{"id":240,"date":"2016-05-07T03:44:47","date_gmt":"2016-05-07T03:44:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/journey2alaska.wordpress.com\/?p=240"},"modified":"2023-10-06T03:34:24","modified_gmt":"2023-10-06T03:34:24","slug":"alaska-highway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/taberobrien.com\/index.php\/2016\/05\/07\/alaska-highway\/","title":{"rendered":"Alaska Highway!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wednesday morning we woke up early and left the Hinton Lodge in Hinton, Alberta. From there we drove most of the day reaching Fort Nelson, British Columbia by dinnertime. We reached Dawson Creek, BC (mile 0 of the Alaska Highway!) around 3PM MDT but gained an hour since Dawson Creek area runs on MST year-round.<\/p>\n

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Dawson Creek, BC – mile 0 of the Alcan!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A few things about the Alaska Highway (or the Alcan Highway as it\u2019s also known) that I thought were really interesting and learned from the guidebook – it\u2019s considered to be the largest and most difficult construction project since the Panama Canal. In 1936, FDR lobbied Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King for a highway connecting Canada to Alaska. His argument was that the highway could be used for military defenses on the west coast in the event of a Japanese attack. Well, nothing was done for a few years, but shortly after the attacks on Pearl Harbor both the US and Canada recognized the immediate need for this road to be built, so they quickly got to work. A plan for the road was constructed by the US Army on February 6, 1942 and it only took 5 days to receive authorization from Congress. Construction began on March 8, 1942 and was completed on November 20, 1942; less than 9 months later!! Just incredible. The strategy for completing the road in such a short time included 5 separate teams that worked in several different directions, eventually meeting each other along the way. Today, the road has been re-constructed and re-routed, but there are historical mileposts that mark the original highway.<\/p>\n

Eighty miles into\u00a0the Alaska Highway, we saw a massive wildfire (later learned that it was the Beatton Airport Road fire) that was dangerously close to the road\u00a0and we were surprised to see that traffic was still moving. The winds on Wednesday\u00a0were incredibly strong all day which hindered the firefighting efforts. After looking up more information online, we learned that we got through the area just in time. That stretch of the Alaska Highway was shut down much of\u00a0Thursday when the fire jumped the road. We also learned that the fire has been ongoing since mid-April (!) This fire is different from the Fort McMurray fire in Alberta, which as you can imagine is the top item of discussion among many Canadians.<\/p>\n

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Plumes of smoke seen from a distance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Beatton Airport Road fire along the Alaska Highway, British Columbia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Looking back after passing the fire<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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After another five hours of driving, we stopped for the night in Fort Nelson. As luck would have it, we were given an upgraded room with in-unit laundry!! We were so excited to wash our clothes. Funny how the simple things can make you so happy!\u00a0The days have been getting longer and longer each day as we travel north. Wednesday\u00a0night at 10PM, there was still a glow on the horizon. Guess we better get used to that!<\/p>\n

After a great night\u2019s sleep in our fancy in-unit laundry suite, we got back on the Alaska Highway Thursday morning. We drove through Stone Mountain and Summit Lake Pass, which is the highest point along the highway (4,250 feet).<\/p>\n

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Stone Mountain, British Columbia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Shortly after noon on Thursday, we reached Muncho Lake Provincial Park and spent some time there taking in the scenery. Then it was onto the Liard Hot Springs which has been the best part thus far!<\/p>\n

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Muncho Lake, British Columbia. So beautiful – the color of the water is attributed to leaching of copper oxide.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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View of Muncho Lake from the northern end<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Boardwalk leading out to Liard Hot Springs\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Beautiful! Wouldn’t this be a great backyard!?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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