Unofficial group photo - not everyone is in this picture.











 

Offical start of Alaska Highway










 

Milepost 0 - only 1542 more to go!










 

Kistatinaw Curved Bridge. This bridge was built by the U.S. Military in only 9 months. All wood for the bridge was shipped in from California. It is still usable today. We saw RV's our size going across.










 

This sign is at the entrance to Dawson Creek - the Mile 0 City










 

Dinner at the Sewell Valley Game Farm










 


Rocky Mountain Bull Elk. Loses antler in March - they grow back 1" per day.










 

Musk Ox - He is shedding his winter coat, and can he run fast!!










 





My dirty truck. No point in washing it now - more mud is ahead.

Day 11
Thursday June 19

Dawson Creek

Happy Father's Day!! And what a happy day it has been. We awoke this morning to light to heavy rain falling. Our first activity - having our group picture made - was obviously outside and some were in doubt about having it done. Shortly before we were to gather at 8:30, the clouds parted and the sun came out. We had a beautiful morning after all. Jenna and I rode with our friends, Bruce and Roni, from Rockford, Illinois. It was funny to see a true convoy of cars coming down the highway and turning into the parking lot beside the visitor's center and the monument to the start of the Alaska Highway. There are two or three different mile 0 markers because pranksters kept stealing the mile 0 signpost. The city fathers moved the start a couple of blocks and built a monument in the middle of the street so it is more difficult to steal.

After the picture taking was over, Jenna, Bruce, Roni and I walked around the downtown area looking at the murals painted on the alley walls. They all depict life in Dawson Creek from the early '40's on. Dawson Creek didn't really exist until a railroad station was built here in 1940. Two years later the U.S. Gov't decided to build a highway from here to Alaska to allow easy deployment of troops to fight off the Japanese. Practically overnight Dawson Creek grew from a sleepy community of 600 to a bustling city of over 10,000. Dawson Creek was the staging area for all supplies needed to build the Al/Can highway. It was called the Al/Can highway while it was being built, but officially became the Alaska Highway when it was completed. The entire 1543 miles of roadway was built in only 9 months. Granted it was very rough, muddy, and difficult to navigate, but it allowed troops to get to Alaska. The road today is constantly being upgraded, kand it is a good road now, but it is still a difficult road to navigate.

After looking at the murals, we drove 17 miles north on the Alaska Highway and took a road which is a part of the original road. It led to the Kiskatinaw Curved Bridge. This bridge is truly amazing. Made entirely of wood it spans a river valley for 1/4 mile. The bridge slowly curves to the right. Timbers at the base are 1' square and 30-40' tall. The amazing thing about this bridge is that it was built in only 9 months. A bridge like that today would take years to complete and probably wouldn't last 70 years like this one has. The bridge is still in use today; several cars and two RV's crossed over while we were there.

After our trip to the bridge, we went to a Pub in Dawson Creek for lunch. Fish and Chips was the order of the day for 3 out of 4 of us. Huge servings left us all completely full. We then returned to the campground to prepare for a travel briefing before our afternoon "field trip." I got a load of laundry done before the meeting and Jenna entertained Lucy. Poor Lucy spends lots of time in her house while we are gone. She wants to run and play so much.

Following the travel briefing, we loaded a school bus that took us about 30 miles out of Dawson Creek for a visit to the Sewell Valley Game Farm. It rained on us all the way there, and it had been raining there on and off all day, so it was very wet and muddy. We had been forewarned to wear old shoes and rain-gear, and to take umbrellas and mosquito repellant. However, upon our arrival, the clouds parted, the rain stopped, and they built a fire by a tent to drive the mosquitoes away. we walked through the mud and fought off mosquitoes until we reached the large tent. There we had a scrumptious dinner of Elk meatloaf, sweet & sour wild boar, and grilled buffalo along with salads, vegetables, bread and drinks. It was an all you could eat deal - and it was great food. The Elk meatloaf was my favorite; Jenna liked the wild boar.

After dinner we walked through the mud and high wet grass to see the wild boars, elk, muskox, doll sheep, mountain goats, and a pond full of lake trout. The Sewells buy elk, muskox sheep and goats from the Vancouver Zoo when they become overstocked. They breed the animals and harvest them for use on their farm. They can only sell them for consumption on their farm; hence the business of having people come to them for catered dinners. They also have a herd of buffalo - about 150- but it was too wet to take the hayride they had planned to go see them.

A busride back to Dawson Creek delivered us to our temporary homes to make preparations for another day. It is pouring down rain as I write this, but the forecast calls for sunny skies by morning. By the way, the sun rises about 4:30 A.M. and it doesn't normally get dark until about 10:30 P.M.

We plan to depart in the morning about 7:45 for a 282 mile drive to Ft. Nelson.
Till then - Happy trails!!