Elk,elk, moose!

---

We left Dawson Creek at about 1 o'clock. Pat R had arrived about a half hour before that. I asked him what he thought of the giant roadside beaver (see previous entry) and he admitted that he hadn't even noticed it. I think the stress of having to lose half a day because of the tire affair had gotten to him. To ease him back into holiday mode, I rode up front as we headed north and kept the pace light.

We had an ambitious ride ahead of us. Originally I had hoped to make Liard River Provincial Park, just south of the Yukon border on the BC side. The park features natural pools fed by hot springs. We were looking at about 750km to Liard River in addition to the 130km we had each covered from Grande Prairie to Dawson Creek. I know, seems ridiculous considering the time we finally headed out, but keep in mind that I find myself near the 59th parallel and it is light out until about 11 PM up here.

The first few hours found us driving deeper and deeper into the boreal forest. The smell of pine filled the air and I occasionally would lift my face shield to take a deep breath of it. I was in ipod mode - a term coined by Ewan Mcgregor in the "long way down" series. This just means I had tunes going on in my helmet. I had the player on random, as I crested a hill and a small town came into sight, a song called Life in a Northern Town came on. Those of you who know it will immediately relate to what I felt at that moment. By the 3rd time it came on, however, it had lost a little of its charm. Nevertheless, the music helped pass the time and mileage. I had never ridden with music before, I am not really sure why.

We stopped roughly every hour and a half, either for fuel or for a stretch. One of those stops was at a roadside turnout. Within a few minutes a trucker pulled his semi in. He engaged us in conversation, initially I was distracted by trying to figure out his accent. It was sort of Uk-ger-lish, very non-descript. Anyway, this trucker was just a ray of sunshine: he warmed us up by giving us a detailed account of how his friend had been killed in a horrific motorcycle crash just outside Boise, Idaho (I could not make that up if I tried). Then, when he found out that we were headed to Liard River, he regailed us with tales of tourists being mauled by grizzly bears. He did give us a factual bit of information about forest fires burning north of Liard. It would seem that the smoke is so thick it is hampering visibility and the only way through there is to wait for the pilot vehicle to escort you.

Our next stop was Fort Nelson, BC for some supper. We were still about 300 km from Liard River and it was 8 PM. The locals told us it wouln't be dark before 11 o'clock. The next 3 hours of riding were through some of the most rugged and unpopulated terrain I have ever seen. Up to then I had spotted a moose and some deer. Now, the wildlife sightings would really begin, starting with a grizzly cub just north of Fort Nelson. After that I lost count of the number of Elk and Moose I spotted on the side of the road or right on the road. We were averaging 80-85 km/h when we pulled into Toad River, BC. It was starting to get dark and I came to the realization that we would not make Liard River.

We had seen signs for a place called Muncho Lake Lodge which was about 50 km past Toad River. We decided to go for it after I phone ahead using a public Sat-Phone and confirmed that they had a room for us. It was a very weird ride through the almost near darkness, combined with mist and fog and wildlife around every bend. Moatly elk but also a bull moose.

We made Muncho Lake just before midnight and by then it was dark. We checked into the motel and I was asleep by one.

---