Photo Log - Aug 1-3: Dawson Creek, BC

Lots of things went on while the group was in Dawson Creek, British Columbia. Besides the preparations for the big trip, they had the opportunity to show off the military vehicles a couple of times.

The evening August 1, they AC'12 convoy lined up for the first time in order to head to the town of Rolla. While on the road, Mike shot some video of the convoy going around some open, sweeping curves.

On the evening of August 3, the AC'12 participants lined up in march units, and put on a display for the town of Dawson Creek. Below are two pictures of Electro-Willys all dressed up for the show.

- Ellen

Photo Log - July 30: Banff and Jasper National Parks, BC

The Rocky Mountain collection convoy headed through Banff and Jasper National Parks on Travel Day 5. Here are a few pictures from that day.

This first picture is of SPOT, sitting on the dash of the support truck.

The crew stopped at Lake Louise, an old railroad resort in the middle of the parks. The lake has a beautiful, milky blue color.

Below is one of the many waterfalls throughout the parks. Mike was driving during much of the trip past the glaciers, and did not get any pictures of them.

- Ellen

Photo Log - July 28 and 29: WY, MT, ID, and BC

Here is a photo of the crew's camp in Yellowstone National Park on the morning they departed on Travel Day 3. That day they made it to Idaho.

In Idaho, the crew met up with several other AC'12 participants and created the Rocky Mountain collection convoy. On Travel Day 4, the mini-convoy crossed the border into British Columbia. Here they are getting ready to leave the Border Crossing station.

- Ellen

Return Day 1 - Aug 31: Out onto the Plains of Alberta and southward

The AC'12 convoy disperses today, scattering to the four winds from Dawson Creek, British Columbia. Mike and his team are headed to Edmonton, Alberta, and then south from there. With 3 drivers, they plan to push as far as they can to get home in 3 days. Not much sight-seeing planned for this leg of the adventure.

The group got as far as High River. That was some 590 miles... quite a bit more than they have been traveling in the convoy.

Many convoy participants have been taking advantage of the better WiFi in Dawson Creek to update their blogs, and post pictures to the AC'12 facebook page.

- Ellen

Day 27 - Aug 30: Last leg for the AC'12

Twenty-seven days and a zillion miles! The AC'12 Convoy returned to Milepost 0 with a short 46-mile run from Ft. St. John, British Columbia, to Dawson Creek.

AC'12 Day 27 travel route

Tonight there will a Banquet, with I'm sure all kinds of fun and memories shared.  In the morning will be a breakfast for the AC'12 participants.

Tourism Dawson Creek has the convoy's return highlighted on their calendar with a big red background!

Dawson Creek is Khaki Green once again!
Help us welcome back the MVPA Convoy on August 30th at 12 Noon at the EnCana Events Centre (300 Hwy 2, Dawson Creek).
The Convoy has travelled the Alaska Highway for 27 days and over 4000 miles! Dawson Creek is excited to welcome the Convoy back to Mile 0 on Thursday, August 30, 2012.
The historic military vehicles will be on display from 12 noon onward. Everyone is welcome to attend!

- Ellen

Day 26 - Aug 29: A Return to the Peace River Country

AC'12 Day 26 travel route

Today is the last really big leg for AC'12 convoy. They will travel some 240 miles from Ft. Nelson, British Columbia, to Ft. St. John.

Ft. St. John is said to be the oldest European settlement in British Columbia, dating back to Rocky Mountain House or Fort in 1794. During the building of the Alaska Highway, Ft. St. John served as Headquarters for the project.

The convoy will overnight here, and prepare for the final leg of their journey tomorrow.

- Ellen

Day 25 - Aug 28: Out of the Mountains

The AC'12 convoy headed out of the mountains today on their way to Fort Nelson, British Columbia. Travel must seem like a breeze now.

AC'12 Day 25 travel route

Fort Nelson was originally a North West Fur Trading Co fort, and then a Hudson Bay Co fort. The town is preparing for a big event tonight (from the Fort Nelson website):

Celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the Alaska Highway

& Military Vehicle Convoy

Tuesday, August 28, 2012 - Northern Rockies Regional Recreation Centre

5:00 pm - "Ceremonial Review" - parade of historic military vehicles along 50th Ave North & South

5:00 pm - "Mess Hall" - FREE Community BBQ at the Recreation Centre

6:30 pm - Opening Ceremonies & Military Vehicle Exhibition

7:00 - 9:00 pm - Live, local Entertainment, Inflatable Obstacle Course, Facepainting & More!

Fort Nelson, BC (SPOT satellite image)

- Ellen

Day 24 - Aug 27: Rivers, Lakes, and Hot Springs

After leaving Rancheria River, Yukon Territory, the AC'12 convoy made their way to Watson Lake. It was at Watson Lake, way back on Day 5 (Aug 8), that the convoy left the Alaska Highway and headed up the Campbell Highway. This completes a full circle full of adventures.

After passing through Watson Lake, the convoy will head to Laird River Hot Springs, British Columbia.

AC'12 Day 24 travel route

Just 3 days remain 'til the AC'12 Convoy arrives back in Dawson Creek. Today, the Mile 0 Alaska Highway facebook page posted "Dawson Creek is Khaki Green once again!" as the excitement builds to see the convoy on August 30.

- Ellen

Day 23 - Aug 26: Eastward, Ho!

After resting up in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, the AC'12 convoy is on the move again today. This really is the beginning of the home-stretch.

SPOT showed rather then taking the Alaska Highway, they detoured south along the Klondike Higway (purple line on map). At Carcross, they took the Tagish Road east to Jake's Corner where they hooked back up with the Alaska Highway.

The plan was to stop at the George Johnston Museum in Teslin. According to the Milepost, the:

"George Johnston Museum preserves the photography of Tlingit Indian, George Johnston (1884–1972), who captured the life of the inland Tlingit people of Teslin and Atlin between 1910 and 1940. Johnston also brought the first car, a 1928 Chevrolet, to Teslin, and it is on display at the museum."

The convoy is then to head to Swift River and Rancheria River Valley. They will actually dip down into British Columbia for a bit, but then end up back in the Yukon Territory.

AC'12 Day 23 travel routes

- Ellen

Day 19 - Aug 22: Back in the Yukon!

A short trip of 110 miles brought the AC'12 convoy to Beaver Creek, Yukon Territory. I monitored SPOT as the approached the boundary, the crossing was very fast (at least for the vehicle that SPOT was in).

Beaver Creek was were the construction crews back in 1942 met, making the Alaska Highway a continuous highway from Delta Junction, Alaska, to Dawson Creek, British Columbia.

AC'12 Day 19 travel route

Day 18 - Aug 21: Ceremony, Airstrip, and Fire

Today, the AC'12 Convoy traveled from Paxson, Alaska, north on the Richardson Highway to Delta Junction. From there, they will head down the Alaska Highway to Tok.

Delta Junction is the official end of the Alaska Highway at Milepost 1422. A ceremony was to take place in Delta Junction to mark the convoy arrival. From here, the convoy will begin it's back-track of the Alaska Highway down to Milepost 0 at Dawson Creek, British Columbia.

AC'12 Day 18  travel route

As an aside to today's adventures, just west of their travel route is Delta Creek Airstrip. This airstrip was constructed in 1982 under Mike's direction when he was a young 1st Lt. at Ft. Richardson. The airstrip is on Ft. Greely. I've indicated it's location on the travel map above. Check out these SPOT satellite images. Apparently the satellite imagery used by Google caught an active fire burning at the airstrip location.  A check at the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center indicates this was the Oklahoma Range #2 Rx (prescibed) fire from June 2011.

Notice smoke column along Delta Creek side of fire

Distinct N-S diagonal is the Delta Creek Airstrip
Bright orange is active fire
Dark orange is burnt area

- Ellen

Day 3 - Aug 6: On to Watson Lake

Travel today was from Toad River, British Columbia, to Watson Lake, Yukon Territory.  The famous Sign Forest is there as well as an old airfield which now houses a museum for the Alaskan Highway and other WWII activities in the area.

Apologies to those who like to follow SPOT, but it didn't get turned on today.

Map Added 08/07/2012

- Ellen

Day 2 - Aug 5: Ft Nelson and Toad River

Today's travels for the AC'12 Convoy took them through Ft. Nelson, British Columbia, and on to Toad River.

Mike has the SPOT back on for those that are following him that way.

Map Added 08/07/2012

- Ellen

Day 1 - Aug 4: First Gear

The AC'12 convoy kicked off at 0700 sharp this morning from Dawson Creek.  As each convoy march unit rolled out, Mike took video.  Day's travel plan is to head to Buckinghorse, British Columbia.

Along the way, they will be going through Ft. St. John, as well as passing by Charlie Lake.

Map Added 08/07/2012

- Ellen

Dawson Ck Day 2 - Aug 2

I have been enjoying looking at all the photos people are posting to Facebook and to individual blogs. I find myself looking closely at them to see if I can see E-W or the E-W crew. From the postings and pictures about the convoy and get-together at Rolla last night, it appears it was a lot of fun. I understand that 58 vehicles went on this little 12 mile side trip.

I guess today is full of meetings. There was a driver's meeting this morning, followed by march unit meetings. The convoy will be divided up into March Units. Each march unit will have a person in charge at the front, and a tail-gunner at the rear. Mike and E-W are the tail-gunner for a march unit made of jeeps.

Each participant and vehicle going on the AC'12 convoy has to be registered and safety inspected. There is a list of specific equipment that each must carry. A large enclosed car-hauler will follow the convoy full of spare parts that people have put in there. There will be a maintenance section, but maintenance and repair is up to individual vehicle drivers.

Over the last year, I have been listening in on Mike's teleconferences with the core team. There was a huge amount of planning that went on. As refuel planner, Mike investigated the Canadian and provincial rules on carrying extra fuel. He designed a monstrous spreadsheet with each days travel plans and stops. Included in the spreadsheet was everyone's military vehicle and any personal chase vehicles.

Based on mpg of the vehicles he determined fuel needs for diesel and gasoline. Both gallons and litres were used, as well as the projected cost. It became clear that refueling could become a nightmare at some stops that have just one pump for each type of fuel. At other times, the spreadsheet showed that vehicles with same fuel tanks were going to have to use their spare fuel cans. Mike called those days a "Gas Can Day". Most fuel stations are anticipating the convoy, and have said they will have plenty of fuel on hand.

Version ??? of the Fuel Spreadsheet

Dawson Ck Day 1 - Aug 1

Got to chat with Mike last night, and now I need to add to that list of things they are doing in Dawson Creek during their "rest days". As I suspected, there is no resting!

Mike, aka Gas Can Mike, is the refuel planner for the AC'12 convoy, and as such, is involved with meetings of the core AC'12 team. He is also working to get Electro-Willys and Juice Box running smoothly. And, of course, showing off E-W to anyone that is interested in it. E-W draws a lot of attention when it stealthily motors through camp.

Last night, it was a chore getting E-W and Juice Box out of The Cave. They had to unpack a lot of stuff before they could back out. But, hey, they need to reorganize The Cave for living quarters now, anyways.

The Cave at Round Lake State Park
(photo by Jen on 07/29)

This afternoon, the participants in AC'12 will get to practice lining up for movement and rolling out. The group has been invited to come over to the small town of Rolla to help celebrate the town's 100th anniversary. They will even get a RCMP escort.

Check out the Paper Doll Blog's posting of July 31: Day 12 - Recon Run to Rolla for some interesting facts about Rolla.

- Ellen

Travel Day 6 - July 31

It's the last day of the month, and the Rocky Mountain collection convoy arrived in Dawson Creek this evening. The E-W crew turned north from Hinton, Alberta and headed through Grande Cache to Grand Prairie. From Grand Prairie, the group traveled northwest to Dawson Creek, British Columbia and Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway.

Travel Day 6

I'm sure the crew is eager for the travel days to be done. They will have several days in Dawson Creek to rest, do laundry, meet the rest of the AC'12 convoy members, chew the fat, compare rigs, make plans, attend special events, go to Rolla. Hmmm... not sure that list of stuff sounds like rest to me!

- Ellen

Travel Day 5 - July 30

The views on Travel Day 5 must have been awesome for the Rocky Mountain collection convoy. They got started before 0730 and made their way north to the west entrance to Kootenay National Park. That's east of Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia. Mike, the kids, and I have swum in the pools there.

After crossing the Continental Divide once again, they drove into Alberta through the northern part of Banff National Park. I'm glad to see the stopped at Lake Louise. This a large resort build by the railroad back in the day that many took vacations via the rail lines in Canada. We stopped here years ago with our kids and dog, Smokey. The Japanese tourists were enamored with our "wolf" dog (yes, she was part wolf, part husky).

Leaving Lake Louise, they traveled north along the Icefields Parkway. This route took them north into Jasper National Park. I look forward to seeing some pictures along this route.

Jasper NP - Large Glacier along their route

The E-W crew turned east at Jasper on to the TransCanada Highway 16 (Yellowhead Highway). They camped the night at Hinton, east of Jasper National Park. It appears they made great time through the parks.

Day 05 travels

Travel Day 6 will bring them to Dawson Creek to hook up with the rest of the AC'12 Convoy.

- Ellen

Travel Day 4 - July 29

I talked with Mike just before they got to the Eastport Border Crossing this afternoon. He and Jen had a great evening, and Jen enjoyed camping with them at Round Lake. She posted a couple dozen pictures to Facebook, and I thought I'd share a couple with you. Mike and Jen took an early morning walk down to the lake.

Mike and Jen

Round Lake Sunrise

The Rocky Mountain collection convoy now numbers 5. Based on the SPOT data, it looks like they got a late start from the Round Lake Campground. In addition to the F350 pulling The Cave, they now have a WWII 1 1/2 Ton, a Deuce and half with short box, the Deuce's chase pickup truck, and a Jeep Cherokee with flatbed trailer carrying an MB jeep and teardrop camper.

I watched Mike's SPOT while they were at the Border, and it didn't take them long to get through and back on the road and on their way in British Columbia. That was certainly good news. Later he told me that they asked all the convoy to come inside, and they checked their passports together.

From the Eastport Border Crossing, they made their way northeast to Cranbrook. From Cranbrook, they headed north to Fairmont Hot Springs. Mike said that some of the rigs were slow going, and the group had to, at time, pull off to let traffic pass.

Tomorrow, they are going to split up in groups of 2, as they now number six. This will make it easier to navigate through Yoho, Jasper and Banff National Parks.

Mike's travels bring back memories for me, and I'm pretty sure they are camping tonight at the same campground we camped at once. That is nice country from Sandpoint to Fairmont Hot Springs.

- Ellen