» The Alaska highway Landtrek.net

Edmonton, Ab to Dawson Creek, BC.

This morning, we wake up early and head off, finally on our way. We take Hwy 33 north towards Slave lake.

Here’s where we see our first and only grizzly so far: The one on the sign…

Lunch break on the banks of the Assiniboine river.

We swiftly drive thru Swan Hills, not stopping for fear of accidental contamination. You see, some people say Swan hills glows in the dark since it is home to: “the only facility of its kind in Canada and one of few in the world.”

In fact the Swan Hills hazrdous waste treatment plan has: “safely processed more than 295,000 metric tonnes of hazardous waste and over 2,000 different waste profiles.” Key word here being safely.

But does it glow in the dark? We’ll never know for sure as we have no desire to wait here until it gets dark…

It’s 28 deg. C in Faust, on the shores of Lesser Slave lake. Isn’t northern Alberta supposed to be cold?

I think I may have parked too close to the water!

Did I mention it was hot in the truck? 38*C = 100*F (Indoor refers to the inside of the truck while we use the outdoor sender device to monitor temperature in the fridge…Smart, uhn! )

In Falher, Ab, we stop for the night and enjoy a 10 pm sunset/moon rise. Aaaah cool !

It’s funny we get to see a lot more prairie-esque scenery here in the north than we did in the southern part of the “plains”.

No4s’ “new” engine purrs right along and takes us to British Columbia. Nice. We’re happy.

Just before Dawson Creek, we make a quick detour to a small town with a strange name:

French for: “Cut thumb”. According to the friendly lady at the visitor center, the native chief of tribe who gave his name to the town really had a “Cut thumb”…

Everything here is about the pouce:

Another tough day at the Pouce barber shop.

Dawson Creek. The beginning of the Alaska highway. Suddently, it seems our Adventure is only beginning also.

Common sights in Dawson Creek:

A visit to the Alaska highway house and viewing of the film “Building the Alaska highway” are an absolute must. Very well made film from PBS. Once we hit the highway, we really undertand how impressive this acheivement was. 1500 MILES of road cut thru absolute wilderness in 8 months… In 1942 !

Not every day do we get to enjoy a secluded campsite near the water. There are some Rv parks in D.C. but not for us. We sleep in the back of a shopping center that is being renovated. We park near two containers where asbestos residues are being stored. Need I say the area stays clear of any visitors but us? As quiet as the most secluded of camp sites.

The next morning, we come across a bunch of Classic Volvo fanatics.

We get a chance to meet and chat with a few of the guys and find out they are doing the same trip as we are, only in reverse. From South-America to Alaska. The South-America part of the trip was made 2 years ago. This time, they got started again in Panama.

Another little difference between their trip and ours is that they are doing it in… A total of 6 weeks! Including shipping to and from Holland !
Theirs is more of a rally, almost a race.

The Alaska highway.

And we’re off! It’s a funny feeling. Somehow, it feels like we are an integral part of history. Or actually more like we would be reliving a little bit of it just by travelling that road. Whatever it is, it feels good.

The only original bridge still standing and still in operation: (Built in 1942)

And the view from it:

Next exit; 591 kms !

So, the road is nice but the scenery is somewhat disapointing save for a few cool spots that unfortunately don’t last.

Land Cruising at 85 KPH (about 53 MPH), time gets kind of long. Man, never thought we’d get bored on the Alaska highway…

And that’s when we see these guys by the side of the road waving at us to stop! It’s one of the team of Volvos. It’s their film crew. Are they in trouble?
Of course not. They make us stop so they can interview us!

M: “Are you kidding me? YOU are the ones that are doing the extra-ordinary, top speed trip. Not us! I should be interviewing YOU !”

They are simply not listening to me and interview us anyways!
It’s nice to chat with other folks with a passion for older vehicles and travels. Their cars may be different but the flame is the same.

Later on in Fort Nelson, we see them again as they flooded the local Super 8 motel.

Nothing but rows of old Volvos: (About 60 cars in all)

And an old Land Cruiser… No4 still manages to get somebodys’ attention.

Liked this logo:

We say good bye and good luck to our Volvo friends and head out of town to set up camp.

Our spot near Ft-Nelson, BC: (sure beats our Dawson Creek spot!)

The following day, the scenery finally gets much more interesting:

Lunch here? I think so.

You’d think a grizzly bear could come out from behind those trees at any time. Scenery straight out of a National Geographics documentary.

It sure makes things interesting when you see this sign…

Shortly followed by this sign… in YOUR CAMPGROUND !

At Liards hot springs, we stop for the night and enjoy a nice HOT swim in the natural HOT spring. Water temperature can reach up to 52*C (125*F)
Great spot to relax after a looooong day of Cruising.

I’d hoped they’d kept it more “natural looking” though… Especially since this big building is nothing more than a great big changing room…
Looks nice nonetheless.

The place is packed but fortunately we, as well as a lot of other travellers, are allowed to stay in the day use parking lot for the night.

On day 21 (already!?!) of our trip, we are just getting started on the road when we see this guy:

It seems a herd of wild buffalos lives by the way side of the Alaska highway just north of Liards hot springs!

More scenery:

…And more buffalos!

M: “I wonder if we get cell reception out here?”

F: “Are you kidding? Even Mrs Garmin doesn’t know where we are!” (Low satellite reception).

And next thing we know: Welcome to Yukon!

Contact creek.

A place of high historic significance as it is where the north team of Alaska highway builders met the south team. In effect, their meeting meant the highway was not just a fantasy anymore but had become a reality. The small log cabin on the picture used to be home to a trapper who, when the road opened, set up a gas station and posted his wife there to pump gas for early Alaskan travellers.

The business has been in operation since 1942 !

Then it’s on to Watson lake and the “world famous” sign post forest. Not sure how this started out but this is a place where travellers from litteraaly everywhere in the world will stop and, if not actually putting up a sign of their own, at the very least will spend some time admiring the mosaic! Over 78,000 signs at last count in 2013 (they’re being counted once a year, every year). Funny and impressive.