Day 35 - Alberta!
So I had planned Banff National Park after Dawson Creek. In my route planning, the drive from Dawson Creek to western Kootenay would be within my daily drive hour limit.
But when I rechecked the route the day before, somehow G Map doubled my drive time. I tried to plot the original route, but somehow it was shown as unavailable. So, I had the choice to go to Prince George (again) or to Edmunton, Alberta to cut driving time to western Kootenay back down to 5 hours or so.
I skipped Banff because Jasper was closed, and my campsite neighbors at Liard recommended western Kootenay over Banff. Another reason I skipped Banff was because Jasper was closed, and if I was gonna come back for Jasper, I might as well save Banff for that trip. Also, staying at Banff would cost me (I wasn't going to camp because I'd spend 2 days at Banff, and setting up camp and taking it down daily to go places would not be a smart choice).
So, I gave myself more reasons to come back.
Ultimately, I decided to go through Alberta. I went through Prince George already, and I wanted to cover grounds that I wasn't familiar with.
Hello Alberta!
I am not familiar with Canada at all, but somehow Alberta gas price was less than BC. Probably something to do with all the oilfield signs and drilling rigs I saw.
Anyways, I pulled over on a side street shortly after passing this sign. I had Dempster mud caked on to my wheels and the truck would shake slightly going over 75MPH. It was tolerable the whole time from Dawson City to Dawson Creek, because I hardly go that fast. HOWEVER, at the car wash in Dawson Creek, I focused my efforts on the wheels hoping to wash off the muds. That only made the problem even worse. Now, at 60MPH, the truck would shake like it was falling apart. So, I pulled over and found a stick on the side of the road and started poking at my wheels.
30 minutes later, I gave up. Patches of mud were caked so tight on the wheels that they weren't interested in coming off. I needed another pressure washer to do the job.
I contemplated whether to drive 35 minutes back to Dawson Creek, or drive 50 minutes east to a town on the way. I tossed the looney, and headed east.
Alberta was hazy from the fire at Jasper. Camera made things look a lot more clear than it actually was.
Passed by one of the farms. Everything looks golden in the sun.
Something about sunset when it's hazy outside. I haven't seen a sunset like this since I left SoCal.
Perks of forest fire and hazy air, I guess. I wouldn't be able to capture a sunset like this under normal condition because it'd be too bright.
Campsite for the night. Found this place on Hipcamp and I could tell the host put a lot of thoughts and creativity into making this campground.
It's called Go Hard Ranch. Look it up! This is how campgrounds should be.
3 items for dinner:
Smoked wild salmon, chicken thigh skewer, and beef skewer.
All were bought at Save On Foods in Dawson Creek. I wish we have that chain in the USA.
Sun set already, but the sky was beautiful.
I wasn't sure how the beef skewer would taste like, so I only bought one.
I should've bought more.
After dinner, it was time to relax.
Milky way was in full display, despite the haze.
Funny story: I had the entire campground to myself, but on the cabin side, there were other guests. They were surprised that I drove all the way and "What ya doing here? How did you find this place? You know it's a hick town eh?" because the ranch's actually in the middle of a small farming town (like rural small farming and ranching town) that doesn't get visitors, let alone someone from the US.
I told them don't get fooled by my appearance and where I came from, but I prefer country over cities and I always try to stay away from big cities and towns.
