Date: 4 June 2001 (Monday)

Start: Northern Lights RV Park, Dawson Creek BC

End: West End Campground, Ft Nelson BC (288 miles)

It was dry and 45f when we got up and ate. It warmed up in the afternoon, partly cloudy, just plain beautiful.

The road out of Dawson Creek was busy on this Monday morning. Fort St. John is only 60 miles north and there must be a lot of traffic between the two cities, since it was really busy until and through Ft St John. Then it returned to normal – a vehicle going the other way about every five minutes, one passing us about every 10-15 minutes.

The condition of the road isn’t bad. It’s a standard blacktop two lane road but with wide lanes and wide shoulders. I estimate the lanes are 12 feet wide instead of Virginia’s 10, and the paved shoulders extend about 4-5 feet beyond the lane edge stripe. The land on either side of the road is trimmed to a few inches high, I suppose to keep motorists from getting surprised by animals.

It was flat farm land to Ft St John, then it turned to trees, mainly evergreens and aspen, and began rolling some. You could believe you were in Wisconsin much of the time.

But the descent to the Peace River bridge came out of nowhere and really made one take notice. It was 6km of 7% downgrade with tight turns down the side of the gorge. The truck ahead of us was a flatbed carrying steel rods; he went down the whole slope at 15mph. We did, too. Then, going up the other side (not as steep), there was a single lane construction zone. As we waited, I checked the heat of the brakes by putting my hand to the trailer wheels on my side – they were really warm, almost too hot to touch.

Well, that’s a useful check. Now I know that I shouldn’t push those brakes very hard in slow speed situations. I should pull off somewhere and let them cool at about that distance (6km). On the other hand, I know I can do that much, so I don’t have to worry much about lesser distances.

There were other construction zones, all short, for pavement renewal.

The only animals we saw were moose, first one, then a pair.

We arrived at the campground and checked in. By the time we left to get groceries (we heard the store at Watson Lake, our next stop, burned) there were four more rigs in line for check-in and they kept coming for some time. It convinced us to call ahead and reserve a site in Watson Lake; it’s a long way there tomorrow and we don’t need the worry of being the last.

We stopped at the visitors center, where we learned there would be a free presentation on the area this evening. We got our groceries, came back and put them away.

Since we skipped lunch, we went out for a light dinner at Dan’s Neighbourhood Pub. D had maple-glazed salmon fillet, and I had chicken farafella. Both were very good. If we return this way, we’ll have to stop in again.

Then we went to the presentation. Denise was hilarious, a big, loud, brash, woman whom I wouldn’t cross for a lot of money. She came from Indiana, then LA, then Vancouver (married there), then kicked around BC. She knows everyone in town (4,000) and can tell all sorts of stories that aren’t really history, they’re folklore of the town.

She recommends taking the side trip to Ft Liard that I asked about, but said it would be better when drier, and don’t leave the truck alone if it breaks down because the "forest fairies" (drunken fools of native or white descent) might well do it harm. We’ll see on the return trip. It would be neat to go to the Northwest Territories.

Sunset tonight will be about now (10:20) and sunrise is real early.

Tomorrow’s a long trip to Watson Lake, about 330 miles. Time to go to bed.