Hello again from the Yukon. I’m feeling a little better; Charlie is not. Vet thinks this trip is too much stress for him and I tend to agree. Because of that, and the limited access I have to various sites and attractions since he’s with me, I’ve decided to head east and see what happens.
Today, we went from Watson Lake to Muncho Lake along the Alaska Highway (Hwy 97). The sun was shining, we were in the mountains, all seemed well until about 80 miles into the wild. One of the warning lights came on the dashboard. I stopped at the next service area and the owner checked out the basics, suggesting that I see the Honda dealer in Fort St. John. That sounded ok.
Just as I drove out onto the highway, we spotted a mother and baby bear feeding on berries! I wasn’t in a position to get a photo, but 50 yards down, a big black bear was lumbering along beside the road. Charlie was awestruck and practically climbed over me to see it. This was our first really good wildlife sighting and I did get a few photos!
So we’re cruising along this sumptuous road, going up higher in the mountains, seeing more and taller fir trees when I see something on the road some distance ahead. “Hmmmm” said I. This looks familiar. And what do you know, it was a small herd (6 – 7) of buffalo! Now that is a very common sight in Yellowstone, but up here?! One mother had a small calf that was able to keep up with her when they started jogging away. Mom kept one eye on the calf and the other fixed on the car….or maybe Charlie, who was staring intently at the herd’s antics.
We only drove about 125 miles, but it took over 4 hours since we were in the mountains. Then we came to Muncho Lake….huge, clear, surrounded by mountains and hills and apparently uninhabited. It was gorgeous! There was absolutely no sign of life on it, but I’d heard that large trout, char and whitefish were easy catches here. We finally found a small campground, where sites were terraced down a slope to the water’s edge. The photos will tell much more than I possibly can.
Great day, fantastic place.
alaska with jodi 