Day 15 - Sikanni River RV Park

We woke this morning to some pitter patter on the roof and it wasn't Rudolph. It was raining, not hard just enough to be annoying. Within a half hour the rain stopped and the sun tried to come out, just in time to start hooking up and breaking camp.

Our destination is Pink Mountain RV Park which sits almost halfway between Dawson Creek and Fort Nelson. We pulled out at 8:30 just in time to see the sun starting to shine. There was a large wood lot just down the road. 

Most of the trip we did between 80 to 85 km/hr. That was for two reasons. The first is the constant reminder that it's a wildlife area and the second is we ran into some real duzzies of a hill. I constantly remind myself or the road does...what goes down must go up. This is the long descent into Fort St John. The grade is 10% for 6.5 km. The cantilever and truss bridge in the middle of the picture spans the Peace River and is the longest water span bridge on the Alaska Highway.

Like I said earlier what goes down must go back up when we are talking about hills, valleys, and the Alaska Highway.

We made a short stop at Charlie Lake. On May 14, 1942 a pontoon boat loaded with a bulldozer, a radio command car, drums of oil, and supplies left the north shore of Charlie Lake. Two-thirds of the way across the lake large waves swamped the boat causing it to capsize. All seventeen men went into the water. Five were saved by a homesteader but unfortunately twelve drowned. The statue is dedicated to the men that lost their life that day on Charlie Lake. Twelve concrete pillars surround the statue, one for each man lost.

We came across an area where there had been a forest fire. With a little research it had been a major forest fire in May 2016 causing evacuation of people from their homes.

We arrived at Pink Mountain RV Park which is also a host of other businesses.

When I went in to register I have never had anyone steer me more toward another campground than this one. The lady indicated that the owner owns both campgrounds and we would probably be happier at Sikinni River which is 20 km down the road. We checked out the sites at Pink Mountain and all agreed that the river it would be. Susan got a pic of us coming back from checking out the sites.

Are we happy we made the decision to camp at the river. It is absolutely stunning. The scenery getting there was beautiful. Going down the hill and stopping at the bottom not so much fun.

Later on that evening we sat beside the river having a bonfire listening to the river and sounds of birds. A wonderful first day on the Alaska Highway.