Day 14 - On to Dawson Creek, British Columbia

Travel   From: Prince George, BC   To: Dawson Creek, BC   Distance: 258 mi (415 km)   Travel time w/brks: 6 hr 07   Distance since start: 4,261 mi (6,852 km)

Tuesday 7/4/2006 (Independence Day)

We were really slow in getting on the road this morning. We did not hit the road until 10:30am, despite gaining one hour in time! The heat did not help. We were not able to use the A/C over night since the voltage was too low for us. One of the things we noticed heading out of Prince George was large clusters of pine trees that had turned completely brown, as if they had been attacked my some insects or a disease. As with the road from Jasper to Prince George, the road is not too interesting. Population is thinning out and villages are further and further apart. When we started to feel hungry we made an attempt to stop at a Provincial Park named Whiskers Point. It looked like it had a nice lake next to it. It was a bit tricky to park the big trailer at their picnic area. The moment I opened the door to check that I was not about to hit a garbage can, I was attacked by a swarm of what looked like small house flies. I jumped back into the truck and slammed the door shut. We looked at each other for a brief moment and then decided to move on. We continued on for a while and then discovered a small park called Bijoux Falls, where we stopped. This park had a problem with small house flies as well but it did not appear to be as bad.

Karl skipping stones in Bijou Falls

Isabella looking nice without dark makeup

After we had eaten we continued on our way to Dawson Creek. After a while we ended up behind a white trailer, which is nothing unusual in itself. As we were climbing a hill, at 55mph (90 km/h) a soda can jumped out from its left side and started bouncing on the road. It was obviously a full can. Shortly thereafter a bag of what might have been a small tent came out as well. I flashed his lights but the driver had such short mirrors he did not see that. Shortly after that all sort of wood chips started to fly off the trailer. We suspected that something had come loose on the trailer and the constant bouncing was eating away at whatever that was. This continued for quite some time. The kids cheered each time chips and chunks rolled off the trailer. We could not see anything visibly wrong with the trailer from our vantage point. After a while the white trailer turned to the left while we continued.

White trailer disintegration?

The campground was not that large and all sites were gravel, including the loop roads. They gave us a site near the office so that WiFi could reach our unit. It was warm outside and I discovered that the voltage was too low to run A/C. So we took down our awnings, opened our windows and started out fans. Karl took out his cars and started to play on the ground. We checked some emails and Erik started working on our 4th of July dinner: hamburgers! We saw dark clouds rolling in but it did not rain where we were. As we were cooking on the BBQ, the gas regulator cap finally died. So, unless we can find a replacement, we're going to have to look for different means to BBQ food. In time for dinner it started to rain, however, so we ate inside.

Independence Day dinner

We met several interesting people at the campground, all on their way to Alaska. There was one family with home schooled kids from North Carolina, a group of six units travelling together from San Diego, a fellow from Calgary with his dog and a couple from Colorado. The couple from Colorado had brought "rocket balloons" with them. We had never heard of that before. It turns out that fireworks are banned in several areas of dry Colorado so they use balloons that sound like small rockets instead. They gave a few to Karl and Erik who played with them. You inflated them with a pump and then just let go.

Ready for lift-off

Go!

One of the things we noticed outside of the trailer was a faint smell of smoke. It turns out there were two large wildfires burning out of control in this area, one of which was referred to as the Tumbler Ridge fire. It was so bad that people had been asked to evacuate their homes. In fact, some of those staying were either evacuees or campers that had not been permitted to continue north on the Alaskan Highway. The campground lady came around and informed people. We crossed our fingers that the road would be open again when it was our turn to leave. There was a chance that the rain might slow it down.

Campground   Name: Northern Lights RV Park   Our hookups: Water, 30 Amp and Sewer   WiFi: Yes, some bars (free)   GSM service: No   TV Channels: Crappy cable/satellite   Cost: $28 CDN/night   Reservation mode: Phone call

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All Pictures (c) 2006 Hamnqvist, Background features the trees from Bijoux Falls.