From the Yukon to the US: Bound for the Border

We haven’t posted much in the last few days, but that’s because we’ve been covering a lot of ground.  From Skagway, the route we took skirted the Yukon-British Columbia border, then meandered through rural B.C. for about a thousand miles.  Most towns are small (less than 1,000 people).  As you can imagine, there aren’t a whole lot of touristy things to do, but we tried.

We are back in Bison Territory.  We saw a big herd just lounging beside the ALCAN Highway between Watson Lake and Liard Hot Springs.  That guy moseyed right in front of our (slowly) moving van without batting an eye.

The Liard Hot Springs was definitely worth a stop.  We didn’t stay overnight, but we did soak in the hot pool for a while.  One end of the pool was a simmering 126 degrees.  It was so hot that when people got out of that end you could tell how deep the water was by the red marks all the way up their torso…like being slowly poached alive.

The towns of Fort Nelson and Dawson Creek (not that Dawson’s Creek…“I don’t wanna wait!  For our lives to be over…”) passed by in a blur.  We did happen to drive through Chetwynd, BC which bills itself as the “Chainsaw Sculpture Capitol of the World”, and holds an international competition every summer.  You can see the results all along the highway as it runs through the small town.

We passed through Prince George again last night, and it was about as exciting the second time as it was the first.  But at least we had another great meal at the BX Pub.  Today’s leg took us through the industrial town of Quesnel.  Forestry is definitely big business in this part of BC – lots of logging trucks on the road, pulp mills, and an MDF factory, which caused the worst smog I’ve ever seen.  The pungent odor was tough to bear – we had to close the vents and try not to breathe until we got out of town.  Bleh.

Tonight is our last night in Canada.  We are in Cache Creek, about 170 miles from the US-Canada border.  We only have a few weeks left on the Great Alaskan Road Trip, but we are hoping to pack in as much as possible before we head for home.  Next up: Washington state…San Juan Islands, music venues, and National Parks galore!