June 5
After leaving Chetwynd this morning, we took Rte. 29 through Moberley Lake and Hudson's Hope. This is the valley that will be flooded if and when the Site C damn is put in. Aware of this as we drove through, we took note of many signs locals have put up indicating where the high water mark will be so you have a sense of how much land will be flooded. It's really hard to imagine just how big that reservoir will be and how much stunningly gorgeous farm land will be lost. I can't imagine how heart breaking it will be for many of the locals in that area, particularly the people who will be lose their properties. As we looked out over the valley, we couldn't help but think that there must be a better option. Wind farms perhaps? Who knows - we're not experts in this area but it just seems like there should be other ways to make power without such massive destruction.
Anyway - the drive from Chetwynd to Charlie Lake, just outside of Fort St. John, is spectacularly beautiful. At the junction at Charlie Lake, we headed north on the Alaska Highway towards Fort Nelson. Alas, the road from here on out was just endless trees - mostly scrubby swamp spruce that looks like it came out of a Dr. Seuss book. It truly was endless - miles and miles of it until we arrived in Ft. Nelson. We stayed the night with our good friends, Jacquie and Reily. Lots of fun visiting and a great BBQ.
June 6
After a quick breakfast, we left for Liard Hotsprings. Jacquie and Reily decided to come with us for the weekend which was awesome. Reily is (among other things) a hunting guide who has worked out of Toad River quite a bit so he knows the area really well. About 50kms west of Ft. Nelson, the scenery changes significantly - mountains start to show up and the road starts to get twisty and climb. We headed up to Summit Lake and Stone Mountain. Spectacular!! Stone Mountain (at the top) is above the tree line and there were patches of snow still there. Summit Lake is really pretty and there is a nice campsite. It was really cold and windy so we didn't stay long but it was beautiful.
From there, we descended the other side of the summit and came into Toad River. The little gas station has some good coffee and home made baking. There are over 10,000 baseball hats nailed onto the ceiling of the cafe from all over!
Next, we headed to Muncho Lake which is a FANTASTIC motorcycle road - lots of twisties and the pavement is good. Much of the road runs along the shoreline of Muncho which is a GORGEOUS turquois glacier fed lake. There are great camping spots along the lake and several resorts. We're starting to become aware that we'll have to be careful about buying gas when we can. Many of the smaller resorts are closed and the identified gas stations (on the maps etc.) are closed up. We've got a jerry can we'll keep filled.
After Muncho, we carried on to Liard Hotsprings. We were here a few years ago when we came up in 2009 with our truck and camper so we knew what a gem it is and it was absolutely a must-do again. Liard is one of the BEST natural hotsprings I've ever been to. There is a Provincial campsite there and, across the road, another RV park and cafe. There is some limited development at the hotsprings itself - a nice change area and a washroom house. The board walk is well maintained and it's about a 15 minute easy walk from the parking lot to the springs. There are two natural pools - the top one is VERY hot and the bottom one gradually cools off so you can find your perfect "zone". When we arrived, we set up camp, BBQ'd an awesome dinner and then headed off for a soak. The springs are open 24 hours a day and, right now, it's almost 24 hour daylight. It gets a little dusky around midnight and then lightens up again around 3am.
Today was a GREAT wildlife day - we saw several black bears, half a dozen bison and some moose, one of which was eating in a swamp right beside the highway, completely without care of concern about all the people gawking at it. I'll post photos from my other camera on here later.
June 7
Jacquie and Reily took off for home and we decided to stay another night. We were tired so we just had a couple of soaks at the springs and took a good long afternoon nap. After dinner, another soak. It rained most of the day so really, the best thing we could do was hang out in the hot water! In the evening, we managed a nice campfire and dried off a few of our towels etc. A nice lazy day. No cel service, wifi or power at the camp.
June 8
We had a quick coffee at the cafe at Liard and then headed out. We wanted to make Teslin by tonight. We drove through 200 kms of trees and trees and trees to Watson Lake. It's amazing how many little resorts and gas stations along the way are closed up. Sad to see this evidence of a faltering economy. When we were here in 2009, most of them were still open. Now they're closed, boarded up and being over run by weeds...
Watson Lake is a neat little town and definitely worth stopping for a visit. The biggest attraction is the Sign Forest - people from all over the world bring signs and nail them up to posts in a small park along the highway. We put a sign up in 2009 but there are so many now, I couldn't find it! There is also a fabulous little "department" store across the road which sells pretty much anything you could want and their prices are very reasonable. A very fun place to poke around in. Beside it is Kathy's Cafe where we had lunch. Really good homemade food. We also did a shop at the grocery store across the highway. Apparently, it's the last good supermarket until Whitehorse and we needed to stock up. Of note, the gasoline was very expensive in Ft. Nelson ($1.50/litre for regular) but comparitively inexpensive in Watson Lake ($1.28/litre for premium) - there doesn't seem to be any logic to the way gas is priced up here... it's hard to predict. We bought a second 5 gallon jerry can because we've heard from other motorcyclists that many of the gas stations are closed.
Sign Forest in Watson Lake
From Watson Lake, we continued on for another 260 kms to Teslin, Yukon. Lots of miles of trees and trees but you start to see some of the coastal mountains in the distance. Very pretty. We arrived at Teslin Lake around 6:00 and set up camp right on the shore!
Our camp at Teslin, Yukon
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