Not Wash 'n' Wear...Rather, Wash 'n' Bear!
Trip Start
May 06, 2012
1
15
38
Trip End
Ongoing
Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Canada
Monday, June 25, 2012
Fort Nelson, an established fur trading post back in 1805 later became “Mile 300” on the Alaskan Highway. Now its a big game hunting area and popular for fly-in fishing trips.
Today, it is also home to gas pricing at about $1.44 per litre (the most we’ve paid, thus far), but not home to a Tim Hortons coffee shop so Norm got his morning fix at A&W. Of all places. Who knew that A&W was more than a burger joint and that they served breakfast and coffee? We didn’t. Well, I guess we all know now!
We stayed 2 nights at Triple “G” Hideaway campground and upon arrival we discovered they had an RV wash station so we hosed her and the truck down ‘cuz she was awfully dirty from the rainy road up. The rain had finally stopped so we ended up having a small campfire and enjoyed the evening outdoors.
Generally, we don’t like to drive once it gets dark, but that’s pretty near impossible now-a-days. Up this way it would be easy to drive for 20 or so hours a day. You see, at 11:30 at night it is still fairly light out, which is usually when we’re in bed, and at 3:30 am when one of us has to get up for a pee it is still light out. So darkness only lasts about 4 hours or less at this time of year. I tell ya, it does take some getting used to...going to bed when its light out and getting up when its light out...very strange.
While in the area we went for a hike in the Fort Nelson Demonstration Forest - just on the edge of town. It happened to be a beautiful sunny day, but with the warmth of the sun and after a rainfall you typically get mosquitos. Yep, they were out hunting human flesh on this particular day and even though we sprayed and sprayed ourselves with bug spray they swarmed around us trying to find a nice little sweet spot that was unprotected. Youch! Those little buggers...they found it. While walking we happened upon a grade 1 class looking for “Pond Monsters” (little critters in the water). They were having a great ol’ time and were so cute to watch!
Later that afternoon we went and played a round of golf at the Poplar Hills Golf Club. If you’re ever in the area check it out as they were very nice people and it was a fun course to play. It was just a nine-holer, but very picturesque with lots of elevation changes.
Next morning we were off again on our journey north toward the Yukon. On route we saw Summit Lake, which is the highest freshwater lake in British Columbia (BC) and then Muncho Lake, which is one of the prettiest lakes in BC...so people say. We ate a picnic lunch right on the shore of Muncho. It was pretty, but a little cool and overcast so we didn’t really get to see the water colour as it is described by so many. And darn! Norm didn’t have his fishing rod handy or MAYBE he could have caught our lunch. Then again, maybe not. Ha!
Toad River, which was another gas up spot along the highway had a little post office and a funky shop with baseball caps all over the ceiling. It appeared as though they were a collection of people who had stopped in and donated to the cause...whatever it was. Anyway, it was unusual, but neat at the same time.
As we drove on we saw our share of wild life: Black Bears, Big Horned Sheep, Fox, Deer, Bison and, of course, Moose. Sharon took snap shots, when able, and in some cases just by chance. It is always a treat to see something wild, but you’ve got to be careful because if they happen to go in front of your vehicle its very difficult to stop - especially if you’re towing a trailer. We’ve been very fortunate, however we have seen another smaller camper van with a rather large dent. We figure it was a good size animal that they hit as the damage was pretty bad. They were lucky as they obviously continued with their travels although we’re not sure what happened to the animal. Based on the damage, some how we figure that the animal may not have been quite as lucky.
Now you can’t drive for hours and hours without Mother Nature calling on your bladder so there were several stops along the way. The oddest stop was at a rest area where a few fellas were taking things literally as they were having a “rest” right there in the parking lot. Most unusual sight to see so Sharon snapped a couple of photos. The other thing we came upon was a couple from France, who we later met down the road, that told us they were walking to Alaska. Walking...imagine! We’d rather drive.
Liard Hot Springs, we had been told, was “a must see” place to go when in northern BC. When we arrived at the provincial campground we got one of the last sites for the night as they only had 3 spots left. Whew, that was close! It was a nice relaxing time as these particular hot springs are one of the few remaining with natural surroundings and natural waters. Most hot spring destinations now build “pools” that they feed the natural hot waters into and you and the rest of the province go there to sit in one of these “pools” shoulder to shoulder. Yuck! Here, the setting was natural and not very busy at all. There were maybe 15 people there when we enjoyed them. Nice!
At Liard there were 2 defined areas to the heated springs (Alpha and Beta) and, unfortunately, one of them was closed (Beta). You see, environmentalists had found a nice little red snail in the pool that is considered an endangered species so they don’t want to risk it becoming extinct. Solution...close down the area, keep everyone out and let the little buggers procreate all they want!
Comments
We wish you happy traveling. Your pics are awesome. How many km's have you clicked on your journey? We are off to Marc's son Aaron's wedding today. Have a super Canada Day!
Hugs,
M. & L