The Longest Leg
(July 19)
Dear Folks,
Greetings from the Woodlands Inn and Suites in Ft. Nelson, BC. As the sign indicates, this place has everything. It is also the only game in town. It is not a chain—very folksy.
We wish that you all could have been with us us today—although that would have made Miracle very crowded. We drove from Grande Prairie to Dawson Creek. Then we picked up the Alaska Highway and went several hundred miles on it. It takes you through the Canadian Rockies and has splendid terrain. You go up, down, and around. You drive on bridges spanning gorges with rivers. The forests vary by altitude: conifers up high and birches and aspen down lower. The green meadows have purple flowers. We wish we could have taken some photos. Most of the forests looked healthy. There were some stretches, though, with dead trees.
The Alaska Highway was built during World War II. Up until then, Alaska got most supplies by sea. There was concern that this made her vulnerable. So the two nations cooperated and built this marvel in EIGHT MONTHS! It is 1500 miles long. It is a major truck route. It didn’t seem that busy today.
The Woodlands is bustling. They have had a lot of firefighters staying here for the past few months fighting fires up north. We may see that tomorrow.
Forgot to mention that when we were in WI and MN, there were air quality alerts because of smoke from other Canadian fires.
Tomorrow we make the long hike up to Whitehorse. That should be our longest drive.
Wags and hugs.
(July 20)
One of the intriguing things about the wheelchair accessible rooms here is that you get BOTH a roll/in shower and a separate tub. We think that the object on the bed is supposed to be a raven.
We started out the day in Ft. Nelson, BC. The wind had shifted and it was very smoky. You could see, smell, and taste it. As we took our morning walk, we saw the firefighters preparing for their day. They were checking their gear. They travel in a number of Mack pickups. They also have a medical treatment center in a pickup that travels with them. Everyone we saw looked very young and lean. We did see one young woman in the group. They wear uniforms: maroon shirts, black pants and caps, army boots. We hope they have respirators and oxygen. Inhaling that smoke must be like chain smoking for decades.
We mentioned yesterday the dead trees. We don’t know what caused it, but they would make awesome fuel for fires. As we drove along, we saw that there is some cutting out the dead wood. They need lots more.
The visibility was very poor when we started out. The smoke made it tough. Then as we drove into the mountains, we drove into clouds. We crawled along. At one point, a truck was coming out of a rest area and did not see us at first.
It was intriguing to start off this morning and have Google say: stay on the Alaska Highway for 588 miles.
We feel grateful and privileged to be able to make this trip and see these sites. That said, it is challenging. Driving through the mountains, you often can’t use cruise control. I am grateful for every moment of upper body exercises I do. Still, this kind of driving with hand controls tears up your shoulders, arms, and hands. If someone asked if I would recommend the trip to another hand controls user, I would say that they need to be very determined. Fortunately, that describes the Lowmans. We have no regrets. Just enormous thankfulness.
Wags and hugs.
The Lowman Family
