After dinner we head for the alpha hotsprings pool that has a water temperature of 134 degrees at the source. We saw a young moose as we walked along the boardwalk and then a lot of old farts in the hotsprings pool. We stayed in the pool for a bit and talked to some of the firefighters and helicopter pilots working on the Laird fire (picture attached).Wednesday is another rainy day as we drive 60 miles though the Muncho Provincial Forest. We see a lot of beautiful mountains, some spectacular lakes, and a stone mountain sheep in the road.
We quickly stop at the Toad River Restaurant to see their hat collection (7,942) before continuing on to Stone Mountain Provincial Park. At 4,248 feet this park is at the highest elevation on the AlCan and sits next to Summit Lake. When we arrive we talk to Pete the park attendant and get the low down on the fishing and hiking trail.
We decide to hike the summit trail to the first summit and leave the trailhead about 3. The trail is about 7 kilometers and goes up to nearly 10,000 feet. We leave without taking any water and dressed very warm. Within minutes we are peeling clothing as we go up some fairly steep transition areas. Along the way we spot 2 stone mountain sheep that provide us with some good pictures.
We make the summit in about an hour and take a number of pictures (attached) before heading back down the trail. We get back to the trailhead at 4 and feel pretty good about two old farts making that hike.
Thursday we leave the Stone Mountain Provincial Park and go directly to the Popular Creek Golf Course in Fort Nelson for a 12:15 tee time. It is a pretty course with some nice holes and length for a nine-hole course. Cortney finally beats me in bingo/bango/bongo, however, I beat him in the score 48 to 49.
We find the Westend RV Campground which is a bit of a shithole and park the RV so that we can have access to power, showers, and laundry. We walk into town, which also seems like a shithole, and go to the library for a Wi-Fi connection. We do a load of laundry and drink a beer at the campground bar before heading back to the RV to grill some buffalo burgers. Next it’s a shower in the RV because the campground is such a shithole we won’t use the facilities.
We walk about a ½ mile to the Roadhouse Bar that Pete the Park Attendant said we should visit. We are the 6th and 7th customers of the evening and quickly strike up a conversation with James who is a Power Tonger from Grand Prairie, Alberta. He introduces us to his buddy Ken, the anti-social prick, from Prince Edward Island that we call ASP for the rest of the evening. Power Tongers thread 40′ sections of pipe to support the hole the drill made to extract gas/oil from the ground.
We start buying each other rounds of beer and the bartender buys us a couple of rounds of shots. Soon I am riding a Segway in the bar (we didn’t bring a camera - probably a good thing. – ed.) before playing about 6 games of pool with James. Apparently we were a hit because the bartender took a picture of us for their “Hall of Fame” photo board which is unusual for Americans. We found ASP passed-out in his truck and decided it was time to walk back to the RV. I knew I had too much to drink as I was looking for a White Castle. We got to bed at 1:30 a.m., and did a pretty good job of keeping-up with the 26 year-olds.
Friday morning we leave Fort Nelson and I feel like dog doo-doo. [Imagine that. - ed.] Right out of town we cross the Muskwa River which is the lowest elevation on the AlCan and is befitting for the town of Fort Nelson.
Cortney drives the first 2.5 hours and I take over getting us into Fort St. John. We stop at the Visitor’s Centre and I take a nap while Cortney goes to KFC. We decide to take the Hudson’s Hope Loop down to Chetwynd and then back-up to Dawson Creek to play some golf and fish while to chew-up a few days. We get a few groceries and some gas.
Turning off the AlCan we head south on highway 29 and encounter some steep 10% grades as we go up and down through the river basin. I’ve only eaten a breakfast bar and had 2 cups of coffee all day and start to feel dehydrated. So I quickly eat a banana and drink some water. We finally pull into the Moberly Lake Provincial Park around 7 have covered 340 miles. We eat a quick dinner of spaghetti and hide-out in the RV for the mosquitoes are numerous and ferocious. It is a low key evening of journaling, postcards, and bedtime.
Saturday we leave Moberly Lake Provincial Park and head for the Moberly Lake & District Golf Club. We are the only golfers on the course when we arrive but must tee off by 10 because a family has bought the course for the day beginning at 1 in the afternoon. We load our clubs onto the cart and head for the number 1 tee.
While the course has some beautiful views of Moberly Lake, the tee boxes are ant hills, the fairways can be best described as cow pastures, and the greens are thick grass with many dandelions. At first it is amusing, however, around hole 3 both of us get a little frustrated when we hit shots in the fairway that we can’t find. [Moberly Lake promotes its fishing, not its golf. Legend has it the lake is bottomless and a Loch Ness monster-like creature inhabits it. - ed.]
When we are done we head to Chetwynd which is reputed as one of the most livable small communities in B.C., and also the “Chain Saw Sculpture Capital of the World”. In fact, last weekend was the annual contest. We stop in at the Visitor’s Centre to get some information and take a look at a dozen or so chain saw sculptures.
Even though Chetwynd is one of the most livable communities in B.C., we head out of town for Dawson Creek. When we arrive we stop and take a picture at the “0 Mile Marker” for the AlCan and grab a beer at the Alaska Hotel that is 55 paces from the 0 Mile Marker. It seems like another shithole so we head for the Swan Lake Provincial Park.
After a 4Km drive over washboard gravel roads we get to the park and get one of the last spots available (apparently Father’s Day is a huge camping weekend). We both grab our fishing gear and head for the lake. Cortney has one hit but no fish and I land 2 small perch. Still, I got to do some flyfishing and apparently was a sight to behold as everyone kept pointing to the guy standing in the water. Talked to Brian and Nathan who are a couple of guys from Grand Prairie and called it a night.
We are in Grand Prairie [the northwest green dot on the map - ed.] on Sunday morning and it is Father’s Day. First time I’ve been away from my children on this day and am missing home. From here we will make our way to Edmonton and then Calgary for Cortney to catch a flight home and me to pick-up Mary. Fishing is probably done so it is mostly golf and driving at this point. RV is running great.
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Peter and Betsy Wuebker are location-independent professionals who share what they know about travel, simplicity and integrating work with life. 
This is quite a travelogue. A sign post collection? A hat collection? What will people think of next? That photo of the hot spring is beautiful. I can just picture myself in his place.
Dot´s last blog post..Family Issues
Ha! You knew you had too much to drink so you were “looking for a White Castle”–that is about the only thing it could mean, isn’t it?
The hot springs pool sounds heavenly!
Wow, that area sounds awesome. And the picture in the hot spring – very cool.
I’ve never seen moose before, I hear they are dangerous.
Pretty cool post. I just found your blog and wanted to say
that I have really enjoyed browsing your posts. In any case
I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon!
Hi Betsy – I’ve really been enjoying this report. The hot springs pool looks amazing. How many miles are they covering total and over how many weeks? And if you’re renting a vehicle is an RV or car and motels more economical?
Cath Lawson´s last blog post..What Fib Do You Tell Yourself?
Hi Dot – I love going “the back way” and checking out all the goofy stuff people do. Like “the world’s biggest ball of twine” in Minnesota and “Carhenge” in Nebraska. I am working on a post about our trip back from Galena where we took the back way. I’ve almost convinced Pete this is preferable to the freeway, always. John appears to be a kindred spirit, doesn’t he? Thanks.
Hi Christine – I think he meant White Castle hamburgers – sliders. I didn’t know what one was – when someone told me it was a landmark, I was looking for a real castle. Doh! Ya, I was envious of that hot spring, too. Thank you.
Hi John – Welcome to PassingThru! Yes, moose are dangerous especially during the rut season in the fall. Last time we went up the Gunflint Trail in Minnesota, it was on the radio that an angry moose had treed a sheriff’s deputy. Rescuers managed to scare it off. I think I’d be embarrassed as all get out.
Hi Sara – Thank you and you’re very welcome!
Hi Cath – Good questions! It’s a seven week trip and not sure how many miles – maybe 3,000? John bought his RV especially for the trip.
Last year when Pete and I were at Denali we struck up a convo with a couple next to us in line for the bus. They had driven their RV to Alaska from Boston. He said it cost him $700 to fill up the tank, and he was getting 700 miles per tank. They were in their RV for 10 months out of the year, and thinking about selling the house. She just didn’t want to because of the grandchildren being close by.
Gas prices have come down some since then, but still – it seemed like it might be a wash compared with car rental and hotel. I’d want someone else’s vehicle to take the brunt of the gravel roads, too. Lots of the Al-Can is still gravel. The Alaska Highway is as well, and the road north from Fairbanks. We didn’t get to the Arctic Circle because we were forbidden to take our rental car on gravel. So I guess we have to go back.
Thanks.
That is a long trip. I’ve priced out RV rental in a few places and it is so expensive – especially in the summer months. Apparently for really long trips, it can be more economical to buy a vehicle and sell it afterwards.