Kitimat And Terrace...35 Miles Apart And Totally Different

Yesterday was my Kitimat day,just a few miles down the road from the campsite here at Lakelse lake....10 minutes in and some regrets..road construction...pilot car...6 miles of pure fine dust....choking dust, because I was following 2 -18 wheelers and a loaded logging truck....It was like driving in thick fog....at one point I almost ran into the back of the 18 wheeler as you couldn't see beyond the hood of the truck.Nuff said.
I drove all the way to the end of highway 37 where the big Alcan Aluminum Smelter is located at the head of Douglas Channel....It is huge,I travelled over 1.5 miles,looking at continuous smelter operation.The pic above is just the end of it.Below is the large Eurocan Pulp Mill just up the road.

This is a Planned company town built in the 50's and the town proper is further in, away from these monsters.The large residential area is centred by the business area which is really just like a large shopping mall.The pic below is one side of it.It has many shops,restaurants and 2 gas stations,all across the road from the start of the residential area.I think parking is not a problem,many of the 9000 people live within walking distance anyway.The industrial services like building supply and service shops are midway between the town and the smelter,also in a large separate cluster.....OOOPS!I just spilled coffee all over myself and my bed.....geeze...and I just did the laundry 2 days ago.....time out.

I got lost in the vast residential area and had to ask Miss Garmin to extricate me....she came through with flying colors and got me up above to a park on the highway which overlooks everything.You can see Douglas Channel in the distance with the town below in the trees.

Below is a closer look....Just think,that saltwater channel goes about 55 miles before it reaches more open water at Gil island,which I believe is where the Queen of the North...The Rupert/Port Hardy Ferry sank,hitting Gil Island a few years ago.

Here is a shot(below) of the little park where I took the previous pictures.

And at the city limits is this sign...Over the next few days I may follow this route north as the extreme heat is coming this way,driving me further north.

Thursday....Laundry/haircut/shopping day
In Terrace.


This is a nice little city of around 11000,here are a few downtown scenes.

Below reminds me of Wellington St. in Chilliwack.Same set up Exactly.

So this is travel day as I backtrack a bit and head further north up highway 37,the "Cassiar."I don't know how far I will go but my original plan a couple of weeks ago was to go at least as far as Stewart/Hyder Alaska,which will be in my day trip range by tonight,when I hopefully stop at Meziadin Lake PP.