After we finally were ready to go and had finished socializing, we left Mile 0 Campground and headed … south. Despite it’s name, Mile 0 Campground is located about 1.5 miles north of the actual mile 0, and because we arrived from the west, our tires had not yet touched the Alaska Highway. So we headed south 1.5 miles to the official start of the Alaska Highway, rounded the traffic circle, topped off our fuel tank and set out on our first Alaska Highway day.
Our first stop was only seventeen miles out of town on the short section of old Alaska Highway and the curved wooden trestle bridge over the Kiskatinaw River. It was a very cool bridge with very light traffic as pretty much only tourists go this route. The bridge has a weight limit of 14,000 kg (a hair over 30,000 lbs), so all but the heaviest rv’s would be legal to cross it.
We topped off our fuel in Fort St. John, the last city of any size until Fort Nelson, about 230 miles away. Once past Fort St. John, the scenery improved and became forested hills or low mountains with generally light traffic. The road was excellent for the first 150 miles or so before becoming a little bumpier.
We overnighted at Buckinghorse River Provincial Park. Three obnoxious large class A’s parallel parked across six campsites (paying for only three), but we were still early enough to snag a campsite with a river view out our windshield. Humorously, a couple of tent campers decided to set up tents in two of the sites the motorhomes did not pay for. I’m not sure that I’d have wanted to be in the middle of them, but we hope that the obnoxious motorhome owners were annoyed by it.
There is not a ton of privacy at this park, although interestingly they apparently have removed half of the campsites to improve spacing. It worked well for us, and while not free, was much quieter, more scenic and better for walking the dog than a highway pull-out.
Day 22 (Day 16 in Canada)
Miles: 175*
Driving time: 3:45
Roads: Alaska Highway (BC-97)
Road conditions: Excellent for most of the day
Overnight: Buckinghorse River Provincial Park
Weather: Partly cloudy (50/63)
Total miles since crossing Canadian border: 1,389*
Total miles: 2,957*
* Since our motorhome is our only vehicle, mileage includes side trips.