Fall is such a wonderful time of the year here in the Peace River Country.The nights are getting longer and cooler and there is a smell in the forest that is hard to describe and signals the change in season.
When family and friends come to visit, most evenings are spent outside around a fire-pit, kids roasting marshmallows and adults talking late into the dark.
What a sky we have!It's like an amphitheater above stretching from horizon to horizon.
Autumn sunsets can be spectacular!The sunsets are followed by the most amazing night sky full of countless stars and a waning moon and if we are lucky, northern lights.Being serenaded by coyotes completes the scene.
There is something timeless and mesmerizing about being outside late into the night, telling stories of childhood adventures and sharing hopes for the future.
The big blue bridge you drive to cross the Peace River in Taylor, BC when you travel the Alaska Highway is not the original, it's actually the replacement.
My Dad operated heavy equipment during the building of the Alaska Highway in 1942, long before I was born.
I remember driving north with him and when we crossed over the long Peace River Bridge he told me that the original had collapsed in 1957.Dad said a landslide caused it.
The original wooden suspension type Peace Bridge was built in 1942 as an essential piece of the Alaska Highway and was considered one of Canada's great bridges at the time of it's opening.It was the longest on the whole highway.
Everything appeared to be fine until fifteen years later in 1957, when a truck driver noticed some unusual settlement in the road. The army (responsible) immediately closed the bridge.Over the course of the next day, the bridge structures continued to shift and just after noon on October 16, 1957, the bridge collapsed into the Peace River.
They determined that the bridge failed due to a landslide in the shale bedrock that it was built on.Shale is simply mud that has hardened over millions of years... from the time when dinosaurs walked the earth.
The problem with shale is that once it's exposed again to water, it will eventually turns back to mud.
It's believed that the bridge foundation likely began to deteriorate soon after it was constructed and continued until the time of the collapse.
A portable Bailey bridge was erected for immediate use while the Train Bridge was planked for traffic until the new bridge was built and completed in 1960.
Now, when you cross the big blue bridge, you will notice a strange feel and sound.Don't worry, it's the steel deck.It's a unique sensation and no matter how many times you drive across it, you will notice it.We all do.
We have such a great Fall Fair and Rodeo here in Dawson Creek.I have been going every year since I was a kid.
I love to go early on Saturday morning with a fresh cup of coffee, a few bucks in my pocket and fresh batteries in my camera to take in all the exhibits and competitions.
Every type of animal has it's own facility and over the years, it keeps getting better.All the barns are brightly decorated, there are flowers everywhere and so much to see and appreciate about the agriculture that is the backbone of this community.
I spend the whole day walking around talking to people, looking at the exhibits and watching the various shows. Children handling big cows, heavy horses pulling great skids of weights, llamas wearing halters, dressage in the light horse ring, displays of grains and quilts and jams and sweet peas.It truly is a wonderful fair!
Over the years, the booths have been built to resemble a western town.There is excellent fair food offered by the local service groups and everyone has their favorites.
There is always great country band in the Watering Hole Beer Gardens and it seems that everyone knows how to two-step! People from all over the world make this weekend a holiday destination!
Staying to watch the nightly fireworks is the perfect end of a great day of fun and community.
Going for a spin with friends on the Tilt-A-Whirl is one thing, but hanging upside down and being whipped around for 5 minutes in a gravity defying machine is quite another.
It's Fall Fair Days in Dawson Creekand it seems like the whole region comes out to celebrate.
A big part of the Fair is the Midway.As usual there were bumper-to-bumper line-ups of people of all ages waiting to get on one of the rides for an adrenalin rush.Several of those rides are not for the faint of heart.
I love the way the Ferris Wheel faces to watch the Chuck Wagon races.We were lucky this time and were loaded first on the Wheel so we got extra airtime while they loaded the rest.We watched a Pro Chuck Wagon race thunder around the track from the best seat in the house, high above in the sky.
The Midway wouldn't be the same without the smell of cotton candy, loud music that almost drowns out the screams of delight and the sight of people walking around with stuffed toys they won at a game.I spent my usual amount tossing rings at little floating duckies and even threw a few darts... no luck this time... but there is always next year.
I read the following Help Wanted Ad in an old recruitment notice for the building of the Alaska Highway.
"Men hired for this job will be required to work and live under the most extreme conditions imaginable. Temperatures will range from 90 degrees above zero to 70 degrees below zero. Men will have to fight swamps, rivers, ice and cold. Mosquitoes, flies and gnats will not only be annoying but will cause bodily harm. If you are not prepared to work under these and similar conditions, do not apply."
I wonder how excited the men who considered the ad were about the prospect of getting the work.
I went to the Alaska Highway House in Dawson Creek and looked at the artifacts and original photos of daily life on the highway construction project. Some of the words that immediately came to mind were: brutal, harsh and unimaginable.
Even with today's equipment, the project would be awesome. But the crude equipment, the challenges of the untamed wilderness, and the harsh climate made the realities and scope of the project unbelievable.
The recruitment poster said a lot, but for the rest of the story, make sure you check out the Alaska Highway House Interpretive Center when you come to Dawson Creek. See for yourself what the day to day life was like for the builders of the highway.
Every year we go to the Kiskatenaw Fall Fair.Tucked away on a country road just off the Hart Highway about a half hour west of town, this old time community fair is a reminder of simpler times.
There is none of the glitz and glimmer found at the large exhibitions, this country fair is like home cooking.A barn filled with local handcrafts and preserves, a few rows of prize farm animals and 2 days of horse shows.
I am inspired to get a couple of geese but have been told their looks are nicer than their personalities so will do more research.
We always go on the Saturday for the heavy horses pulls.I love to see those huge animals showing what they were raised to do.They skid heavy logs through obstacle courses just like they skidded logs out of the forest when horses did logging. The teams also compete to see who can pull the heaviest loads.It truly is teamwork at it's finest.
The food is home cooked, generous and very affordable.The admission price is by donation and the atmosphere is friendly and welcoming.
The fair is held at the beginning of August every year and is well attended by locals and visitors alike. This year we sat and chatted with a couple from Nebraska on their way up the Alaska Highway.
I am not an avid golfer, but I do enjoy a round with friends on a beautiful day and Dawson Creek and area has 2 great courses to enjoy.
The Dawson Creek Golf and Country Club is nestled in the junction of the Hart and Alaska Highway.It is beautiful spot just minutes from the heart of the city.This 18-hole, par-72 course is well groomed and is enjoyed by visitors and residents alike.There is a pro shop, a driving range, rentals, restaurant and lounge.
The last time we played there, it was a beautiful warm sunny day and we shared the course with a small herd of deer.They were obviously used to people, because although they kept their distance, they didn't leave.Our visitors were from the city and really enjoyed this added bonus.Many photos were taken that day.
There is also a great par-36, 9-hole course a short 10 miles out of town north on the Alaska Highway.It's called Farmington Fairways and is really popular with people who want to relax and stay for a couple of days at the on-site RV park & campground.This is a really pretty spot in a very natural setting.
Farmington has a 300-yard driving range, a pro shop, cart and club rentals and a fully licensed clubhouse.The campground and RV park has everything a traveler could need/want.
As a resident/host, I am so proud of what we have to offer.
Ask anyone who lives in Saskatoon Berry country and they'll tell you they have a favorite spot to pick.
Mine favorite spot is way off the beaten path and I tend to be a bit vague when I tell people where I go.
The Saskatoon Bushes are twice as tall as I am with berries the size of small cherries. Of course, the size of the berries also depends on the amount of rain we've had, but I have a great spot regardless.
Being a serious picker I go equipped with a great system. A small bucket attached to a belt at my waist for hands free picking and several bigger buckets to empty my full one into. I like to keep the bigger buckets in a cooler in the trunk of my vehicle.
I also take lots of water, my camera, binoculars (my spot has a fantastic view of a valley and the wind towers), some mosquito spray and hand wipes for very sticky hands.
The berries are ready and I had my first picking. Someone else likes my spot and this year they got there before me. I'm OK with that because not only is there more than enough berries, but they made trails through the underbrush so I have less scratches on my legs.
So, if you are here in Saskatoon Berry season, grab your buckets and your belt and head out of town on any one of many country roads that are lined with Saskatoon bushes.
Make sure you eat as many as you put in the bucket. Do you have a great recipe for Saskatoon pie? Mmmmm...
n be spectacular! The sunsets are followed by the most amazing night sky full of countless stars and a waning moon and if we are lucky, northern lights. Being serenaded by coyotes completes the scene.
