ALASKA TRIP, PART 1

We spent three days in Spruce Grove, Alberta (a western suburb of Edmonton) getting our king pin fixed...actually, the supporting structure around the king pin which had broken again on the same side as last fall. We were really lucky that we found a great welder who not only welded the break, but also put in some additional supports so, hopefully, we'll be okay for our trip to Alaska.

Originally when we left Edmonton, we were going to drive north on Highway 2 up to Lesser Slave Lake; however, that area was having terrible forest fires and, in fact, the roads had been closed for a time. Instead, we decided on the same route we had taken in 1998 -- Highway 43 which heads northwest out of Edmonton to Dawson Creek, British Columbia. So on Thursday, May 31, we left Spruce Grove and drove 124 miles to the Sagitawah RV Park in Whitecourt, Alberta. The word Sagitawah means "where the rivers meet" and, indeed, the park is just about 1/2 mile or less from the confluence of the Athabasca and McLeod Rivers.

A couple of older women pulled in behind us when we arrived at the park and ended up parked behind us in their small truck and fifth wheel. We stopped and chatted with them until the bugs drove us back inside and found out that one of the women lives in Youngstown west of Phoenix. Small world.

The next day, we drove 184 miles to the Camp Tamarack RV Park in Grande Prairie, Alberta where we spent two days doing laundry and stocking up on supplies at Costco and the grocery store. On our second day in Grande Prairie, we had a late lunch/early dinner at Tony Roma's.

Our first moose sighting!











On Sunday, June 3, we drove the 90 miles into Dawson City, B.C., where we met up with the other two couples who will be traveling with us -- Bill & Gisela Pollock and Kirk & Gen Griffith (all New Horizons owners) -- at the Northern Lights RV Park. Unfortunately, the other couple who were going to make the trip with us, Judy Maynard and Gus Gurule, couldn't make it. We'll really miss having them on the trip.

We spent two days in Dawson Creek seeing the sights and having a couple of meals at the Alaska Cafe & Pub. We toured the Dawson Creek Station Museum which contains pioneer artifacts and wildlife displays, including a collection of more than 50 birds' eggs from the area which was quite interesting. We also went through the Dawson Creek Art Gallery which is housed in the last of Dawson Creek's old grain elevators and has a good display of Alaska Highway construction photos, and had ice cream cones at the Blue Goose Caboose which is housed in a 1903 railway car.

Dawson Creek Art Gallery:

Alaska Highway Monument:

Mile 0 Marker:











Iris in bloom at the Art Gallery:

Getting ready to leave:











We left Dawson Creek on an overcast Tuesday morning. Our first stop was the Kiskatinaw River Bridge which is located on part of the original old Alaska Highway and is the only original timber bridge built along the Alaska Highway that is still in use today. We stopped in Fort St. John, the oldest white settlement in mainland British Columbia, for lunch.

Kiskatinaw River Bridge:

Maxx looking for critters:











Looking back at the Kiskatinaw River Bridge:











We drove 162 miles to the Sikanni River RV Park in Sikanni River, BC, where we dry camped by the river. While at the park, we learned that the road farther north, at a place called Iron Creek, had been washed out. They expect it to be repaired in two or three days. It did rain a bit after we arrived at the park, but we were able to start a fire and sit around it for awhile.

Sikanni River:

Restroom facilities!











Sign for dog walk area: