Up to find that there had been a heavy dew overnight and the grass in the fields was quite damp. We slept well even though we were camped a short distance from the highway.
The assembly and departure of all the vehicles went like a charm this morning as everyone now knows the procedure.
A long drive in the morning with pine trees lining the road. There were sections of pine trees that were affected by a beetle and the trees have died. One of our convoy members is an ex-forrester and said that the beetle lays eggs in the trees and they then eat around the trees in a circular pattern effectively ring barking the trees. They mill the trees but the dust is quite dangerous and has exploded and caused death and injuries, now more precautions are taken.
Our morning tea stop was at the Prophet River Air Strip. All our stops have to be big enough to allow for the whole convoy to park together.
A mountainous drive into Fort Nelson where we stopped for lunch and refueled. Fort Nelson has a population of 5,055. It was home to approx 2,000 troops during the construction of the highway. The town has been rebuilt about 5 times due to fire and finding better locations.This is a base for the gas industry which is quite substantional. We will be staying at this town on our way back so will have a better chance to have a look around.
As it was Sunday there was no problem parking and there were not many people around. A pick-up sack lunch was supplied by the community and Elks Cub and consisted of a sandwich, cookies, piece of fruit and drink.
The afternoon presented us with some amazing scenery through mountains and valleys of the Rocky Mountain group. There were huge and long grades to climb and the old vehicles were put to the test. Once again the concern was that they might overheat. We drove up and along the ridge of Steamboat Mountain (named because of its resemblence to a steamship) with views over the Muskwa River Valley and Rocky Mountains to the southwest.
Summit Pass at 4,250ft is the highest summit on the Alaskan Highway. At Mile 397 crews had to blast through the rock to create a road. It is a beautiful area of bare, rocky peaks.
Our camp for the night was at Toad River Lodge. This is an historic lodge which has been on the highway since 1950. On the ceilings is a huge collection of hats which number more than 6,800.
We were lucky enough to have a site along the edge of the lake and saw 2 moose in the water on the other side.
Jim and Sandy, I am really enjoying your tales of the AC'12 travel. Thanks for all the facts and interesting tidbits, too. Ellen
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