We started out at 8am this morning with Bob and Janet in the lead, it was 52 degrees.
We headed NW on the Alaskan Highway to the Kiskatinaw Bridge. It is the only original bridge still in use. It is also one of the most unusual, curving nine degrees along its 162.5 meter (534 foot) length.
The bridge, the first of its kind in Canada, was built in 1942-43 by Dow Construction of Toronto. Cement footings were put in place in November 1942 using gravel hauled 26 kilometers (16 miles) from a crushing plant at the Peace River. An extreme cold snap that month made it necessary to enclose all concrete pedestals and piers and keep them heated to 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit) for 10 days. The bridge is a three span, timber truss structure built 30 meters (100 feet) above the stream.
The drive was not real exciting today but here is a couple pictures:
But wait the most exciting part of today was seeing a bear on the side of the road. It was a little one but very cute.
We also saw a fox carry something in his mouth, and off in the distance we saw a cow moose.
We passed a big truck and it threw a stone at our windshield and this is what it looks like right in front of my view.
We stopped in Pink Mountain for a potty break then continued on to Triple “G” Hideaway RV Park in Fort Nelson.
We arrived about 1:50 and it was sunny and 74 degrees. Since they have a RV wash station we decided to wash the rigs. Bob went 1st and he wet the back of their rig and the power wash sprayer stopped working. All the the maintenance men had left for the day so they allowed us to wash our rigs at our camp sites. They look so much better.
NOTE: About the dandelions, I heard from several people the same story about the canola oil. This is a message our Canadian friend JB sent us:
“We keep those dandelions out there just for visitors to marvel at. Strangely enough the dandelions were originally imported from Europe by the Hudson's Bay Company to supplement their employees diet. I guess, like the people from Europe, the country agreed with them. It is a little early for the canola crops in that part of the country to be in flower but in another month or so it will be yellow, yellow, yellow.”
2 comments:
Just another bit of trivia you won't hear at the tourist centers. The first time I drove the Highway from Ft. St. John to Ft. Nelson it was a 6-7 hour drive. My Dad told me the first time he drove it, he took two full days to make the journey. They had to wait at the Sikanni Chief River for a bulldozer to pull them up the hill. Things have changed a lot over the last 60 odd years.
Ahhh great memories of the two years we lived in Ft St John!!
JB is right ... it is too early to be canola crops!!
I forgot to tell you guys about a stocked trout pond north of Ft St John ... oh well... more for me to catch next time I am up there!!
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