Day 89 - Tuesday August 15/17 (Written, formatted with photos inserted, and posted on Monday September 4th at Prince Albert, SK) 

Woke up in Watson lake in time to hear the 8 am CBC news as we drank our first cup of coffee. The showers at this campgrounds were quite grungy with no seating area for changing. But we did get washed up before having protein shakes and toast with peanut butter. We then gave the truck and trailer quick rinses to get rid of some of the dust that has accumulated over the past few days. 

A relatively short travel day today, from Watson Lake in the Yukon to Muncho Lake Provincial Park in BC, with a stop at the Liard River Hot Springs (map)

We set off at 10:30. The temperature was 9C. We are once again travelling on the Alaska Highway. We are about to dip south into B.C. for a little while, on our way to Yellowknife in the NWT. There are lovely broad vistas to the south. Before long we spotted a moose feeding at the side of the road. We stopped and happily the moose stayed grazing but kept its eye on us. It was another good opportunity to observe these large, ungainly but beautiful and fascinating creatures up close in their natural surroundings. Photos)

Shortly after leaving the moose we came across a group of bison more than 25 strong.  They were feeding on both sides of the road and crossing as they liked. This was the first time we’ve seen bison "in the wild” (that is not in a park or protected area). We slowed down not only for photo purposes but also so we wouldn’t hit one. (photos)

Nursing calf

We took a few minutes to take note of our progress from the Yukon in BC

and stopped at Contact Creek just south of the border to learn that this is where highway construction crews working from opposite directions on this segment of the Alaska Highway met up. 

We decided to stop at an historic Alaska Highway property at Coal River for lunch. We had some bison burgers which we found to be very tender, lean and tasty.

We got to Liard River Provincial Park around 2 pm. Our plan here was to enjoy the hot springs for a couple of hours before driving on to another park for the night. We bought a $5.00 per person day pass and walked the 250 m boardwalk to the springs. (photos)

We were impressed to see some relatively new change facilities that smelled like a cedar chest. All very clean. The two hot springs’ ponds were completely natural surrounded by forest. (photos)

The top pond was hot and it got even hotter at the end where the water enters the ponds. By the end of 20 minutes we were cooked so we took a little break to sit in the fresh air and drink some cool water. We then entered the second pond which was a little cooler. Nancy enjoyed floating on “pool noodles” that were actually real logs! (photos)

A final quick dip in the hot pool and we were totally relaxed and ready to go. 

It was 4 pm as we drove further south in the Liard Valley. 

See actual photo below, of features depicted above

See depiction above of features in this photo

We passed a group of 4- 5 horses that appeared to be wild at the side of the road as we approached the Macdonald Campground on Muncho Lake. We got a beautiful site right on the lake. We quickly got out the chairs, poured some wine, grabbed our books and headed to the beach to sit and relax in the incredible grandeur. (photos)

Views from the beach right at our campsite at Muncho Lake

Nancy proceeded to have a nap while Michael fixed the propane furnace which had come loose from its mountings – a source of some of the screws found on the floor.

Dinner was the crock pot chicken dinner that had been prepared last night. The rest of the evening was spent doing email and writing letters. A good night’s sleep followed. The hot springs and the surrounding beauty were undoubtedly the source of our restful night.