Day 31 ( it’s day 30 actually, just seeing if y’all are paying attention!)
Today’s travelog is being written at 11.00 pm, and the sun has not yet set, so it will not be dark before it gets light again in the morning!!
Marlipops summed up today, by 9 o’clock this morning.
“Gobsmacking.”
We left our dust filled overnight rest area at 7.15, and by 7.30 had seen a bunch of wildlife we had not seen before.
A big sign on the side of the road said watch out for caribou, and next thing, right around the corner at a rest area, was a small herd of caribou. They were like all the other wildlife, disdainful of us humans, as if to say get out of our territory.
Then, we went down a lovely wiggly bit of Stone mountain, and all across the road were a bunch ( herd/flock/gaggle/school/swarm….pick your own collective adjective) of Stone Mountain Sheep things. And they didn’t give a rats wotsit about us, either. I had to completely stop the coach, and it aint easy to stop 40,000 pounds of mobile home on a 9% slope in the mountains. But, you guessed it, Captain Cautious was at the helm, so no lamb for supper.
The journey through the Northwest part of British Columbia, especially along Muncho Lake was absolutely spectacular.
The road by the lake was very wiggly, and also as it went up and down roller coaster style, it shifted camber very quickly, so poor old Marlipops was flung all over the place!!!
The thesaurus now comes into it’s own.
The scenery today has been stunning, enchanting, splendid, magnificent and on and on and on.
There are so many lakes, rivers, creeks, and streams that a lot of them have no names, and 99% are totally unspoilt by man.
As we are driving along, Marlipops reads from our Alaska bible, The Mile Post, which gives so much information about every aspect of the Alaska Highway.
Most of the named creeks etc are named for engineers, pioneers, trappers and Indians who worked and helped on the highway when it was built 60 odd years ago.
Another nugget of info is that since there were no maps or charts, young, inexperienced pilots flying supplies etc were given hand drawn maps showing the lakes and were sent on their way with a cheery “You can’t miss it!!”
The more we read about this area, and the history of this road, the more fascinating it is.
If you want to teach your kids history, geography, economics and biology, this is the classroom to bring them to.
The rivers and streams meander down from the mountains, through culverts under the road, and on down into the lakes and big rivers. Mostly they are shallow, so the water foams over the rocks, and the water is clear and turquoise.
The mountains still have snow on the peaks, and this morning, some brilliant white clouds were below the tops of the mountains, with the sun gleaming on the snowy peaks, it was breathtaking.
We saw deer, we saw elk, we saw all sorts of birds, including our friendly lost seagull, and we saw so many buffalo at the side of the roads we gave up picture taking. They just sat there, chewing the grass ignoring everything else.
We saw a big cat loping across the road, somewhere in the wilderness, which we are convinced was a mountain lion.
And we saw the mostest biggest moose in the world!!
We came to the town of Watson’s Lake, and they have a place called The Sign Post Forest, which was started by a pioneer working on the Highway in 1942, and now boasts over 50,000 signs of all sorts from all over the world.
Of course, today there were 50,000 and one, ( for a moment ) but The Wolves gospel has to be spread far and wide, so the flag has to be shown elsewhere!!
After 418 miles of travel today, we came to the little town of Teslin, with the longest remaining iron trestle bridge on the Alaska Highway, over 1900 ft long.
It is on the end of Teslin Lake which stretches for nearly 75 miles.
I saw a sign which said free RV parking, so we followed it for ten miles up the road, and sure enough, free overnight parking, free dump station and fresh water fill, and free boat rides on the lake, and a wonderful little restaurant, with expensive dinners.
They have only been open for a year or so and we feel they have hit on a winning formula, give free parking to travelers, and at least half of them will feel obligated to eat at the restaurant, and will spend more than if they paid for the parking.
Of course, your dynamic twosome took full advantage of everything, and cooked dinner in the coach!
We are parked facing the lake, with the snow capped mountains on the far side, and the view is stunning, check out the pix.
Wildlife watch today as yesterday, see above!!
