RETIRED ON WHEELS: THE ALASKAN ADVENTURE Day 1 May 17,2009 Dawson Creek

We woke up in Dawson Creek, BC to a light covering of snow. Uck. Undaunted we headed out by going back to Mile 0 to start the day.

I couldn't find anyone to take a picture of the both of us and I wasn't going to set up the tripod in the wind and snow.

The first part of the day had us heading up the Alaskan Highway for about 17 miles until we swung over onto a section of the orignal hwy that is still used today. On this section of highway is the Kiskatinaw Bridge which is a 531 foot bridge built by a Toronto Engineering Firm in 1942. The bridge was completed at the same time as the origianl highway. The unique aspect of this bridge is that it is curved and is the largest standing bridge of its kind in use today.

After traversing the bridge both ways we headed back to Dawson Creek so that we could head out on the Hudson Hope Loop. It starts in Dawson Creek and you travel along hwy 97 south to Chetwynd, BC which claims to be the chainsaw capital of the world. Each year they hold a log carving contest where each contestant can only use different size chainsaws, a little sandpaper and varnish. They have 35 hours over 4 days to complete their entry. Needless to say these people have talent.

The next section of the trip had us heading north west on Hwy 29 towards Hudson Hope. This portion of the highway found us climbing back into the mountains and you can see by the pictures that it is still winter in this part of the country. It was spectacular viewing but way too cold for me.

Cameron Lake ( between Chetwynd and Hudson Hope, BC )

On the way we came across the Peace Canyon Dam which holds back the Peace River. We did not take the Dam tour. In fact the river followed Hwy 29 or vice versa for quite awhile. I did not realize the Peace River was as big (wide) as it is. Quite spectacular.

Peace River Canyon Dam

Peace River with an Island in it.

After reaching Hudson Hope we continued on Hwy 29 for about 50 miles until we met up with the Alaska Highway just north of Fort St. John. We continued north on Hwy 97 which is the Alaska Highway for about 200 miles to the town of Fort Nelson. We arrived here about 7 PM after driving most of the day through cloudy, overcast skys with some snow flurries.

The animal count for the day was 25 - 30 Deer, 9 Elk, 1 Caribou and 1 Moose.