Little Gems

Hello from Northern British Columbia--Toad River Lodge and RV Park, to be exact.  One of the cool little gems of the road, Toad River Lodge is a former highway lodge used when the Alaska Highway was built.  We have passed many of these lodges over the past two days since leaving Dawson Creek's Mile "0" of the Alaskan Highway.  They have it all--greyhound bus stop, RV Park (about 20 sites), tiny motor inn lodge rooms (about 10), a small kitchen/dining room (1-2 entrées and ice cream), a small gift shop, and fuel.  This one even has an airstrip across the road.  Some advertise the best cinnamon buns, best steak, best view, or even that Sasquatch has been there. There have been many we have passed along the way, some out of use, others still able to make a profit in the short span of a few months when the roads are passable, and others, like Toad River, which are truly little gems of our trip.  

Toad River Lodge and RV Park came recommended from a few key sources I like to use when we travel by RV:

•  Travel Life/Woodall's RV listings (scale of 1-10 on facilities, cleanliness, and overall operations)
• GoodSam RV Park designations (we happen to be GoodSam Life Members, so 10% comes off the bill at each of these parks)
• Advertising brochures from Visitor Centers
• Online RV Forum, which rates RV parks in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico
• Word of mouth!

With a pine-shaded, beautiful view of the mountains and lake out the trailer window just 50 feet away, a back-in space with water, electric, sewer, cable, and free Wi-Fi hookup, and an overnight fee of $28 total, who could ask for more, especially when last night we actually received 1--that's 1--television channel in a town five times the size of Toad River!

But before we arrived at Toad River today, I should back up a bit.  Our trip from Grande Prairie, Alberta, to Fort St. John, British Columbia, took us about five hours, including a two hour stop-over in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Mile "0."  It was in Dawson Creek that we found another little gem. 

While Brad took a quick side trip to the GMC dealership for a key fob (don't ask), I went inside the Visitor's Center for what else--brochures, brochures, and more brochures!  (Side note to Cousin Gretchen….I almost had double brochures on every city in British Columbia and wondered if you wanted the second copy!!)

As I often do when perusing a Visitor's Center, I ask where a good place to eat or have tea/coffee might be.  I mentioned a donut place I saw across the street; she looked at me and said, "Well, if you want something like Dunkin Donuts, I guess it would be okay.  But, just up the street next to our building is a little log cabin that is a Swedish Bakery.  It has only been open about 3-4 weeks and has no sign, but I hear it is great."  Of course, that is all it took!  Even if I wasn't hungry, who can pass up a Swedish bakery (or any European bakery, for that matter).  

What a little gem!  I ordered a chocolate croissant from a glass case, had wonderful hot tea, took in the wonderful views, and decided that in a Northern British Columbia, dusty, "drive through it" type of town, there is now a very good reason to stop--the little gem of the Swedish Bakery!  (And, yes, of course, I bought a cheese Danish and cinnamon bun for Brad, two fresh meat pasties right out of the oven for dinner that night, and a few freshly-baked buns for hotdogs or brats.)  We got lots of mileage from that one little gem of a bakery!

Today we traveled from Fort St. John (at Charlie Lake) to Toad River.  We are really about 200 kilometers northwest of Fort Nelson, British Columbia, which is the major town you might see on a map.  We traveled through Fort Nelson today, getting diesel at a Shell for $1.43/liter for full service that included a wipe down of headlights and tail lights.  BOY, did they need it!

Animal update:  One moose and calf running across the road, three deer, several sheep, and several mountain goats with baby goats right on the highway.

We head tomorrow to Watson Lake, then Whitehorse, then a long drive to Tok, ALASKA!

See you on the road….

Jane and Brad