The Alaska Highway!

This morning we woke up at 6 AM and got ready.  We took some of our bags down before going to enjoy the delicious breakfast of eggs, sausage, pastries and baked goods, pancakes, waffles, yogurt, cereal, lots of things to put on top of pancakes and waffles such as strawberries, juice (apple, orange, cranberry, and pink grapefruit), and cocoa.  It was such a fancy breakfast!  I had one sausage, a strawberry yogurt, a croissant (yaay...I love them!), cereal, juice (orange), and cocoa.  The lobby of our hotel was very fancy with a fancy glass partition wall, comfy-looking chairs, a bowl of apples, and friendly, helpful staff.  Our room had two wonderful queen beds with four pillows per bed.  We had a small kitchenette with a refrigerator; some plates, bowls, cups, and silverware; a nice big kitchen sink; a silver platter with wine glasses and a nice glass cups; and then the bathroom -- a nice clean tub-shower; and a whole kit with shampoo, conditioner, mouthwash, lotion, and other end-of-day/shower essentials.  It was a really great hotel!

After breakfast, we finished loading up and were heading toward Fort Nelson at 7:30 on 43-West.  In Valleyview, we stopped for gas, then back on 43, heading toward Grande Prairie (population 55,032).  Once we got there, we went south for a short bit on 2, until we were back on 43-West.

Finally, we arrived at the start of the Alaska Highway...a very momentous occasion!  We drove through the official roundabout, took pictures of the sign and Official Mile 0 Marker, and went into the Visitor Center.  It is the old train depot with historical displays such as the baggage depot and ticket booth.  There were some signs to read, but we didn't spend much time in there.  We just went in the gift shop and browsed through the shirts, postcards, magnets, hats, stuffed animals, maps, hatpins, DVDs, and more.  I got a hatpin (to add to my ever-growing collection) and a red cedar postcard -- very authentic with the actual wood as it is.  I paid American cash for that and received Canadian cash back...which was funny because I keep forgetting that I am in a different country with different money, so I was kind of startled at first! :)

We had lunch at Tim Horton's, which sells sandwiches, coffees in various forms (like lattes), donuts, and ice cream.  I got the egg salad doughnut combo, which contains a nice-sized egg salad sandwich, an apple juice, and a Canadian Maple doughnut.  It was glazed with maple and had a sweet cream cheese filling.  Very yummy!  After that, we stopped in Fort St. John for gas again.  While we were there, we met a man who was from Fairbanks, Alaska, and was moving his mother there.  His mother was from St. Peters, Missouri, which is near us.  How weird is that?!

As we drove on the Alaska Highway, we enjoyed seeing little tiny towns such as Wonowon, Pink Mountain, Sikanni Chief (unincorporated), Buckinghorse River, and Prophet River.  They may be small, but they usually have a cute little bed-and-breakfast or church.  From small towns come big dreams and people, so don't ever count them out!  We arrived at our Super 8 in Fort Nelson at 6:20.  It has a small kitchenette, two queen beds with four pillows, a nice bathroom, and a pool with a slide.  We had dinner at the hotel with food we had.

We finished the evening by having a nice 45-minute swim.  I did some "water ballet," which is kind of funny because all your movements are slower.  Still, it was lots of fun to try pirouettes (just getting a single outward turn was an accomplishment in five-foot-deep water)!  I also went down the slide three times.  I normally don't like slides all that much, but so far on this trip, I have gone on two slides three times each...that's six times.  I am getting braver!

Have a great weekend!

Here I am at the official start of the Alaska Highway!

~Anna~