May 16 - 17, 2024 Our time in Quesnel and Changes

 Thursday, May 16th, 2024

We were up and on the road heading north - a little rainy and windy:

The scenery continues to be breathtaking:

Would love to know the story of this place (we saw so many old/abandoned places):

Some blue sky!

Horses:

We have seen a few of these cemeteries along the way.  I don't know if it is a family cemetery or an old historic one:

Blue skies and puffy clouds:

Moose and Elk - we watched but did not see any:

But we did see cows - lots of cows - LOL:

Interesting house - I thought it was some type of center:

The view from this house must be amazing:

Farms:

And Flowers:

And Lakes, oh my:

Our first stop was the Walmart in Quesnel.  We needed a few items and I did learn something.  This is another country and even though some items are a Walmart item, they are not sold in every country.

Interesting tidbit: I am having a hard time finding butter.  Lots of margarine, plant based spreads and something with a lot of chemicals in it but no butter (where the ingredients say milk, cream and maybe salt.)  I wonder what that is all about.

Our destination tonight was the Airport Inn and RV Park in Quesnel.  Once we set up, we took a ride to check out the town.  We made a stop for filtered water and the local Safeway (where I did find butter - Yea).  

Not sure how long we will be here so stay tuned. 

Stats for May 16th:

Miles Traveled: 170 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Canada - British Columbia: BC-97

May 17th, 2024

Over the last week we have been watching the situation unfold in northern British Columbia.  There are forest fires around Fort Nelson, BC.  They have evacuated the town (over 4000 people) and shut down the Alaskan Highway.

Please keep all the folks as well as first responders in your prayers.  God bless them.

As of today, it has been shut down for a week and there are no plans to open it up yet.  We were told that when it opens, the residents will be first, the truckers and supplies will be next, and then the tourists (which could be up to a week after opening).

Many of the pages that I am following recommend for those heading to Alaska and currently in BC to plan on using the Cassier Highway (we did use that in 2009).  Yesterday we made that decision and we will be heading west from Prince George and then north.  ( I am SO GLAD that I do not make reservations too far in advance.)

Today was spending time going over our new route.  I plan places to stop and then have backups just in case.  We also have no problems staying in rest areas if need be.  And we may meet lots of folks along the way heading to Alaska.  Plus there are some new areas to explore.

So here is some of our itinerary:

Fraser Lake; Telkwa, Hazelton, Hyder* (if it is dry, otherwise no), Iskut, Dease Lake, Watson Lake, Teslin, Whitehorse, Kluane, **White River, Tok, Chicken, 

* If it is rainy, no.  In 2009 we spent time in Stewart and Hyder -  great places.  But the salmon are not running now so there will not be a lot of bears to watch.  We started on the road to the mine and glacier but it was so muddy, we just kept sliding and gave up - it rained a lot then.  Sooo if it is dry, we will go to see the Glacier.

**After Kluane, who knows.  That is too far in advance for me - LOL!

We will be here in Quesnel another day or two.  This weekend is a big Canadian holiday (almost like the US Memorial Day).  We were told that this is the beginning of camping season for the locals.  If we leave Monday, we will be good in finding places.  If we leave Sunday, I am not so sure.  So we will see.  

Stay tuned as we continue our journey and thank you for following along.

(Side note: Can you believe that I am caught up with the blog!  Yes, worked on that today too.  I do know that once we are on the Cassier we lose all cell phone service and internet so it may be a while until I get caught up.  Just an FYI.)