Scenic Route to Alaska
Day 7
6/27/26 Saturday
Hinton AB to Grand Prairie AB
We are continuing north now toward the start of the ALCAN Highway. I have only one objective today and that is to take care of some laundry. It’s been a week and we have some clothes to wash!
We’re going to checkout the laundromat at Grande Cache just ahead.
Before we get to Grand Cache we are rewarded with our first grizzly sighting!! We had just crossed an area that said it was a caribou crossing and along the side of the road was a big grizzly munching on a carcass in the borrow pit of the highway. Jim turned around and we drove past again so I could get the photo. After I took the photo he started to leave and cross the highway. We had to flash the oncoming car so he wouldn’t get hit… you couldn’t see him on the crest of the hill.
Grand Cache had a funny laundromat that also had a car wash. I guess cleaning is cleaning and they have water. It was about 11:30 am and the local workers had the place busy taking care of their weekly laundry. We decided to keep driving to Grand Prairie which is a sizable city of 70,000.
This was a forested hilly drive going up and down between river drainages. First it was a logging area and there was a big lumber mill but quickly became oil and gas plants in the forest. The closer to Grand Prairie the more oil and gas wells. Still heavily forested too.
We found a really nice laundromat. In the last 6 years we’ve seen our share of laundromats while traveling. Typically I have to start saving loonies or use a machine to get dollars for the coin laundry machines. This place gave you a card to use and you put it the machines you use and it keeps track of all your wash and dry loads. When you’re done you turn your card in and pay the total amount. I thought it was really handy and the shop woman likes it too. She said it was a pretty new system. In the meantime I’ve got some loonies stockpiled.
We are camping in a casino parking lot tonight. Far at the back where employees park. Looks like about 6 of us are here. It’s relatively quiet and lots of room around us. Nowhere to go (I’m don’t gamble… I wouldn’t even know how to play a machine.. ha). And it’s been raining steadily since we arrived. Gives me a chance to post some blogs from earlier in the week.
Tomorrow is another driving day. We will pass through Dawson Creek. That’s the official start of the AlCan highway!
cinnicrew 