B.C. Border Crossings

Another trivia question: how many times have Dee and Cal crossed a border into the province of British Columbia? By my count the number is seven (7), once from Alberta, five times from Yukon, and once from Alaska. They have crossed the border out of BC six (6) times: five times into the Yukon and once into Alaska. That makes a total of thirteen (13) BC border crossings so far. All this is assuming they made it off the ferry in the wee hours of this morning. The coverage map shows Verizon service right around the Prince Rupert area so hopefully we will hear something from them yet this evening.

Alaska's "First City"

The picture Dee posted of the entrance to Ketchican claims that it is "Alaska's 1st City." Yet Sitka claims that it is "The First City in Alaska." Which one is correct? Without going into the details of determining exactly when a given city is established, it is clear that Sitka is the older. Ketchican's history dates to 1883, while Sitka's history begins around 1800. How, then, can Ketchican claim to be Alaska's first city?

Well Ketchican calls itself "First City" simply because it is the first stop in Alaska for ferries and many cruise ships traveling north through the Inside Passage. Its vibrant native Alaskan heritage, scenic location, and picturesque hillside houses and staircases make it a popular destination for travelers. It is also known as the "Salmon Capital of the World."

Ketchican is situated on Revillagigedo Island, 90 miles (145 km) north of Prince Rupert, BC. It is separated from Gravina Island, where Ketchikan International Airport is located, by the Tongass Narrows. In August 2005 the 2005 Highway Bill provided for $223m to build the Gravina Island Bridge (nicknamed "the Bridge to Nowhere" by its critics) between Ketchikan and Gravina Island. The bridge would have connected the island of Ketchikan to Gravina island where the airport is located so you can drive to the airport rather than taking the ferry across the waters. After years of national and international ridicule over the expense of this project, the Alaska government ultimately chose not to build the bridge, and will spend the appropriated funds elsewhere.

The Wrangell Narrows

Although I can't find much information about it, the Wrangell Narrows fascinates me. It is so narrow (and shallow) that cruise ships cannot make the passage, and even the ferries have to pick the right time of the tide, which I am guessing is the reason Dee and Cal have to leave Petersburg at 3:00 am.

"Wrangell Narrows, 20 miles of narrow tidal waterway, separates Mitkof Island from its close neighbor Kupreanof Island. In some areas Wrangell Narrows is barely wide enough to accommodate the Alaska State ferries and does not allow for the passage of larger cruise ships. The "Narrows" is famous for it many navigational markers. With tides that can range from a high of 19 feet to a low of -4 feet in one day, the water often rushes through the Wrangell Narrows adding to the navigational challenges. (geography)

Watson Lake, Yukon

Awhile back I promised not to speculate about where Dee and Cal might be headed next, yet I am about to speculate where they might be now. Just can't help myself. In any case, I surely jumped the gun by talking about the Continental Divide last night, because the Divide is beyond Watson Lake, YT on the Alaska Highway, and I am pretty sure the trikers will be able to post from Watson Lake. Watson Lake is right at 200 miles from Toad River Lodge where they were Monday night, and they did say they were going to slow down and enjoy the scenery (in this stretch said to be the best anywhere on the Alaska Highway). So I am going to go out on a limb and say that we will hear from Dee and Cal from Watson Lake tomorrow (Sunday) night, or perhaps as early as this evening.

Watson Lake is a community of 1000-1500 people, a small town by most standards, but in this region a booming metropolis. It lies along the Liard River in the upper Rocky Mountain Trench and, obviously, is near a small lake by the same name. It is known as the Gateway to the Yukon. The town is also famous for its Sign Post Forest.

Near Watson Lake is a small community called Upper Liard and another called Two Mile Village, both home to the Liard River First Nation.

The Continental Divide

If you have been following the River List you will have noticed that the rivers up to and including the Missouri drain into the Atlantic Ocean via the Gulf of Mexico, while all those after it in the list drain into the Arctic Ocean, hence a continental divide, the so called Northern or Laurentian Divide. Still not exactly sure where they are, we can assume Dee and Cal are approaching or have passed the Great Continental Divide, beyond which the rivers all flow into the Pacific Ocean. Travel plans posted before they started call for Dee and Cal to return by way of Glacier National Park (or near it), where the Northern and the Great Divides converge in a "triple point".

The Kechika River

Being just a vicarious triker, I am free to explore places inaccessible to Dee and Cal. Don't get me wrong, I'd rather be with them, but since I'm not, I will take a little side trip. The Kechika River will not make it to our "river list" because the trikers will neither cross it nor follow it, but it deserves a blog entry nonetheless because: (1) it flows into the Liard River, which the trikers will cross (and then follow) soon, (2) most of its course is within the Rocky Mountain Trench, which I've already written about, and (3) its pristine watershed is home to moose, caribou, stone sheep, grizzly and black bear, timber wolf, (which we have encountered before) as well as elk and mountain goat.

In the image here, I have redrawn the Alaska Highway in red to make it more visible. The green balloon is where Dee and Cal stayed last night. The Kechica River rises near the lower center of the image and flows northwest before curving toward the Liard, which it joins at the Alaska Highway. You can click on the image to make it larger, or if you go to the Google map, you can zoom in and out as you wish.

What makes this river valley especially special are "the wildlife populations and ecosystems which flourish around and along the river. ... Not only is the river corridor pristine, but the valley as a whole remains largely free from roads, leaving the Kechika River as the largest remaining undisturbed watershed in British Columbia." I would love to quote the entire website, but you owe it to yourself to follow the link above. Also read about the Denetiah Provincial Park.

The Rocky Mountain Trench

On the High Plains and into the Canadian prairie, the Terrain View of the map has, with notable exceptions, been mostly monotonous. Not so now. I have been watching the terrain ahead as Dee and Cal approach the Northern Rockies, and for a few days now I have noticed a feature that seems highly unusual, a deep valley in a perfectly straight line for hundreds of miles, the orientation of which is an almost uniform 150/330 degree geographic north vector. Today I discovered that this is the Rocky Mountain Trench, primarily the result of faulting (with minimal glacial carving). What you see in the image above is the northern half of the Trench, beginning at the Yukon/B.C. border. It continues at just a slightly different angle to the southeast all the way to Montana.

For orientation, Fort Nelson is in middle of the upper right quadrant (at the confluence of three rivers). The town of Watson Lake would be at the top edge (or barely above it) and toward the left. Prince George would be just off the bottom edge and toward the right. The large lake in the middle of the Trench is Lake Williston on the Peace River. To the northwest, the Tintina Trench continues on through the Yukon to Alaska.

The mountains east of the Trench are the Rocky Mountains, but to the west of it are the Cassiar Mountains in the north and the Omineca Mountains a little further south. We will check out the Trench again when the trikers come back through it a little further south on their way home.

Hills on the Way to Pink Mountain

Here is the elevation graph that Dee requested for the Alaskan Highway between Shepherd's Inn and Pink Mountain. I am not quite sure why the distance is off by so much, but my indicator pins (as located by Google) may not be entirely accurate.

The River List

Dee mentioned crossing the Smoky River (not to be confused with the Smoky Hill River), so this seems like a good time to review the rivers that the trikers have crossed on their journey so far.

• Arkansas
• Smoky Hill
• Saline
• Solomon (S. and N. Forks)
• Republican
• Platte
• Loup (South and Middle)
• Cheyenne
• Belle Fourche
• Grand South Fork
• Grand North Fork
• Little Missouri
• Missouri
• South Saskatchewan
• North Saskatchewan
• Abthbasca
• Smoky

The Missouri River and all above it drain into the Atlantic Ocean, while those below it drain into the Arctic Ocean.

Forty-Ninth Parallel

Another quiz. What is the northern most point in the contiguous United States? I admit I expected it to be the northern point of Maine, and I was wrong. Maine is below 47° 28' N latitude, while most of the U.S.-Canadian border is on the 49th parallel, the longest continuous international border in the world and all demilitarized. Due to confusion about the source of the Mississippi River and resulting ambiguity in the treaty, there is, however, a tiny area of Minnesota north of the 49th parallel called the Northwest Angle.

In any case, Dee and Cal are now north of the forty-ninth parallel and in Saskatchewan, Canada. Still not sure where they will camp for the night or if they will have broadband coverage there. Nevertheless, it is all pretty cool!

Time Zones

On April 21 the trikers crossed into the Mountain Time Zone in Nebraska. They neglected to say that they crossed back into the Central Time Zone while going north in North Dakota between Belfield and the Little Missouri (Thursday). Tonight they are back in the Mountain Time Zone by virtue of crossing into Montana. I was tipped off to this by Dean's comment about Fortuna, ND being so far west in the Central Time Zone. Dee and Cal are in Culberson on the Lewis and Clark Trail, west of the Yellowstone River now. Of course this means they will miss Fortuna. Incidentally, they spent the day riding west on US-2 (before heading north again tomorrow). Most primary east-west US Highways end in zero, but this one was named 2 to avoid being named 0.

The Center of the U.S.

On April 15, Dee and Cal took a little side trip to the geographic center of the contiguous 48 states near Lebanon, KS. Yesterday they passed within 30 miles of the center of the 50 states (44°58'N, 103°46'W). The nearest town is Belle Fourche (the "ch" is /sh/), French for "beautiful fork" for the fork of Hay Creek, the Redwater River, and the Belle Fourche River at the site. It should be pointed out, however, that neither point is exact, since there is no agreement on which mathematical model to use. The Lebanon point was determined in 1918 by balancing on a point a cardboard cutout shaped like the U.S. This obviously would not work for the 50 states, and I don't know how that point was arrived at.

Last night the trikers were stuck in a little place called Crow Buttes Mercantile, a few miles south of Redig, SD, outside the Verizon broadband coverage. We could assume as much from the fact that they did not post on the blog, but to confirm this fact I placed a link to the Verizon coverage map in the Tools for the Journey section. This may come in handy again as they get further north.

The Dakota Hogback

Back to plan A. The Mickelson Trail was a great idea, but Dee and Cal received an email this morning from the S.D. Department of Parks indicating that the majority of the trail is still snow covered, so they will be going to Rapid City after all (presumably via SD 79). I am still curious about their route from here to Belle Forche, but apparently there is only 8 miles on I-90 and the highway patrol has blessed this.

Maybe the rest of this entry should wait until Dee and Cal are actually in Rapid City, but since it is on my mind, I will go ahead post it now. When I was looking at the Terrain view on the Google map this morning, I zoomed in close on Rapid City. The interesting thing about this is that the city is cut in two by a ridge of mountains. This ridge is called the Dakota Hogback. There is a break in the hogback on the north end, through which Rapid Creek runs. The ridge takes its name from the Dakota Formation, a sandstone formation that underlies the ridge. The Dakota Hogback also goes past Hot Springs, which accounts for all the sandstone buildings.

Then zooming back out, it is also fascinating to see how the Black Hills stand apart from the Rocky Mountains like an island of mountains and trees in a sea of prairie.

Kearney and Hazard

With 27 thousand inhabitants, Kearney ("car-knee") is the largest city Dee and Cal have encountered since leaving Hutchinson (40k), and probably the largest they will now see until well into Canada. The city is named for the nearby Fort Kearney on the Oregon Trail. The Great Platte River Road Archway Monument over I-80 that Dee and Cal wrote about (picture) is half way between Boston and San Francisco. Also of interest is that the name Kearney did not always have the first "e", but due to persistent misspellings, the current spelling stuck. Any guesses as to the population of Hazard? (The sign says 66.) Obviously friendly folks.

Red Cloud and Minden

While the trikers are taking a much needed break (and staying in out of the rain), I will make a few observations about their current location, Minden. NE. It turns out that more than fifteen states have towns or cities named Minden, apparently because there were so many immigrants from Minden, Germany in the 1850's. Minden, Nebraska is known for its Christmas lights and festival each year and for Harold Warp's Pioneer Village. The town had a population of nearly 3,000 people in the 2000 Census.

The trikers spent the previous night (Wed) in Red Cloud, NE. This town was named for the famous Indian chief, who was born in the region (though closer to North Platte). He is most famous for battles in Montana and Wyoming. The town of Red Cloud was founded in 1871 by a former captain in the Union Army, Silas Garber, and has a current population of a little over a thousand.