This is the ninth in a continuing series about our trip through Canada to Alaska
“In every life there will be a bump in the road.” — Anonymous
Our bump in the road came 149.2 miles north of our last campground in Prince George, British Columbia. And let this be a warning to all who travel these roads, when you see the three triangles on a yellow road sign, take it seriously.
Today we became acquainted with “frost heaves.” It turns out it doesn’t have to be cold when you hit one; they are a bump or series of bumps in the asphalt caused by frost. And when we hit one today, it probably sent our 10,000-pound trailer airborne. The result was more than four hours of work getting red wine stains and balsamic vinegar out of the carpet and putting practically everything in the rear of the trailer back in its place. It’s typically the rear of the trailer that takes the brunt of these things.
This one snuck up on us – it won’t happen again (I hope), but it is impossible to control.
Stellar Jays Love Bijoux Falls
On the pleasant side of the day’s travels, we drove along the Crooked River for miles and saw lake after lake all glistening in the perfect sunny weather. And speaking of glistening, we stopped briefly at Bijoux Falls, probably named that because “bijoux” translates as “jewels,” and the water sparkles as it careens down the mountainside.
The scenery changed from pastoral to mountainous as we once again found the Rocky Mountains. At this point in the chain, the mountains are mostly green with trees and vegetation, not as steep and capped by very little snow. There was enough variety, however, to keep the ride interesting.
We're Back in the Rocky Mountains
A couple of touring notes. As we entered the town of Chetwynd, we 
And the other, in Prince George is the Exploration Place, a museum with something to interest just about everyone. What caught and held our attention was a little movie room. I selected the sixth film first. It is called, “The Log Rollers Waltz.” What a kick! So we went up the list of six short films to “The Cremation of Sam McGee,” and then “The Cat Came Back” and on to the next three. It was 37 minutes of delightful Canadian animated entertainment.
Two Memories from the Exploration Place: Freckles the Leopard Gecko and a scene from "The Cremation of Sam McGee"
Now, a few Alaska travel notes:
If you see a sign for bumps, slow down. I probably mentioned that before, but it’s serious.
A requirement of our caravan is having a CB radio so we can communicate with the staff. We bought a very good Cobra, which, unfortunately has lots of dials and switches. I think for a trip like this, simple is better. With the help of Tailgunner Spence last night we finally got it adjusted, while everyone else probably just turned theirs on and talked.
If you’re going to be in these parts in late summer, we hear that you’d better have reservations if you’re going to stay in private campgrounds. They are already crowded and will get worse.
Our XM radio reception is getting interrupted more often as we head north, which I attribute to the position of the satellite over the horizon. Mountains and trees seem to cause more interference.
And to end on a learning-curve note, yesterday we went into a supermarket. Very impressive. I walked up to the meat counter and asked for a half-pound of rare roast beef. The young man behind the counter just stared at me blankly. Well, I know that as a U.S. citizen, I’m supposed to ask the same question louder so he understands me, but I didn’t do that … luckily. He turned to his co-worked and asked, “How much is a half-pound?” She said something like 250 grams. Oh.
But there’s more. We had parked our truck in a section of the parking lot across an entry/exit lane. The shopping cart cost us 25 cents, returnable when you take the cart back. So we just went merrily along toward our truck. When we got to that lane, a brake clicked into place so we couldn’t move it forward or backward. A passing shopper yelled from his car to tell us that we couldn’t take the cart out of the grocery’s parking lot.
And finally, back to the map issue. It’s been done for us. Go to http://www.adventurecaravans.com/alaska/avc_alaska_map.asp?TCC=58AK2011870. That is the ultimate source.
Busy day Sunday in Dawson Creek, B.C.
From the “Never-Bored RVers,” We’ll see you on down the road.
Continue to Part X – “Our Alaska Trip -The Story of the Highway” >>