Hello, Dawson Creek

Blogging away....

We left Grande Prairie this morning and not a moment too soon for me. It was not the town I pictured. It is a big oil town, sprawling and appears to lack the benefit of a city planner. The oil comes to the states, thanks to a pipeline, the locals told us. Every farmer around here also has a rig on his/her farm and sells the oil to supplement the old income. Funny, they grow canola in their fields for canola oil and pump oil in the fields for fuel. Sounds like a greasy way to make a living. lol

Lumber is also huge here. Weyerhaeuser Lumber has huge plants. The pressboard they use to build houses today are stacked higher than a five-story building. Train tracks and highways intersect; creating a maze that is hard to navigate.

We struggled with technology last night and that is the general source of my frustration. From not being able to get a satellite signal (heavens!) to not being able to access the internet in the evening, it was time to leave. Even the local Walmart was a disappointment. It was the absolute dirtiest and poorly stocked Walmart we have ever visited. Sam Walton would slap the store manager if he was alive. Maybe that is what killed him.

Any single girls out there might consider moving to Grande Prairie in search of love. There are a disproportionate number of men working in the lumber and oil industry. The only downside is that you will have to shop at this Walmart. lol

Maybe Dawson Creek will offer better amenities.

We travel the 75 miles to Dawson Creek, traveling through a lovely town, population 200, called, Hythe. It had a small but nice grocery store, a gas station and a small museum. Dennis took a few shots of the outdoor museum items (farm tractor, barn, buggy) while I perused the grocery store for some bread.

We move on and before we know it, we are entering British Columbia. Crossing the provincial border also made a time zone change. We are now in the Pacific time zone, three hours later than Michigan. Dawson Creek promises to be much better. Their tourist information bureau offers free internet and it even works when you sit in your motor home in the parking lot! Lo and behold, there is a Curves location. I can exercise while here! The town is quaint, clean and friendly. Am I perseverating on the clean concept? Hmmm.

We stopped in a glass shop that advertised they fix windshield chips. Some rock “got us” a few hundred miles ago. Inside of twenty minutes, we were repaired. When we tried to pay, they wouldn’t even take a looney (Canadian dollar). I had struck up a conversation with the owner’s wife. She is the principal at the local elementary school and we swapped stories. Nice folks. She explained that Dawson Creek is on Pacific time in the summer and Mountain time in the winter. Just glad I don’t have to teach kids how to tell time here.



We capture some cool pictures. One you may have seen before. It is a large arch welcoming all to the Alaskan Highway. It seems like no one can drive by without stopping. In the ten minutes we stood there taking pictures, we must have obliged a half dozen families and couples in taking their picture. Anyone looking for a new profession, one that lasts from June 1st to September 1st? You could be the official photographer, capturing all the smiling faces as they embark on the trip of a lifetime. Another is a sign depicting distances, from the zero mile marker.

We will rest tonight and head out for Fort Nelson, British Columbia tomorrow, 270 winding miles from here. Fort Nelson is only about 100 miles from the Northwest Territories. We won’t be going to that province, but it is interesting nonetheless.

Images of Maligne Canyon...

Here are a couple images of Maligne Canyon. I wrote about it in yesterday's blog. So incredibly powerful. Great example of erosion. It is located outside of Jasper.