July 11, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Dawson Creek, Attractions
It all started off innocently enough with a lovely sunny morning stroll through peaceful streets to indulge my senses at the weekly Farmer's Market. For those of you who are wondering, the market is held Saturdays at 8am to 12:30pm from May to October at the Co-Op Mall on 103 Ave and 8th St, a short distance to drive or walk from the well equipped and very friendly NAR Visitor Centre.
The Market was every bit as eclectic as I had hoped and as I approached I was excited to see a variety of locally made goodies including everything from tie-die shirts and dresses to fresh rhubarb to hand tied fishing flies. The selection in the additional covered area was equally as eclectic and I managed to have some great chats with some of the vendors, even convincing a few to just maybe come and visit my home turf of the Yukon. Just an added bonus.
After I had spent all my hard earned cash on such irresistible items such as locally homemade Bumbleberry Jam, Black Current Syrup and some funky one of a kind jewelry that can only be bought at a street market, I decided to wend my way to points beyond.
I walked through the serene streets lined with the most beautiful hanging baskets I have ever seen over to the Alaska House on the corner of 102 Ave and 10th St - the intersection containing the historic Mile Zero monument, I spent well over an hour in the Alaska House including watching a captivating film about the awe inspiring construction of the Alaska Highway in 1942. The film was above and beyond anything I have seen until now and I surprisingly learned a few things that I had not realized even after living for 20 years on the Alaska Highway in the Yukon Territory myself.
This is almost when I became a star - albeit a temporary one!
The missing link right now for this entry is the fact the 15th Annual Summer Cruise-Show and Shine Event for original, restored classic and will-be classic cars from all over BC and Alberta is happening this weekend. There are some very proud owners and sweet looking rides circulating through town all shined up and in immaculate condition. The weekend event is a must-do for everyone whether one considers themselves an enthusiast or not. The town of Dawson Creek and the Mile Zero Cruisers have definitely created an event that will last for years to come.
The Summer Cruise folks were having a scavenger hunt throughout town for what I'm assuming must be great fun due to the enthusiasm and smiles on the faces of everyone I saw participating. This is when my modeling career began!
One task for teams was to find tourists, get their names, hometowns, give a pin to and take a picture with said tourist - each team needing to find four tourists each to participate! Well, I decided to jump head first into the persona of volunteer-tourist-for-pose. I had a large stash of Yukon logo pins handily in my bag and as the pics snapped, appropriate scavenger hunt forms filled out - the pins were flying back and forth between us and I'm wondering honestly who had more fun - the great folks I met or myself - I'm thinking me!
I'm out of alloted words - so hang on for the rest of my adventures in beautiful, friendly Dawson Creek!!!
July 10, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Dawson Creek, Attractions
The Mile 0 post in Dawson Creek is the one thing that tourists must have a picture of. I was quite intriqued to learn about the history of the post as it is not the orginal. The first post was located in the traffic circle as was foolishly run over by a drunk driver. The city felt that this post was important and decided to design a new one to honour all the hard work of building the Alaska Highway. Since then, this post has made its way to Vancouver when the engineering students stole it from UBC, been set on fire and has had endless men and women tied to it the night before their wedding. Due to all its adventures, the post is now metal and bolted to the cement. Make sure you look both ways though before you get your picture taken with post as you are jaywalking.
July 10, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Dawson Creek, Attractions
The Dawson Creek train station was built in 1931 and was used mostly for the American soldiers to come to Canada and build the Alaska HWY. Now it's been converted into an interesting museum...