Who Let the Dogs Out? Day 5 -July 7, 2010

Ottcrew Bucket-list Day 5 Wednesday, July 7, 2010
The start of day 5, we awoke outside of Jasper at Pocahontas Campground with no bear claws on our tent. We knew that we had to make up road time, so the Tour Director, Tim, told us we had to be up at 6 and on the road at 7. Let us just say for history that it is not the girls that are the reason for our delays. We take a picture every am as we start out the day along with a prayer for safe travel and protection for our families while we are away. We miss you!

We were informed the night before that it was going to be a “Boy’s ONLY” ride. Amy was at the wheel on the truck. Our drive was fun and the view was beautiful looking at fields of canola that were a sea of vibrant yellow.

We made it to Dawson Creek, the hallmark beginning of the Al-Can highway. Ground 0. See photo. It was lunch time and Tim was allowed his second Walmart

stop of the trip. We also noticed that there is an A & W restaurant in most of the Canadian small towns. We stopped for lunch while Becky utilized the WiFi of the hotel next door.

The two-lane road was busy with RVs and LARGE logging and mining trucks. We made good time and stopped on a recommendation at the Sikanni Campground for the night. It was right off the highway next to a river. It had showers, washers, and dryers. BONUS. It was visually what we all anticipated our campgrounds would be. The owner was sitting on the porch in a rocking chair with a red-bone coon dog sitting next to her. Henry said it looked like the movie “Deliverance” along the river and Tim did not have to load the bear gun for the night. It did not get dark until midnight and it was light again….not twilight…at 4 am. We are north…eh?


Trip notes:
• Each day we share what we are grateful for.
• We have had several communication glitches that have cost us time and patience. We wish that we HAD spent the money for communication radios.
• Fort St. John’s Visitors Center was extremely beneficial. It had a lot of information about stops on the Al-Can Highway including gas and camping.
• Our wildlife sightings have been infrequent and although we are appreciative that we haven’t seen a moose in the middle of the road at 100 k/h (65mph), we were expecting more. We did see a caribou this day.
• Other than the snoring, the group sleeping has been good. Currently Becky and Harold have been the only ones who have not been heard snoring. I think Harold just hasn’t slept.