July 8th – off to Dawson Creek

image image image image image image imageWell the sleep at The Big Horn wasn’t the best.  it was exceedingly hot and we didn’t dare to open up the window due to the smoke in the air from forest fires.  So, we headed out early and struck out for our first stop – 2 hours away at the Liard River hot springs.  They were HOT and just the relief we needed.  We then headed 60km further to the Double G restaurant at Muncho Lake Provincial Park.  Jack is the owner and he is an acquaintance of Tracy, our waitress at Kathy’s Kitchen in Watson Lake, the night previous.  After a relaxing Chin-wag session with Jack and his trucker friend, we were ready to move on.  This whole time, we had driven through hours of smoke-covered countryside.  Shari spotted several small herds of Bison.  After our brunch stop, however, the air cleared and we had the best ride we’ve experienced to date.   We had mountain climbs, twisty roads, roads that wound past the Muncho Lake for miles, with no vehicles in front or behind – I could only wish my biking buddies were with me to enjoy the trip.  and, yes, we had lots of road construction but nothing too serious.  The trip lasted for hours but seemed to end too quickly.  As we neared Fort Nelson, we were back to flat prairie like country and more fire smoke. In fact, the road is closed south of Fort Nelson and so we have our fingers crossed we can leave tomorrow.  Along the way today, besides Bison, which luckily didn’t block the road, were small herds of Stone sheep, with the lambs scampering up and down the mountain sides but never leaving the Ewes for any duration.  In all, a great day.