We have been a bit "off the grid" for a few days. We left the Vancouver area last Thursday, and spent the first night in Lac La Hache along the Fraser River Canyon, which is beautiful. A very big river.
The next two nights were at Barkerville, BC, which is essentially in the middle of nowhere. This amazing gold mining town of the 1860's through the early 20th century, located in the Cariboo Region of BC, has been restored and reconstructed with excellent living history exhibits. We camped in the nice campground there, dry camping, no hookups. The only problem was how cold it was. At 4000 feet in elevation, there was still snow on the shaded north slopes, and it just wouldn't stop raining. We were happy to leave there and move to lower ground. The "town" is well worth a visit, however.
From Barkerville we drove to Chetwynd, a lovely little town on the eastern slope of the northern Rockies. The rivers are just roaring everywhere. This area all drains into Hudson Bay, big rivers and lots of them! It was much nicer in Chetwynd at 1900 feet instead of 4000 feet!
Today we drove from Chetwynd to Ft Nelson, BC, and got on the Alaska Highway at Ft St John. We are using Milepost to read about everything we see along the way. It really is indispensable for travel to Alaska. Just before we got to Ft St John, we drove along the beautiful Peace River Canyon. This river now has a dam which I remember was quite controversial when it was built. Downstream the canyon looks much as it must have looked before the dam.
We are camped in Ft Nelson tonight. Our drive along the Alaska Highway today was notable for one main reason: energy exploration and development is just roaring up here! We have seen truck after truck hauling heavy equipment of every imaginable type. Where previously we saw small travelers lodges or campgrounds, used primarily by RVers like us, now these places have been augmented by work camps, housing hundreds of workers in manufactured housing, or workers in their own RVs in the campgrounds. Our campground tonight in Ft Nelson is about 1/2 workers. This is REALLY different from what we have seen during our two previous trips up here. There is much more traffic on the highway than before. The good news is that the highway, so far(!), is in good condition. The amount of truck traffic requires a decent road. Maybe the various energy companies are paying their fair share of road maintenance.
It is now 10:30 pm and the sun has just set. It will not get totally dark tonight. Time to go to bed, however. Photos will not happen tonight.
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