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The highway from Fort Nelson to Liard Hot Springs is thought by some to be the most scenic segment of the Alaskan Highway. We have been told we will definitely see animals by the roadside as well as some pretty spectatular mountain scenery. We are inclined to agree with the general consensus.

This is big country with huge vistas. Watching the weather develop in the distance is a wide-screen technicolor, panoramic experience.

For the most part we have dry highway to drive on. From time to time the skies open up on us and it rains for a few minutes, but not as heavy as one might expect from looking at the storm clouds. The cloudy day actually makes driving a little easier without the glare of the sun.

We do get the benefit of blue sky from time to time, but I would say we have party sunny, mostly cloudy weather. We are seeing about 100 miles into the distance, and that is no exaggeration. We are not used to being able to see these distances.

When we stopped for a photo op, these ravens were in the parking area. This is where sound would be beneficial so you could share in the amount of “lip” or is it “beak” I was getting from these birds.

One has to be quick with the camera as we move on down the road, but there is wildlife to be seen. These elk were grazing in the grass along the road and shied away as we drove by. Fortunately they shied toward the woods instead of towards the highway. We know these are elk by the distinctive white patch on their behinds.

These Canadian Rocky Mountains are everything I had expected. The bare rocky crags that poke up above timberline are covered in snow and glacier ice.

The Milepost pointed us in the direction of the Tetsa River Services and Campground for “the” place to get a hot cinnamon bun. Who could pass up that opportunity? Fortunately we did not need to fuel up. $1.58 a liter is about $6.02 a gallon. Ooof! We see why he has the “no sniveling” sign!

The Tetsa River has the same green color that we saw two years ago in the rivers of Alberta. The green color comes from the glacier “flour” and is different than the green in any other rivers we have seen where glaciers are not a factor.

As advertised, stone sheep are grazing on the side of the road. One would think they are eating the pavement, but apparently they are interested in the salt and minerals. We must drive carefully through this section. They aren’t particularly careful about staying to one side.

The rams have the big horns

and other large features.

This was a true “hail Mary pass” on the picture taking. This female moose was grazing away happily in the roadside browse. She was kind enough to look up just as I snapped the shot.

This section of Highway 97 between Stone Mountain and Muncho Lake is truly spectacular. There are not words grand enough to describe this terrain.

We are wending out way through this landscape in comfort because of the efforts of all those folks back in 1942. I suppose a highway would have eventually been built to Alaska without the impetus of WWII, but when would it have been finished? Would it have traveled the same route? Would it be a hodge-podge of local roads that were finally all connected up instead of the one, continuous beautiful highway it is today?

I am in my happy place.

The swirls in this rock caught my attention. How tortured it looks.

That close-up is of the face of this mountain. What cataclysmic event transpired to cause this mountain to rise in this place with those features?

There are so many rivers in this part of the world, I am having a hard time keeping up with which one I am taking a picture of. What captured my attention about this one, again, is the green color.

This is the alluvial fan the sign was explaining. Imagine being here when the flash flood is sweeping across these rocks. Hear the roar of the water.

Waterfalls are still flowing down the mountains. On June 13 there is still plenty of runoff.

We do look good with this background, don’t you think?

Some of the driving days are close to 200 miles. It works well to switch off drivers on these longer stretches.

The drive along Muncho Lake is one of the most beautiful on the whole highway — or so we have been told. Again I have to agree. Quoted from the Milepost “The highway along Muncho Lake required considerable rock excavation by the army in 1942. Horses were used to haul away the rocks. The original route went along the top of the cliffs, which proved particularly hazardous. (Portions of this hair-raising road can be seen high above the lake. . .” I think I am glad they relocated the road to lakeside.

Muncho Lake gets its colours (we are in Canada) from the copper oxide leaching into the lake. The color is really unique.

The mountains behind Muncho Lake have an unusual outlined look. The dark color is where the trees grow.

Now we know which sheep are which.

We are indeed seeing them licking something along the roadside.

It is sort of obvious.

Another piece of the Alaskan Highway story.

Wow! This is too cute. We have come across two mamas and two baby stone sheep.

One of the mamas.

The other mama with baby.

Baby. Don’t worry. Mama is just a foot or so ahead.

The color of the water is captivating.

These are the mountains that looked outlined in the distance. Now that we are up close, we can see the trees and the bare rock.

These are wood bison. They are a bit blurry since it was a snatch and grab camera job out the side window, but we got our picture.

The Liard River Bridge is the only remaining suspension bridge on the highway. The 1,143-foot bridge was built by the American Bridge Company and McNamara Construction Company of Toronto. This highway truly is an international project.

We have arrived at the Liard Hot Springs Provential Park. The campsite is absolutely beautiful but, of course, comes with the obligatory supply of mosquitos and various assorted other flying creatures. We are prepared however to sit outside and enjoy these lovely surroundings. The electric bug whacker is plugged into the battery of the RV. The mosquito coil is burning on its stand on the table. The Off has been liberally administered to both our bodies. Ed has the master mosquito killer in hand and is ready to do battle! Now we can sit and enjoy ourselves.

There is a beautiful wild garden all around  the campsite. Wild roses are everywhere along with some sort of bluebell. It looks like an English garden.

The blue flowers up close.

Wild Roses are blooming all over the place.

While we haven’t been seeing a lot of bears, they are definitely in the area. When I asked the lady at the check-in station whether there were any hiking trails, she assured me there were; however, she wouldn’t advise going to far afield because of the bears.

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Soft feathery plants are along the walkway back to the hot springs. These plants are not seen away from this very special environment.

Liard Hot Springs is a place we were told that we must stop and stay by just about everyone we talked to about it. This is the upper part of the springs where we found the tufa.

This stuff really looks different than anything I have ever seen.

We are seeing a few of these flowers.

We are on our way to the hot springs before we shower for the day. Since the water has a sulphur smell, I wasn’t sure I wanted to live with that on my skin; so we are doing the hot springs first. Ed is shy about wanting the world to see his “pillow hair.”

These are very small fish. Look closely and you will see them.

These little purple flowers are coming right up out of the wetlands.

This is a good explanation of why we look for moose in the wetlands areas.

This truly looks like a tropical forest. The vegetation is very lush.

The hot springs are not an even temperature throughout the pool. Where the springs enter the pool is much, much hotter than further downstream. Sticking my foot into the part at the hottest end convinced me that there was no way I was getting in there. It would be a bit like putting the live lobster into the pot!

The pool downstream from the beginning is another thing. It is quite delightful. Getting into the water there and walking back toward the hot water was interesting. There was almost a specific line of demarcation where you knew that was far enough. I am sure that line is a bit different for everyone, but it is nevertheless there. We actually saw people in the hot end — are they fools or what? How did they stand it?

Here is a man who knows how to enjoy the moment.

I could sit here for a very long time. This is better than any jacuzzi. It has a lot more force pummeling the shoulders, but not too much — just right! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!

After enjoying the waters and getting thoroughly heated through and through, we found the sign that explained exactly these hot springs work. Very interesting. The best part is being able to get in and enjoy this great resource.

We will be leaving this idyllic spot tomorrow. It has been a fun adventure and a very relaxing time. We must press on to discover what other wonders await us. Life is good.

 

This entry was posted on Monday, June 20th, 2011 at 12:37 and is filed under North by Northwest. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.