Heading for Alaska: Beautiful British Columbia (plus a Lookback to Arkansas)

Art in the Tim Hortons coffee shop in 100 Mile House, British Columbia, where we fueled up on coffee (Isabel) and donuts (all of us) before hitting the road. (All photos by author)

From the town of 100 Mile House, 240 miles north of the U.S. border, we continued north through British Columbia, headed for Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway in Dawson Creek. This drive paralleled and crossed over river after beautiful river: Fraser, Crooked, Parsnip, Misinchinka, Pine. We also passed stunning lakes: la Hache, Williams, McLeese, Summit, McLeod.

Only Isabel was brave enough to take the full plunge into a cold Canadian lake (Lac la Hache, British Columbia).

The wood truss bridge over the Fraser River in Quesnel, British Columbia. It was opened in 1929 to replace ferry service for pedestrians, horse-drawn wagons, and the occasional automobile, and swimming by droves of cattle. To keep down possibly damaging vibrations, horses had a speed limit of "walking only"! Later, heavier logging trucks were limited to one-way traffic on the bridge. A new bridge in 1971 (to the right in the photo) left the original bridge for foot and bicycle traffic in the Riverfront Trail system.

And, of course, there was another beautiful waterfall: Bijoux Falls, which eventually flows (as Bijoux Creek) into the Misinchinka River (north of Prince George, British Columbia).

Overlooking the peaceful Pine River valley (south of Chetwynd, British Columbia).

British Columbia is proud of its history and heritage. Even smaller towns had visitor centres and museums.

108 Mile Ranch Heritage Site and Rest Area, British Columbia. Per The MILEPOST, "one of the nicest rest areas along this route". The "108 Mile" refers to 108 miles from Lillooet, British Columbia on the Cariboo Wagon Road. 108 Mile has been a post house, horse and cattle ranch, and logging site. Unfortunately, the historical houses were not open that day, but we peeked in the windows at the pioneer furnishings (including the bearskin rug!)

Early 1900's dentist office display at the Quesnel Museum, British Columbia, including a foot-powered drill!

Logging tools on display at the Quesnel Museum, British Columbia. Logging took off in the 1940s, with Quesnel supplying birch airplane veneers to Britain and wooden scaffolding to Welsh coal mines. Forestry is still a major part of British Columbia's economy.

A modern-day timber truck in Quesnel, British Columbia.

An early 1900's steam shovel on display in Quesnel, British Columbia, which was used at the Bullion Pit Mine (hydraulic gold mining), about 50 miles southeast. It reminded Alison of "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel", the children's book by Virginia Lee Burton (1939).

Historical shops complete with boardwalks, the mud-avoiding precursors to sidewalks, at Walter Wright Pioneer Village, Dawson Creek, British Columbia. The shops and barns were outfitted with goods, tools, and antique vehicles.

Besides waterways and history, we also had our first wildlife sightings in British Columbia: 18 bears, including two cubs; 4 moose, including two calves; and 3 herds (and 3 smaller groupings) of wood bison, including calves. The pictures, alas, do not really capture what a thrill it is to see these animals striding through a swamp, or munching on dandelions by the road, or gamboling after their mother:

A moose alongside the John Hart Highway, north of Prince George, British Columbia.

A black bear seen in passing along the Cassiar Highway, near Tatogga Lake, British Columbia.

Two black bear cubs follow their mother through the grassy verge of the Alaska Highway, north of Liard River Hot Springs, British Columbia.

A herd of wood bison outside Liard River Hot Springs, British Columbia. Related to the plains bison, it is larger overall, but with a smaller head and beard.

The North Country is as proud of its wildlife as it is its history. Everywhere we went - museums, gift shops, visitor centres, camping lodges - taxidermied wildlife was on display. Most was carefully labeled to indicate that it was a very old taxidermy or was obtained when the animal accidentally died.

A portion of the wildlife on display at the Tatogga Lake Lodge, Cassiar Highway, British Columbia.

One of the standout stops we made in British Columbia was Chetwynd, on the John Hart Highway south of Dawson Creek. Chetwynd is the site of the annual International Chainsaw Carving Championship, and we - completely by chance! - were there for this year's competition. Twelve international carvers (four Canadian, four U.S., four other international) are given an eight-foot tall, four-foot thick western red cedar trunk, and have 35 hours to complete a sculpture of their own design. They are allowed to use various cutting tools and wood glue. We were in town and could watch the process on two of the middle days.

Sixteen hours into the 35-hour International Chainsaw Carving Championship, Chetwynd, British Columbia.

One of the competitors chainsaw-carving a wing at the International Chainsaw Carving Championship, Chetwynd, British Columbia.

The beginning of the first place winner's (Micha Reichert, Germany) Water Buffaloes sculpture at the International Chainsaw Carving Championship, Chetwynd, British Columbia.

The completed and varnished 1st place winning sculpture of the International Chainsaw Carving Championship, Chetwynd, British Columbia. (Photo courtesy of Chetwynd International Chainsaw Carving Championship Facebook page)

Continuing north from Chetwynd, we reached Dawson Creek, British Columbia. This is the official start of the Alaska Highway. Originally some 1,700 miles long when completed in 1942 (the route has been straightened and shortened over the years since), construction of the ALCAN ("Alaska-Canada Highway") was a reaction to the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor Naval Base in Hawaii by Imperial Japan. The U.S. and Canada had been discussing such a road for ten years, but the need became imperative as WWII developed a Pacific Theatre of operations. The U.S. already had air bases along the route, used to ferry Lend-Lease aircraft to the Soviet Allied Forces, but no road for military land vehicles. In just eight months, from March through October of 1942, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers cleared a rough road (including over 330 pontoon or log bridges and some 8,000 culverts) from Dawson Creek, British Columbia to Delta Junction, Alaska, where it intersected the already existing but unpaved Richardson Highway that linked Valdez, Alaska on the south-central coast and Fairbanks, Alaska in the east-central interior. Next, the U.S. Public Roads Administration oversaw improvements and maintenance (widening, adding gravel and crushed stone surfacing, and building permanent bridges). The highway was ready to be driven by regular military vehicles beginning in 1943, and was finally converted to civilian use in 1948. By the late 1980's or early 1990's, the entire route had been paved, but it stays that way only with constant road repair, due to the harsh weather conditions and the thawing/freezing permafrost underneath many sections.

The obligatory picture near Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway in Dawson Creek, British Columbia.

We added stickers for Columbia University and Florida (not shown) to the Dawson Creek Sticker Forest billboards in honor of Isabel's new Master's degree and where her first post-grad job will be. (The billboards can also be seen at the far right of the previous photo.)

A nearby traffic circle is actually Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway, but a traffic accident knocked down that post, and this fancy monument was put up in a downtown Dawson Creek intersection.

Our plan at this point was to drive north on the Alaska Highway. But summer wildfires had other plans. After the Summit Lake and Pocket Knife Creek fires intermittently closed the Alaska Highway over several days, we decided to backtrack to Prince George, then drive another day west, then drive north for two days on the Cassiar Highway. What was a necessity became a joy - it was an absolutely gorgeous drive.

We were checking drivebc.ca throughout the day.

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We were checking drivebc.com throughout each day we were in Dawson Creek, British Columbia.

Between the many summer wildfires throughout Alaska and the varying wind patterns, our drive included crystal clear vistas...

...and hazier views with the distinctive smell of burning trees.

Evidence of a past wildfire, under smoky skies (Cassiar Highway, British Columbia). Lower-intensity wildfires and prescribed burns can be healthy for some forests, especially lodgepole pine (interior British Columbia), and can clear space for new saplings and berry patches. But higher-intensity wildfires, and wildfires that threaten residences, towns, or highways, are fought fiercely by the BC Wildfire Service. On one drive, we saw a helicopter dangling a water scoop over a lake on its way to a fire. Fire isn't the only threat to forests in British Columbia, however; there are also bark beetles that attack pine and spruce trees.

Ice fields and timber outside our campground in Kitwanga, British Columbia.

Tatogga Lake, after a rain (Cassiar Highway, British Columbia).

Snow-dusted spruce trees along the Cassiar Highway, British Columbia.

The Cassiar Mountains reflected in Good Hope Lake, British Columbia.

The Cassiar Highway rejoins the Alaska Highway just north of the British Columbia/Yukon provincial border. Our plan was to continue our journey north on the Alaska Highway; but we decided to postpone that for a few days to fit in a day trip a couple hours south on the Alaska Highway to Liard River Hot Springs. The wildfires had kept us from traveling north to Liard, but the small amount of backtracking that would now be required to visit the hot springs was worth it! The Liard River Hot Springs, two large natural pools reached via a boardwalk in a lush provincial park, are well-known and came highly recommended - and rightly so!

Both deciduous (aspen, poplar, birch) and coniferous (spruce, fir) trees line the Liard River (paralleling the Alaska Highway, British Columbia).

The white bark of the paper birch stands out brightly against the lighter green of other deciduous trees and the darker evergreens (near Liard River Hot Springs along the Alaska Highway, British Columbia).

A reminder that large wildlife are abundant throughout British Columbia. (Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park)

Doug and Isabel on the boardwalk to the Liard River Hot Springs, British Columbia.

The "Hanging Gardens" above the Liard River Hot Springs, British Columbia.

The hottest portion of the upper pool, up to 125 degrees Fahrenheit - bathers would wade into this portion only for a short time! (Liard River Hot Springs, British Columbia)

Doug and Isabel enjoying a medium-hot portion of the upper pool. There were several steps with railings into the two pools (one can be glimpsed at lower left), the pebbles lining the pools were comfortable to bare feet, and there were benches to sit on in the upper pool (such as the one to the left in the picture). (Liard River Hot Springs, British Columbia)

From here, we would turn north again, traversing the Canadian province of Yukon on our way to Alaska.

Looking Back: May and June 2024 in Arkansas

Almost exactly a year before visiting Liard River Hot Springs, the two of us had spent a week in the city of Hot Springs, Arkansas.

The area that is now Arkansas was originally part of the Louisiana Purchase, those 530 million acres purchased from France in 1803 during the Presidential administration of Thomas Jefferson. (Although France nominally owned the area, having purchased it back from Spain in 1800, it actually controlled very little of the territory; Spain controlled some, and indigenous American tribes controlled the rest, though not for long.) In 1812, the major portion of the Louisiana Territory was renamed the Missouri Territory when the State of Louisiana was split off and admitted to the Union. In 1821, when Missouri became a state, Arkansas was split off into its own territory and the remaining acreage became an unorganized territory that would eventually be divided into other territories and finally states. In 1836, Arkansas became the 25th state in the Union; from 1861 through 1868, it was a member of the Confederacy.

An undeveloped hot spring bubbles up behind Bathhouse Row. (Hot Springs, Arkansas)

The city of Hot Springs, Arkansas, grew up around the steaming (143 degrees Fahrenheit!) springs, which had been attracting people for hundreds of years. Americans began erecting rudimentary shelters at the springs in the first decade of the 1800's. The indigenous Quapaw tribe formally surrendered the lands around the hot springs to the U.S. federal government in 1818, and the territorial government requested that the springs and surrounding Ouachita Mountains be declared a federal reserve in 1820. Twelve years later, in 1832, the U.S. Congress obliged. After the U.S. National Park Service was established in 1916, the Hot Springs Reservation was designated the eighteenth National Park.

One of the original Hot Springs Reservation fountains. We did try a cupful of the hot water! (Hot Springs, Arkansas)

Because not much oversight came with the designation of the springs as a federal reservation, private entrepreneurs continued to develop the hot springs, often in haphazard ways, including open wooden troughs carrying hot water down the hillsides to rough wooden structures. Much of this was destroyed in a large 1878 fire, and subsequent construction was overseen by the federal government. Roads and landscaping were improved; the springs were protectively covered, and sewage measures put into place; luxurious Victorian bathhouses were built, first of wood and then of brick, stucco, and marble. America's spa city was born, attracting tourists, invalids, gamblers, mobsters (including Al Capone, "Bugsy" Siegel, and "Lucky" Luciano), and Major League Baseball spring training teams (including famous players Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb).

Today Hot Springs National Park, separate from (but physically contiguous to) the town's downtown, is the second smallest National Park at 5,542 acres (only Gateway Arch National Park, in St. Louis, Missouri, has a smaller footprint). (For comparison, the largest National Park, Wrangell-St. Elias in Alaska, comprises over 8.3 million acres for the National Park and an additional 4.8 million acres for the National Preserve.) Hot Springs National Park includes Bathhouse Row, with eight grand old bathhouses, two of which are still active, two of which serve the National Park as a museum and a gift shop, and four of which have other commercial tenants. The town also includes historic hotels and other buildings, such as the Army-Navy Hospital (1887-1960, then used as a state rehabilitation center through 2019).

We enjoyed our stay in Hot Springs, e-biking in from our campground to tour Bathhouse Row, including the Fordyce Bathhouse Visitors Center and Museum, and to soak in the pools at the Quapaw Baths & Spa. The Quapaw's four large pools are kept at slightly different temperatures (by hot springs water being mixed with different amounts of filtered cold springs water) so that you can move from muscle-relaxing high heat to soothing warmth.

The Lamar Bathhouse on Bathhouse Row, now the National Park Gift Shop. (Hot Springs, Arkansas)

An evening stroll along the Grand Promenade behind Bathhouse Row. Walking the trails among the steam outlets of the springs was encouraged for visitors and hospital patients. (Hot Springs, Arkansas)

The Men's Bathhall, one of the exhibited rooms in the Fordyce Bathhouse Visitors Center and Museum. (Hot Springs, Arkansas)

The Heat and Vapor Cabinet room. (Fordyce Bathhouse Visitors Center and Museum, Hot Springs, Arkansas)

We might have to return to Hot Springs, Arkansas, some time to visit the sites we didn't have time for on this trip: the historic Arlington Hotel, the Gangster Museum of America, and the Historic Baseball Trail.

The rippling Gulpha Creek at our campsite, Hot Springs, Arkansas.