Tuesday, August 12

Puffins and Whales and Bison...Oh My!

CAUTION
WILDLIFE ON ROAD

This is a sign not to be taken lightly.
We have seen different animals along the roadside but the road out of Watson lake provided the best viewing.
There had evidently been an accident as 2 Bison carcases and some car trim parts were laying on the shoulder.
Sure enough, a heard of about 25 or 30 Bison were grazing on the fresh grass along the roadside.
The cars slow down somewhat but on a bike, you take it VERY slowly and watch carefully.
As proven by the suicidal Red Squirrels, you can't predict what animals will do around vehicles.
Bumping into a Moose or Bison could put a crimp in the day!
For the most part they seem unimpressed and continue to dine while we watch.
Just to prove a point,further on down the road, a pair of deer that almost certainly are running off the left side suddenly turn and cross back to the other side!
Taking lessons from the squirrels I think.
The rest of the ride into the 2 mountain passes is punctuated by sightings of more deer and a Porcupine.
The way through the Muncho and Summit Lake passes provided some incredible views.
Sunny day, decent roads and great sights!
It doesn't get any better...:)
It must have been quite difficult to build the road through these mountains and across the vast expanses of bog.
While in some other places, the original highway has been bypasses with a better, straighter road, it's clear that this strip of stone and tar through the passes is the original route.
It's Ft Nelson for a night and on to mile 0 in Dawson Creek tomorrow.

Here is a list of the animals we have seen so far...
Bald Eagles,Bison, Moose,Deer, Caribou,Black Bear, Grizzly Bear,Whales,Puffins,Porpoises, Sea Lions,Ermine,Ruffled Grouse,Red Fox (not that one Ya Dummy!) and a variety of bugs, most of which end up on the windshield.

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