The Long Road North: Part 1

We made the long drive up to the Yukon in three days, the first being the shortest. It only took seven hours to get from Rimbey Alberta to Dawson Creek BC, where the world famous Alaska Highway (The 'Alcan') begins.

After four days of dramatic vistas in the Rockies, the road to Dawson Creek by comparison was flat and unremarkable. It wasn't until our second day, when we came back around to the Northern tip of the Rockies, that the scenery got interesting.

Dawson Creek, proudly 'Mile 0' on the Alaska Highway

Walking around town, Dawson Creek

I didn't have anything booked for Dawson Creek, I figured since there were little to no reviews of the private campsites near town online that we could just ask for a recommendation at the information center. We ended up with Farmington Fairways Golf Course. Maybe we were bedazzled by the free wifi, maybe we were just tired from a long days drive but we didn't delve too far into the other options and ended up with the worst campground we've stayed at on this trip so far (and the wifi didn't even work that great!).

Camping at Farmington Fairways where there was a rusty broken down playground at the back of our site.

Farmington Fairways was a golf course, RV park and campground all in one. The sites were mostly occupied by RVs which is maybe why the staff didn't seem too concerned about the fact that there was garbage everywhere. The garbage bin at the picnic area a few sites down had been broken into by animals and there was rotting food everywhere, the previous campers at the site next to us had left behind a bag of garbage, and the bins provided by the staff were wooden and far from bear proof. We were deep in bear country and staying in a tent so as you can imagine this made us a little nervous. I would never stay here again. Provincial parks are the way to go. 

The next morning we got an early start. After a few constructions zones we were deep out in the middle of no where. Hundreds of kilometers of Canadian wilderness. Shortly over the British Colombia boarder we reached Fort Nelson for some much needed gas. 

At Fort Nelson, praying that this would be the most we'd ever pay for gas (it wasn't).

What a shocker that gas price was. We'll we are pretty far from anywhere. Fort Nelson was about the half way point to Laird River Hot springs, our destination for the night, so we stopped to make sandwiches out of our cooler and grab a coffee from the Tim Horton's.

Bill's turn to drive

Before we left Guelph, I ordered a copy of 'The Milepost' a magazine designed to help you plan your route to Alaska as well as highlight points of interest at every kilometer post along your route. Through The Milepost, we were advised to stop for some hot cinnamon buns at Testa River Lodge.

Eating a hot cinnamon bun at Testa River Lodge

Local businesses such as this use the kilometer posts, or the historical mile posts to indicate to travelers their relative location in such a huge expanse of wilderness. These historical mileposts have also become a cultural icon on the legendary Alaskan highway. A great uproar was made in the 70's when they were switched to kilometers, the locals went as far as verbally abusing the workers who were sent to replace the makers along the highway from their car windows.

This year's copy of The Milepost

With our copy of The Milepost, we're able to find attractions, accommodations and points of interest along our route regardless if they are listed in kilometers or historic miles.

An hour or so later and we had come back around to the Rockies which made for some exciting driving. Winding, hilly roads, beautiful lakes and lots of wildlife. At Stone Mountain Provincial Park, we drove over Summit Pass. then down the windy mountainside to Muncho Lake Provincial Park where we spotted some Stone Sheep on the road.

Stone sheep near Muncho Lake

Winding roads

We made plenty of stops on the second half of our drive that day to take pictures of the Northern Rockie Mountains and the abundance of wildlife on the roadsides.