NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 637

www.willistonlakelodge.com , $85 s, $95-112 d) or park your rig at Mackenzie Municipal
RV Park (10 Cicada Dr., $20-24), which has showers and hookups.
Continuing east toward Chetwynd, the landscape becomes more dramatic as the high-
way climbs steadily up the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Near Pine Pass, Powder
King (250/964-0645, www.powderking.com , Thurs.-Sun. Nov.-Apr.) is a remote skiing and
boarding destination legendary for its incredible snowfall—over 12 meters (40 feet) annu-
ally. One triple chair and two surface lifts serve a vertical rise of 640 meters (2,100 feet)
and 600 hectares (1,500 acres). Lift tickets are adult $58, senior $42, child $30.
Chetwynd
The touristy highlight of Chetwynd (pop. 2,800), at the junction of Highways 97 and 29,
are the numerous log sculptures carved with chainsaws. Pinecone Motor Inn (5224 53rd
Ave., 250/788-3311 or 800/663-8082, www.pineconeinn.ca , $99-119 s or d) has largish
rooms with comfortable beds, and a few kitchenettes. On the east side of town, Westwind
RV Park (Hwy. 97 N., 250/788-2190, $18-28) has pull-through sites, a laundry, showers,
and an RV wash. Chetwynd Visitor Centre (5217 North Access Rd., 250/788-1943,
www.gochetwynd.com , 8:30am-6:30pm daily mid-May-early Sept., 9am-4pm Mon.-Fri.
the rest of the year) is in a railway caboose beside the highway through town to the south.
DINOSAURS IN THE PEACE RIVER VALLEY
During construction of Peace Canyon Dam, fossilized remains of the plesiosaur, a
marine reptile, were discovered. This wasn't the first time evidence of prehistoric life
had been discovered in the Peace River Valley. As early as 1922, dinosaur footprints
over 100 million years old were found in the area where Hudson's Hope now lies.
The footprints belonged to several species of dinosaurs, most common among them
the hadrosaur. This plant-eater was around 10 meters (33 feet) long and weighed
about four tons. It was amphibious but preferred the land, walking around on its hind
legs ever-alert for the ancestors of the dreaded tyrannosaurus.
Footprints are as important as skeletons in unraveling the mysteries of dinosaurs.
They provide clues about the ratios of various dinosaurs in a particular area, and in-
formation on herds and how they traveled. Most of the 1,500 dinosaur footprints dis-
covered in the valley have been excavated and transported to museums throughout
Canada (a couple are on display in the Hudson's Hope Museum). Plant and shell