Day 9 - September 11th, 2010 Whitecourt, AB - Fort Nelson, BC

"There are three dangers of the Fire Swamp: the flame spurt, the lightning sand, and Rodents of Unusual Size (ROUSs)."

There are also three dangers of the Alaska Highway: the majestic moose, the empty gas-tank, and Pot-holes of Unusual Size (POUSs).

As soon as we get on the highway this morning, we see warning signs: "Moose Row" " Save our Wildlife" "Watch for Moose."

We don't see any moose aside from those on the multiple signs, but we do see many red-tailed hawks as we leave Alberta and enter BC, "The Best Place on Earth," according to the signs. The terrain is getting hillier as we enter the foothills of the upper Rockies. The first town we come to in BC is Dawson Creek, which is also the entrance to the "World Famous Alaska Highway." We fill up our reserve gas tank and enjoy the scenery.

Heather attempts to navigate my camera, as I drive the hilly road. An interesting scene on the side of the road, finds the camera left untouched in Heather's lap as we both try to make sense of the situation. An ultralight airplane, and a tent, right on the side of the highway. Apparently it is not uncommon for people to use this highway as a runway. Flying along enjoying the scenery from the air, they landed on the highway and pulled just off the road to camp for the night.

A couple of hundred kilometers later we have our first encounter with an un-paved section of the Alaska Highway. We knew we would come across these sooner or later. I'm not sure either of us suspected there would also be pot-holes you could lose a moose in! We slow the truck to a crawl and try to avoid the pot-holes as best we can. After only about 10-15 km, a lovely patchwork pavement returns. I will not take it for granted again.

Soon, however we spot another ominous sign looming ahead - this one a literal sign, reading: "Last gas station for 100 km." We look at the gas gauge on the truck - just over a 1/4 of a tank. That won't get us far at the rate of 7 miles to the gallon as has been our standard on these hilly roads. We pull into the gas station only to find it closed for the evening (it is 7:45 pm). There was a reason we filled that reserve gas tank. We add the extra gas to the truck and we're able to make it to Fort Nelson for the night, where fueling stations and overpriced hotels abound.