2005/07 Alaska Trip - North to Alaska - Williams Lake to Smithers |
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Saturday July 9th
I’d hoped that we’d be able to say our goodbyes and make an early start on out trip north but I noticed that one of our trailer tyres looked a bit flat. Sure enough we had to take it off and get a small nail removed and the hole plugged, so it was noon before we got away.
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Cariboo (Thompson Canyon) and Hudson Bay Mountain |
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We were going to be driving up the Fraser and Thompson Canyons, two very scenic areas, but we were looking at about 2000 miles of driving before we crossed the border into the main part of Alaska, so we could not afford to spend much time looking at places that we’d all seen before. So, we drove the Fraser Canyon straight through and only briefly stopped for a late lunch high above the Thompson River. The weather was kind to us with plenty of sun and just a few showers.
That afternoon I was driving along chewing a toffee when I suddenly had a mouth-full of hard bits. One of my crowns had disintegrated, leaving me with a tooth stump and a collection of bits. As it wasn’t painful I decided to ignore the problem until I could get back to Minnesota for some dental work under warranty.
We’d covered about 300 miles and it was getting dark as we got to Williams Lake, the junction for the road out to Anahim Lake and Bella Coola, where we’d spent our 1999 vacation. We stayed the night just north of there at the Wildwood campground, not a great spot, but quiet enough for a night’s sleep.
Sunday July 10th
Sunday’s weather was much the same, a mixture of sun and showers. The road from Cache Creek through Williams Lake and Quesnel to Prince George is British Columbia’s main south-north route, so it’s quite busy, but as we were only doing 60-65 mph with the trailer, most of the traffic flew past us.
In Prince George, we turned onto the western Yellowhead Highway, a much quieter road that leads to Prince Rupert and the ferry terminal. This was new territory for us too as we’d only driven the Prince Rupert end of the highway. The scenery was getting wilder with more mountains in the background and longer sections of forest. We saw a fox and some deer along the way.
After 400 miles of driving we were happy to stop at Smithers, just as the sun was dropping behind the mountains. There is a lot to see in this area so we were going to be staying a couple of nights. The campground is attached to a golf course, but luckily golf is not compulsory!