ALASKA TRIP, PART 2

Wednesday morning, June 6, we left Sikanni River and headed for Fort Nelson, BC. We saw bear and moose along the way...unfortunately, not in an area where we could pull over and take a picture; however, we did see some spectacular scenery.

View from MP DC182.8

Travelin' down the highway:











When we arrived in Fort Nelson, our first stop was the Husky 5th Wheel Truck Stop and RV Park where we learned that all the RV parks in town were full and no one was being allowed to continue north on the Alaska Highway unless they had confirmed reservations someplace up the road. All this because of the washout at Iron Creek, south of Watson Lake.

The woman at the RV park suggested that we could use the city park to park overnight, so we stopped by the Visitors Center and City Hall to confirm that we could, indeed, do this. I don't think they normally let RV's park overnight there, but under the circumstances, they let us stay in the city park. As soon as we parked, other RV's started coming in and parking, too. By the time we went to bed, we had a full house.

We toured the Fort Nelson Heritage Museum which has an excellent displays of pioneer artifacts, Alaska Highway history, wildlife (including a white moose), and a spruce bark canoe. We had dinner at Dixie Lee's and later walked across the street to the Elk's club for drinks.

The next day, we learned that the road up ahead was to be opened to traffic about noon, so we left Fort Nelson and traveled 118 miles to the Toad River Lodge in Toad River, BC.

While on a walk around the park, we saw the two women we'd met in Whitecourt, Alberta. They had been stranded there for three days because of the washout and were looking forward to moving on the next morning. We were told that the road had, indeed, been opened that afternoon but that there was now a 12-mile backup waiting to get through!

Headstone at Steamboat Lodge:

View from Steamboat Lodge:











View from MP DC336.7 (Canadian Rockies):












On our way to Toad River, we saw Stone sheep along the road at one of our rest stops. Stone sheep are indigenous to the mountains of northern British Columbia and southern Yukon Territory. They are darker and somewhat slighter than the bighorn sheep found in the Rocky Mountains. They are often seen on the road as they like to lick the salt off the road.













View from our rest stop, MP DC379.7:











We had a beautiful spot on the Toad River...backed up to the lake where we could watch the ducks, beaver, and a moose who came down to the river to eat.

View from our campsite:

Moose: