The boys decided to hit it big today and drive as close to White Horse in the North as possible and escape the endless farmlands which really became quiet boring with their repetitive appearance.
The aim was to hit the famous Alaska Highway which starts at Dawson’s Creek some 130km behind Grand Prairie.
A bit of history for Team Lipstick and friends…:
The Alaska Highway was constructed during World War II for the purpose of connecting the contiguous United States to Alaska across Canada. It begins at the junction with several Canadian highways in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, and runs to Delta Junction, Alaska, via Whitehorse, Yukon.
Completed in 1942 at a length of approximately 2,700 km, as of 2012 it is 2,232 km long. The difference in distance is due to constant reconstruction of the highway, which has been rerouted and straightened out on numerous sections. The highway was opened to the public in 1948.Legendary over many decades for being a rough, challenging drive, the highway is now tarred over its entire length.
The attack on Pearl Harbor and beginning of the Pacific Theater in World War II, coupled with Japanese threats to the west coast of North America and the Aleutian Islands, changed the priorities for USA and Canada. On February 6, 1942, the construction of the Alaska Highway was approved by the United States Army and the project received the authorization from the U.S. Congress and Roosevelt to proceed five days later. Canada agreed to allow construction as long as the United States bore the full cost, and that the road and other facilities in Canada be turned over to Canadian authority after the war ended.
The official start of construction took place on March 8, 1942 after hundreds of pieces of construction equipment were moved on priority trains by the Northern Alberta Railways to the northeastern part of British Columbia near Mile 0 at Dawson Creek. Construction accelerated through the spring as the winter weather faded away and crews were able to work from both the northern and southern ends; they were spurred on after reports of the Japanese invasion of Kiska Island and Attu Island in the Aleutians. During construction, the road was nicknamed the “oil can highway” by the work crews due to the large number of discarded oil cans and fuel drums that marked the road’s progress. On September 24, 1942 crews from both directions met at Mile 588 at what became named Contact Creek, at the British Columbia-Yukon border at the 60th parallel; the entire route was completed October 28, 1942 with the northern linkup at Mile 1202, Beaver Creek, and the highway was dedicated on November 20, 1942 at Soldier’s Summit.
What a pleasure for the boys to drive this famous highway full of bends along rivers and the change in landscape from wheat fields to canyons and rivers and mountains
Surely not – but the myth about this creature was keeping the boys alive and nosy about the surroundings of the Alaskan highway.
More commonly creatures like the Bison are an ever-occurring sight along the winding stretches of this famous highway and they were soon spotted by Team Lipstick who had to put brakes on to avoid impact with these animals:
Bison’s grow to a height of about 1.8m and weigh 900kg – so it is wise to avoid impact!
Shortly before 8am this evening Watson Lake was reached and the boys settled in after an exciting drive along the Alaskan highway…