We stayed at the Belvedere Hotel in Watson Lake last night and were treated to a "Yukon" size breakfast buffet (that means there was a lot of food) which set us up for a good start to the day.
Our first stop was Sign Post Forest, of which you can read about if you click on the sign below. It's history is quite interesting (and it's short) so go ahead, get a little Canadian education!
Our first stop was Liard Hotsprings. We contemplated taking a dip, but decided that Mom's pool in Wenatchee was a bit more tempting and we wanted to get as many miles in as possible. But we stayed long enough for a picture!
Lake Watson and Liard Hotsprings had taken us out of the Yukon and into British Columbia. Whereas the Yukon was full of tundra and taiga, heavily lined with mountains much of the way, B.C. was often rolling hills or relatively flat forested areas, though, as you'll later see, it is the home of the Northern Rockies. I had gotten pretty tired of moutians and bodies of water after driving through Alaska and the Yukon, but later today was bummed that the scenery mainly held tree upon tree with little variation. It was a lesson in being thankful for what you have when you have it because pretty soon we'll just have concrete and cows to stare at for hours and I'll miss the boring forests of B.C. But today's drive brought us up close and personal with a LOT of nature, probably the most we'll see on our entire trip (besides all the dairy farms we'll pass in the lower 48. but they don't count.)
These buffalo look a good distance away, but I missed a photo of the three fellas (or gals) that were standing in the road only a foot from the car. We decided not to be idiot tourists and stop directly next to them; Brian kept driving so we didn't have too close an encounter or receive a dent in the car door.
Sheep (not Dahl Sheep, but similar with their curled horns) or mountain goats nibbled at the gravel on the edge of the road. They must have been after the salt used earlier in the winter to melt the ice. Other wildlife included moose, caribou (did you know that reindeer are simply domesticated caribou?), coyote and plenty of deer.
Muncho Lake was the prettiest body of water we saw today. There was a little raincloud that burst in the middle making it look like a shower was turned on in just one spot. I was surpirsed no one was boating on it, despite the weather, because it was so picturesque.
Enter the land of the Northern Rocky Mountains! These formidable formations of rock were amazing. So many layers, so many curves -it appeared the lava or sediment that formed them bubbled and churned as it settled into it's relatively eternal creation. We were stopped for nearly 30 minutes due to construction and got to enjoy the remarkable view.
Just what I always wanted to see! The worlds greatest highway hat collection...in Toad River, B.C. For one thing, the name of the town, er, bump in the road, says it all: Toad River. What else can you expect from a place like that -though Wonowon, B.C. surely must have had something to rival the hat collection Toad River is so darn proud of (but we didn't bother stopping to see.) Over 7277 hats in all...and counting!
One of our final pit stops had the best (as in worst) outhouse we've run across. A picture was a must.
Besides the amount of wildlife we saw today, a few other highlights come to mind. We had about 15 minutes of thunderstorm we drove in and out of -the first I've experienced in years. The lighting was close, the thunder frightening, the raindrops monsterous! It was very exciting.The other: singing really loud with Brian along to Tim McGraw. Now THAT'S bonding.
We intended to make Fort St. John our final destination today, but when we arrived with some time to spare and saw it was only a hop, skip and a jump to Dawson Creek, we plowed forward. Now we're nestled in the Ramada, clean and refreshed, ready to get another good nights sleep. By tomorrow night we should be in Bellingham, Washington. Stay tuned 'til then!
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