Fort Nelson Hotel

August 15, 2009 (Friday) &#8211; Liard River Hot Springs, BC (165 miles)<br><br>Our drive from Watson Lake to Laird Hot Springs was very pleasant. There were a few small bumps in the road but hardly worth mentioning and the scenic rivers meandering alongside the highway made up for any jolts. The area was heavily forested and we soon got a whiff of smoke. Shortly afterwards, we saw signs saying, "Active Fire Area &#8230; No Stopping". Well, that just ...

... underneath the Surrey, BC sign, and I got my picture taken with a Burlington sign - as I couldn't find Dundas and Burlington is only a few minutes away. Also took some other pictures, check them out as I took a couple for other people's entertainment.<br><br>We saw a TON of wildlife today. Two Caribou, Stone Sheep and Bison. That's a lot I think! Took pictures, check them out. The Bison was walking on the shoulder of the highway, on our ...

... and gas wells are on the grounds. <br><br>The main building for the museum houses smaller collections such as mineral samples, antique hand tools, and taxidermy, including a stuffed albino moose. <br><br>There are several monuments and memorials to the men and women who built the Alcan Highway and details the hardships they faced.<br><br><br>After touring the museum, the four of us drove to town to find the visitor&#8217;s ...

... we passed through. A few hotels, gas stations, fast food/restaurant place or two..and that's about it.<br><br>One thing we noticed a lot of on our way up north is that tons of these hotels have either an indoor waterpark or a waterslide. I guess that's the big excitement up here. <br><br>Kind of odd....but whatever makes you happy in the middle of nowhere.<br><br>Updating this a day late, so be sure to check out all our pics for Tuesday....we got some good ones!!

... road construction goes on every day. Last night, there was still noise from nearby construction when I tried to go to sleep at 9:30. This morning, I woke up to construction "alarm clock" at 4:45 am. And it's Sunday! I guess the crews work from first light until last light.<br><br>The WiFi signal is only moderate here, so let's see if pictures load or not. They didn't...but I loaded some later. Much later :)

... br><br>Saw 2 small deer feeding by the edge of the road in front of where we stopped for lunch. Too cold and windy to stop for hikes--got all the way up to 33. <br><br>The Bluebell campground was not the greatest; gravel parking lot and a little muddy.

... had. Eventually I made my way onto the Alaska Highway and just west of Dawson Creek there is the Kiskatinaw Bridge that was built in 1942. It is interesting because it is 534 feet long and curved. A few Kilometers later is the steep descent into Taylor British Columbia. You can see by the photos that the grades are as high as 10% in some places. See the large strong man who is representing the Clarke Sawmill. An interesting stop is at Pink Mountain where there is ...

... of little stops on the way to Fort Nelson, including the pull out for Suicide Hill. Suicide Hill is where the phrase "Prepare to meet thy maker" originated as it was a very step hill. The original highway ran over this, now days it bypasses this hill. We did off and on see the original Alaska highway running parallel to the current highway, that is when you aren't driving on it. The weather has been very weird today, not sure whether it ...

... for the ceremony, but since the weather had made that impossible, they would be married here at the picnic shelter, and they needed Archie for a witness in place of the pilot. Before we knew what was happening, we had been swept into the wedding party and were taking photographs for them. The reading from first Corinthians was briefly interrupted while the bride swatted a mosquito, and everyone laughed. It was a joyous occasion, and we were happy to be part of it. The ...

... light before falling asleep. The next town was Fort Nelson. Here I stopped for my first sleep in a bed in two weeks and the first private bath room too. Small pleasures. A man at the hotel told me to visit a sled dog kennel jut out side of town before I left. Buddy Streeper is a musher who has a kennel outside Fort Nelson. He was not there when I stopped, but his handler Lina was around. Lina is from Sweden and according to her; she has ...