Hazelton, B.C.

Hi Everyone……Tonight I am truly in the backwoods of Canada! Nothing works here. I’ve been trying to get onto this motels “high speed” internet for over an hour. The have a secured system that needs a pass code which the owner gave me. I finally gave up and went back to the office, he then gave me his pass code. His pass code got me on-line but I can’t go anywhere. I can get to the Yahoo home page but that’s it. I went to FuzzyTravel and typed in today’s report only to get dumped off the internet while I was typing, losing everything. I usually type off-line and copy and paste. Since the connection was so shaky, I tried it directly. I got dumped and the report went to somebody in Nigeria.

I’m now typing this in Word Processing and I’ll file it as soon as possible, which may be tomorrow, 6-30-09, from Prince Rupert.

I pulled out of Vanderhoof this morning around 7:30, headed towards Fort St. James. Fort St. James is the historic site that Anna said was a must see. Being the history buff that I am, I now agree with her. Fort St. James is the last remaining fort from the great years of the Northwest Fur Company. The fort is located on the southern tip of Stuart Lake. There are others fort locations throughout the northwest but this is the only one that has any building left. There are about 5 building from around 1896. “Guides” in period costumes talk about each buildings use and history. I especially like the fort cat! Whenever I get to someplace civilized, with a good internet connection, I’ll upload all the pictures I took.

From Fort St. James, I headed west. My original plan, before I scheduled Fort St. James, was to make 3 stops today, arriving in Prince Rupert tonight, 6-29-09. The new schedule has me making 2 more stops tomorrow and getting into Prince Rupert tomorrow, 6-30-09.

My first stop was in the town of Houston. Apparently, Houston claims to be the flyfishing capital of the world. Right in the middle of town is the World’s Largest FlyFishing Pole. Now how could I not stop and get a picture of that. As I was clicking pictures, a couple asked if I’d like to be in the picture? Sure, thanks for asking. After taking the picture, we talked a bit. They said they were on “holiday”, headed for Alaska. Hey, me too! I told them I was headed for Prince Rupert and the Alaska Ferry. They said they were driving the Cassair Highway, which pretty much parallels the coast.

From there it was on to the town of Smithers and my next stop…..DAIRY QUEEN! Yes, they have a Dairy Queen in this neck of the woods. Actually, they have 3 of them but that’s tomorrows report.

It wasn’t getting late but after riding in the rain for most of the day, I decided that I’d stop early and post my report. I thought Hazelton would be a good place to stop. I checked the visitors center for a list of places to stay. My criteria….inexpensive and wireless internet.

This place doesn’t qualify on either account but, hey, what did I know before I checked in.

Tomorrow, it’s off to my next 2 stops, then into Prince Rupert. On Wednesday, I’m hoping to see the last of the great fish canneries on the pacific coast.