Once on the road, we began to see bison almost immediately, and it was not long before we passed a herd of several hundred, grazing on both sides of the highway. After that, we never saw more than one or two at a time, but we did see quite a few stone sheep and caribou, often on the roadway. This stretch of the Al-Can winds through mountains which limits tops speeds to the 30 to 40 mph range and makes it easier to avoid hitting any of the critters.
In the midst of the mountains lies Muncho Lake. Your first sight of it comes at a pull-out at the north end of the lake.
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| Northern Rockies Lodge |
About halfway down the lake is a hotel that is open year-round. The lady who owns the Coal River Lodge warned us to avoid getting gas there on our return trip as their prices are painfully high. It is a lovely place, nonetheless.
From the southern end of the lake, the road climbs back into the mountains. At the top of the pass lies Summit Lake. It is not as large, nor as picturesque as Muncho. I got out to shoot some pictures anyway, but the wind was so strong that I couldn't hold the camera steady without sitting down and it made my eyes water so badly I could barely see. Needless to say, none of the shots were worth posting.
Descending from the pass, we reached Fort Nelson, the last significant town before we get to Dawson Creek at the end of the Al-Can. It is located on one of the rare, flat places in this otherwise rugged country and people actually farm here. As we approached, we saw our first cows of the trip. We also saw our first police vehicle of any description.
We had our dinner at the Buckinghorse River Lodge. The proprietor, a somewhat overweight, 50ish fellow with a full blond beard who seemed to carry all his extra weight in front between his chest and and his belt, was our waiter. Perhaps in keeping with the bucking horse theme, he favored western attire--straw cowboy hat, western shirt, jeans, and cowboy boots. He also carried a small calibre handgun in a holster on his belt just above his rear pocket. He didn't smile much, but the food was excellent.
Nancy is the navigator and she picked the RV park at Pink Mountain as our stop for tonight. Although it made for a longer day on the road, it seemed like our best bet as the 300 miles from Fort Nelson to Dawson Creek are very sparsely populated, even by Al-Can standards. We finally got there as it was getting dark only to be told they had no spots big enough for a 29 foot RV. The lady at the check in desk let us know that there was a rest area only 60 more miles down the road where we can camp for the night. Did I mention that it was already getting dark. I was not thrilled. Luckily, she was mistaken; the rest area was only 30 miles down the road.
When we finally got here, it was pretty dark. The only marker, a sign with a picture of a trash can (the sole amenity) on it was nearly invisible in the head lights. Despite focusing all her attention on spotting it, Nancy missed it. Fortunately, Nicole managed to spot it.
This is called cold camping, and it's another first for us. Cold camping relies heavily on the use of your on-board generator which runs off the same fuel as the RV engine, and we had no idea how much of a gas hog it was, so rather than wake up in the morning with an empty gas tank, we chose to just turn off everything and turn in early.
Day 5
Coal River, British Columbia to Historical Milepost 114, British Columbia
Daily Mileage: 396.1
Total Mileage: 1,478.2
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