Day 20 Hinton,AB to Dawson Creek, BC

       After an exhausting day off yesterday, we left the KOA this morning. First stop for fuel and tire pressure adjustment. It was during this stop that we discovered that the step had stopped working again. We got it retracted and I removed the fuse. We will do without it. Heidi caught on by the end of the day, but Gail's legs are short and she can't jump as good as Heidi. Oh well, I have to push a little.     

    

                                         

(click photo to enlarge)

                                        

                                                           Now we are off to Highway 40.

I guess it is senic, but we just left Jasper National Park!

Hell, our bus is doing good to make 90mph!

The first (and only) town along this 200+ mi. road is Grande Cache. This little town was created in 1966 as a base for a coal mining operation. Today the population is less than 3,800. Average  family income, $80,000. Average home $224,000.

                             These didn't look like they were worth that much. Lon had to "invesigate".
Actually there were several of these, Ranger Outposts that had been moved here from mountain tops where they were used to watch for forest fires.

Just north of town the bridge had "FAILED" and they had built a temparary. Huh, 44,000 lb. bus and Jeep?

Then came the Wildlife "Sanctuary" where you can't hunt closer than 300m from the road. So, I thought all the wildlife will be close to the road for saftey. We saw one scraggly deer in the next 100 mi. Lon said the Chamber of Commerce put up the carrabu sign, not the highway dept.

We arrived in Grande Prairie, AB bout lunch time. Lon took Pam on a tour of the city, then we met them at the WalMart/McDonalds for lunch. No pics there. Every WalMart looks the same. Then on to Dawson Creek. Just out of town we passed a herd o Elk.

We came across at town named Beaverlodge and the world's largest Beaver. I had a thought on that, but I won't go there.

We finally found Dawson Creek, BC.

The start of the Alaska highway. In 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. This significant event forced the American and Canadian governments to re-evaluate their security. There was an obvious need to shore up and protect the sovereignty of North America. In response, a secure land transportation link was needed to transfer goods, materials, and men from the continental states to Alaska. As one part of the wartime measures, 1,500 miles of road needed to be punched through the vast untamed wilderness of northern Canada and Alaska. Building in these northern areas would not be an easy feat; men and women would battle the mountains, muskegs, and mosquitoes for eight months to finish this vital artery.
On March 9, 1942, Dawson Creek, a small northern Canadian community with a population of 600 people, bustled and swelled with activity when the first train carrying American troops arrived. In a matter of weeks the town's population exploded to 10,000. Seven regiments of American engineers (approximately 11,000 men including three regiments of men with African American heritage) 16,000 civilians from Canada and the United States, and 7,000 pieces of equipment were thrown into action against some of the toughest and most unforgiving wilderness areas in the world. On November 20, 1942, after little over nine months of intense construction, 250 soldiers, civilians, policemen, and government delegations from Canada and the United States, met at mile 1061, known as 'Soldiers Summit', where they cut the ribbon officially opening the 'Alcan' Highway. The total cost for construction of the 1,523 mile route, which also includes 133 major bridges and more than 8,000 culverts which, if placed end to end, would stretch over 57 miles, was about $140 million USD.

                                            Tomorrow is the begining of the adventure.

                                                           Off to Fort Nelson. Maybe.