Mile Post Zero of the Alaskan Highway

It was just a short drive from Chetwynd to Dawson Creek. We decided to spend the night next to Wal-Mart. Since we arrived early, we had our choice of spots.

  After a rest and lunch we went downtown to explore. Of course we took a picture of the milepost in the center of the main street of downtown before going to the visitor center to get a picture with the other Mile Zero sign.

Larry wanted to visit Kiskatinaw River Bridge about 20 miles west of Dawson Creek so we drove out to see the historic bridge which is original to the old highway.

  It is the only original timber structure still in use today.

 The new Alaskan Highway bypasses this section of the old highway. When this bridge was in use, tanker trucks had to ford the river below the bridge because they were too heavy for the bridge.

On returning to Wal-Mart, Bob and I decided to go geocaching for the rest of the afternoon. We were familiar with the town from our previous visit and were able to get a few more caches to add to our numbers.
 
 We only spent one night in Dawson Creek before moving a bit further north. As we headed toward Fort St. John we had to cross the Peace River. The bridge crosses the longest water span on the Alaska Highway. Bob and I pulled off at an overlook before descending to the bridge.

We bypassed Fort St. John and Buckinghorse Provincial Park (the entrance is now lined with temporary housing for gas and oil workers) to stop at the abandoned Prophet River Provincial Park. It is close to an emergency airstrip. On this day, the airstrip was being used by firefighters working a fire to the northeast of the area. We watched the helicopters dip their buckets in to the river before heading off to dump them on the fire.

 Connie and I walked a trail almost to the river before turning back to our campsite. Bob and I decided to see if we could get to the river....and we did! We saw evidence of moose, but no other animals.

We enjoyed our night at the abandoned provincial park. After eight o'clock, the helicopters called it a night so it was peaceful and quiet. For an abandoned park, the area was well kept and well used.

After our night at Prophet River, it was time to move on to Ft. Nelson and see if we could make it to Northwest Territories---a place Bob and I missed on our last trip.