Sky Over the North Country 2

I LOVE this series of sky photos which were all taken on an August evening between the northern BC towns of Chetwynd and Dawson Creek, British Columbia (far western province in Canada).

August is usually a good time to travel to this part of the country.   The days are still relatively warm and sunny. By mid-August you still have sun but you can begin to feel the slight chill in the air as the weather transitions to Fall/Autumn.

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Sky Over the North Country

This photo was taken on August 14, 2011, driving from Chetwynd, BC to Dawson Creek, BC. I love this photo because of the country road leading to the full moon.

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Ride with me: Chetwynd to Edmonton

I left off my journey in Dawson Creek where we were able to find a room at the George Dawson Inn for the evening. In the morning we had to make the hour drive back to Chetwynd for the funeral. There wasn't much time to take photos and the ones I got in drive by shooting are not so great but I think they will give you an idea of the place.

This photo is taken as you enter Chetwynd from the north.

One of the first buildings you come to as you enter town is the white building. It is the Legion Hall and is where many of the wakes for funerals takes place.

Chetwynd is a small town of a few thousand people but it has all the basic services, including a swimming pool. It is always busy work wise but the town itself never grows very large.

One of the old hotels in town has been demolished (right of photo).  It looks like there may have been a fire involved.

This is a slightly better view.  note the wood carving in the foreground. These wood carvings are all over town. Someone or several someones spent a lot of time carving these pieces.

This is a newer and quite large hotel called the Pomeroy. There is another new and large hotel on the hill coming into town from the north.  These two big hotels were not here the last time I visited.  Though I see they are now in every town in the north.  I couldn't get a room though. Everything was fully booked!

After we leave Chetwynd, we will be heading back through Dawson Creek and Grande Prairie, already posted about elsewhere. We are heading south to the City of Edmonton.

Look up on the mountain! Can you see all those wind turbines? I was very surprised.  I counted  27 of them on the mountain but my research told me that are 34 windmill towers with a capacity to produce 102 megawatts, or enough electricity for 38,000. The wind farm has been in place for about two years and is located on Bear Mountain near Dawson Creek.  The project was started by a company based in Calgary, Alberta.

This post officially commemorates "Mile 0" of the Alaska Highway. Many people stop here to take their photos before heading north on the highway.

 

I managed to snap this photo of an old heritage building as we zoomed through the town.  I can't remember now if it was the town of Beaverlodge or Hythe in northern Alberta.

This dock and waterview is in the provincial park at Sturgeon Lake, Alberta.

Many years ago this lake was filled with sturgeon fish but there aren't any more unless they are hiding down in the deep recesses of this glacial lake.  Other fish are there for the fishermen to catch.

Now it is off to Edmonton.  We have a few hours drive ahead but some beautiful scenery and a fantastic sunset to keep us entertained.  We also stopped off in Grande Prairie for a meal and bit of shopping.

 

 

You will see these oil rigs all over the north country.

 

 

We finally pull into the City of Edmonton around 11:30 p.m. or midnight. It has been a long day but we stop at McDonalds to use the wi-fi and check out hotel prices.  We decide on the Ramada Inn and it turns out to be a wonderful place with comfortable beds, a mini bar/fridge, coffee, etc.  Price is $109.00 Canadian dollars plus tax.

I'm always happy for a comfortable bed when I'm tired.

So glad you stopped by and joined me for the tour. Come again soon as we make our way to Calgary and back through beautiful British Columbia.

Grande Prairie to Chetwynd ~ The Journey Continues

Last time I left off on my journey to northern Alberta and British Columbia (BC), I was overnighting in Grande Prairie. I took a little break from blogging about my journey to feature the critical food situation in the Horn of Africa. If you missed that post, please click here. I'm so glad you've joined me for the continuation of my tour through northern BC and throughout Alberta.

After we left the City of Grande Prairie, Alberta we went east to the small town of Valleyview which is located about 115 kms away.

Here again is the map with the route marked in black.  Please click on any photo to enlarge it.

Valleyview isn't a very big town.  It has a population of under 2000 people but it serves a catchment area of about 5000 people so it has all the basic services.

The local Co-Op (cooperative) would be the place to purchase groceries and household items.

After we leave Valleyview we are returning west.  This time we are going to Chetwynd in northern BC.  Before we get there we have to pass through Grande Prairie again.  There are a number of small farming towns beyond that and we will pass through some of them.  After Grande Prairie, the next largest city will be Dawson Creek in British Columbia.

You can see from the signage that Dawson Creek is a few hours drive from where we are.

You will see these kind of silos all over the north. They hold the harvested grains.  Some are wooden silos, some are cement, some are metal.

I just had to take photo of this giant beaver sculpture. It wasn't there when I went through this town called Beaverlodge many years ago. At least I do not remember it and how could one forget such a big sculpture?  This mammal is the national animal of Canada and at one time was a very important pelt for the early fur trade in Canada.  In the late 1600s and early 1700s, the fashion of the day demanded fur top-hats, which needed beaver pelts. As these hats became more popular, the demand for the pelts grew. Explorers were sent deep into the North American wilderness to trap and trade for furs with local natives.

I had to take photo here as it is where my mother's mother, my grandmother is buried. It is a picturesque area near a lake. I never knew my grandmother as she died when my mother was very small. 

I love this photo. It shows the evergreen forest and the fireweeds that you see all over the north country.

Here we are now in British Columbia in the small City of Dawson Creek. It has grown a lot in the past decade. Almost all of these places in the immediate foreground of the photo are new.

I had to take photo of these big farm tractors, thrashing machines and other equipment. They are used for harvesting in the large farm fields. This place has been here for decades only now you can buy equipment in different colours. Long ago the predominant colour in the store's lot was green.

Here is another Co-op. You can see the cement silos in the background.

You will come across this sign no matter which direction you are heading on the highway.

We are on our way now to Chetwynd in northern British Columbia. That is where my aunt is being laid to rest.

You can see in the far horizon that we are back in mountainous country.

Beyond the trees you can see Table Mountain which is located at East Pine. I think it is so pretty and you can see it for miles and miles.

We begin our descent into the valley as we are now nearing Chetwynd.

This is the town's welcome sign for visitors.

Chetwynd is home to 3000 local residents with a trading area of approximately 7000 people.  Residents of Chetwynd enjoy a four season playground of forests, rolling hills, snow capped mountains, fields and crystal clear lakes and rivers. They even have an excellent recreation complex with wave pool, team-size hot tub, sauna, six sheet curling rink, ice arena, skateboard park, sports fields, parks and trails help to make Chetwynd a great place to live and raise a family though I've never lived there myself.

This is the hall where the family and friends will sit with the body of the deceased and offer prayers as well as share a meal and some memories. I've decided not to share photos of this part of the trip or of the burial.  Suffice to say that everything was well planned and it was a good send off for my aunt. I was happy to have made it for the celebration of her life.

 
After leaving the wake, we have to drive back to Dawson Creek to find a hotel or motel room as every room in Chetwynd is fully booked. Apparently a mine has opened or reopened and there are no rooms anywhere to be had. Working men come from far to work in the mine and they live in the hotel and motel rooms all around.  We have to return to Chetwynd in the morning to join the funeral service and the meal afterwards with extended family and friends before we depart.

On the drive back to Dawson Creek, I am pleased to spot this moon in the far distance.

As I get closer I am able to capture the moon in full.

Once again we have to stop in several places and enquire about rooms. I manage to find one at the George Dawson Inn. It was a very large room on the ground for and ended up costing $135.00 plus lots of tax. At that point, I was too tired to care. I just want to get to sleep.  I really thought I took some photos of the rooms but I might only have dreamt it because I can't seem to find them.

 

I hope you have enjoyed this part of the tour. It is my submission to the inaugural edition of Our World Tuesday meme.  Thank you to ladies who are carrying on in the tradition of Klaus Peter's meme, My World Tuesday. God rest his soul. Please click on the link to join in with Our World Tuesday.

In the next post I will be heading home through Alberta taking a different route than the one we arrived on. I hope you can join me then.