Liard and Beyond

Friday, August 3 - Arrived at Liard River Hotsprings - 19 hr drive from Fort St John. Since we're a few days ahead of schedule we've decided to enjoy an extedned stay in the hotsprins campground. Amenities are non-existant but the losts are private, large and shaded. Rather than attempt a description of the springs I had a pamphlet provided to us and if you are interested I'll relay it to you at a later date as my typist says it's to long (that would be me-NAN)

The geological origin of hotsprings is believed to be similiar to that of Banff Hotsprings. Deep circulating ground water heated by the earth's center reaches the surface through cracks (thrust faults) in tghe sedimentary rock. The water, rich in minerals (calcium sulphate, smells like rotten eggs) mixes with the air and other chemicals and encrusting "tufa" (calcium carbonate) forms. These minerals form the bas of the hanging gardens and are constantly changing the structure of the hotsprings environment and quote. Nan says a blog should just be recording where we are - I say, like David Thompson, we should attempt to describe what we see and experience. If you agree with Nan please feel free to read just the names of the places. Otherwise - read on.

Aug 2 - Happy Birthday Little Brother - We left Fort St John on a wide, smooth paved road with gently rolling hills and broad sweeping curves. My impression was - This is going to be a breeze! Not much later the hills became much higher and steeper and the road began to narrow considerably. It was beginning to feel like we were travelling vertically as much as were horizontally. The biggest concern was the numberour gravel patches that apparently were supposed to be repairs. The poor CRV bears the evidence! On the plus side the scenery was chagning from claustrophobic brush to more open views of the hills and valleys. The hills began looking more like low mountains covered with trees and the road began looking like the trunk road going out to Waiparous.

With a many ups and downs on the road it became difficult to tell how steep we were descending thank goodness for the engine retarder brakes. Past Fort Nelson was a large alping lake lying between mountain peaks and aptly called Summit Lake at 1295 m elevation. The real test for the motorhome was long steep ascent called Steamboat Pass. To appreciate the clim consider that Ft Nelson is 422m elevation and SB is 1270m. The scenery was becoming more impressive as the mountains were towering above the tree line and the rivers were wide and rushing. Caribou, sheep (stone) and deer were plentiful along the road but no bears or moose. We arrived at Liard Hotsprings at 7:30pm

Just we were told by fellow travellers, we are connecting with people - which most of you know is a favourite pasttime of mine. While at the pool and visiting with an elderly couple from Taylor I mentioned Brooks. Instantly a lady piped up and said "That's my home town - well actually Duchess." When I looked at her she said, I saw your picture the other day! To shorten this somewhat - she had visited her sister in Calgary who had attended a get together that we were at in May at a mutual friend's. Comparing notes we discovered she and her husband now live in Haines Junction and know both the families we plan to visit. Since they were heading home from AB we now have three families to visit. Of course she knows my part of the family who grew up in Duchess.

Aug 3 - Camped at Liard Hotsprings - Happy Birthday to my Little Sister

Aug 5 - We took a side trip by back tracking to Muncho Late - Kaska for "large Lake". Measuring 7 1/2 miles long it is one of the biggest in the Rockies. The marks the northern edge of the Rockies as the range continuing north are of a differnt geological formation and are called the MacKenzie Mountains. This stretch of the Alaska Highway was considered one of the most difficult as the mountains rise almost straight up from the lake and many pieces of equipment were lost as they toppled into the deep water.

We discovered that the odd looking sheep we encountered (they looked somewhat undernourished) are a sub-species of the Dall further north. This group is called Stone sheep (after a explorer) and is considered a thin horn as opposed to the thick horns we are familiar with in the South.

Last evening the main camp kitchen in the center in the center of the campground became very noisey as a group of hooligans (one of the park personnel called them) began hollering, blowing compressed air horns and firing bear bangers. After a confrontation by some folks in the vicinity, park supervisors asked them to leave which they did amid loud honks and gangs. They were pursued and stopped at a construction site on the Liard Bridge. There they were fined and banned from all parks between Liard and Fort Nelson. Guess you can't have fun unless you're making noise and being abnoxious.

The poor CRV is getting very pitted from rocks so we had to make a cover for her. Thanks to inheriting one of Freddies bright yellow blankets and red tie downs she now looks an Easter present - just hope it works.

Aug 7 - After a night of pouring rain we left Watson Lake heading for Teslin. Watson is very small but stretches a considerable distance along the highway. It's main attraction was the "Sign Forest" with thousands of names and places on assorted signs hanging one row upon row of 6 X 6 poles. We drove in rain most of the day but could still enjoy the broad tree covered valleys and numerous wide rivers.

The highlight of othe day was coming upon a large (50 or so) herd of bison right on the road. If I say so myself the big bulls were quite simmiliar to my bronze and it was a real thrill to get so close to them. (shameless self - promotion)

This evening finds us a cozy RV park with cabins and a restaurant (serving Mexican food!) overlooking Morley Cove on Teslin Lake. The proprietor of course knows our friends in Haines Junction. In spite of the distance between settlements everyone seems to know everyone else.

Bye for now - stay tuned