Day 11 - Dawson Creek, BC to Fort Nelson, BC

Today was our first day riding the Alaska Highway, which in British Columbia is Hwy 97. After a hearty complimentary breakfast at the George Dawson Inn, the day started out damp – for the first 130 kms of the trip – and combined with the construction activity along the highway made for some very messy bikes!

It also meant that many of the sightseeing stops that had been planned for the day were bypassed, e.g the Kiskatinaw Wooden Bridge and the Peace River Lookout in Ft St John. We also tried to get in to see the Taylor Visitor Centre, but it was closed. So, instead we made a stop for some warmth, coffee and a maintenance break at the Tim’s in Ft St John. The plan was also to fuel up in Wonowon, but the Esso stop there was just a quagmire of mud, so we moved on up the road to Pink Mountain where we were able to fuel up amongst all the RVs.

Once we left Pink Mountain, the traffic seemed to lessen and the construction mess was gone and along with it, the liquid sunshine also went away, making for a much more enjoyable ride to our destination, the Motel 6 in Fort Nelson, BC at Mile 283 (Kilometre 454) of the Alaska Highway. After checking in, we gave the bikes a quick cleaning to wash away the grime and dirt and, since we got in ahead of schedule, we also managed to get in a load of laundry to set us up for the next week. Dinner was across the road at Dan’s Neighborhood Pub.

Wildlife sightings today: 1 moose (very dead), 1 black bear (very

alive), a couple of whitetail deer, a couple of hawks, and many, many crows.

For the day, we logged 474 kms, bringing the total for the trip to 5,730 kms.