Stonebridge Hotel Fort St. John Fort St. John

... one of the windiest ice storms we've ever experienced. Here, overlooking the Peace River, enjoying their warm and welcoming home, we finally meet this man with whom we've corresponded sporadically over the last 30 years. The connection is immediate, the similarities and humor and attitudes all click and it feels as if we've known each other forever. We are included in their weekend ...

... in a township campground that ignored the across BC fire ban -- Alberta steak cooked on a BC grill was scrumptious. Moved on the following morning after a sleep-in caused by rain -- everything was wet or damp by the time we were packed.

Moseyed on towards Fort St John where we used the internet and headed promptly to our last campground in BC that had a neat ...

... bull. We saw elk and buffalo, but they were being raised on ranches. They were still very beautiful. We drove through moose country, but didn't see anything. Maybe tomorrow. It got up to 81 today. We checked the weather in Midlothian and it was cooler there than here because we were having some rain showers. Karyn has been picking our okra, tomatoes and peppers ...

No moose, but a herd of elk visited us from across the river last night.
We decided to take the long, but potentially more interesting route to Ft St John through Prince George and Hudson Hope. It was scenic in places and the roads were good. We visited Chetwynd to see wood sculptures carved using chain saws. Stopped at WAC Bennett Dam. Its one of the largest earthen dams in the world. We had a black bear run in the road in front of us and saw big horn sheep, elk and deer, but no moose.

... The terrain has a more alpine meadow look now.

Big event of the day was entering the Alcan Highway. Added picture of the Mile 0 marker.

We are staying the nite beside a lake three miles past Fort St. John and just off the highway.

... It has a population almost the same as Decatur's, and even has a Wal-Mart.

The sky is overcast, with occasional light rain. Rain is not forecast overnight, which is good.

OK, now I'll try to upload pictures. the WiFi signal strength is low. No pictures this time. Sigh.

Til later!

Well, now it's later. I'm in a campground in the little town of Charlie Lake.. Let's try the pictures again.

Sue ..

... We finally passed him and he crossed behind us, charging into the woods - what a sight! We stayed a night in Tok, Alaska, then Whitehorse, the capitol of the Yukon Territory, located on the banks of the rushing Yukon river just before it arcs north into the Arctic toward the Bearing Sea. Andrew left us for a rail trip over White Pass to Sagway and we continued southeast and across ...

... the parking lot. Anyway, the first real up-north wildlife we have seen - except for the countless moose warning signs. Dawson Creek and the Peace River Valley area looks like the mid-west in many respects. Rolling farm land. Dawson Creek is a agricultural center with a tourist attraction called the ALCAN. Residents seem unimpressed with the 'majesty' of Mile 0 of ...

... do on the weekend. One of his suggestions was the WAC Bennet Dam. It was a really nice drive out there with some great views. The Dam itself is an enormous earth dam, the biggest in North America, and we were able to take a tour into the generating station which is underground. We weren't allowed to take pictures unfortunately, but the turbines were being repaired so we could see them and they were absolutely behemoth ...

... the shower. Those who know me can guess where this leads - we ended up spending the day at the bar and left around midnight after racking up an $80 bar tab! It was well worth it - one of the best days of the trip, sharing drinks and fun with the three guys who were working that day, as well as a couple of fellow travelers who came and went during the day. You can check this place out on the web, too - http://homeranchbottoms.com The next day we left for Canada ...