Awesome Day in Beautiful British Columbia!

British Columbia's license plates say Beautiful British Columbia. That is one license plate that is more than a slogan; it is the honest truth, pure and simple! As we left Prince George this morning, looking down the road, it was obvious we were in for some more mountains.

After driving 100 miles, we diverted to go to a gas station a mile off of Highway 97. The turnoff took us over a rickety wooden bridge that made groaning noises as we drove over it. It is a narrow one lane bridge. Some of the wood was rotted away. This reminded me of a bridge from my childhood in Bakusburg, Kentucky, minus the hills. We made it safely across this bridge to find the gas station is closed on Mondays.

As we got closer to the mountains, the temperature dropped a bit. We started the day at 51 and the temperature rose to about 65 until we ascended into the mountains. Temperature dropped back to 50.

I pulled off the highway to get a better look at the Bijou Falls. The photo does not do it justice and, unfortunately, you cannot hear them as we did.

As we were pulling back onto the highway, I looked right of me where we had just come from, as well as left to continue north on 97; I was surprised to see the mountains that were behind where we had just come from and enjoyed seeing where we yet had to travel.

As we started the day, there was a warning sign that we were on a wildlife corridor with moose, deer and bear. With all of the incredible scenic beauty around us on every side, I did have to keep in mind that I really did need to be on the lookout for wildlife. I was not disappointed when we laid eyes on this bear.

As we entered Chetwynd, we were struck by the carvings under their welcome sign.

We then pulled over to read this informational sign.

The annual carving competition ended yesterday but we were still able to see many incredible chainsaw carvings.

As we approached this bridge over the Pine River, I was fascinated by its design. I pulled over to get a photo of it.  

We struck up a conversation with two guys that were here at the bridge as well, Aaron and Todd. It turns out they are Royal Canadian Mounted Police and were kind enough to contribute to our son-in-laws collection.

Thanks Aaron and Todd!

As we are driving on a wildlife corridor, we are most appreciative that they keep a clear space of about 100 feet adjacent to the highway. It's nice to be able to see along the edge of the roadway so clearly.

And we conclude our day at Dawson Creek, 240 miles from where we began the day. We will spend the day here in Dawson Creek and see a few sights before we begin traveling the Alaska Highway. So we settle in on Rita's 61st birthday for a little rest and relaxation.

Till Tomorrow!