Alaska 2018 part 4

Leaving Fort Nelson B.C., we began to climb, winding our way west into the Northern Canadian Rockies. Our destination was about halfway between Ft. Nelson and Watson Lake. Milepost (the bible for travelers on the Alaska Hwy) warned several times to watch for Stone Sheep, Caribou, Bear and Moose. In one area a flashing road sign alerted us to an area frequented by Stone Sheep. As we rounded a curve a ram was casually walking down the road. He quickly disappeared into the brush, but just around another bend was a small herd with three babies.

They were nibbling at something on the edge of the road. I couldn’t see any vegetation so they must have been eating pebbles. I guess that’s why they’re call Stone Sheep. (Actually, they like the salt deposits on the roadway, some natural and some artificial). The side of the road they were on was atop a very steep and rocky cliff. They have an amazing ability to climb rock walls.

The remainder of the road into Toad River was steep and windy.

We seem to always be following a river. This one is probably the Muskwa (it means bear). The Muskwa will merge with another river which will merge with another river, and so on, and eventually end up in the Arctic Ocean.

And again, traffic was a nightmare.

It’s a good thing we had reservations. The Toad River Lodge was very busy with RVs parked in every direction in the area reserved for new guests making maneuvering difficult. Both Steve and Rob are excellent drivers and were able to navigate to our spaces without incident. 

They soon set to repairing Steve’s right rear brake light which had stopped working. Seems like there’s always something to fix.

The lodge is near the base of the Canadian Rockies next to a large pond.

Campers told us a moose had come down to the pond at dusk the night before. Keep in mind, dusk is around 11 p.m. Another camper swore he had seen something moving on the slope “over there”. That turned out to be a slope about a mile away. We couldn’t make out anything with binoculars, so we got out one of our scopes. All we saw was rocks and trees. Notice how clean the car is. NOT!

We finally gave up by 10 with no moose sighting, but we did watch 2 Trumpeter Swans gliding around on the pond and 2 beavers moving logs to their lodge.

That's the lodge in the center of the darker spot

Next morning I took Nugget out before 5 and checked around the pond for the moose. No luck! But then, later in the morning, another camper came by to tell us there is a moose having breakfast in the pond. Cameras at the ready, we headed over to see. Sure enough there was a large one (aren’t all moose large?). Bullwinkle was partially hidden behind some tall skinny poplars munching away on pond vegetation. Apparently he didn’t like all the attention, even tho’ he was quite a distance away, because he quickly disappeared into the scrubs. A short while later he reappeared in another spot (or it was his cousin) and stuck around awhile. We figured we would probably see more moose in Alaska so we decided to move on to Watson Lake.

For this stretch of the Alaska Highway Milepost added bison to the list of wildlife to watch out for. There’s a section of about 100 km that is their preferred bailiwick. We saw several together as well as bachelors lounging along the side of the road.

One young caribou interrupted his grazing to make haste out of the area as we passed him. Stone sheep were hanging around rocky cliffs and a couple of young black bears were filling up on vegetation next to the road. The verge is a popular place for food, perhaps because there’s no competition from trees. The roadsides are kept clear of trees for 20-30 feet from the edge allowing grasses and flowers (I’d call them weeds) to flourish.

Our next campsite, “Baby Nugget RV Park”, is just past Watson Lake in Yukon Territory. On the way, we passed Muncho Lake (“big lake” in Kaska language) one of the largest natural lakes in the Rockies. It is blue/green in color due to the copper oxide leaching into the lake

Milepost and stone marking the border between BC and YT.

We’re here for two nights, just long enough to check out the Signpost Forest and give the guys a chance to wind down.

The Signpost Forest began   in 1942 when an Army soldier working on the Alaska Highway posted the first sign. Today it's over 85,000 and growing!  Of course we had to add ours. Rob had to do a little rearranging, but he found a spot.

We’re staying just west of Watson Lake at the Baby Nugget RV Park in Nugget City. It is a large park, popular with RV caravans.

This guy was just outside our door while we were stopped to register. Nugget took one look at him and shied away. He wasn’t too sure he wanted to get too close.

  

This unique “RV” pulled in just after us. It is a caravan all by itself. Each of those small squares is a sleeping space for up to 25 passengers. Seems like it would sort of be like sleeping in a coffin. It parked away from all other RVs and the occupants kept to themselves, except the used the park’s restroom facilities. The sides of the vehicle slide out providing a “living” space and kitchen facilities. They put out an awning on one side with chairs so the guests could sit outside. Based on wording on the rear I’m guessing it is German made.

This park is cut out of forest habitat and biting bugs were plentiful. Jeannie and I seemed to be their favorite food source. Despite using bug spray, several found their way to my neck causing at least 8 painful, itchy welts.

For a little break from cooking our own meals we decided to try the Wolf It Down restaurant and were we pleasantly surprised.

Steve had a buffalo burger, Jeannie chose a hamburger steak, I had chicken vegetable stir fry and Rob had pizza. To top off our delicious dinners we opted for fresh baked pie. Rob and Steve chose apple while Jeannie and I had Bumbleberry, topped with vanilla ice cream, of course. We didn’t eat there the second night, but we did go back for dessert.

We left early Sunday for Teslin, YT. This part of the Alaska Hwy would take us back across the border with British Columbia 6 times before finally staying in YT. The trip was uneventful, just more beautiful scenery.

 

The highway crosses the second longest bridge on the Alaska Hwy at 1917 feet. Teslin sits on a bay formed by the Nisutlin River where it flows into Teslin Lake. Teslin has a large native population of Tlingit, First Nation who celebrate their ancestors’ way of life and are committed to preserving their history. We visited the Teslin Tlingit Heritage Centre which has displays featuring 200 years of Inland Tlingit history.

Our next stop, July 9, was Whitehorse. We made good time and were able to spend the afternoon doing some shopping. Rob and Steve opted to play golf on Tuesday while Jeannie and I did laundry and catch up on the internet (which we haven’t had for over a week).