Dawson Creek and the Alaska Highway

June 16, 2018
North of Jasper, Alberta, the stretch of highway #40 from Grande Cache to Grand Prairie is beautifully wooded, pristine rolling hills as you drive out of the Canadian Rockies. Pristine until you get to the planted tree farms closer to Grande Cache, where it’s still wooded, just not so pristine with interludes of stump land. But of course, there are tree farms in this northern tree-covered land. This is lumbering country. Semi-trailers stacked with logs are a presence on the road, and Grand Prairie has the feel of a working town with many wood related industries.

Once you get west of Grand Prairie, the land flattens right out to farmland.

Here’s what I wrote about our night of camping near Grand Prairie: “Saskatoon Island Provincial Park, besides being a sanctuary for birds, is also a sanctuary for mosquitoes! Last night we had our first and hopefully last night of buzzing mania. I was awake until 12:30 listening, waiting for the buzz to get closer, waiting for it to get right by me, then SWAT! At 3:30 Michael got up, turned on the light and began swatting.  Did the mosquitoes come in on Nina? We were careful last evening to keep the door closed so we’re wondering if she is the culprit.”

The day after that sleepless night, we drove into Dawson Creek. That’s British Columbia, folks! Enter the Alaskan Highway, #93. This is where it begins. 

For a stretch the road ran beside a railroad track down which a black bear meandered. We learned later that the bears find grain on the track, spilled from the grain - carrying railroad cars . 

That night, 173 miles north of Dawson Creek we camped at Buckinghorse River Wayside Provincial Park – 20 campsites along the Buckinghorse River where supposedly you can catch a grayling. While there we learned that a young grizzly had wandered through the campground the night before near campsite #1. Hmmm.

When we arrived at the campground, mid-afternoon, it was 75 and sunny. If you sat in the sun, the mosquito annoyance was low, but if you are a shade lover and once the sun started its descent and there were more shadows, GET OUT THE BUG SPRAY!!!! We slept pretty well that night, though, compared to the night before, after brushing out Nina before letting her into the RV and a fairly minor swatting episode before retiring in our foil-darkened abode. Sunset: 10:16 pm.