On the way to Prince George we stopped a couple of times to check out waterfalls where it is possible to see the salmon run but we must be a little too early yet. We saw no salmon and no bears.
We arrived in Prince George and we’re surprised how big it is. Apparently it has a population similar to the Isle of Man and lots of shops, fast food places and the odd casino. We also saw some dodgily dressed females who appeared lost at the junctions. I hope those men pulling over could help them find their way.
After a mammoth shopping expedition in Wal-Mart we decided to have our second stay of the trip in their car parks. We had good wifi signal and so the blog was posted right up to date and the Inside Passage Ferry was booked. We could only book for the 6th Sep so that gave us 8 days to fill …. hmmm do we go South for a bit, or just pootle east slowly?
We went to a brewery to deliberate and got chatting to a couple called Kathy and Phil. They were really cool and had cycled across Canada a few years ago. They had also walked the Berg Lake trail and travelled a lot of BC so we asked them, what would they do for 8 days? And that is where the idea for the Great Northern Circle Route came from. It would only be 2,304km to Prince Rupert that way! They left the bar and suddenly were back offering us a shower at theirs and a driveway (on Taylor Drive) to stay on. How sweet!
After the best pizza I’ve ever tasted (wild salmon, cream cheese and caramelized onion) we rocked up. They said we must stay in their spare room. Their house was amazing on the riverside and their shower was so powerful – it was great. Our travel plan was further hatched over a cup of tea and a beer.
After an egg muffin, Pete replaced his dodgy brake calliper and I booked our flights back to the IOM. Only 5 weeks left…week!
So off we set up the Highway 97. We worked out we needed to average 329km each day for 7 days. We were admiring the passing view and suddenly Pete spotted a black bear.
We got some photos as he crossed the road. He seemed to remember his green cross code and waited for a gap in the traffic. Just up the road we saw a bear cub heading for the bushes but he was too fast for photos. We stopped the night in Chetwynd which holds annual chainsaw competitions and admired some of the 150 sculptures around the town. Some skill for the detail required!!!
Next morning we drove to Dawson’s Creek (no, not where they filmed the TV show) and visited the official Mile 0 of the Alaskan Highway which was completed in just 8 months in 1942 – all 1,422 miles of it!
We stopped to marvel at one of the few remaining original sections of the road – a curved bridge over the Kisatinaw River.
Next we drove to Taylor!!!! A small town with great ice cream and a love of motor sports with both a speedway and a MX track.
We spotted another black bear at the roadside. He seemed happy enough but had an injured back leg and knelt as he walked not using his lower leg at all. Poor little thing – I hope he can survive like that. We did report it to the conservation officer once we got to civilization.
We carried onto The Sikanni River (which had been recommended to us by a tourist info lady) and were a little underwhelmed by the bridge and run down RV park. We back tracked a couple of km to a sign for a recreation site (Duhu Lake) and decided to try the 5.6km off road adventure. It was a pretty good road and the campsite was so quiet. The lake was so still you could see a perfect reflection of yourself in it!
We enjoyed the lovely sunset while sitting on the end of the jetty. Just perfect!
The next morning it didn’t look too shabby either.
