After leaving Jasper NP, we drove to Hinton, Alberta just east of the park so that we could take Route 40 (known as the Bighorn Highway or "The Scenic Route to Alaska") to Dawson Creek (British Columbia)...the start of the Alaska Highway. The Bighorn Highway is 202 miles long and Known for being a wilderness preserve where lots of wildlife usually is seen. Unfortunately, we drove for hours and never saw a bear, a goat, an elk, or moose. And because it was Victoria Weekend in Canada---the equivalent to our Memorial Day Weekend---all the few campsites in William A. Switzer Provincial Park were filled, and Switzer Provincial Park was the only park along the highway.

Eventually around 5 PM we saw a sign for the last campground in the park , we saw no sign that it was closed or full, and we drove in....only to find a sign down the driveway saying the campground was closed for the season so that it could be repaired and renovated! Well, it was late, we were tired, and no one was around. And so we pretended we were the "camp hosts" for the closed campground and parked the Pursuit next to the office!

The unofficial camp hosts of William A. Switzer Provincial Park

Part of our "job" was to make sure people knew the campground was closed.

In the next morning, our stint as "camp hosts" at Switzer Provincial Park was over and we headed for Dawson Creek in British Columbia .....where the Alaska Highway officially begins.

After Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and especially after Japan attacked a small, western island of Alaska, both the United States and Canada felt there was an immediate need to build a highway across the Canadian wilderness so that troops and supplies could be transported to defend both countries. And so starting on March 8, 1941, a massive engineering project was started. Approximately 1500 miles of highway had to be built where there had been no roads, where the obstacles varied from the Canadian Rockies to hundreds of river crossings and miles of swamps and mud, and from relentless attacks from millions of bugs and Alaskan mosquitos to temperatures as low as 50 degrees below zero.

In spite of all the challenges and unimaginable problems, the "Alaskan Highway" was officially "completed" or opened eight months later on October 25, 1942. Of course, what was completed in 1942 was just a very basic primitive road...nevertheless it was a road that stretched from Dawson Creek, British Columbia to Fairbanks, Alaska.

Initially the road was built with more than 11,000 American troops, 16,000 civilian workers from Canada and the United States, and 7000 pieces of heavy equipment. The "completed" road wasn't pretty, it often had to be repaired, and civilian contractors were hired to make it more usable and permanent in the months and years after its opening in 1942. Nevertheless, the Alaska/Canadian Highway was eventually designatied as the 16th International Historic civil Engineering Lankmark (designated as such in 1996).

Right after the war in 1946, the United States gave control and ownership of the Candian portions of the highway to the Canadian government, and in 1948 the Alaskan Highway (aka the AlCan) was opened to civilian use.

Today it's a two lane "highway" which goes right through many small towns and cities, and through miles and miles and miles of wilderness. And for us, driving the Alaskan Highway was one of those many occasions when "it's the journey that counts, not the destination!"

One of the few remaining bridges of the original Alaskan Highway ...built in 1942 (but not part of the current highway)

One of many trucks left after the contruction of the Alcan

Leaving Dawson Creek and Mile Post "0", we drove through Fort St.John, Fort Nelson, and Watson Lake on our way to Whitehorse, the capitol of the Yukon Territory. All along the way, we were driving along the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains until we crossed over the Continental Divide again between Watson Lake and Whitehorse.

Needless to say, it is a long drive---the distance from Dawson Creek to Whitehorse is just over 900 miles---but all along the way there are things to see and places to visit--not least of which were the Liard Hot Springs! Unfortunately, we had a lot of clouds during those days, and so we didn't take as many pictures as we probably would have taken if we had had clear skies. Nevertheless, from the pictures we did take, you can imagine how beautiful it is!

A view from our campground in Teslin

A view from our campground in Teslin

Views from the Alaskan Highway

Views from the Alaskan Highway

From Whitehorse (Yukon), we veered off the Alaskan Highway and drove south on the South Klondike Highway to get to Skagway, Alaska. If you look at a map, it's hard to believe Skagway is part of Alaska and the United States. It is accessible by only one road, it's isolated, and the only way to get to it is through the Tormented Valley---a "rocky, desolate "moonscape" of stunted trees and small lakes"! And yet, the drive down to Skagway from Whitehorse is one of the most beautiful and impressive highways we've ever been on!

Views from south of the Alaskan Highway

Views from south of the Alaskan Highway

The Tormented Valley

Needless to say, when we finally arrived in Alaska, we felt we had finally reached at least the first part of our destination! And it was amazing! From the U.S./Canadian border, it's a continuous downhill drive from the White Pass to Skagway and the ocean! And all along the way, we wanted to stop and take some more pictures! Of course, we couldn't and we didn't, but we arrived in Skagway very impressed with our first views of Alaska!

Welcome to Alaska

The village of Skagway looking down from the White Pass

The village of Skagway as seen from the ocean

Our Campsite in Skagway where we enjoyed four nights

Bruce and Sara--Travels in 2008 (Opening Page)

Jan to April 2008---The SAM Shortline in Cordele, GA

Jan to April 2008---The SAM Shortline Route: Leslie, Americus, Plains, and Archery, GA
Jan to April 2008---Weekend Excursions in Georgia and Florida
Jan to April 2008---A Visit to Andersonville and the National POW Museum
Late in March 2008---Sara's Birthday and a Visit by Jimmy Carter