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Before I start today's blog, I would like to go back to yesterday and show you my campsite
and for my brother, a nice car
that went by in the campground.
For the
campground, like I have said, I am at the Lion's park and they told me
to go and get a site and they would come by and collect.
2 days later, not a soul came and collected.
Oh! well. Free camping!
Here is a picture of the small creek by the campground.
On then way to Dawson Creek,
there is a small trail the goes to ''Teepee Falls''.
A 6 km return trail.
At the beginning I saw the creek and taught that it would not be a very
nice fall.
Surprise! The fall is not too bad.
The roads are very nice in BC,
but there is lots of hills.
Dawson Creek information centre has very nice and knowledgeable
staff. I ask about
campground with internet and they recommend 3 of them...
I take the ''Mile 0'' which is a Good Sam Park and save me $3 per night with free internet and showers.
I take off on my bike and go downtown and take the obligatory picture of the ''Mile 0'' of the Alaskan Highway.
I even have a beer in the
''Alaska Inn''
Next to the campground there is
a Museum, I tell myself that after a beer I will go.
Well! the rain comes and I can't go.
I stay inside and surf the net.
If the weather is nice tomorrow I will go and see the museum.
About those trucks with diesel engines... in a campground, at about 5 pm, you would think this is a truck stop... the noise, the stink...
Can't wait until tomorrow morning when they all leave... at the same time.... Oh the noise.
More to follow...
20 June 2006
I don't know why but at 630 am I am
wide awake!!! Can't go back to sleep...
Oh Well!!!
The museum does not open until 9 am.
A pot of coffee and I surf the net .
By 9 am I am at the museum and I am not disappointed.
The museum's name is ‘’Walter Wright Pioneer
Museum’’ and it represent the 1940's just as the Alaskan Highway was to
be built.
Really nice museum, I spent 1 hour 45 in there.
On my way out of Dawson Creek, I stop to get some food and beverages.
I finally get out of Dawson Creek at 11 am.
Few minutes later I am in Alberta,
and with the time change it is now 1210 pm
The roads are nice but flat and boring as you can see with there
pictures.
Few hours later I needed a break so I stopped at Girouxville and
visited the museum.
Not bad at all, everything is inside.
If I remember right, we used to have one of those!
My dad has a backpack like this one, he used it for hunting. (Now it is
Jérémy who uses it for hunting)
I stop in Slave Lake for the night, go to the info centre...
It is abandoned, like in ruins!!!
I check the Alberta campground guide and it says that if you take
highway 88 their are a few.
Well! I follow the indication for one and get lost, on top of that, it
is a marina and a restaurant, can't find it !!!
Back on 88. On my left there is one, I like the name, ''Roland On The
River'' (My brother's name is Rolland).
This is mostly for seasonal campers.
But there is a little spot for me by the river. $20 with power
and pay showers.
The showers are not very long...
$3 if you take a fast shower.
Took the bike downtown Slave Lake.
On a Tuesday night at 7 pm, it is dead.
Back at the campsite, shower and update my blog.
I think I will be in Cold Lake tomorrow night...
If I do not find anything interesting on the way...
We will see...
21 June 2006
It is 930 am and my nose is pointing
east. The highway from Slave Lake to Cold Lake is good... but
boring.
I stop in Athabasca and visit the park by the river.
WOW!
I never realize how important the river Athabasca was to the
development of the North-West.
A very nice little town with lots of activities in the summer.
I will come back!!!
On my way to Cold Lake.
I finally get home at 330 pm.
After a trip of over 6000 km.
I will confirm that in the next few days!
On my next update, I will give you my impressions of the trip, the good
and the bad.
Also, all kinds of useless detail information.
I am very happy to be back, but at the same time, I am sorry it is
over...
Until next year....
Where ????
23
June 2006
Guess where I am?
Camping!
Like I did not have enough of the motorhome!
Lets go back in time.
Wednesday evening and I am relaxing...
I empty the motorhome, chocolate I have a lot of dirty laundry. I
did something I never did before, I wash/clean the under side of the
motorhome.
I must have removed 50 pounds of dirt and rocks.
Unbelievable!
Thursday I clean the inside, I can not believe where the dust got into.
Once the inside done, I attack the outside compartments.
WOW!
Not very air tight, so much dust inside the compartments.
I ended my day by washing the outside.
A sort day that started at 9 am and finished at 9 pm.
Pfiou!
Michèle has Monday and Tuesday off so we are going camping for a
''long Week End''
I will give you some of my taught, opinions and some kind of conclusion
of my trip.
When I got home on Wednesday, a young boy we know came and ask me what
I had liked the best on my trip?
I was stuck for a few seconds.
Then I said '' The People, the landscape, the length of my days...
everything !''
His next question was, how long were you gone?
Again I had to think. I kind of lost track of time during my
trip. When I look back it seems like it is only one long
day but I was gone for 23 days.
Alright! We go...
I loved the first day on the road but did not like the last day on the
road.
I loved the information centre, some were not worth my time.
I loved the museum, a few were not that good.
The people I meet, except one couple.
I love the people of the NWT.
I should have taken more pictures ( you only have seen a few) .
I did not like the diesel pick-up truck and their owner who let them
run for 30 minutes for ???
In some campground it sounded like a truck stop. I think they like the
sound of it. Or they are too old to hear them!!!
You probably notice
that I did not walk or biked as much as I said I would!
Most of the sight I visited were close to the road!
My Blog!
I love doing it for this trip. I spent a lot of time
writing/creating my blog but at the same time it gave me a chance to
''relive'' my day.
I was surprised at how many people followed my blog !!!
Internet! Very easy to connect on the road, but a few places in
the middle of nowhere. From the ''Café Java Roma'' to the
little towns information centres, the house in Fort Smith where I
connected for ''Free''.
The quantity of garbage I had every day! I will change my ways
and be more aware of packaging (I am mostly talking about water
bottles).
I love that by just slowing my speed by 10 to 15 km/hr, I could save so
much in gas for just a little trade off in time on the road.
If I was to do it again I would do it at the end of august, early
September. Less bugssssss!
OK !
When I look back, I can not believe I was gone foe 23 days.
WOW!
My days were so full, to see falls, to walk 5 or 6 km, to drive 300 km
or more, see bison's on the roads, bears, moose, foxes, etc.. all in the
same day...
When I look back at the pictures I had taken during the day, I could
not believe it was all from the same day.
Last night I read my blog for the
first time since I left. I took me a long time to go thru because so
many memories were coming back to me...
All this to say... I loved my trip..
I have learned a lot on this trip, about me, about ''full timing'' and
about ''time'' and how it can change...
Here are some numbers!
The fist number are from this trip, the number in brackets from my trip
to Québec last summer, just to compare...
I traveled 6084 km (6145 to Québec and return)
My driving speed was 80 to 90 km/hr (100 to 105 Km/hr)
Average price of gas, $1.171 per litre ($0.908)
Worse fuel consumption, 9.8 miles per gallon or 29 L/100km ( 6.9 Mile
per gallons or 41.4 L/100km).
Total cost of fuel $1795.00 (2438.00).
WOW!
Just by slowing down, I saved $688 even if I paid $0.26 per litre more
for fuel!!!
I sure hope you liked this blog!
Myself, I discover the work involved and the satisfaction of doing a
blog.
This is my last entry to this blog...
Thank you for reading it...
As for the next blog...(trip)
Who knows...
More to follow...
