Once again I’ve had some internet difficulties but here in Prince Rupert, there’s about 5 wireless networks and I just kept clicking on them until I found one to take me to the internet.
Last night, I asked the guy at the motel where there was a good café that served breakfast. He said that there was only one and point to a place just up the street. After my internet problems, I decided that I wanted to be shed of Hazelton so I left around 7:30, headed for Terrace and my first DQ stop of the day. As I got to Terrace, still looking for a breakfast place, I spied a Tim Horton’s. I’ve been seeing Tim Horton’s places ever since I got to Canada. I had no idea what they were except coffee shops. That couple who took my picture in Houston, next to the fishing pole, said Tim Horton’s were coffee shop/sandwich shop/donut shop, all rolled into one. I pulled in and got a breakfast sandwich, similar to something from a McDonald’s. I asked the girl at the counter how to get to DQ. She tried to explain it but finally decided to call over the guy working the drive-up window. She said he knew Terrace like the back of his hand. He drew me a map. He had a street name wrong but the map got me there. I was there around 10:15 and they didn’t open till 11 AM. I decided not to wait and headed due south, towards the town of Kitimat for what was originally planned as my second DQ stop. Now, Kitimat is pretty much the end of the road but there are two big mills there, one for paper and the other for aluminum. After my cone in Kitimat, it was back to Terrace for my next cone. The DQ in the picture is the DQ in Terrace, B.C. The place is huge. I think it’s the biggest DQ I’ve been in but the nicest one is still the DQ in Morenci, Az.
By now it’s afternoon and I need to hit the road for Prince Rupert. Again, it’s cold and damp but at least it’s not raining today. I wore the raingear just in case, I didn’t want to have to try to put it on in a rain storm. Canadian Highway 16, or the Yellowhead Highway, is a great road to ride, very well maintained. There wasn’t too much construction on this section of road. A good part of the road runs along the Skeena River. The Skeena used to be the “fur road” years ago. River boats used to go up as far as Hazelton to pick up the furs coming out of Fort St. James.
At the very southern tip of the Alaska panhandle is Misty Fiords National Park. Today I figured out how it got it’s name. As I got closer to the coast and the town of Prince Rupert, it kept getting grayer, with very low hanging clouds, like a fog that wasn’t quite going to make it to the ground. There were heavier clouds covering the mountain tops and, I knew that when they lifted, there would be a new dusting of snow there. As I rode along the river, with the other shore mostly obscured and steam rising off the water (that should give you some idea how cold it was), the whole area took on an otherworldly appearance. I stopped and took a couple of pictures so you could see it.
The 4th picture is just to prove I made it!
After checking in at the Moby Dick Inn, I decided to look for the ferry dock and see if I could check in today, to try and expedite things a bit. On the way to the ferry dock, I gassed the bike up. There were two young fellows working there. Outside was a very expensive car, parked in such a way that it was clear that it belonged to somebody who worked there. After paying for the gas, I inquired who belonged to the Dodge Viper? One of them said it was his, I asked if they were taking applications as I’d sure like to be able to afford a Viper. He then told me it was a used one, yeah, like that matters, it’s still a very expensive car.
After the car discussion, I head towards the ferry docks. Just before getting to the docks, there was a mommy deer on the side of the road. I knew immediately that she was a mommy because she had 2 fawns with her, still in spots……and me with the camera back in the room!
Tomorrow is Canada Day, JULY 1ST. Canada will be 142 years young tomorrow! According to the paper, there are activities planned all day, from noon to 4 PM, in Mariner Park. That’s exactly what the paper says, so I have no idea what happened to the rest of the day. I guess the days are shorter here in Canada. Tomorrow night at 11 PM (remember I’m in the land of the almost midnight sun), there are fireworks over the harbor. Wow, I get fireworks here tomorrow and, hopefully, in Ketchikan on the 4th. I’m also hoping to get to the NPC, the National Pacific Cannery, that I mentioned before. I’ll see if the desk clerk knows how to get there.
