The Alaska Highway

Day 1—June 5, 2018—We overnighted just outside of Grand Prairie, Alberta at Saskatoon Lake Campground.  This was a nice place with a large lake that I am sure would have been a great birding location except we were experiencing 35 mile an hour winds making the water choppy and the birds seeking refuge.  The campground had a shower which we used.  In the morning we slept in until 5:30 then got up, Deb had her eggs before we departed at 7:30.  Our plan for the day was to make it to Profit River Wayside and camp there.  This meant about a 297-mile drive for the day.  When we reached Dawson Creek, BC, the actual start of the Alaska Highway, it was just before 8:00.  No, we didn’t drive the 72 miles from Grand Prairie that fast but the time changes to Pacific time at the British Columbia border.  We stopped at a Walmart for a couple of items, but we had to wait a few minutes until they opened.  After Walmart we proceed to mile 0 of the highway where we took pictures beneath the sign before heading on.  Along the way we spotted two black bear and a cub.  The plan to stop at Profit River fell through as we could not find the road that will take us there.  Therefore, we headed on toward Fort Nelson.  Once reaching Fort Nelson we filled up with fuel ($162.9 a liter) and I treated myself to a visit to the adjacent Tim Horton’s for some coffee and a cinnamon roll.  This was my first visit this time to my favorite Canadian restaurant, Tim Horton’s.  Then we decided to go on to Testa River Provincial Park (PP) to spend the night.  Once we arrived there I knew it was but a short distance to Summit Lake PP where I would rather spend the night.  When we arrived, it was snowing lightly, and it continues to do so as I write this entry.  In total we drove 450 miles today.  Tomorrow its on to Watson Lake, YT and beyond.  I neglected to mention that this morning before we left Saskatoon Lake Deb got another life bird #401, a White-winged Scoter.

Day 2—June 2018—We spent last night at Summit Lake PP.  This park is situated at the highest point on the Alaska Highway, 4250 feet.  The campsites back up to a crystal-clear snowmelt lake surrounded by much higher mountains.  This area is near the end of the Rockies.   As we had our dinner it was snowing lightly and by morning the surrounding peaks had a fresh blanket of snow on them.  The campground produced Deb’s 402nd species a Townsends Solitaire, something I really didn’t expect there.  Then it was off to Watson Lake, Yukon Territory.  We encountered a group of caribou as we headed down the mountain and in a nearby small lake we had a Hooded Merganser.  Then on to Muncho Lake PP.  This lake is beautiful.  The water is a deep aqua/blue from the leached copper deposits in the rocks over which the water runs.  Several years ago, I took a boat ride there and the local told us it was over 730 feet deep.  This lake was created by a large glacier which melted in place.  Just past the lake we encountered the first of our Dall Sheep.  I was able to get out and take pictures of them, one of which was a male with sizeable horns.  This was the first of three groups of sheep we encountered today, in all about 20.  The next mammals we found were American Buffalo.  There is a large heard of these animals before and after Laird Hot Springs.  We didn’t stop at Laird mainly because Deb’s MS doesn’t let her body tolerate hot water well.  Between Laird Hot Springs and our destination of Watson Lake we counted 4 black bears along the highway.  This brings us to 8 black bears and 1 grizzly.  We ended the day camped in Watson Lake Territorial Campground.  This is a very nice campground with campsites just above the lake. Hear at Watson Lake we made our first campfire and Deb got to roast her favorite food, marshmallows.   Each site is very private.  Tomorrow its on to Whitehorse, YT.   Our friends Bob & Ruth Fredrick’s are camped there and have found a Boreal Owl.  This will be Deb’s species #403.   From there it is a two-day drive to the old Denali Highway where our Alaska adventure begins.