Day 6: Dawson Creek to Buckinghorse River

Day 6 Dawson Creek to Buckinghorse River Provincial Park

The day dawned bright and sunny. At 4:30 AM. I must do something about that skylight over the shower. The light shines right in my eyes and at 4:30 it's highly offensive!

It was a nice day to start our trek on the official Alaska Highway. Some of the views were spectacular, especially as we reached the crest of the highway overlooking the Peace River valley. I keep thinking about the soldiers who built this roadway. No one had any idea what they were facing, and I'm sure there was some colorful language when they pushed their way through the spruces and mud just to see this enormous dropoff facing them with a wide, rushing river at the bottom of it. The grades down the hill were 8 to l0%!

We made a stop at the little town of Taylor to check out the Visitor Center and shake out some of the kinks. There were some pretty good crosswinds to fight, so it was nice to take a rest. The town of Taylor was founded in 1912 by a farmer/trapper and his family. There was anther family near them named Barker. Taylor put up signs announcing the town of Taylor Flat. Barker didn't like this, so when Taylor left on his trapping rounds, Barker would tear down the Taylor Flat signs and put up Barker Flat signs. This feud went on until the Post Office came to town and Taylor gave them a piece of his farm to put up the building, thus winning the fight to name the town.

We ended the day at Buckinghorse River Provincial Park, a lovely, quiet park by the small river. The mosquito spray came in very handy!