Went to bed so early last night we are up around 4:30AM
and the sun has risen. Went to hotel
restaurant for beautiful free breakfast of eggs, ham, hash browns, pancakes,
etc. (all hotels have free breakfasts.
After packing we are on the road by 8AM.
After a couple hours TA DA!
Mountains! But first the animals.
Can’t believe all that we saw and right next to the road. It’s springtime in the Rockies and the choicest grazing is near the road grass and it is the highest in minerals and salts.
Busy beavers are everywhere building dams and huge lodges. Stone sheep have come down off the mountain to feed. The rams’ horns are huge, they stay together as a herd, there are ewes but no lambs as yet. A few deer run through the woods. Caribou are right by the road feeding and let us take their pictures; no sign of calves but their antlers are starting to grow. We pass by a young bull moose, beautiful rusty brown still shaggy from the winter and velvet covered antlers are sprouting. Two young black bears eating dandelions by the road, sat still for a pic. Two small herds of dark brown Wood Bison grazing right by the road. Each has newborn calves, some with umbilical cords still attached. They are shaggy from the winter but the calves are a golden red color. We see bison bulls beyond the birthing cows, they are huge. Besides the good grazing, birthing in the open area by the road may dissuade bear and wolf attacks. This is an endangered species and a treat to see them wild. And then a cinnamon-colored black bear is eating by the roadside. What a day! Our bucket list yet to see: grizzly and wolf. There are no elk this far north so have to catch them on the return.
Note: yesterday we met a motorcyclist from Worthington, Ohio, his pack was full of decals from states he has visited. We are passing through three Canadian provinces, Alberta, British Columbia and Yukon Territory. We were very near the Northwest Territories Border. We see South Carolina, Texas and Florida license plates; we are not the furthest travelers.
Beautiful snow-capped mountains and infinite acres of treed forest, dark green pines with spring green aspen and birch, and not a human anywhere. We pass through the Summit at 4200+ feet, highest elevation on AlCan; the Summit Lake is still mostly frozen and snow is on the banks. The Canadian Rockies are very distinctive with huge upward grooves and horizontal lines; they are young mountains and not yet eroded. The rivers are huge and high from the melt. We stop at Muncho Lake that looks like a fantasy; emerald green water that was still partially frozen, even the ice was beautiful green. It comes from Copper Sulfate leaching into the water. But when you look directly into the water it is so clear as to see the bottom. The lake is deepest at 730 feet. We are on two lane roads, few guardrails but well maintained and good quality given the weather and permafrost. So, we had to put up with some road construction involving a lot of dust and pilot vehicles. We pass through some burned out forest. It is very dry here; dusty and fire alert is on high.
We arrive at Watson Lake, YT, rough town, few services and Covid has hurt them with less tourists. It serves all sporting activity i.e. hunting/fishing and the gold miners who still work in the area. They are in early spring, and many bushes only buds and only dandelions blooming. We visit the Sign Village where travelers from all over the world leave personal signs/messages as they pass through. There is one from Lakewood Ohio Shakespeare Festival. We were last here in 1984 with our moms, Brenna preschool and baby Seth. (Our later trips took a different route). Interesting Visitors Center, telling the story of WWII Army troops based here, commissioned to build the AlCan in record time to meet the needs of the war after Pearl Harbor and need to guard the north from Japan. Our hotel is rough, no elevator so shlepping our gear up three flights; don’t leave valuables in the car. Although a Royal Canadian Mounted Police station is located here. The room is not the standard that we’ve had so far but we’re making it work. We went to dinner at a hotel next door, very Yukon décor and eclectic menu but the food was good. Stopped at local grocery to pick up breakfast items to fix in our room; no free breakfast or any breakfast here and no real options in town. The prices would knock your socks off but it did offer a little of everything. They even had bouquets of fresh flowers; now how did they get here, we are in the boons. A young woman checking out in front of us had a store coupon and gave it to us. We have found much kindness along the road.
Finishing today’s blog. We traveled 300+ miles today, a drop in the bucket from other days and only 7 hours (much added waiting in construction and taking cute animal pictures). The car is covered in dust and smashed bugs. The roof top carrier has been great and we have put it through a lot. Just need a good car wash in Anchorage. We have every fan on in the room, it is 80 degrees and the sun is especially hot. Very warm, sunny weather predicted up to Haines Junction. Early night and early rise. We are at a Quality inn tomorrow so it’s a little more predictable. Nighty night. Don’t let the bed-bugs bite. Fingers crossed.
Animals Seen Today
Muncho Lake
