Friday, May 28, 2010

8:24 We are leaving Fort Nelson on the Alaskan Highway(Alcan for Alaska and Canada). It was built in 1942 to link Alaska to the lower 48 states because of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and began as a military road between Dawson Creek, Canada and Fairbanks, Alaska. The engineers had just trails to follow; and battled subzero temperatures, waist high snow, boulders the size of boxcars, black flies and mosquitoes!!! They worked 16 hours a day, 7 days a week with no communication with a base camp and short on food and equipment.

We are trying to drive 370 miles today. This is supposed to be the prettiest section of the Alaskan Highway and the highest- elevation- 2281. This area is 200 miles of the northern Rocky Mountains with dense forests, rivers meandering, curvy roads with moose, beer, caribou and stone sheep. The stone sheep are a little darker than the Bighorns and are indigenous to the mountains of British Columbia and the Yukon. They are often mistaken for mountain goats, but there are no goats living here. They like to feed on the mineral licks beside the highway.

Time is 9:57 and in the last hour we have driven up 2000 feet in elevation on a road following the Tetsa River. In 12 miles the river has turned into a raging river with the ice and snow melt from the mountains. After completing a curve we immediately saw the Sawtooth Mountains. We have risen to the Summit Lake which has very changeable weather. The lake still has ice on its surface! This is so high up in the mountains that some of these roads are 8% or 9% grades. Muncho Lake has a population of 29 and the lake is 7 miles long and 1 mile wide. It is of a gorgeous green-blue color. There are no guards rails here and it is a very winding road. There is no room for mistakes!
The Liard River flows into a Grand Canyon that can only be seen on a hiking trail. Many have been known to have died trying to navigate a boat through these rough waters. The northern pike fish is abundant here, and it is considered a very good eating fish. Further on is the Liard Hot Springs where there are 2 springs that range from 108 to 126 degrees. So you can swim in the dead of winter here! It is a short walk through a boreal forest and wetlands with over 250 plants and 14 orchids. These only live here at this elevation because of the hot springs.
Watson Lake is a good sized town of over 1600 people. It was originally called Fish Lake and was the staging area for the building of the Alcan Highway. They have an air strip that was important during the construction of the Alcan Highway for ferrying the supplies and food to the area for the army of engineers. Now the economy is based on the forest products and mining. In 1942 an army soldier from Illinois posted a sign on a tree; therefore the name Signpost Forest. This tradition has been continued with over 61,000 signs posted now. Across the highway is the Northern Lights Center where you can see the Northern Lights even in the summer. This is the only planetarium in North America that presents the myth and science of the aurora borealis.
We crossed the Continental Divide again; only this time in Canada. It divides the 2 largest drainage systems in North America, the Yukon and Mackenzie Watersheds. All of the water flowing west from this point flows into the Swift River, then into the Yukon River. From the Yukon it journeys northwest over 2300 miles to reach the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean. All of the water flowing east from this point forms the Rancheria River, which flows into the Liard River then into the Mackenzie River . From here it journeys northward over 2650 miles to reach the Beaufort Sea and the Arctic Ocean. The separation of these waters determines the landscape of this area. West of here the salmon swim up the Yukon River and bring much needed food to its inhabitants. East of here they do not have the salmon and no reliable food resource; therefore it is not as developed because people do not stay very long. All of the rivers we will cross on our way to Fairbanks, Alaska drain into the Yukon River.
We stayed at the Continental Divide Lodge tonight. They have a RV wash so we can clean the juicy bug remains off the windshield. This park has no electricity or power brought to them from a nearby town. We are really in the sticks! They have a generator that has its own building which supplies the park with all of its electric needs. They back up to a forest and the river. We went hiking to see the river, but it was too swift to go fishing. For dinner we ate at their small cafe which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. The selection was not large but it was all home made and delicious. There was roast chicken, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans with carrots and pie. They are known for their rhubarb pies and huge cinnamon buns. Of course we had to sample it all. There were only about 3 RVs there because it, is a little early in the season. A horse trailer came in and pastured their 2 horses in a small paddock here. The owner said last year they had 40 horses in there and he saw a wolf very early one morning. He clapped his hands very loud and the wolf ran away.
We went to the Rancheria Falls Recreation Park and hiked back into the woods to see 2 falls that were awesome. The woods support moose, wolves, hares, lynx; grow white and black pine trees, aspens, and lots of mosses and lichens cover the forest floor. But we did not see any of the animals. We constantly fall into the habit of telling the time by where the sun is in the sky. You can't do that here. It is after 10:00 PM and it looks like it's 4:00!