Dawson Creek, BC to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory

The short drive from Grande Prairie to Dawson Creek was relatively uneventful.  The weather was a mix of sunny skies and brief periods of rain. 

Dawson Creek is a grim little city at Milepost Zero of the Alaska Highway.  We did a thorough tour of the art gallery and visitors center.  Those of us of a certain age still want to refer to it as the Alcan Road.  Quite the engineering feat in its day, the road was built in just eight months by the U.S. as a means to get provisions to military installations in Alaska at the outset of WWII.  After having driven just 612 of the 1422 official miles of the highway we find it impossible to understand how the task was undertaken at all and just goes to show how much can be accomplished if there is sufficient incentive.  Except for the stretch that crosses the Canadian Rockies, the terrain is not formidable but it isn’t welcoming either.

The actual official Milepost Zero is this marker in the middle of the main drag of Dawson Creek.  Tourists posing here would stand a good chance of being run over by those going about their daily business so a second marker is in place near the roundabout where it is safer for travelers to pose for launch photos.  Here’s our intrepid little band doing just that!

 

In addition to cases of mosquito repellant, the most important provision for a trip on the Alaska Highway is the current issue of The Milepost, an annual publication which documents each and every important inch of the road.  The current issue is pretty much mandatory because highway construction, fuel stop closures and other such significant information is laid out in its pages.  The publication even points out the location of cell towers along the way.   We had been using The Milepost from the time we pulled out of Great Falls but it became a constant companion once we launched ourselves up the Alaska Highway.

We used the three days in Dawson Creek to reprovision, rest and repair…and to get all the laundry done before facing the possibility of several days with no hook-ups.  Our day of departure, July 1, was Canada Day so there was relatively light traffic.  The day was bright and sunny but with a fairly strong wind for much of the trip.  Once again the wildlife was in short supply; we spotted just one very fat and fluffy bear and some white-tailed deer.  Bill later learned that the reason the bear looked to be in such good condition was that spring had come early to the area and so they’ve been able to get plenty to eat.

The Milepost offers a caution nearing the Peace River crossing where the descent varies from 6% to 10% with some fairly sharp curves and then across the metal-grated Peace River Bridge.  Any mention of grades in the 10% range causes me to go into  “unhappy camper” mode but this wasn’t bad at all.  That’s when I first began to  get the feeling that many of the road comments in The Milepost were a bit pessimistic, perhaps written for travelers who’ve never had to get down off the Mogollon Rim in Arizona or driven U.S. 12 east into Helena.  The section I found most distressing was along Muncho Lake where the road is at water level, quite curvy and without benefit of guard rails.  It’s not so bad northbound because we had the southbound lane between us and the watery edge.

Originally we’d planned to boondock in Fort Nelson but in the end checked into a campground on the outskirts.  Carolyn had prepared a lasagna feast and, after a hard day on the road, we sat down to a hearty meal.  We had traveled 282 miles and  a body can work up quite an appetite out here in the wilderness! 

Usually after a long drive the windshield needs to be washed but often that chore can be postponed til the next day.  Not this time.  We had managed to hit a small army of enormous dragonflies.  Their thick bodies had to be three or four inches long with a wingspan about six inches and they make a very big splat when they hit the windshield. 

We were facing the longest segment thus far, 320 miles to Watson Lake, where we’d be seeing some serious up-and-down-and-around curves driving with rough pavement.  The Milepost indicated herds of wildlife would be wandering everywhere.  And they were! The Stone sheep, a smaller more delicate-looking version of the bighorn, were hanging out right on the road and didn’t seem inclined to get out of the way.  We saw several different herds. 

Soon after, we began to see herds of bison, again grazing right along the road.  There were a goodly number of bison babies among them.  And interspersed with sightings of sheep and bison we saw bears out foraging, including one cinnamon-colored youngster.  None of the animals seemed the least bit interested in motor vehicles and few even looked up from their tasks.

Toad River was selected as our fuel-up and rest-a-bit stop.  Just a wide spot in the road with two fuel pumps, a diner and gift shop.  I had hopes of finding a Toad River tee shirt but balked at the idea of paying $20 for it.  The fuel was spendy enough!!  (Spendy is the northwest equivalent of pricey.)  The most interesting aspect of the Toad River restaurant is its ceiling; instead of acoustical tiles, it has a collection of caps, mostly the billed, baseball style with logos.

Long days and short nights are already evident so we were able to get settled at our campground in Watson Lake, have our dinner and still get to the Sign Post Forest with plenty of daylight to spare.  The Sign Forest is one of the most famous sights along the Alaska Highway and it turned out to be ‘way more than we expected.  Started in the early ‘40s by a lonesome soldier working on the Alcan Road, it has been added to over the years by travelers from around the world.  Apparently an “inventory” was done in 2004 and the tally came to nearly 77,000 signs and the number increases daily, at least during the summer months.  The signs range from hand-lettered messages on pizza tins to carved and painted wooden plaques.  Obviously there are a lot of cities and towns world-wide that are missing their signage!

The drive to Whitehorse was “only” 274 miles.  We crossed the Continental Divide on this segment but it was less mountainous and curvy than the previous day’s drive and there were almost no areas of loose gravel and/or construction.  There was also no wildlife and we saw nary a critter on the entire trip.  We stopped at the Yukon Motel in Teslin for lunch and to refuel and took a quick stroll through their “wildlife museum” and gift shop.  They had some lovely souvenirs for sale, all pretty expensive.  The dioramas of Yukon wildlife were excellent, really handsome specimens, including this pair of Arctic wolves.  Are these not some of the most beautiful creatures you’ve ever seen?

For quite a long distance, we saw rock messages where folks had spelled out words or made patterns.  They were difficult to read for the most part but once again it became evident, as with the hats in Toad River and the Sign Post Forest in Watson Lake, mankind wants to leave its mark on the wilderness.

The Milepost again proved its worth when we spotted a white cairn on the left side of the road, decked out with plastic flowers.  Ordinarily we’d have gone for miles wondering what that was all about but The Milepost with prompt in telling us that it was a memorial to an Army Engineer who’d died in the area in 1942.

For quite a distance the highway parallels the shoreline of Teslin Lake.  The Milepost failed us – at least we think it did – in not reporting the length and width of the lake.  Google, however, came to the rescue and we discovered the lake is 75 miles long and a little over 3 miles wide.

Along the way we saw a fair number of solo bicyclists (and even more motorcyclists).  Being older now and timid compared with our youth, we can’t imagine anyone wanting to cycle through such a desolate area.  In bear country, we considered them to be Meals on Wheels.  And the motorcyclists are fast food Meals on Wheels.  Despite the risks, they are having an experience which will remain with them the rest of their days.  Assuming they have more days.

Whitehorse will be “home” for three days and it will be good to be able to kick back, get some chores done and relax a bit before heading off on the next leg of the journey.