From Jasper to Dawson Creek

Jasper to Prince George, BC

We left Jasper headed West on Canada 16.  As you go west, you gradually leave the mountains along a wide valley full of ranchland and farm fields.  The mountains are organized along southeast to northwest lines, so you cross an occasional ridge.  So you gradually come down out of the high country, but every time you say to yourself "We are getting out of the mountains", you round a corner and there is another snow capped peak.  Finally you leave Alberta and enter British Columbia.  In a few miles, there is an information center and Mt. Robeson, WOW.  Continuing down the highway, you come to ranch land and farm land that is very green and pretty.  Never mind that winter produces eight feet of snow and -40 F weather.  Right now its great. 

As we drove along, looking for the mythical Moose (that Glenn promises me has eaten a few International bumpers), we saw a brown bear.  He went by too fast to get a picture.  He was just sitting alongside the road in a very relaxed posture taking the sun.  "You know, Martha, I am going down to the highway and count tourists."  Either that or he was a Mountie in a ghillie suit. 

In Prince George we stayed at the Hartway RV park.  One great thing about Canada is that they have A&W Root Beer stands.  As my brother, George, will remember, they are special places.  If we were really good little boys for a long time, Mom would take us to A&W and get us a root beer float, a big one!  Well, George there was a stand at the turn off to the RV park and I had a root beer float for old times sake.  They are still delicious.

I really enjoy the Canadians.  They are easy to meet and fun to talk to.  I helped the gentleman next to us move a picnic table around where he needed it.  We chatted several times that evening and the next day.  He told me that he lived along the Alaska Highway, and where to stop to get really good sourdough bread and sticky buns. The whole time he had a look on his face like an eight year old boy looking into the display counter in the bakery.  He promised me that you had to get to the Yukon to get good sourdough, they didn't know how to make it here.  He also told me to go to Chicken, Alaska to pan for gold. He said he always kept a pan handy.  Well, who could ignore a place named Chicken.  He said there actually are two Chickens.  The old one is quaint, and the newer one, ordinary.  We'll see.  Cid, the owner of the RV park sent us down the road to eat at the Alpine Inn, recommending the Friday special of fish and chips.  Delicious.  Folks at the table next to us asked where we were from and explained that they had moved to BC a little while ago from Nova Scotia.  They made us promise to go to Nova Scotia on another epic adventure and extolled the variety of climates and environments there.  Their opinion was the BC was nothing but trees.  They had a point.

Chetwynd, BC 

About 45 miles west of Dawson Creek we came to the town of Chetwynd, BC.  Winters there must be really long, because the town is lined with chainsaw carvings done from logs.  But they are really really well done.  Here are some pictures.  These should inspire Glenn..Mindi, don't let him near the tree in your front yard!  They also have an A&W Root Beer stand, another root beer float....eat your heart out, George!

From there its on to Dawson Creek and the Alaska Highway.