FORT ST JOHN TO TOAD RIVER, BC – 8/8/14

We knocked out 350 miles today on the Alaska Highway today. The first 150 miles or so was a well developed and paved highway. Surprisingly it was very heavily traveled by truck- most of which were connected to the significant gas fields that are developing here in Alberta and British Columbia.

As we moved north and west the countryside was a sea of pines that were heavily infested with pine beetles. After leaving Ft St John we drove and drove and drove rarely seeing a car. The hard rule for the ALCAN is to drive on the top half of your tank with the gas needle never dropping below 1/2. We didn't do that on the first leg and we were a bit concerned, but in the end we made it to Ft Nelson, BC with 1/4 of a tank. We won't do that again. Never saw a sole or a structure for about 125 + miles. We did see cars passing us in the other direction every 5 minutes or so, but none in front or behind as far as we could see.

The Trapper’s Den was recommended by Milepost as a must see place to visit.  I was got some rabbit furs from my Dad recently and wanted to see how they could be fashioned into mittens, hats, and other accessories that I could make for my kids that leave in the frozen tundra of Alaska and Clarkesville, Tenn.  That was a very interesting place.  Some of the pelts were so soft and beautifully fashioned.  Most were lined with lambs wool for added warmth.  I got a pattern for mittens that I plan on using.

As we drove along, the Northern Rockies started appearing on our horizon.  These mountains got bigger as we got closer to them.

We gassed up and grabbed a burger at Ft Nelson BC, then hit the road again around noon with about 150 more miles till we hit our stopping point at a way station called Toad River. It had rained all morning and the temps never made it out of the 40s. The weather started to break after noon as we traveled more north and west through BC. But road conditions deteriorated significantly. The roads were very worn and rough with a good many frost heaves. The terrain became much more mountainous as we moved into the northern Rockies. Hairpin and harsh curves became prevalent. On top of that the warnings about big hairy wildlife were popping up regularly. The road became more like a 2 lane country road and lane markings disappeared. The road pavement was what is called "surface treatment "which I had not seen used in many years- sprayed tar covered with soil and some aggregate. It makes for good rural roads but for heavy travel it seemed pretty minimal. But considering the distance that must be maintained it may be the right application for the job.

Then the around another curve it all came to an end. Road crews had totally torn up and removed about 20 miles of road and were rebuilding it anew. They had traffic shut down to single lane guided by pilot cars at 20 minute intervals. The road was only graded dirt for that 20 mile plus segment, and it was dusty and rough. I’m glad we were in the truck camper and not trying to pull our 5^th wheel travel trailer through this terrain.

To make it more exciting another moose decided to take a stab at trying to cross in front of us. He or she backed off and went into the woods after Shiloh our hound dog vented.

We drove through some pretty country.  Some of the roads around the mountains were a bit nerve racking with the sharp turns, no shoulder, and loose gravel.

We arrived at Toad River RV Park by mid-afternoon.  This place was the prettiest campground we have stayed.  Shiloh loved looking out over the lake with ducks and beaver.

The café ceiling is covered with hats donated by people who have visited over the years.

There was a little squirrel that kept teasing the dogs by squeaking and coming close to them, then running up the tree.

At the end of our day, we were treated with a rainbow settling in over the mountains across from the lake where we were camping.  This made the stay here very special.

We are going to shoot for a place in the Yukon tomorrow about 100 miles east of Whitehorse. We hope to visit Laird Hot Springs along the way for a bit and to swim there.