The Woodlands Inn offered a hot breakfast which prepared us for a long drive with sunny skies along the prairie.
We headed to Dawson Creek. Locals said there would be fires along the way, but ALCAN was open. There was smoke in the air, yet locals said this was a good day for air quality. The residents of Ft Nelson were evacuated for 3 weeks in May.
There were some steep hills, even 10% grade, but also nice flat stretches. Lots of semis, campers and local transport shared the road with us which got a bit tricky during the road construction sections.
On the way, we drove through an unincorporated town called “Farmington.”
Our crew arrived safely in Dawson Creek. This is where the ALCAN begins at mile “0”. (Yesterday, I met a woman at the hot springs who said her father had been the last telegraph operator here.) Good news, I only spotted one fire in the distance. The last two days of rain may have helped put them out.
The remainder of the drive was full of painted yellow canola fields. Simply Stunning!
We also entered the province of Alberta, Canada and decided to stay in Grande Prairie. We saw one deer with a long tail and drove 584 miles today. We also changed time zones.
KNECHTTREK 