Dawson Creek to Ft. Nelson – June 11

  Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Canada
Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Kiskatinaw River Bridge

Kiskatinaw River Bridge

As we headed north from Dawson Creek we veered off the path to a section of the “Original Alaska Highway” to see the historic Kiskatinaw River Bridge. This is the world’s largest curved wooden bridge. Every inch is out of wood including the roadway portion. This 531 foot long structure is the only original timber bridge built along the Alaska Highway that is still being used today. It truly is an architectural piece of art.

Farm Lands

Peace River Bridge

The next portion of our drive today wound through lush farm lands of the Peace River District. As we descended to the Peace River there were good views of the Peace River Valley and the industrial community of Taylor. Bridging the peace was one of the first goals of the Alaska Highway Engineers in 1942. After several pile trestles bridges were washed out, the 2,130 foot suspension bridge was built. This is one of only two suspension bridges on the Alaska Highway. Fort St. John located in the rolling hills of the Peace River Valley is the oil capital of British Columbia; however to us it was just another small town.

Pink Mountain

Sikanni River Area

Prophet/Muskwa area

We traversed through oil country (there were numerous natural gas exploration wells and climbed Pink Mountain before beginning our descent to the Sikanni River. The red bark willows give the mountain a pink color in the morning sun. Feldspar also contributes to the pink color. Some sections of this road were quite steep. After our climb out of the Valley we traveled through the Prophet/Muskwa area, which is known for its hunting and fishing throughout the world.

Boreal Forest (drunken forest) Black firs

Birch trees

We saw several “drunken forest” consisting of black spruce growing in unstable soil.
The rest of the forest consisted of white spruce, aspen stands and white birch.



Finally we made our descent to Fort Nelson, the lowest point on the Alaska Highway which is located in the lee of the Rockies, surrounded by three rivers. Ft. Nelson is a thriving small town with an economy historically based on forestry, oil and gas. The oil and gas industry seemed to be the dominate business. It is home to North America’s largest gas processing plant. Fort Nelson was established as a Hudson Bay Trading Post in 1805.