One of the prettiest sights in the Peace River Country is hoarfrost in the winter.
It happens when it's really cold and still overnight and there is a lot of moisture in the air.A thick layer of crystals forms on all the trees and when the sun hits the frost, the whole landscape sparkles like diamonds.
Any air movement causes the frost to drift off the trees, and it looks and feels like light snow is falling, even if the skies are clear and blue.
A hoarfrost morning is the perfect time for a walk, to stand under a tree and shake it or go for a drive down a country road lined with trees and bushes.
The thing about this special frost is as mysteriously as it appears; it just as quietly disappears so make sure you take time to enjoy it.
Last Sunday we went out for our weekly winter exercise.This time we went snowshoeing which is one of my favorite ways to enjoy this beautiful country.It's simple great cardio exercise and we especially love the quietness.Snowshoes are light, easy to travel with and a great way to hang out with people.
We chose a spot near the little village of Rolla, about 10 miles north of the city, which has great bush trails and fields with sweeping views all the way into Alberta.It's beautiful there.
We had just about completely crossed a field when we saw something big moving in the tree line just ahead of us.It moved like a coyote but was a lot bigger.We had our binoculars and camera with us.
It was a Gray Wolf.Even though common sense told us that he would not bother us, being out in the middle of a field in deep snow with a wolf watching us was scary exciting.
We stopped and watched the wolf, and the wolf stopped and watched us.We figured we would just wait for it to make the first move and after several minutes the wolf turned and resumed his travels away from us.
When we got home, I looked up Gray Wolves on the Internet and found that there are estimated 7,500 in BC.Life isn't easy for a wolf.Living on large and small game, they only have a 10% success rate with their hunting and so live by feast or famine.I also learned that they often travel 200 kilometers in a day.
A friend told me that a Gray Wolf had been spotted about 30 kilometers from here; maybe it's the same one.The mystery is whether or not there is a pack around.
Whether a local or a visitor, it's important to keep eyes and ears open when you are out an about in the country.There are a lot of wild animals living here.Cameras & Binoculars and a cell phone are a good idea.It's also a great idea to mention to someone where you are going.
I woke up to -34 degrees Celsius (-29 degrees Fahrenheit) the other day.That is the coldest yet this winter and although we have been colder in years past, it's cold enough.
Temperatures like this require extra travel considerations whether you live here or are visiting:
~ All vehicles must be winterized (winter tires, block heater, anti-freeze, emergency kit, extension cord, warm clothing, ice scraper, cell phone).
~ Pets need to be monitored carefully while outside if they are not used to the cold.
My sister from Vancouver was here at the time and we had quite a discussion on the hardships of our respective winters.
Rain versus snow.
Warm weather versus cold.
Grey cloudy days versus lots of blue skies and sunshine.
We came to the agreement that both areas have pros and cons in regards to winter climates.
Then a Chinook came through and the temperature jumped from -34 to +2 (35 degrees Fahrenheit) on the same day.
Chinooks are usually accompanied by big gusty winds and this one was no exception.Drifting is another reality of northern winters and are a novelty unless they plug roads.
Several years ago, a blizzard caught quite a few people unaware and there were reports of a dozen or so motorists stuck in big drifts overnight.
Graders, snowplows and sand-trucks are winter heroes here in the north.
We set out from Dawson Creek, Mile O of the Alaska Highway while it was still dark, with a full tank of gas and fresh coffees.
About an hour and a half up the highway, just as the sun was rising, we found out how Pink Mountain got its name.Fire weed grows everywhere up the mountain and in the ditches.We must have hit peak season because along with the pink flowers, there were butterflies everywhere.Sadly, many butterflies got caught in the grill of our vehicle.
The air was fresh and clean and the views were awesome. We stopped at an interesting place called Sasquatch Crossing Lodge to fill up our coffee and ask about the butterflies.We were told that these are yearly phenomena and are Arctic Yellowtail Swallow butterflies.
We didn't see any Sasquatches though, maybe next time.
These are the questions that came up around the fire with our friends who were on their way up the highway this year.They had heard horror stories from people who had traveled the Highway years and years ago.
The Alaska Highway is a fairly smooth road all the way from Dawson Creek. BC to Fairbanks, Alaska.It is pretty much paved all the way.
The ongoing issue is that every year the ground freezes and thaws and the pavement ripples and heaves and cracks in spots.
Maintenance crews are constantly repairing the road and you will have periodic waits while flag people get you through safely.
You will undoubtedly come across patches of loose gravel and occasional rough spots but as long as you are well prepared to begin with, you will be just fine.
It seems like more often than not when I'm driving the back roads of the Peace River Country and up & down the Alaska Highway in the fall, I see moose and deer.
Yesterday I came around a corner and had to stop my car for Mama and Baby who were taking their time crossing the road in front of me.Once I stopped my car, they stopped as well. They did not seem afraid of me in the least.
I just happened to have my camera with me and they obliged me with several minutes of photo opportunities.Once they sauntered over to the field on the other side of the road, they started grazing in the oats stubble left by the harvest.
It was getting dark when I took this photo and if you look closely you can see the light from my headlights shining on their long legs.I am confident I will see this pair again over the coming months and I just hope that their lack of concern for vehicles does not cause them harm.
Thankfully, it is a common practice here for the highways departments to clear the roadside ditches of shrubs to make it easier to see the wildlife.We are all used to scanning ahead in the ditches when we drive.
My Dad came to Dawson Creek to work on the Alaska Highway as a civilian in 1942.He operated heavy equipment along side the American soldiers.
In what was one of the earliest and coldest autumns ever recorded, Dad said the equipment took a real beating that year. The temperatures froze lubricants, seized transmissions and snapped axels.Equipment had to be kept running 24 hours a day, shutting them off was out of the question.
Wrecked and abandoned vehicles were a common sight on the sides of the road as it grew in miles.The combination of the brutal cold weather conditions and the scarcity of spare parts meant many were left to rust where they broke down.
A lot of the creeks that had to be crossed were swift water and resisted freezing even in the harsh cold.Often rushing through the interior of the smaller vehicles, cold water drenched men and steel alike.The underside of any vehicles that crossed became immediately ice coated and had to be kept moving or else the ice would lock the wheels within seconds of standing still.
The cold temperatures not only froze the equipment, it brutalized the men too. Dad said one of his friends froze to death alone when his bulldozer broke down and no help was available.Many of the men who worked the road experienced frostbite that year.
When you travel the highway you will see the rusting relics of the abandoned equipment.A fitting tribute to the effort it took to build the Alaska Highway.
My Mom came to the Peace River Country as a young woman in 1939 with her family.They were political refugees fleeing Nazi Germany. She found work at the original Dawson Creek hospital where the nuns taught her to speak English.
When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, the leaders in Washington decided they needed to have a supply route to Alaska. They wanted it done in less than one year.They needed men and equipment and lots of both.
Mom remembered the arrival of the US troops and Canadian civilians along with all the equipment that came to build the Alaska Highway in 1942.She said the quiet agricultural town burst at the seams overnight.There were soldiers and equipment and noise and mud everywhere.
My Dad was one of the civilians who came here as a young man to operate heavy equipment on the construction of the highway. They met at a dance hall on a Friday night.
There are great original photographs of the period at the Alaska Highway House downtown by the Mile "O" Post and also at the Dawson Creek Art Gallery.
The Sudetan Hall at Pioneer Village also houses a great collection of original photos of the Czechoslovakia pre and post WWII as well as the building of a new community in a new land.
We took a friend from out of town for a sight seeing drive around the area.We started here in Dawson Creek and drove to Fort St. John, taking the little side trip to drive across the Kiskatenaw Bridge.I was disappointed because the batteries in my camera were dead and we had to use our cell phone to take some pics of the three of us on the bridge.
In Ft. St. John, we stopped at a great local coffee shop and picked up specialty coffees for our journey and of course batteries for the camera.
The next part of our tour around the neighborhood is to Hudson Hope and to theW.A.C. Bennett Dam.Because we had plenty of time, we went in and bought tickets for the underground tour.
Our friend was blown away by the sights and sounds under the dam and no matter how many times I go, I am always awed as well.
From Hudson's Hope, we drove to Chetwynd.I love Chetwynd, it's home to dozens of chainsaw carvings.They are huge and spread out all over town.It's amazing that a chainsaw can do such delicate work.We walked along the main drag and took a close look at the carvings there.
From Chetwynd, it's an hour to get home again.One of my favorite parts of this jaunt is the railway bridge over the East Pine River.Some brave soul spray painted "Dread Pirate Roberts" on one of the concrete pillar supports.Much speculation was involved in figuring out how it was accomplished and who did it.Does anyone want to fess up to the deed?
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.
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.
We have a remarkable statue sitting atop a tower in the middle of the traffic circle in the center of Dawson Creek. You can't miss it.
Known as"The Surveyor" he was created by one of our local artists, Karl Mattson. Karl used old rusty scraps of metal he found laying around the region to create this monument to the building of the Alaska Highway.His clothes and transit are iron replicas of those from the 1940's.
Powerful and haunting, "The Surveyor" stands outside in all elements, pointing north showing everyone the way to Alaska just as his real life counterpart did all those years ago.
Dawson Creek is proud of the artistry behind our landmarks. You'll see for yourself when you get here.
Anyone who lives here in Dawson Creek is used to driving carefully through the downtown core so as not to run over the frequent tourists jaywalking into the middle of the intersection to have their photo taken on our world famous Mile O Post.
Its quite common to see local residents offering to take the photo so that everyone gets in the picture. I wonder how many photos of our post exist. I know I've taken my fair share for all of our out of town guests.
The Mile O Post is one of the most recognizable and frequently photographed landmarks in Canada. It symbolizes the beginning of the Alaska Highway and lists the distances to major destinations along the highway in miles.
Fort St. John 48
Fort Nelson 300
Whitehorse 918
Delta Junction 1398
Fairbanks 1523
The original post sat a couple of blocks away at the traffic circle, but apparently someone ran into it in 1946, so it was replaced and moved to the center of town especially for visitors to our community.
Make sure you touch a piece of history when you come to Dawson Creek and have your picture taken at the Mile O Post.
Don't hesitate to ask one of us to take the photo for you, we're always glad to do it.
A favorite place to take our out-of-town visitors is the big brown grain elevator Art Gallery right in the heart of the city.
Located in the N.A.R. park which is also the home of the Mile "O" Cairn and the Museum and Visitors Center, the Art Gallery is a must see when you come to visit.
The building itself is a renovated grain elevator that was moved to its present location in 1982 by the City of Dawson Creek with the help and support of a group of dedicated Art Society members to save it from demolition.
When you walk in the front doors, you enter the actual belly of the elevator, where the grain was kept all those years ago. I love the original wooden floor.
A ramp was built that spirals up and around the walls to the top.The walls themselves are the gallery space and you simply stroll along, enjoying the art, going higher and higher.At any time, you can stop and peer over the sturdy railing for a great view of the whole space.
The Gallery also has a great gift shop with lots of local treasures.It's a favorite shopping spot for both locals and visitors looking for something hand crafted and unique.
The back staircase of the building is a gallery within a gallery.It is chock full original photos of the building of the Alaska Highway.Make sure you remember to check it out.
As a side note: there is plenty of RV parking at the N.A.R. park.It's the best place to stop and stretch your legs and explore the city.
