Ft. Nelson to Valley View, Alberta - August 9, 2010

As I wrote in the previous blog it was raining when we got up and had breakfast, packed the van and got gasoline in Ft. Nelson. The ride south through British Columbia was nice, the rain let up as we got to the Alberta province line.
Here's a look at the sky as we drove. Also, note the wide mowed areas to each side of the road.

We really haven't had to deal with much traffic all the way from Valdez, Alaska, although a lot of the vehicles are RVs and tandem trailer trucks. There are passing lanes on many of the uphill sections and in other passing areas, most slower traffic would pull over a little and slow down to let us pass by.
We stopped at a roadside restaurant, "The Shepard's Inn" (google it), near Ft. St. John in British Columbia, Mile 72 on the Alaska Highway. That's how many businesses put their location, mile such and such on the Alaska Highway. Anyway, this inn had a style that was different than most that we visited. The restrooms were just inside the front door and they didn't put a sign out saying, "Restrooms are for customers only". The dining room was small and clean, a couple of tables occupied at 1:15 PM. The lady at the register asked if she could help us. At first we were only going to get a soft drink but when we found out that the soup was corn chowder, Donna asked for a bowl to go.
Right away they put up a good-sized styrofoam bowl with the chowder and a white paper bag with a spoon and crackers. I drove from there and Donna started on the chowder. She showed me how loaded it was with corn, celery and bacon. After she ate half she put the lid on, saying "That's enough, will you eat the rest?" "Sure, when you drive." It was delicious.