First day on the actual Alaska Highway. Left Dawson Creek about 6:30 this morning in a light rain that pretty much got steadily worse until about an hour before I got to Ft. Nelson. Nevertheless, the road was good, the scenery was pretty, and there really wasn't much traffic. About 10 miles out of Dawson Creek, I detoured over to a 6-mile section of the original Alcan highway and the Kiskatinaw Curved Bridge that, when it was built in 1943 was the longest curved wooden bridge in North America and is one of the only surviving original bridges on the original highway.
As you can see, the bridge is wooden, even the decking.
This'll give you some idea of what the old highway looked like leading to the bridge. The pavement is "chip seal", which looks like the stuff they use in our neck of the woods on secondary roads.
Here's a sign you don't see often:
I actually saw a moose, today, about 5 miles north of Dawson Creek. Unfortunately, it had lost a battle with a truck. What a huge animal, though.
Continued on up to "Pink Mountain" (elevation 4,000 feet or so), which was the last gas stop for 143 miles on the way to Ft. Nelson. Between there and Ft. Nelson, I came upon this roadside stop and this plaque, which you can read if you zoom in on the picture:
The new section of the road (which was about as straight as an arrow) eliminated some 132 curves in the old road.
Arrived in Ft. Nelson around 2:30 in a steady drizzle. Leaving tomorrow for Watson Lake, Yukon Territory, about 300 miles further north. On the way, I'll be passing over Summit Pass, which is the highest point on the Alaska Highway. Miles today: 311. Total Miles: 3,716.
