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Beavers, Bison, and Bears, oh my!
Fort Liard, Canada |
Temps- H 59, L34 Sunny, Partyle Cloudy, Spotty Rain Hwy 97 ALCAN to Hwy 77N This morning we went to the Visitors Centre to get information about Fort Liard (pronounced “lee-ahrd”) in the North West Territory and surrounding areas. Ft Liard is hamlet of about 500, many who are Aborignal and speak their native language. We have found that the vistor centre employees are very personable and knowledgeable. We picked up some books and off we went! The trip up Hwy 77N was a good elevated road bed, no shoulders, and a two lane road all the way to the British Columbia (BC) border. Ft Liard became accessible by road in 1984. At the border, the road changed to a hard rock and oil road, until it became a dirt road. It had rained the day before the road was a little slick but not too bad. After about 30 miles, we came up to a construction zone, as they are building a new bridge. The old bridge is a one way, wooden deck bridge. There were no flag men (not too much traffic?), we looked across the bridge saw no one approaching, so we crossed. The river below, was fast moving with lots of ice floating remnants from the thaw and ice break up. As we drove towards Ft Liard, we approached a government truck heading in the same direction as we were, but on the left side of the road. He was grading the road at about 25 mph So we passed him on his right as he was plowing dirt in front of us… That was different. We thought for sure we would see some wildlife on this very remote road. But so far, not so much. There were a few ponds that had some beautiful Beaver Lodges. Wow, they really are are busy Beavers! As we turned left onto the dirt road heading into Fort Liard, we were shocked to see laying on the side of the road not one but two gigantic wood bison! They were just resting and enjoying the day. Looked like they had dug a “bed” into the grass to fit their large bodies. We stop and took pictures, they looked at us but did not move as Ann Marie talked to them like they were up for adoption.
As we passed the bison, we saw a sign for Hay Lake park, so headed in there. We were pleasantly surprised at how quiet the area was and we got out and watched the ducks. Nature at its finest. The visitor centre in town doubles as an Agorignal Dene Acho craft shop. Where the locals make jewelry, wood baskets out of tree bark, and other stuff for sale. Looks like a poor town, one fuel station, one general store, and one grocery store. Gas and oil are king up here, so those are the jobs to have. We bought an $8 bologna sandwich, a bag of chips, and soda, and went back to the Lake park for a little picnic. One the way back home, just as we crested a small hill, to the right, just of the road was a black bear! I slowed down and tried to put the truck in stealth mode as Ann Marie was sticking her head out the window taking pictures. She was trying to coerce the animal to come snuggle, but the bear wanted nothing to do with us, and scampered quickly into the woods.
As we continued down the road, again on the right side of the road up a small hill, were three Elk eating some grass. They were not up for adoption either, but they were photogenic, and they stuck around until I got tired and left.
We got home and I started down loading all 133 pictures, and I deleted each and every one!!. Maybe they can be recovered, don’t know.
Wildlife Watch Today – Trip
Black Bear 1 1
Grizzly Bear
Moose 1
Caribou
Elk 3 3
Wood Bison 2 2
Bald Eagle 2 Our Trip Stats for Geeks
Today
Miles – 274
Gallons of Fuel – 16.9
Cost of Fuel – $62.97
Price of Fuel per gallon $3.73 Beginning of Trip to Date
Miles – (from Key West) 4826
Gallons of Fuel – 549.9
Cost of Fuel – $1,586.23
Avg Price of Fuel per gallon $2.88
Avg MPG – 8.8
# of Days Boondocking – 9
# of Days @ Campground – 17
Avg Cost per night – $17.50
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