June 9, 2013 BC, Alaska Highway, Watson Lake, Laird River

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Rose early and headed down the road to a hike to some mineral licks.  Apparently the animals need the calcium, magnesium and other minerals which flake from the rocks almost like flour.  That explains why sometimes it looks like the animals are eating dirt – they are!   Nice hike and scenery around the Trout River, but no lickers this morning!

Beautiful sunny day and temps which started around 38 were up to 60 by noon!

Lots of bison today, both the woodland variety and the plains.  They seem unphased by vehicles and just cross the road when they want.  At 2000 lbs. we didn’t argue.  We think these two calfs were practicing their attitudes.

 We saw several moose as well as five black bears., all munching grass and flowers along the road. Continue to see geese as well as hawks and other birds.

Took a few side road trips to Smith Falls and Whirlpool Rapids, with short walks.  

About 20 minutes from Watson Lake we had to stop for a road crew.  I talked with the lady who was manning the “stop” sign and found she was a nurse.  The van sitting nearby was her ambulance and she was doing this job for the Summer, as was her husband.  We have noticed that work crews often have an ambulance or medical vehicle as part of the entourage.  She chatted about raising pigs and the roof falling in due to 10’ of snow, etc.  Just about every other sentence ended with “eh”.

Arrived Watson Lake and wondered through the SignPost Forest, which was started in 1942 by a soldier from Indiana.  Over 7,000 signs now! 

 

  We watched a short film at the Visitor’s Center then went across the street to the  Northern Lights Center, which features a nice planetarium with two outdated shows about space exploration a la 2004, and a kind of u-tube video someone made about the Northern Lights.  Oh well, we ARE in the middle of nowhere.

Stopped by Lucky Lake, which has a beach at one end.  Surprisingly there were more than a handful of families enjoying the water.  They say the lake is shallow and so warms early, but with the air temperature below 70 we weren’t tempted.  We are Wimps.

Instead we took a couple mile hike down to the Laird River and back, then headed back to town for a few groceries. 

Saw a few of our Roadtrek group at the SignPost Forest, so stopped and chatted for a few minutes.  The next time we have reservations isn’t until June 21 at Denali, so people are taking several different routes between here and there.

Found a side gravel road to Rantin Lake where we will boondock tonight.  One kayaker was here for a while, fishing, but now we have the place to ourselves except for a pair of loons.  Their eerie call completes a peaceful, quiet night.