One of our biggest expectations, on this adventure, is to see wildlife in the wild. Oh man, we were not disappointed today!
This was the first of four Black Bears we observed. We both agreed, we will never tire of seeing them in nature!
The geology is as interesting as the animals. We had to stop and ogle Folded Mountain, a range that was formed mainly by the effects of folding on layers within the upper part of the Earth's crust.
Indian Head Mountain was interesting to come upon.
Sadly, several of these now closed lodges dot the highway. Did they pop up to service the travelers for the Alcan's 50th? We may never know.
This is one of the more accurate signs we have seen!
Okay, these are sheep you don't see just anywhere... literally! The Stone sheep is native to this part of the world, and can often be seen by travelers licking minerals along the side of the Alaska Highway...
Or meandering down the middle of it!
I saw two huge male Caribou (aka Reindeer), while driving along, but they were in places we couldn't stop.
Interestingly, Caribou are the only deer in which male and females both have antlers so I'm not certain which gender this one is but we were happy to finally get a photo opportunity.
Our attention was turned to this mom and cub because when we drove by, the cub was frolicking in the top of a tree. By the time we turned around, for photos, he was off and running with mamma bear close behind.
This was bear #4 for today.
Muncho Lake is an amazing jade-green color which is attributed to the presence of copper oxide leached from the bedrock underneath. Its name is derived from the Kaska language in which muncho translates as "big water". I wish our photos could capture the color. It was spectacular.
Hoodoos are pretty cool!
How is this for the cutest Information Center ever?
And this is where we are camped for the night. Well, actually across the street in the overflow parking. BUT for $26 CAD we get to be here and hit the hot springs. Woo hoo.
"Relaxation seeps into your body as you ease into the second largest hot spring in Canada. Liard River Hot Springs provides relief to Alaskan bound travelers after a long day on the road."
The hot springs complex is of national ecological significance and is well known for its natural setting in a lush Boreal spruce forest.
And this is how we ended our day... life is good on the Alaska Highway!
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2 comments:
Okay, this was a mental, mind bending post. How can one focus on the cuteness of the information center with your zipped open jacket? For a moment I thought the sheep might actually be stone and verify if the sign interpretation is "if you are on a motorcycle the road is going to shake you to pieces"?
Wow! So much wildlife! All the animals left Southern California and moved to Alaska. Obviously.
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