Prince George, Chetwynd & McBride (B.C.)

Last weekend, I had hoped to go to Spock Days, in Vulcan Alberta. But, I didn’t get to go… maybe next year. This year, the guest stars were Robert Picardo, Ethan Phillips, and Rick Sternbach.

I did happen across Vulcan Beer, though, which honors Vulcan’s Centennial Year. The Star Trek website says: ”How often, after a tough day, have you muttered the words, “Man, I wish I could have some Vulcan Ale right about now”?” … I haven’t actually said that…but I am curious to try it.. I found it for sale at Zyn, in Inglewood.

So, back to our Yukon-Calgary roadtrip.

After leaving Dawson Creek, and no longer on the Alaska Highway, we came across Chetwynd.

Chetwynd is an interesting town, that, it seems, is famous for it’s chainsaw art.

 

The first of the chainsaw art was a scene with 3 bears, made in 1992, as part of the “Welcome to Chetwynd” sign. Since then, the collection has grown, and the whole town has chainsaw sculptures on display. (I didn’t know that we were supposed to be on the look-out for art, so I only caught the edge of the “Welcome” sign as we zoomed by.)

 

The Chetwynd Chainsaw Championship was just this past weekend! What good timing was that? They estimated that there would be 120 sculptures at the completion of the competition.

 

Next stop was Prince George. After being there, the song that comes to mind is “She ain’t pretty, she just looks that way.”

I think even people who live there and love it, have to admit that, despite the pretty scenery, it STINKS!!!

 

It was so terrible, that as we were driving down the main street coming into town, and I was taking pictures of the town, etc., I heard Shannan say (all muffled): “I hope I don’t offend the locals.” She had her face completely buried in her shirt as she drove us through town. (Another moment that caused me to laugh till I could hardly breathe.)

 

We had decided (in advance) to stop there for the night, and the boys (still driving behind us) wanted to go to a cheap(er) hotel, but we decided we wanted something nicer, so, since we were in the lead car, we just passed right by the hotel they wanted, and went to the one that we chose. HOWEVER, the air was so terrible, when Shannan got out to go book rooms, she started gagging and had to get back in the car!! (SO, we lost that battle, and ended up at Peter and Rich’s choice.)

 

That all being said: by the time we woke up the next morning, we had grown accustomed to the rankness, and so, I suppose that’s how people stay there.

 

I’m not making this up – Prince George has large pulp mills and an oil refinery there, and they STINK!

I suppose it’s unfair to say something that sounds so negative… but it was really part of our “adventure” and that’s what I know about it! It shouldn’t stop you from going to visit… although, it might prevent us from going back…. ever…. maybe.

 

We didn’t stay in town for breakfast, but headed off to see what was out on the open highway (the TransCanada Highway).

 

Somewhere between Prince George and a little town called McBride, is the Ancient Forest.

The Ancient Forest is estimated to be between 1000-2000 years old, and further up the trail (which we didn’t follow) are trees that are up to 16 meters (52 feet) in circumference. One tree (called “Big Tree”… really? that’s the best they could come up with??) is 5 meters (16 feet) in diameter and was probably a sapling during the peak of the Roman Empire!! Hmmmmm… this isn’t really that far from Calgary… I might actually go back there someday.

 

Not only that, it’s not that far from McBride, and a good friend of ours (Susanna) is from McBride, so maybe we can just follow her there at some point. (Susanna – if you are reading this… just so you know… that could be a plan.)

 

It’s a very small town (2006 Census is 660 only), which makes sense when Susanna told me that most of the amazing things to do there are all outdoors-y. Going to the Fraser River, Rainbow Falls, Tier Mountain, etc.

 

There were chainsaw sculptures on display there, as well – not sure if they are artist from McBride, or just a nice place to set up their art, right there, on the TransCanada Highway.

Next stop: Jasper, Alberta.

Fort Nelson, B.C. and Dixie Lee

Oh Goodness. I hope I can tell this right!

Somewhere between Muncho Lake and Fort Nelson, far ahead, I saw a sign for “Dixie Lee’s Fried Chicken.”  Now, I don’t know how many of you have ever been to Dixie Lee’s, but they have (or used to have) THE BEST EVER “Loaded Joes”.  Loaded Joes (for those of you who have never had the privilege of tasting them) are specially seasoned potato chunks (like pan fries), smothered in layers of sour cream, grated Cheddar, and chives.  I hadn’t had them in YEARS!! (Dixie Lee’s seems to have been primarily a British Columbia restaurant, and even in B.C., they are far & few between now.)

ANYway, despite the fact that we had just had breakfast, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity for Loaded Joes, so we pulled in to the little drive-in diner.

Excited, I went up to the counter and ordered my Loaded Joes.  The girl at the counter didn’t know what I was talking about. Never heard of them.

JUST when I was prepared to be disappointed, I heard a voice from the back say, “Wait! We can make them! We can make them!”

My hero came out from the back and a big discussion ensued between the hero and the counter staff, about what Loaded Joes are and how to make them.  You could tell that the guy had heard of them before, like a myth or a legend.  He talked about them with a hint of awe. 

As Shannan and I stood there, he walked passed us and out the front door, got in his car and drove away!  The counter girl explained that he had gone to the nearest grocery store to buy the ingredients for the Loaded Joes (they needed sour cream.)

ANYway – the accommodating staff was the highlight of the trip, so far! I couldn’t believe they went through so much trouble to get my Loaded Joes! They were slightly different than they were when they were on the menu (in looks) but the flavors were the same – AND THEY WERE DELICIOUS!  (Also, HUGE – they gave me a family pack size of them, which worked out conveniently, since I had to share with Shannan.)

They are really, really messy, so I fed Shannan as we drove off down the highway.

Eventually, we’d had enough and they were cold, the fries were soggy and cheese was icky… Believe me when I tell you that I had no other choice but to put the remaining goo on the dashboard.  (Remember, we were travelling with 3 little dogs in the car.)

I don’t really know how much time passed, but all of the sudden, Shannan and I (who were in the lead car) saw a sign on the side of the road that said, “Sasquatch Crossing”!!! I was so unprepared, I didn’t have my camera ready and, without thinking it through, yelled, “STOP!”

Shannan, alert to my suggestions, SLAMMED on the brakes!

By the time the dust had settled, there were little wide-eyed dogs in the front seat, and cheese fries EVERYWHERE! There was even melted cheese IN the stereo speaker grill! and the boys in the car behind us were MAD!

We, of course, had collapsed into a fit of laughter, and managed to gasp out when interrogated, “We didn’t throw the fries away, because we wanted to share them with you”, to which the boys responded: “If we wanted fries, we would’ve asked for them.” (OK – they were really mad – pulling the trailer, they skidded here and there when they had to slam on their brakes, which made them unhappy.)

Back on the highway, and maybe 20 minutes later (us still in the lead car), I look over at Shannan, and she’s talking to herself – all twitchy and mumbling and sneering… I catch her sentence right when she says, all sassy, “‘If we wanted fries, we’d ask for them’…. oh really… I’ll give YOU fries.”

She opens the sunroof and THROWS the fries OUT the sunroof at their car behind us!

OH MY GOODNESS! In my whole entire life, I’ve never laughed that hard! Seriously! My whole life!!

(Incidentally, we completely missed the picture of the “Sasquatch Crossing” sign… )

Sunday, we're heading towards Dawson Creek, BC; the start of the Alaskan Highway, Mile 0. (Although... this weekend is "Spock Days" in Vulcan, Alberta, and I've never gone before... so Sunday might actually be about Spock Days...)

The Alaska Highway

 

“Get your motor running,
head out on the highway,
Looking for adventure
in whatever comes our way.”

(Steppenwolf, Born to Be Wild)

 

I don’t think they were singing about “the Alaska Highway”… but they should’ve been.

 

Our goal was Muncho Lake. To get there, we were taking the Alaska Highway and we were excited! The Alaska Highway runs from Dawson Creek, BC to Delta Junction, AK, and passes through Whitehorse, YT. (Whitehorse, our starting point, is about 2/3 of the way from Mile 0, at Dawson Creek.)

 

The Alaska Highway was completed in 1942, and was approximately 2700km (1700 miles) long, but is now 2232 kms (1387 miles) long, thanks to some rerouting and straightening of the highway, over the years. It’s original purpose was to connect Alaska to the “Lower 48″, but it didn’t make it through BC (although, some people consider it to be a portion of the Pan-American Highway, which goes all the way to Argentina.)

 

What shocked me the most is that this super famous highway has MILES of gravel. Google sites say that it’s paved over its entire length, and maybe that was true at some point, and maybe it’s in a state of pre-repair, but (at least when we were driving it) there are, in fact, miles of gravel road.

 

Our first stop, not including bathroom breaks, was the Continental Divide Lodge, in Swift River, Yukon. It’s on Historic Mile 721 on the Alaska Highway. (By the way, http://www.milepost.com/highway_info/alaska_highway gives an almost mile by mile outline of what you might see along the way, and where there are places to stop… this is important, way out there on the open highway – where you might actually see no civilization for days…)

 

We didn’t stay there (we were just stopping for a bathroom break, and for everyone to just get out of the car…and to reload our snack supplies.) However, the Lodge is open 7 days a week, 7am-8pm, May to September (weather and roads permitting.)

 

The Lodge offers a restaurant, a pub, a campground, free showers (if you are camping, which also have full-hookups) and $5 showers if you aren’t staying there, but really need a shower (again – long gaps between civilization), playgrounds, marshmallow roasts, dog walking, and laundry facilities.

 

It is actually AT the Continental Divide - the watersheds are the Yukon River (which eventually empties into the Pacific Ocean) and the Mackenzie River (which eventually empties into the Arctic Ocean.)

Sometime before we arrived at the Continental Divide Lodge (in the Yukon), we passed over the border into B.C… then back into Yukon…where we stayed until we reached Watson Lake, YT (Historic Mile Post 635).

 

Watson Lake is the “Gateway to the Yukon”, and has a population of around 1200. It is the home of the Northern Lights Space and Science Centre. Did you know that both Northern and Southern hemispheres both have the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)? Well, except…ummm….in the Southern hemisphere, they are called the Southern Lights (Aurora Australis)…

 

 

Watson Lake is also home to the just-as-spectacular (?) Sign Post Forest. Started in 1942, a homesick U.S. Army G.I. nailed up a sign, pointing the way home. In 1990, the 10,000th sign went up, and the last number I could find is 2002 at 49,777, and include signs from all over the world.

 

On Sunday, we’ll continue our journey from Watson Lake, on to Muncho Lake.