We are at Mile O.....the beginning of the Alaskan Highway..ALCAN.... in Dawson Creek, British Columbia. And this is the 75th anniversary of the highway constructed in just over 8 months in 1942. 1,523 miles/2,450 km from Dawson Creek to Fairbanks; 11,000 US troops; 16,00 American and Canadian civilians; 7,000 pieces of equipment; 133 bridges constructed; 8,000+ culverts installed. Of course it was a road constructed for all-terrain vehicles and not paved as it is today. But it would get the supplies to Alaska overland. The highway didn't open to the public until 1948.
We watched a video of the construction of the highway while we were at the visitor's center. Hard to believe the conditions the men worked in. From sweltering heat, mosquitoes galore to temperatures reaching 60 degrees BELOW zero. Living in makeshift tents and working 7 days a week for long hours every day. The push was on to get the job done!
Our ride here was uneventful. The only animals we saw were on the flags adorning the light posts.
Yes, that's a McDonald's in the background. Dawson City has many fast food restaurants as well as quaint restaurants, choices for groceries and even a Walmart. I thought it would be a much less developed area. Boy was I surprised. No problems with services in this area!!
The visitor's museum also had an abundance of animals....stuffed of course.
I guess we are ready for some actual sightings in the wild now. Maybe it'll happen in a less developed area.
The other unusual sight we saw today as we were motoring up the road was a lady sitting on her riding lawn mower in 64 degree weather....in what appeared to be swim suit attire. Now granted, the sun was shining ....but....this sure isn't Florida beach weather!
But the daffodils and tulips are lovin' this weather.
It wasn't a long drive from Grand Prairie, Alberta to Dawson Creek, British Columbia. Under 90 miles and then with the time change we didn't want to depart too early and not be able to get into our site. Our plan was to visit the Grand Prairie Visitor Center Museum before we departed. Well....that was the plan....but the museum wasn't open until late morning even though the visitor center was ready for business. The gal offered us the opportunity to climb the stairs for the 'awesome' view. Did you know that Momma REALLY doesn't like open stairs where you can look all the way down as you are climbing?
I told her to just keep looking up and not down as the stairs wound up and around and around. She said it reminded her of climbing the light house stairs, only there weren't any narrow walls closing in on you.
The view was ....Hmmm....what's a good descriptive word to say it wasn't all that impressive? Just a view of the walking trail and the people who had entered an event that morning....getting their heart rate up as they traversed the winding trail. And a peek at a few of the RV's in our campground next door at Rotary Park.
So we hit the road and our excitement grew as we kept getting closer
And closer....
until we finally arrived
It gives you that feeling that you have finally arrived....as this is where the summer's adventures will really begin. All the miles behind us were just prep to get us to this point. Bring on the wildlife and the awesome terrain.....
Hickory
.....on the road again
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