Northern Rockies Lodge | City Forward

The next few posts (Days 4-6, and anything about Seward or Flattop) will be more retrospective, as they happened a couple weeks ago now. I’m catching up to the end of the trip, then will be more “forward” thinking after that!

Start: Whitecourt, Alberta, Canada (9AM)

End: Muncho Lake, British Columbia, Canada (11PM)

Miles: 692

On Day 3 we stopped about 50 miles short of where we should have, in Whitecourt, a small town basically made of motels. The Alaska Highway motel was not as desirable as I had hoped (that’s what I get for picking based on name alone) but we got on our way and saw what began to be the really awesome part of the drive. Also of note: it was still (twi)light around 10:30PM when we stopped at the motel, despite some clouds. We were clearly pretty far north, and it didn’t really hit us until then.

This might have been my favorite day of the drive, overall – mostly for the evening ride from Fort Nelson to our ending point, the Northern Rockies Lodge along breathtaking Muncho Lake, a long and skinny blue lake stuck among some really tall mountains. I wish I had gotten a photo of it at night (again, not fully dark out) but the morning ones will have to do. Also, the Northern Rockies Lodge was basically like staying in that hotel in Twin Peaks – it was a big log cabin, with each of the rooms having log walls (if on exterior walls) and a huge great room/morning dining area with windows overlooking the lake. NRL is owned by a (Swiss?) couple, and the husband is a bushpilot (flies those small sea planes etc) who will fly guests to lodges and remote places for day tours. If I had the time and inclination, I would most definitely go back there – driving in and out of it was great.

Highlights: Leaving Alberta finally, although we did get to see some more lovely prairies, the start of the northern woods with its short-ish dense evergreens. Awesome little rest stop with birches and bear-proof trash containers. Entering British Columbia and, shortly after, passing through Dawson Creek – MILE ZERO OF THE ALASKA HIGHWAY sign. Going past a place called Wonowon. The Fort Nelson hotel and its Tiki lounge/ballroom area. The drive between Fort Nelson and Muncho Lake. Really feeling like we’re in the far north. SEEING MOOSE!!! AND BLACK BEARS!!! And one sheep. Plugging my phone charger into a log (with an electrical outlet). Muncho Lake, which has a stupid name but is just beautiful.

Lowlights: Not listening to the Garmin (that somehow knew about a road closure that had just happened that week) and driving west anyway, only to hit an abrupt “Road Closed” sign with a mound of dirt that redirected us onto a gravel farm road and back the way we came. Apparently, some washouts/flooding nearby. Hitting a miles-long backup of construction around Taylor/Fort St. John where there was single-lane traffic to get across the end of a mountain pass and major bridge – no detours here, folks. Paying about $6/gallon ($1.40/litre) because of BC towns’ remote location and high taxes. Also, worrying about where to get gas and where we were going to stop – luckily, a woman at the front desk of the Fort Nelson Hotel was kind enough to call ahead to what ended up being a super awesome place to stay (see above).

The next day we headed into the Yukon, officially, and ended up with a similarly spectacular (but very different looking) lakeside view on Day 5. More to come. For now, some photos.