Tom and I arrived in Dawson Creek, British Columbia this morning after spending the night at Walmart in Grand Prairie, Alberta. Not by choice, but because the area is a camping mecca and the local campgrounds were booked solid. The 2300 mile trip up from Michigan has been grueling, but the payoff will be very rewarding and is the culmination for me of a life long dream of traveling up the AL-CAN highway to Alaska. Words cannot describe the feeling one haves arriving at the starting point of this legendary stretch of highway that was constructed during war time and is a testament to those who built it.
Parking and camping at Walmart was a last resort, as we’d traveled many miles, we were exhausted and our options were few. We’d traveled through rain, traffic, road construction and changing road conditions. And to our advantage many of these people had already been up to Alaska and we were able to learn from their experiences. Many people reported cracked windshields from rocks thrown up by oncoming truck traffic along the highway. Also reported were punctured tires and close encounters with animals crossing over the roadway. We found this out too as three deer ran across the highway just before we arrived in Dawson Creek this morning. This isn’t an easy drive and is challenging if you come unprepared.
One additional note and something that Tom and I enjoyed was the stretch of Highway from Winnipeg to just beyond Edmonton – The Yellow Head Highway. The highway is lined for hundreds of miles with rolling fields of yellow and I’d imagined that the name was because of these lush fields but this is not the case. The yellow fields are actually home to the canola plants and the purple flowered plants that can be seen are flax seed plants. Let me just say that this years crop is bountiful and is something that I will always remember for the beauty we enjoyed throughout the provinces of Canada.
We will meet Greg and his friend on Sunday morning around 11 AM (1 PM EST) and this begins the Great Alaskan adventure. This is the culmination of something we discussed nearly two-years ago on the Little Guy forum and is a trip that many people dream about. This isn’t for the feint of heart because it is a long journey and requires traveling over roads that lead through both the US and Canada and requires complete attention while driving these long stretches under ever changing road and weather conditions. I think we are ready and the excitement is just beginning. It is late night here in Dawson Creek and time for me to hit the hay as it is nearly 1:30 am (4:30 EST) and a new day beckons! We will report back soon and as Internet access permits!