Monday, July 2nd
Grande Prairie AB to Buckinghorse River Provincial Park Wayside Campground, BC
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We got an early start and were on the road by 8 am and arrived at our campsite about 2 pm, traveling 260 miles. We also switched from MDT to MST which is the same as PDT.
Outside Grande Prairie there were huge fields of canola that went on and on. They were in bloom with bright yellow flowers. We didn’t think to take a picture and by the time it occurred to us we were out of the prairie. At any rate, the fields were beautiful.
Our first stop was in Beaverlodge, AB to get a picture of the world’s largest beaver. Then we were on to Dawson Creek, BC which is in the Mountain Time zone but remains on standard time so we gained an hour. With all the hours of daylight I have no idea why any of the provinces use or need daylight savings time,but most do.
Alaska Highway Mile “0” Marker
This is just because you cannot visit the Mile Zero marker and not have your picture taken there.
Visitors Center, Museum, and Art Gallery
We spent a little over an hour in Dawson Creek and went to the Visitors Center, through the museum, and then through the art gallery. All these attractions are located in an old grain elevator. In the art gallery the walkway is inclined and you circle around as you ascend into the elevator section. It is quite interesting and has displays on the Alaska Highway in addition to all the art work.
Heading North from Dawson Creek
The terrain included rolling hills and valleys and the further north we traveled the more mountainous it became. Most of what we saw was mixed conifer and hardwood forest with Black Spruce and Lodgepole Pine predominating. The brown trees are Lodgepole Pine which have been destroyed by beetles. Those brown patches went on for miles and miles.
Roads, with the exception of the prelude to Alaska on the Icefield Parkway, have been excellent. They are as good as or better than many of our California roads. Of course that isn’t saying a lot.
Even Sadie gets a rest stop.
The Buckinghorse River behind our site
We stopped at the Sikanni (pro. Sick-a-knee) River RV Park and were going to check in with a full hookup site. We were told to go take a look and we could choose one of three. We drove in and past a grader, junk cars and other such things. We came to the three sites which were side by side with little separation in the middle of a gravel area. Needless to say we went back and told the manager we would just go on. Thirteen miles up the road we arrived at the Buckinghorse River Provincial Park Wayside Campground which is off the highway and along the river. It is used mostly for overnighters traveling the highway. It was empty when we arrived so we got our pick of the sites. It was a nice deep one that backed up to the river and was separated from all the others by forest.
Notice that she is holding a can of bug spray. The mosquitoes were thick. We knew from the start that if you are going to be outdoors in Northern Canada and Alaska there will be lots of mosquitoes so we just spray and deal with it.
It was a really nice spot that was quiet with only the sound of the river and the birds. We didn’t see any animals around camp and on the way here just a few Whitetail Deer.
A number of others pulled in late in the afternoon with some staying in small tents. One couple in their 50s from Michigan was camping in a small tent. They had been to Alaska and mixed it up by staying in hotels, bed & breakfast inns, and using their tent some of the time. Brave souls…..the tent part is not for us anymore! They warned us the mosquitoes will only get worse. Don’t we know it!
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