Alaska Adventures Part Thirteen - Northern Rockies

First - a big shout out to Christine and Jerry. Sending good wishes and love your way!! We will be home soon.

This part of our route went through the Northern Rockies and two provincial parks including Muncho Lake and Northern Rocky Mountains. (Liard Hot Springs is also in the Northern Rockies area.)

After leaving Liard Hot Springs, it was a good animal spotting day. Within a mile or so of the park, we spotted our first bear of the day. Before arriving in Fort Nelson later that afternoon, we saw one bison, three Stone's Sheep and five bears. We also saw more rain and road construction. Story of our lives lately.

Bear Near Liard Hot Springs

Muncho Lake itself is spectacular. The lake has a gorgeous jade green color and looked so enticing. The highway snakes along the edge of the lake very close to rocky cliffs at one point. Don't sneeze or you might end up in the lake or against the rock wall! At least it wasn't raining when we went through there. A bit farther up the road, we went through a neat canyon-like section along the Racing River/McDonald Creek area. Stone Mountain is where we saw Stone's sheep along the rocky walls as the road climbs out of yet another canyon.

Muncho Lake

Highway Along Muncho Lake

Along McDonald Creek

What's that up ahead? No, not the 5th wheel, the RAIN!

Stone's Sheep

At one point, it felt like we were driving along the ridges of the mountains, skirting the rain clouds for a bit. But alas, we finally ended up getting wet.

Skirting the Rain Along the Ridgetops

We stopped for the night at Triple G Hideaway in Fort Nelson. We were supposed to camp here on the drive up to Alaska, but could not because of the highway being closed down south due to  flooding and road washouts. The staff were super nice and friendly. The owner had a great personality. We were able to park directly across from the office/cafe/showers. We had dinner in the cafe and it was delicious! Afterwards, the campground had karaoke. Not many people seemed to be singing, but I did stay for a few songs. Only listened, did not sing. I didn't want to scare the rest of the customers away! The karaoke hosts were not as talented as our McKenzie at the Twisp Eagles. The town of Fort Nelson was hosting some kind of movie night on a giant outdoor screen across the road from the RV park. Of course, the flick did not start until almost 10 p.m. because of waiting for the sun to set. I did not see what was playing, but they did have a good sound system. I thought it was nice the town did this. I hope they do it at least monthly during the summer months for the local people.

Our next destination took us to Fort St. John, farther south in BC and out of the Northern Rockies range. Not much to talk about this day's drive except more remains of forest fires, more rain and more road construction which meant more mud! The truck and See-More need a bath again. We saw one dead cow moose along the road so we know they were in the area. About the only bright spot was an area filled with blooming purple fireweed flowers after another recent forest fire. Too bad those pictures did not turn out.

Sucker Hole - You Think Good Weather Is Coming

The RV park was nothing to brag about. It is a newer park and seems to be catering more towards long-term stays. There were many RVs with insulation around the undersides and over the slideouts and one trailer was even wrapped in Tyvek material. Most of the windows on many rigs were covered over with insulation material. It must get cold there as the water spigots had heat tape on them. The park was fully graveled and we did have a picnic table at our site. But no cable and only one over-the-air TV station. However, Fort St. John did have two quilt shops participating in the Row by Row Experience. Mom and I took a quick side trip after setting up camp to pick up our rows. Since it was raining later in the evening, we watched The Aviator with Leonardo DeCaprio on DVD. Good movie.

Sunset at Fort St. John

I am beginning to think Mother Nature is giving us all this rain because George forgot his shorts. No need for shorts with the cooler temperatures. Time to go shopping!