Life of Dave

Life of Dave

Sunday, March 26, 2017

Fort Nelson

Another northern BC trip under my belt. This time it was to Fort Nelson, a new destination for me. And again, as usual, I wanted to explore a bit since I had some extra time. My building review only took about 4 hours, but I’d only have had about 2 hours on the ground at most if I’d wanted to catch a same-day flight back to Vancouver.

My first stop was the Visitor Info booth where I learned that if it hadn’t been snowing, reportedly the conditions were right, high above the clouds for the Northern Lights phenomenon to occur. Better luck next time I guess. It snowed the whole time on this trip. It wasn’t ridiculously cold however, only about minus 10.
I wasn't familiar with the location of Muncho Lake in relation to Fort Nelson
 so I asked. Turns out it's about 3 hours west. No time to drive that far this trip.
Too cold for jogging outdoors, but since I’m training for the Sun Run next month I didn’t want to miss a training day. I was resigned to probably having to use the hotel treadmill. Not exactly ideal. The Visitor Info office came to my rescue by introducing me to the new Aquatic Centre right next door which houses an indoor walking/running track. And it’s free! This discovery, added to the hotel swimming pool (with corkscrew water slide) and hot tub more than compensated for the snowfall.
A bit too early for picnic season.
Another item from my Visitor Info session was that just up the road was a turn-off onto the Old Alaska Highway. It looped back to the main highway a few miles north of town so I took a drive. In reading the map I’d noticed that this intersection coincided with an access road to Parker Lake. It was of course snow-covered, but flat and recently traveled judging by the many tire tracks. In a couple of kilometers I reached the lakeshore to discover a tracked vehicle plowing the surface of the frozen lake. I had exited my vehicle to get a couple of photos, and as I stood there two snowmobiles approached. They stopped and I asked one of the pilots what was happening on the lake, as the previous day when I’d first checked it out it had been desolate and pristine. He informed me that there would be a sled dog race occurring on Saturday. Wow…can’t get much more Northern Canadian than that.
The access road to Parker Lake.
Parker Lake.
If you're looking for a place to happen, I'd suggest this is it.
I think this is a turning point for me. Upon arrival in small towns and cities I'm unfamiliar with, time permitting, I will definitely seek out a Visitor Info booth.
Can you believe it? They had the actual furnace that cremated Sam McGee at the
 museum across the road from the Visitor Info office.  ;-)

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