Stan:
Tuesday August 9, Terrace Northwest BC. Canada.
It's been seven days since the last post and we've done a lot in the meantime. This will be a long post; I should break it up, but it's going to take me an hour or more to get it on the internet as it is. If I break it up I think it will take me longer. We're staying at the Wild Duck RV park and they have DSL so I'll take advantage of it.
Tuesday August 2.
Today we left the Watson lake area and proceeded down the Cassiar highway. In my last post I wrote that the Cassiar was a highway to regard with indifference, or hate with a passion. We've driven 200 miles and, although I can't say the experience has been all that bad, it's not a highway I'll remember with fondness. So I guess I'm ambivalent. We left the Junction of 37 and Yukon 1 at 7:30 A. M. and arrived at the Tatogga Lake RV in Iskut B. C. around 1:30 P.M., another 6-hour drive to go 200 miles. I don't mind driving 45 or 50 miles per hour if there is interesting and varied scenery to look at. There were some scenic stretches that kept my mind off the bumpy road, but for the most part, it's a pretty bland drive. Of course I'm comparing it to the Ice Field Park Way in Jasper National Park, Or the Danali highway, so that's not really fare.
Somewhere on Highway 37.
A big chunk of Alaskan jade at Jade City.
Proof we were there.
I've gotten rather good at forgetting the pot holes and frost heaves we've encountered during the day's drive. Once we stop for the night, I upload the photos I've taken during the day and these become my lasting impression. I only remember the good parts of the day's drive, selective memory, a good thing to have. We've driven roads during this trip that I never would have ventured on before. We've kind of taken the attitude that we never know what memorable sights might be around the corner, so why let a little thing like an impassible road stand in our way. I think we have become a little bit more adventuresome. Probably because we may not be coming this way again, we don't want to think we've missed something, because we were too timid to take the road less traveled.
Every day should end like this one has. The RV park is a picture in itself. Up front is the fueling station, a very large, white, above ground tank. Gas is in one compartment, diesel in the other. A small attendants shack is at one end of the tank and serves as the fuel pay station, as well as the RV park office. The teardrop-shaped park, slops from the fueling station down the hill to a small lake about 500 yards away. Other than the access roads, the park is grass covered. Down the center of the park are six, flat terraced pull throughs for the bigger rigs. These steps are about 60 ft. long by 15 wide, nice and big. Around the edges of the grassy area, are back ins and spots for tents. At the top of the park, before you enter the hookup area, are cabins with names like wolf-den, coyote-den, and beaver-den. One special cabin, on stilts, is called the honeymoon cache. This is in reference to small storage huts, called caches, placed on stilts to prevent animals from getting into food stores. They are very common in native villages. What connection this has to a honeymoon, I'm not sure, but the locals probably could come up with an appropriate story.
Fueling station RV office, Tatogga RV park highway 37.
The RV park, with lake behind the trees.
Honeymoon Cache.
At the very bottom of the park, next to the lake, is a landing area for helicopters. We discovered this shortly after we arrived, while taking Sheila for a walk down to the lake. We had started back when a helicopter came in with a load of something, dangling from a long cable. A worker on the ground, unhooked that load and attached a sling to the cable with two 50 gallon drums. The chopper immediately whizzed away up the lake, with the drums, swinging on the long cable, underneath. I think the load of stuff dropped off might have been plastic bags of trash. Anyway, the worker loaded the bags, of whatever, in a pickup truck and drove off.
Landing with load of plastic bags.
This is a very long cable, can't see the choper.
The RV park has a restaurant/gift shop attached, so we ate an early dinner. I had a buffalo burger, and man, it was delicious, one of the best meals we've had since leaving home.
After dinner, we picked up Sheila from the trailer and went back to the lake shore. On the shore, are a few cabins and a couple of sea plane docks. A sea plane was moored to one of the docks. I didn't recognize the type, but it was a red, four passenger, tail dragger, with pontoons, and looked like it could leap off the water in the blink of an eye. The owner of the restaurant told me the plane was for charter at $6.50 per mile. That's expensive; short excursions were priced at $500.00. I had thought it would be fun to go on a short ride, until I found out the cost. Hikers use the planes as a fairy service. The bush pilot will fly them into an area, let them hike for several days to another designated spot, and pick them up.
$6.50 per mile ride.
While we were at the lake, we took a walk up the beach. It's sand and gravel about 25 feet wide. We walked a hundred yards or so up the beach and on the way back, Sheila picked up a piece of driftwood. She played with it like she always plays with sticks, tossing it into the air and trying to catch it. I wondered what she would do if I threw it into the lake. Would she go in after it? She had been playing in shallow water. Having a ball, running into the water, taking a bite, like she does with snow, and splashing around. So I figured she might play fetch. The first time I threw the stick only a short distance into the water, and she promptly went after it. Each time I threw it a bit further out, and she would retrieve it. Finally, I tossed it out far enough, that she was in deeper water, up to her chest. The stick was a couple of feet beyond her reach. That seemed to be her limit. She stopped and waited for the small current to bring the stick to her. It didn't, so she came back to shore. I got another stick and tossed it into the water, the way I had before, short tosses, then longer and longer until she was up to her neck again. She finally went all out and swam a few strokes to get the stick. By the time she had the stick, she was in deep enough that she had to swim, in order to turn around and come back to shore. Which she did of course, and came romping back up the beach, stick in her mouth, just as pleased as she could be with her accomplishment.
Wranglerett Sheila with Deet soaked bandana to ward off mosquitos.
Having a good time.
Going deep for the stick.
Got that sucker.
On the way back to the trailer, the chopper came in for a landing again. Two men got out, unloaded their gear, duffel bags, clothes, an ice chest etc., carried it to a parked pickup, and left. The pilot refueled from a large storage tank, and took off. There were, what looked liked construction supplies, pipe, and long, thin, narrow wooden containers stacked around. I'm assuming the chopper takes these supplies somewhere, and perhaps the two men were miners or something. Anyway that was one busy chopper.
Dropping off passengers.
August 3, 2005
We left Tatogga Lake today to finish the Cassiar Highway; the final score is D+. The only reason I give it the extra plus, is due to the last 100 miles. Out of 450 miles, 100 or so, can be called non bone jarring, semi smooth road surface. Of course, compared to the early days, when the entire trip was over gravel roads and took four days, I don't have many complaints. We will never come back this way. The scenery is nothing to speak of and why punish the truck and trailer, not to mention our patience, to shorten the trip by a few hundred miles.
At Kitwanga, we stopped in the Cassiar RV park for the night but wound up staying two days, looking at totem poles.
August 4, 2005
Within 30 miles of Kitwanga are several sites where old totem poles are preserved. Just up the road from the RV park is Gitwangak, with a row of eight or nine preserved totem poles and a carving shed where new poles were being carved.
Visitors were welcome to come into the shed and watch, so I did. The carvers were working on three poles, perhaps twelve feet in length. A bear, to be placed on the top of one pole, was being roughed out by a woman carver. There were three apprentice carvers and the master carver. Of the apprentices, one had been carving seven years and the other two, less than a year.
The poles are marked up with an outline of the design. A small chain saw is then used to remove large areas of wood before the final modeling begins. The hand tools are usually made by each carver from salvaged saw mill band saw or circle saw blades. This steel makes excellent carving tools. It's hard enough to hold an edge but not so hard that it takes hours to sharpen.
Outside the carving shed, were two logs on saw horses having the bark removed. These logs will be made into canoes for display on the grounds. There were several young men decorating a booth of some sort. It looked like a food stand. I'm guessing that the shed, totem poles, and canoes will be part of a larger attraction. The totem poles and carving shed are already popular. As we were leaving, more tourist arrived to take a look at the carving process.
Our next stop was Ksan, an historical Gitxsan native village. Ksan means the "River Of Mist". Gitxsan translates as "The People of The River of Mist."
Ksan is, as far as I could determine, built on, or near, an original Gitxsan site, and stands at the confluence of two rivers, the Skeena and Bulkley.
The longhouses and totem poles are replicas produced in the 1970's. Inside the houses are many artifacts, either replicas, or contemporary art objects on loan to the Ksan nonprofit society.
Gitxsan village.
We went on the guided tour, which lasted about an hour and a half. Our guide took us into each longhouse, talked about the articles inside and gave us some historical insight into the Gitxsan culture. His brief introduction was followed by a more detailed recorded narration. Our guide was fairly knowledgeable and answered most our questions.
The Gitxsan were originally divided into three clans, or houses, the Frog House, the Wolf House, and the Fireweed House. A fourth house, the Eagle House was a captured clan. The Eagle Clan invaded the territory occupied by the other three clans, but lost the battle and was forced to join the other houses. Sounds like a good deal for everyone. I assume the Eagle House brought the rights to its territory with it, so they both profited.
When we got to Ksan, we were an hour and a half early for the next tour, so we went up the road 13 km to another village called Kispiox. In Kispiox there are several very old totem poles, perhaps as old as 200 years. Preserving and duplicating totem poles is a big thing in BC. Every major city has its own poles, carved for special occasions, or just for display. As an example, to mark British Columbia's centenary, a totem pole measuring 100 ft. was presented to Queen Elizabeth and stands in Windsor Great Park in England. A duplicate was carved and placed near the Maritime Museum in Vancouver. I hope we'll see it when we visit there in a couple of weeks.
A short distance from the RV park, through the woods, is the Kitwanga River. The Gitanyow Fisheries Authority has a fish trap and sampling station there, so we walked the half mile or so to take a look.
Trapping, measuring and taking DNA sample.
The trap is a movable metal dam spanning the river. On each end are mesh traps with gates at each end. When a fish swims into the trap the gates are lowered and the fish is netted by the researcher. The fish is then dumped into a trough where it is measured and a sample of flesh taken to test its DNA. The research is being conducted to determine which salmon return to the spawning areas.
August 6 Prince Rupert
We traveled to Prince Rupert Friday; I didn't know what to expect, so it was a pleasant surprise. The highway follows the Skeena River almost to Prince Rupert. We've driven roads many times that parallel rivers and, usually, the roads are narrow, twisty, and make you want to be doing something else. But Highway 16 was built by the government during WWII and has been well maintained since. The Skeena river was used by paddle wheelers for many years, so it's a big river. It takes up most of the valley floor, which looks like it was carved out of granite. Thousand foot granite uplifts on both sides of the valley are covered with tall cedar trees that have managed to attach themselves to the rocky inclines.
North of Prince Rupert.
Skeen River.
Skena River gravel bars.
Once the river has a chance to spread out, it widens into an expanse of gravel bars separated by small channels. The gravel bars are accessible from the highway in many places, and attract quite a few fishermen at this time of year. Where they can, fishermen drive their campers or pickups out onto the bars, and set up camp. If they have a boat, they will cross the river and set up camp on the opposite shore of the river. Sport fishing is a big thing here, like it is in Alaska. I would say, 75% of people in RV parks, are here for the fishing.
There are also many small lakes and ponds along the highway. There surface makes an excellent mirror when the air is still. I like to photograph reflections from water, so I stopped several times. This was a very memorable drive; Its one you can make over and over again and see something a bit different every time. The trip down, was cloudy and rainy, so Saturday, we drove back about 35 miles to see what we missed on Friday. But first, we took in the Museum of Northern British Columbia and toured the North Pacific Historic Fishing Village, and cannery.
The Museum in Prince Rupert, is housed in a longhouse-styled building. Native Longhouses were beam and pole construction and could be sixty feet or more in length. The museum is an impressive structure. I would like to build a house using this construction technique.
Carved masks and head gear.
Early Matag?
As museums go, it's small, and doesn't have an abundance of artifacts. We always like to wander through collections of old stuff anyway, and usually manage to find something we've not seen before. Contemporary replicas and artistic interpretations of traditional artifacts are prominently displayed. And I've finally seen the work of a living impressionist that I like. Her name is Nicole Rudderham. She was born and raised in Prince Rupert and, as her publicist says " Nicole is a recognized artist of impressionist Fine Are in a painterly style." I don't know what that means, but I like some of her paintings; I just can't afford them.
After the museum, we drove through Port Edward, ten miles or so north of Prince Rupert, to the North Pacific Historic Fishing Village and cannery. We spent some three hours taking part in several of the guided tours. In the late 1800s, there were more than a thousand cannery villages stretched between the Sacramento River in California, to the Yukon River in Alaska. Many of these villages were isolated, situated in mouths of rivers along the coast of Northern British Columbia and Alaska, and accessible only by boat. The North Pacific cannery is on the Skeena River and the most complete cannery village remaining on the West Coast; it is now a designated National Historic Site.
Cannery production line.
Fishing net loft where nets were repaired in the off season.
Almost the entire village is built over the river. Offices, the general store, dormitories, the cannery itself, are suspended on pilings, 10 feet off the water and connected by a long boardwalk. Housing for cannery management is built on the shore and connected by short bridges to the boardwalk. In 1889, fish were processed by hand; larger canneries required a thousand or more workers. By the early 1900s, machinery had been designed to automate most of the processing. Refrigeration was developed to the point that fishing boats no longer had to be near a cannery, and the remotest sites were closed. After 1900, the combination of automation, refrigeration, and business consolidations, reduced the total number of operating canneries. The North Pacific cannery was operational into the 50s.
Terrace BC Tuesday August 9.
Sunday we moved our operation to Terrace BC, about a hundred miles down the road from Prince Rupert. It's close to Kitimat and the Alcan smelter, where we had reserved two spots for the Alcan smelter tour Monday afternoon. Actually, we didn't make the reservations. In Prince Rupert, I took the truck in to get an oil change and check out a minor problem with the engine. It turned out that the problem was the EGR valve. The valve is similar to ones used on gas engines, but it doesn't work as well on diesels. It gets clogged up with carbon deposits, which eventually makes it fail. Anyway, while we were there, the owner's father called the Alcan visitor center and made arrangements for the tour.
The smelter is mostly 1950s technology and some of the smelting process, like what's called the pot room, are straight out of Dante's Inferno, or some dark, suppressive Si Fi film. But, it was a good tour, 75% information , 25% sales pitch for Alcan and Kitimat. This is the only time I couldn't take pictures. I had to check the camera, my watch, our credit cards, anything that can be effected by a strong magnetic field, at the visitor center.
The pot room is housed in a long corrugated metal building. There are two rows of pots separated by a twenty foot isle for equipment access, and broken in the middle by a driveway crossing both lines. Each line of pots is approximately 200 feet long. Each pot produces one tone of pure aluminum every 24 hours. I'm guessing that there are between 60 and eighty pots.
Aluminum is produced by separating oxygen and Al atoms through an electrolytic process requiring a direct current of low voltage, and huge amperage. The result is an area, the pot room, which is a gigantic magnetic field. The tour bus drives into the building through a side door and stops on the driveway. This leaves the buss somewhere in the center of the magnetic field and perpendicular to it. Then the guide passes out metal paper clips to demonstrate the electromagnetic field. A very strong field runs perpendicular to the floor. When I placed paper clips in the palm of my hand they stood on end and waved back an forth, as I moved my hand through the magnetic field. I could stack three or four paper clips end to end and the string would stand vertically in the palm of my hand. Paper clips dropped on the buss floor, or placed on the metal seat frame, would stand up straight. This was a fun display and the high point of the tour.
We're setting here working on this long post, while the truck is in the shop. The Ford dealership in Prince Rupert could replace the EGR valve - they didn't have one in stock, so the mechanic took one from a new truck sitting on the lot. However, the shop had been open for only two weeks, and didn't have any way to make necessary changes to the truck's computer chips. Today I took the truck to the Ford dealership in Terrace to have it reprogrammed. Both Ford dealerships are under the same ownership. And the mechanic who worked on the truck in Prince Rupert is the chief mechanic here. Dealerships always look for recalls, and they found two that should be done. It will take about three hours to do everything.
After three hours, I called, and surprise surprise, they found a hose that almost had a hole rubbed into it, so they were going to replace it. They didn't have the part in stock and will keep the truck overnight. They did give us a loner, so we're not afoot. We'll do some sightseeing this afternoon and tomorrow and leave for Prince George.
Johnna:
Monday, August 1, 2005
The temperature was 49 degrees when we got up this morning. Left Whitehorse at about 7:45 AM with the sun shining and only a few wisps of clouds in the sky. The highway south was good with only a few rough spots. No major construction. Two bridges were being resurfaced with only one lane open. As there is little traffic on the Alaska Highway, there were only a stops, not hold ups. Saw a black bear on the side of the road before we got to Johnsons Crossing. Arrived at the Baby Nugget RV Park at 1:00 PM. Will start down the Cassiar Highway tomorrow.
Having traveled this stretch of road going north over a month ago, did not note anything new to arouse our interest. We did not miss the turn out to the view point that overlooks the village of Teslin like we did on our way north. With the long bridge which crosses the Nisutlin Arm of Teslin Lake in the foreground, it made a pretty picture. The grass is taking on the brown color of late summer. The rest of the flora has lost the fresh green appearance of early summer. There even seems to be a touch of fall in the air.
Tuesday, August 2, 2005
Warmer this morning. Sun with few wispy clouds. Temps in the 50s. The first 50 miles south on the Cassiar Highway was boring. Road runs through more or less flat terrain with an occasional creek ravine and shallow pond or lake. Views were limited by tall trees (jack pine, lodge pole pine, spruce, birch, aspen). As we approached the Cassiar Mountains, the views became more interesting. I am sure that if we had traveled to Alaska via this route, we would have been duly impressed by the Cassiar Mountains because they are truly as scenic as many of the mountains we have viewed in the past two months. However, today we were distracted by the poor road conditions and did not take the opportunity to give them the attention they deserved.
Our first stop was at Jade City. On display were huge boulders of jade. One being the size of a Volkswagen bug auto. British Columbia jade is of the dark green to brown variety which polishes to a bright luster. It is not as translucent as the jade from southeast Asia. Did not make purchases at the shops there because they did not offer any art objects that suited my taste. In fact I felt that everything was overpriced. I have seen art objects of higher caliber and lower cost made from B.C. jade in galleries located in Canada, Alaska and the lower U.S.
Although paved, the road was bumpy from frost heaves, chug holes, and patches on patches. Very slow going. We ran into two stretches of gravel road (12 miles and 16 miles) before we arrived at the Totogga Lake Lodge and RV Resort south of Iskut at about 1:00 PM. As we were about finished getting settled in, a helicopter flew over with a load of something in a sling dangling on a cable and landed about 150 yards down slope from our site. We walked down to investigate. The sling was loaded with full garbage bags which were taken away by a pickup truck waiting there. The helicopter then picked up a couple of barrels of gas with a hook on the cable and took off. Later on it came back and unloaded some passengers. A larger helicopter also came and went delivering people and goods during the afternoon.
After an excellent lunch at the lodge café, we went for a walk down to the seaplane dock on the lake below the helicopter landing area. Walked along the pebbly shore until we came to a creek to wide to cross without getting our feet wet. Sheila really enjoyed running in and out of the water and fetching sticks. While running down a stick, she even went far enough out in the water that she had to swim back. She seemed quite surprised about that. Collected drift wood on our way back. We really enjoyed the afternoon in this rustic setting. Would not mind coming back some day.
Wednesday, August 3, 2005
Were on our way by 7:30 AM in a light drizzle. The paved road continued to be rough until coming to a stretch of dirt and gravel which was being prepared for paving. Later on came to a stretch which was in the process of being paved. After a few more miles of old rough pavement, was glad to finally get to the finished road which gave us smooth sailing almost all the way to Highway 16. Decided to call it a day at the Cassiar RV Park near Kitwanga.
It was a gray dismal day. However, the clouds were high enough to allow us to view the hanging glaciers on the Coast Mountain Range which was to the west of us all the way. Quite impressive. We had a marked change in flora from the small trees of the boreal forest to the large trees more typical of the Pacific coast. Stopped at the Bell II Lodge for breakfast. We decided on the breakfast special (a waffle with fresh blueberries and strawberries smothered in fresh whipped cream and bacon). The blueberries were as big as cherries and the strawberries were juicy ripe. Wonderful! I was really surprised to be served such premium fare way up in the backwoods in the middle of nowhere. This lodge is in an attractive setting and the grounds are beautifully landscaped with ground cover and flowers both wild and domestic. This is a terrific destination for one to get away from it all for a while.
Thursday, August 4, 2005
Rained during the night and was still at it when we woke up. To perk up our spirits, baked some oatmeal muffins for breakfast. The rain turned into a lite drizzle, so we decided to try to do some sightseeing hoping that the weather would clear up some more. There are several First Nations villages in the area around Kitwanga where totem poles can be viewed. Visited Gitwangak, Kitsequecla, and Kixpiox. These villages are making an effort to preserve the old totems that would have traditionally been allowed to decay. On our way back from Kixpiox, stopped at a truck farm to pick up some fresh produce. Purchased some just harvested green beans, pea pods, broccoli, cucumbers, green onions and zucchini. There was a lot more to pick from, but could not buy it all. The clouds were lifting and it had stopped raining.
We then stopped at the Ksan Historic Village and Museum in Hazelton. On display were six cedar plank long-houses reproduced in the style typical of the group living quarters of local natives before European contact influenced the culture. The houses contained artifacts used in every day living and special events. The guided tour was conducted by a young native man who answered questions about his peoples history and contemporary life styles. There was a prerecorded narration in each house explaining the life style and events depicted. There was also an exhibit of contemporary native art. Vert interesting.
Went back to the trailer to eat lunch. The sun was peeping through the clouds occasionally, so decided to take a walk down a dirt road back of the rv park and through the forest to a fish ladder. There was a fish gate, not a ladder, where two men were trapping salmon, taking a DNA sample and measuring them before letting them go on upstream to spawn. Pink salmon were running through the trap this day. It was a pleasant two mile walk, but the hill coming up from the creek seemed to be a lot steeper then it was going down. Huckleberries and salmon berries were beginning to ripen in cleared areas next to the road.
Friday, August 5, 2005
Left Kitwanga at about 8:30 AM on our way to Prince Rupert. The Yellowhead Highway follows the Skeena River most of the way. Mountains rise sharply on both sides of the river in several locations. At some places there was only enough room for the river, highway, and railroad between the mountains. The clouds hid the mountain tops, so I think we missed some beautiful scenery as what we could see was quite impressive. Really glad we decided to take this side trip because just doing the drive was well worth it. Arrived at the Park Avenue RV Park about 11:30 AM.
After getting unhooked, went off to find some place for lunch. Stan wanted Chinese food, but after checking out a couple of places recommended by the clerk at the rv park office, we decided on Lee and Ann's Vietnamese restaurant. The food was not exactly traditional, but it was very good. Stan had a big bowl of special of the day noodle soup and I had a pork stir fry over crispy noodle. The dishes had a home cooked taste. Just up the street, stopped at a bakery and picked up some fresh bread, goodies for desert and big cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Stopped at Safeway to restock the pantry. Between the truck farm, bakery, and Safeway, we are good to go for another week.
Stopped by the Ford dealership to find out if they could shed light on why the pick up sometimes makes a funny noise. We were lucky in that the top diesel mechanic from the Terrace dealership was there to train mechanics in this new dealership at Prince Rupert. He heard our story and said he thought it was a carboned up something-or-other valve. After running a diagnostic on the computer, he said "Thought that was it." This kind of valve was not in stock, so he was going to try to clean the one in the pickup up as a temporary fix. The owner of the dealership came over to the shop to see what was going on. He told the mechanic to take one out of a new truck setting on the lot. After a few minutes the new one was installed and after having the oil changed, we were on our way. This kind of inventive can-do willingness of the people here in the northwest to help others, makes a visitor feel welcome and comfortable indeed.
Saturday, August 6, 2005
Woke up to a foggy day. Did not look very promising for sightseeing. Went for a drive around town to see what we could see. The town is only about four miles long and one mile wide, so that did not take long. Decided to visit the Museum of Northern BC. The museum is housed in a beautiful building made of huge cedar logs and contains interesting exhibits of First Nations artifacts, history and culture. The history of European settlement and the development of the fishing industry and building of the railroad was also represented. Works by two contemporary artists were on display. The works by Nicole Rudderman, a Prince Rupert native, were especially appealing.
We then drove out past the little community of Port Edward to visit the North Pacific Historic Fishing Village which is an old fish cannery preserved as a national historic site by the National Parks Service. This cannery ceased operations in 1965 when the introduction of refrigeration made large canning facilities unprofitable. The exhibits and tour presentations were informative and interesting. A cannery was a community of people with family homes, bunkhouses, a store, and a post office as well as a fish processing facility. I found the fish net loft to be quite interesting. I did not realize how delicate fishing nets were and how much maintenance was required and that old nets were used to make rope. According to the tour guide the loft was also used for community events such as weddings, anniversaries and community get-togethers.
As we were leaving the cannery the sun started to shine, so decided to drive up the river. The mountains were still covered by clouds, so turned around. Drove out the Ridley Island Road to see what was out there. We found huge grain elevators and large piles of coal and docks with conveyor belts to load cargo ships. A ship was in port being loaded with grain. While we were fueling up at the Husky station in downtown Prince Rupert, a small red deer calmly crossed the parking lot and street to the grounds surrounding courthouse. The sun was shining brightly on Ridley Island and at the rv park when we got bact to Prince Rupert, but was still overcast and foggy just a couple of miles inland.
Sunday, August 7, 2005
Woke up to blue skies. A salesman at the Ford dealership had kindly made arrangements for us to tour the Alcan aluminum smelter at Kitimat on Monday. Took our time getting started as we only had a 90 mile drive to Terrace which is just 30 miles north of Kitimat. We stopped at most of the pull outs to enjoy the scenery. The views surrounding the highway as it follows the river between the mountains and through the rain forest made for a really neat Sunday drive. The spring and early summer blooms have been replaced by fall flowers such as aster and daisy. The fireweed seed pods are splitting open releasing seeds, cased in white fuzz, to be distributed by the wind. The roadsides are blanketed with several kinds of yellow and white flowers which I have not yet identified. Several varieties of red berries are beginning to ripen.
Arrived at the Wild Duck Motel and RV Park at about noon time. This rv park is one of the nicest we have stayed in on this trip. It is very neatly landscaped and shaded by spruce, and cedar trees. Upon the advice of the manager, we had an excellent brunch at the Best Western Terrace Inn. Stopped at the Canadian Tire store to purchase a new windshield squeegee and a step ladder. The weather was warm enough to call for short pants and allowed us to set outside to enjoy the rest of the afternoon.
Monday, August 8, 2005
Another sunny day. Had a very pleasant drive on a very good highway to Kitimat. Roadsides and utility right-of-ways were covered by yellow and white flowers, with yellow predominating. Young cedar, spruce, and lodgepole pine forests covered the hills and mountains which had been logged of sometime ago. Saw salmon spawning in a side channel of the Kitimat River.
Arrived at the Alcan tour building early, so had plenty of time to view the exhibits and talk to the tour guide. When I told her that I had lived in Kemano during the tunnel and power house construction, she went out of her way to bring us up to date on developments since the fifties. The tour of the smelter was very informative and impressive. The building where the smelting pots are located was like being in some kind of science fiction movie lay out. It was eerie and gloomy with flashing lights and gray vapor rising from the pots. The electrical fields were so strong that paper clips held in your palm stood up on end. The newest facility in the complex was a building were custom alloys were mixed and molded. It was very modern compared to the smelting pots which used technology developed in the fifties. There were only two workers monitoring the process. The drive over to Kitimat and the tour was well worth spending an extra day in this area before moving on.
Kitimat is a community of 11,000 people. About 1,000 work for Alcan. Other industries are a large pulp and paper mill and a methanol plant. The town site is located on a hill about five miles above the harbor and industrial area. It is a planned community of several neighborhoods, where all homes face common areas with path ways to ball fields, play grounds and community centers. Businesses are housed in a central location containing a shopping mall, recreational facilities and office buildings. A very nice place to live and raise a family.
