Continued from the previous page.

RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY

It rained quite a bit on Wednesday, too, as we drove from Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson, BC.

The Alaska Hwy., also known as BC 97 in this province, was mostly good through rolling terrain although it is looking increasingly primitive. I commented several times to Jim that "they need more paint," meaning there weren't any lines on the road:

One of the gravel breaks

Long and lonely road from Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson

We've morphed from all the agribusiness in Alberta to oil and gas production and lumbering as the major industries in NE British Columbia. Many little side roads lead to pipelines in this area but most aren't visible from the highway because of all the trees. We've seen lots of tanker trucks and logging trucks through this province.

We've been seeing standing water along the roadway and crossing a lot of high streams in BC:

Metal grating bridge over the muddy Lower Liard River

Yesterday we began to hear about flooding problems downstream from all the rain this week, exacerbated by snow melting in the high country.

Although the Rockies in most of the U.S. had normal or below-normal amounts of snow this year, farther north in Alaska and the Yukon the levels were much higher. It's also been a cooler spring, so the snow is melting later than usual.

The road came quite close to sections of the wide Tetsa, Trout, and Liard Rivers today, with the fast-moving water just a couple feet below the pavement:

It wouldn't take much more rain or snowmelt for this section of the highway to be flooded.

Some of the rocky Liard riverbed is so wide it looks like the river would never go out of its bed but it has before.

The color of the water in all the high, fast-moving streams we could see is interesting. I call it "cement" because it's a light tan color unlike I've ever seen in a muddy creek or river. The color comes from the alluvium (rocks, dirt, debris) that is washed down from the mountains.

Just outside of Fort Nelson yesterday we crossed the Muskwa River, the lowest point on the Alaska  Hwy. at 1,000 feet elevation. Today we crossed the highest point at Summit Lake, elev. 4,232 feet.

We spent last night at the Triple G Hideaway campground in Fort Nelson:

Packed in at Triple G campground; we're sandwiched in the middle of four Class A motorhomes above.

For the first time on this trip through Canada we called ahead from Dawson Creek to see if we'd need reservations at Triple G. The person I talked with said no, but it's a good thing we got there early in the afternoon because the place was almost completely full by suppertime -- and it's a pretty big campground.

We were able to get a full hook-up pull-through site with cable for $33 Canadian plus tax but the sites were very narrow -- wide enough for slides to go out but with all the standing water and mud it was a challenge to walk on either side of our camper to the back when I took Cody for walks.

MAKING IT UP AS WE GO

That evening we had a lively discussion about how long to stay in Fort Nelson. Another day or two of rain was predicted and I had concerns about driving the challenging route through the Rockies to Watson Lake in the rain.

My main concern was safety.

A secondary, much less important, concern was missing out on what's considered to be the most scenic section along the entire Alaska Hwy. We may not be coming back this way. I didn't want to wonder if the mountains really existed, the same phenomenon folks experience who go to Denali for one or two days and never get to see the peak because of all the clouds.

This morning the clouds were breaking up in Fort Nelson. That seemed to be a good omen.

After seeing our neighbors pull out we had more incentive to proceed north and west. If they could drive that heavy Mobile Suites 5th-wheel or those big motorhomes towing pickups and sedans behind them, well surely we could get the Cameo up and over the mountains, too!

Naturally, it began raining soon after we left the campground. We drove in part rain, part sun today through the northern Rockies to Watson Lake, YT.

Dense fog for several miles this morning as we ascended into the Rockies

A little better visibility after a few miles

Now we're in the Pacific Time Zone, three hours behind Eastern DST.

Although we missed a few miles of scenery in the fog it was still a spectacular drive with of snow-covered peaks, beautiful lakes, dramatic clouds, flooding streams, dense forests, and wildlife we could see.

Above and below:  Summit Lake is a nice place to camp, fish, or take a break.

If it had been warmer and sunnier this afternoon we might have stayed overnight at Muncho Lake or Liard River Hot Springs, both very popular areas with residents and tourists. Soaking in the hot springs is considered a "must do" experience when traveling the Alaska Hwy.

It was raining so much when we passed the springs that we didn't even go in for day use or to take pictures.

Maybe we can do that on the way back in the fall. It's often mentioned in travel blogs as one of their more memorable experiences by folks who've been there.

Picture of the Liard River Hot Springs from a screen at the Alaska Hwy. House in Dawson Creek

In some ways this trip reminds me of our MO for the Appalachian Trail Adventure Run in 2005.

For both trips we did extensive online research and read hiking (travel) blogs and other materials but we weren't sure how long I'd hike (or we'll drive) each day or where we’d stay. The whole trail (Alaska trip) is too big to grasp so we often plan the day or night before for the next day.

WATSON LAKE, YT

Between Contact Creek, BC and Teslin, YT the Alaska Hwy. crosses the border of the two provinces six or seven times. On our way to Whitehorse, YT we'll be back in BC one or more times.

There are "Welcome to the Yukon" signs at the crossings we did today. Here is the first, rather primitive, one:

An RV was parked in front of a much nicer welcome sign before Watson Lake and I couldn't get a picture of it from the road.

That reminds me -- we're already beginning to see some of the same RVs from place to place as we travel about the same number of miles each day. Three of our neighbors from Triple G are in the other campground here in Watson Lake. One of them left a water connector at Triple G and Jim returned it to him this afternoon. The man joked that he's left those all over the U.S. and Canada and this was the first time someone returned one to him!

Another observation about RVs in Canada -- it seems like more Canadians than U.S. residents have campers. So many of the homes and businesses we've passed in Alberta and BC have a motorhome or trailer in the yard. That's cool. There are so many beautiful lakes and parks up here; it's good to see the residents like to get out to camp.

Or maybe they all head south in the winter!

I'd guess that many of them fish, too. We've been warned that the provincial parks with lakes (like Muncho) fill up fast on Friday with locals who fish on the weekends. Canadians tend to do more subsistence fishing and hunting than U.S. citizens do. It's no wonder, considering the cost of meat, fish, and poultry up here.

Our home for the night in the Tags RV Park at Watson Lake

When we reached Watson Lake this afternoon we had two public campground choices in town -- the 140-site Downtown RV Park across from Wye Lake or the 40-site Tags RV Park behind the Tempo gas station and convenience store. Both are basically gravel lots with hook-ups.

Based on information in the Churchs' Alaska Campgrounds book we chose the Tags campground. It's less expensive and the sites are a little larger. Half are full-hookup, pull-through sites in the middle of the parking lot. The other half are back-ins with just water and electricity next to spruce and aspen trees. The sites cost $26 and $23/day plus tax, respectively.

When we came in only a dozen RVs were already parked so we had several good choices. Since we plan to spend only one night here, Jim chose a back-in site where there is no standing water from all the rain.

If this CG was full we'd have neighbors within just a few feet of us. Fortunately, no one is on either side of us within 15 feet.

Packed in at the Downtown RV Park

The Tags campground is new enough that it isn't listed in our 2011 Mileposts book. The other CG, shown above, is pretty full, especially with large motorhomes. The spaces over there are very tight with barely enough room to put out slides, let alone awnings. I'm glad we chose Tags.

We have about 11 cable TV stations and so-so WiFi. We need those diversions when it's raining! The clouds are finally breaking up, however, and the rain has ended for a few days, making it more fun to check out the visitor center across the street and walk through the adjacent Signpost Forest.

WE WERE HERE

What is it about humans that they feel compelled to leave their mark while traveling? One example is the graffiti you sometimes see on rocks, bridges, and other places. Heck, even Lewis & Clark left their names here and there during their famous expedition to Oregon!

Watson Lake, YT has one-upped this concept. It's got the Signpost Forest, where tourists from all over the world have left their marks announcing they were here.

The Signpost Forest is one of those touristy "must do" things the first time you come this way. It's a work in progress as more and more signs are added each year, so repeat visitors often stop each time they come through just to see what's new.

It's free and probably as much fun for kids as for curious adults. There is plenty of RV parking along the highway or by the visitor center if you're just passing through and not staying overnight.

I encourage you to spend at least a few minutes wandering through the "forest" and even leave a sign to be added to the burgeoning collection. If you don't have one you can buy a blank sign locally and add your name and hometown. We knew all about the Signpost Forest before we left Virginia. We considered bringing an old license plate or making a sign but decided against it. We like the place but we just don't feel compelled to leave our mark here.

Cody-pup did, though. He marks his territory everywhere he goes!

The first signs from 1942

Begun in 1942 by a homesick soldier working on the Alaska Hwy., the Signpost Forest now includes over 71,000 signs and license plates left by visitors from all over the world. I saw several from as far away as Singapore and Australia.

It's fascinating to walk through the "forest" of tall posts and look at the memorabilia . There's everything from metal town limit signs to hastily-written plastic plates to elaborately routed wooden signs with people's names and home towns on them. Many signs are from Europe, particularly Germany and Scandinavia.

We were very happy when the sun came out this evening. Jim rode his bike around town and I took Cody on a 3-mile walk to and around scenic Wye Lake, passing through the Signpost Forest on our way out and back.

We didn't take time to visit the Northern Lights Centre to watch their films about the aurora borealis. I'd like to do that if we come hack this way in the fall.

We were in bed tonight before sunset again.

WHAT'S NEXT?

We hope for a few days of sunshine as we head to Whitehorse, the beautiful Kluane Lake and National Park, and the Alaskan border. We're up to here with rain. <frown>

Some of our impressions of the places we're passing through in Canada are colored by the weather. It's only natural to enjoy an area more if it's sunny. An example is Grande Prairie, where we got out on the greenway on a sunny afternoon and had a great time. That makes us more likely to want to go back there sometime.

Our moods are greatly affected by the weather, too. Jim and I are outdoors people. When the weather's bad we don't hike as much or ride our bikes at all -- and we get cranky.

It's not fun to drive in the rain either. It's more intense and we miss interesting scenery we may never see again. We hope it's not a particularly wet summer in Alaska. I remember reading trip journals from the summer of 2008, e.g., when RVers had rain most of the time they were there.

I'll do my best in this journal to temper my descriptions of places we visit when it's raining. I don't want to do a disservice to any campground, town, or area just because we hit lousy weather when traveling there. I'm an optimist who tries to find the best in everything (making lemonade out of lemons). I hope I can do that on this trip.

Stay tuned for another update when we reach the Alaska border. We plan to spend at least two nights in Whitehorse so we can do some interesting things there and maybe visit with friends who live there. We should be in Alaska by Tuesday.

I'll have more details eventually about our trip through British Columbia. I've got a lot more photos to show you.

Next entry: our summary through the southwestern corner of the Yukon to Alaska.

"The Yukon." Doesn't that sound exotic?!

Happy trails,

Sue
"Runtrails & Company" - Sue Norwood, Jim O'Neil, and Cody the ultra Lab

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© 2012 Sue Norwood and Jim O'Neil