Aloha and Holo Holo: From the Yukon to British Columbia

Yesterday morning was spent driving through the rain across many uninhabited, but beautiful, kilometers in the Yukon. We stopped for lunch in Watson Lake and also took the time to see the town's interesting and extensive Sign Post Forest. We briefly considered ending our journey for the day and staying the night in the small town, but everyone voted to just keep moving down the road, which on the Alaska Highway is a commitment. So three hours, one male moose, one fox, a herd of bison, and a couple of black bears later, we settled into an RV park outside the Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park in British Columbia, where there is no such thing as Wi-Fi or cell phone service. This turned out to be a good thing, as we spent our evening playing games, drinking warm beverages, and thoroughly enjoying each other's company. We stayed up late and were thrilled to discover that, at some point, maybe around 11 or 11:30, it actually got dark outside. We loved the Land of the Midnight Sun but found it a little difficult to sleep at night.

Sign Post Forest

A sign that my people have
passed this way before.

Clay love the big machinery graveyard
in the middle of the Sign Post Forest.

Our first male moose spotting

Fox

We brake for black bears!

A small portion of the herd

This morning we let everyone sleep in and then had a hearty breakfast at the little onsite cafe. Once our bellies were full, we were off to check out the hot springs. We followed a long boardwalk through a swampy forest, stopping once to photograph a moose drinking in a nearby pond. At the end of the path, we found the steamy and perfectly pristine Liard River and its natural hotsprings. The area has been built up to accommodate visitors, with decking, changing rooms, and stone benches set down inside the water. It was absolutely lovely and a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours on a cool day. After our soak, the open road beckoned, and off we went, with our newest driver behind the wheel. It was a beautiful drive through the northernmost stretch of the Rocky Mountains. Our favorite sight of the day was a mama bear and her two cubs up in a tree. We also saw several other black bears, a bison, a porcupine, and a few Dall sheep. When we set out on this journey, someone told us we would see so much wildlife that we would get tired of it, but we definitely haven't gotten to that point yet.