isolated section when we saw a sign warning us that there were no more gas stations for the next 184 km. In fact, we saw no signs of habitation other than a few working men's camps near oil rigs. We saw little wildlife (one deer) but were warned that there may be bears and caribou.
The last section to Dawson Creek was across prairie with the occasional traditional barn, crops, and even some stock.
We did come across this sign and there was a lot of green about.
Dawson Creek has the distinction of being the start of the AlCan highway (Alaska to Canada). It was build by US Army engineers to provide a supply route so that they could defend Alaska and use it in WW2. Staring at Dawson Creek, they formed 1,500 miles of road in 8 months, an incredible feat considering that they made mistake after mistake and that their surveyors were usually only about 10 miles in front of them.
Major American roads have mileposts on them. This is the post at the start of the road in downtown Dawson Creek, the 0 mile post.
Some places have strange names
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