Off to Northern BC

 This past week we were hunkered down in Cochrane  AB to let the weather settle down a bit.  The snow melted and the sun came out, but it got cold…like 18* cold.  On Friday we ran errands, grocery shopping, currency exchange and while we were out I noticed a leak under the truck.  I thought it was windshield washer fluid and popped the hood, nope it was antifreeze from the upper hose fitting.  

After a bit of running around to Ford and other local shops we learned it was a “cold weather leak” and I didn’t let the truck warm up enough before we left for the day.  Long story short, back to Ford for OEM antifreeze and a new “spare” O ring.  I was in a rush and distracted when running out to the truck and walked right into a 15’ glass wall.  Bruised nose, cut lip and bloodied my teeth.  Knocked the phone out of my hand and the glasses off my head.  I was probably saved by my hat brim.  What a stupid move, going too fast.  I asked Ford for video footage and that area wasn’t under surveillance.  

Saturday we began the drive northwest.  It was a nice day and pretty uneventful.  We stopped at a HH Farm east of Grand Prairie for the night.  We had the hay pen to ourselves and had a good nights sleep.  We picked up a bit of meat from the farmers and were their first guest of the year.  

Sunday we encountered heavy west winds on our way to Fort St John.  We passed through Dawson Creek and got our obligatory photos at Mile 0 of the Alcan.  Being Sunday in the off season, most everything was closed.  We spent two nights in Fort St John at a Boondockers Welcome location on a great piece of property with a lake.  We stocked up a bit more as we weren’t sure what things would be like beyond Ft Nelson.  Our host told us there wasn’t much.  

Yesterday we headed out of Fort St John with a plan to get to Tetsa River, maybe a bit farther.  The drive up was nice, you really feel like you are leaving everything behind.  The Northern Rockies are stunning.  I think our longest stretch was 120 miles without services.  We are fueling up whenever the truck gets to a 1/2 tank.  We also have a 5 gallon can of diesel in the back.  We arrived at the Tetsa River Lodge and we are their first campers of the season.  The Lodge is at Historic Mile 375 and used to be a laundry station.  The lodge and property are all run off of diesel generator.  It’s just dry camping for now but that works for us (electric to sites in May along with water).  TRL claims to be the “Cinnamon Bun Center of the Galactic Cluster”.  Not sure if they are the best in the universe but they did get an award from the Food Network in 2019 and they are the best we have ever tasted.  (Sorry Hilltop)  STOP here for a roll, even if you’re just driving by.  We are going to slow roll the morning, dump tanks and fill fresh water before continuing on.  

I’m not sure if it’s the way Canadian diesel is blended, but our mileage has taken a nose dive.  We are also starting to get into some wildlife.  We saw a bunch of Pronghorn out in the prairie, but now that we are up in the forests things are picking up.  3 moose, multiple deer, two beavers and a coyote.