Hey, you wildlife lovers. We got some major ursa. Yes, bears, four in total. I passed four bears in various places alongside the Cassiar Highway this morning. None of them appeared too wary of the car, and one of them was close enough when I stopped that I could hear him chewing. He was still standing there, chewing, when I drove off. I almost thought I could see him wave at me in my rearview mirror. It’s kind of humbling to realize these guys are wild creatures in their own habitat, and I’m a visitor passing through. I also saw a beautiful grey fox. Crossed in front of me and turned to look when I stopped the car. But he didn’t wait around to have his picture taken.
Sorry, no moose - yet.
It’s not surprising the bears weren’t too wary of the car – they don’t get to see too many. The drive today was 507 miles, largely up the Cassiar to the Alaska Highway and into Watson Lake in Yukon Territory. Until I got to the last 30 miles of the Cassiar, I probably saw less than a dozen vehicles total, most of those trucks taking the Cassiar as a shortcut south. Then traffic picked up and I probably saw another dozen vehicles in the last 30 miles.
It was a beautiful drive. The Cassiar Highway largely follows a wide valley North to South, with snowcapped mountains to the East and West for most of the way. Along the valley are some pretty large rivers and lakes fed by the mountain ranges. The rivers right now are all running high, with the spring thaw. To top the day off, the weather today was perfect. Mostly sunny all day. 41 degrees when I left New Hazelton this morning, and in the low 60s this afternoon.
I got in to Watson Lake in the middle of the afternoon (yes, Mother, I did 507 miles by the middle of the afternoon – pretty good time, an early start, and I pretty much only stopped for bears and pictures). Watson Lake is in Yukon Territory and it’s on the Alaska Highway. Watson Lake is small – a few motels/cabins, some gas, and a restaurant or two. The tourist highlight of Watson Lake is the signpost forest (picture above). The signpost forest was started in 1942 when the US Army was first building the Alaska Highway through here. A homesick GI (Private Carl Lindley from Danville, Illinois if you care) put up a sign pointing to his hometown. Other workers did the same, and the idea stuck, kind of like this blog thing. Today, the signpost forest covers an area that’s probably a good city block. It's an Alaska Highway tradition. And, no, I did not have a Charlotte, Matthews, Pineville, Waxhaw, or Gastonia sign to put up. But I’m betting Private Carl Lindley from Danville, Illinois wishes he had rented space on the pole he used to put up his first sign.
I’m staying tonight in the “Air Force Lodge”. It’s actually a set of Air Force Barracks from the 40’s that was restored and moved from the airport to its current location. Nice simple super clean digs, shared bath, good value, and WiFi.
Sorry, no moose - yet.
It’s not surprising the bears weren’t too wary of the car – they don’t get to see too many. The drive today was 507 miles, largely up the Cassiar to the Alaska Highway and into Watson Lake in Yukon Territory. Until I got to the last 30 miles of the Cassiar, I probably saw less than a dozen vehicles total, most of those trucks taking the Cassiar as a shortcut south. Then traffic picked up and I probably saw another dozen vehicles in the last 30 miles.
It was a beautiful drive. The Cassiar Highway largely follows a wide valley North to South, with snowcapped mountains to the East and West for most of the way. Along the valley are some pretty large rivers and lakes fed by the mountain ranges. The rivers right now are all running high, with the spring thaw. To top the day off, the weather today was perfect. Mostly sunny all day. 41 degrees when I left New Hazelton this morning, and in the low 60s this afternoon.
I got in to Watson Lake in the middle of the afternoon (yes, Mother, I did 507 miles by the middle of the afternoon – pretty good time, an early start, and I pretty much only stopped for bears and pictures). Watson Lake is in Yukon Territory and it’s on the Alaska Highway. Watson Lake is small – a few motels/cabins, some gas, and a restaurant or two. The tourist highlight of Watson Lake is the signpost forest (picture above). The signpost forest was started in 1942 when the US Army was first building the Alaska Highway through here. A homesick GI (Private Carl Lindley from Danville, Illinois if you care) put up a sign pointing to his hometown. Other workers did the same, and the idea stuck, kind of like this blog thing. Today, the signpost forest covers an area that’s probably a good city block. It's an Alaska Highway tradition. And, no, I did not have a Charlotte, Matthews, Pineville, Waxhaw, or Gastonia sign to put up. But I’m betting Private Carl Lindley from Danville, Illinois wishes he had rented space on the pole he used to put up his first sign.
I’m staying tonight in the “Air Force Lodge”. It’s actually a set of Air Force Barracks from the 40’s that was restored and moved from the airport to its current location. Nice simple super clean digs, shared bath, good value, and WiFi.
I discovered on the drive today that Sirius Channel 10 is all Springsteen and E-Street Band. Can you imagine? Can life get much better? Tomorrow I'm going to look for the Warren Zevon channel.
Tomorrow is the first full day on the Alaska Highway. My itinerary says Whitehorse is tomorrow’s stop, but I might try to go further.
1 comment:
Wow, love the bear picture! Um, note to self...if you can hear a bear chewing you might be too close... just an observation... the pictures are just amazing - keep them coming!
Post a Comment