Day 14 Muncho Lake, BC to Teslin, YT 332 miles

Is that smoke..?

Woke to 45 degree temperatures this morning, inside.  Another cabin, and as the clerk asked...do you want to see it first ?  Clean but cold, and no wifi. Our pilot light of a heater issued no heat at all so a quick shower and we were on our way pretty quick this morning. 

I noticed I had a light out on my headlight so I attempted to replace it this morning.  I must have broke a little spring on the housing because I couldn't get the new bulb to seat properly.  Fingers cold, I wedged it in the slot and hoped for the best...ha. 

As the morning warmed up we made our way toward the Yukon Territory.  More mountains, rivers, and forest rolled by.  We passed buffalo warning signs, like the ones at home warning of deer.  

This guy has traveled a long long way from Germany. We passed him a few times as we both were on the same route.  Sorta like the tortoise and the hare, we would pass him, then pull off to sight see while he just lumbered along.  No telling how many days he had been on his trip. We saw several different vehicles that appeared to be world travelers.

The highway is a source of salt for some animals.  We pulled over for Kathy to take pictures of the sheep and they paid us no attention.  While we were stopped a lady exited a car and came over to chat about our trip. Very often people would approach us about the trip, where were we going and where did we come from.  They would politely mention our accents and we would laugh.  It felt good to be Southern even if I was born in Alaska.

Liard Springs was on our list of to do's.  A hot springs guaranteed to take away those aches and pains from traveling.  Several times during the trip people would ask, "Are you going to stop at Liard ?".  Yes indeed. At Liard we unpack our swim suits, pay our entry fee, and take the short walk across some marsh land via boardwalks.  Geese are nesting near by and we can hear them chattering to each other.  At the springs there are facilities to change, and nice steps to get into the water.  In the water, there are submerged benches to set on, or stub your toe on.  Really a nice place to relax, even with the slight sulfur smell that is in the air.

After the relaxation of the springs we returned to the bike rejuvenated.  The sun was shining, we were warm, time to ride.  I had heard that the sulfur smell would stay with us all day, I didn't realize how bad it would smell inside my helmet.  It almost smelled like plastic burning.  I was trying to ignore the smell when a small herd of buffalo started to cross the road in front of us.  I pulled over to the shoulder while Kathy took pictures.  The smell got worse.  I looked down and smoke was coming from my headlight housing.  Killing the bike we dismount and I pull the cover off the housing. The new bulb has slid over against the housing and melted into it.  If it hadn't been for the buffalo I might have kept going until we went up in flames.  I take the bulb out (low beam) and just use the high beam for the time being.

Needing gas we stop at Donna's Gas, Cafe, Motel, and Gift Shop where we had a moose burger.  Donna has a local guy take a moose each year, has it processed, then serves it up in burgers and steaks.  As much as I enjoy seeing the moose in the wild,  eating a moose burger was pretty good too.

At Liard Springs we had seen a couple also enjoying the thermal hot water.  While we were eating they came in to eat also and we talked briefly before taking our leave.  We visited with them again at the Watson Lake Signpost Forest.  My Mom and Dad had left a sign here in the late 50's on their way to Alaska.  I'm sure it is long gone but I wish we could have brought our own sign from Arkansas but storage space prevented it.  I think an estimated 75,000 signs are here at Watson Lake.

Momma and the twins

We crossed the bridge into Teslin, Yukon Territory this evening. Still broad daylight.  

Getting gas at the station before finding a motel for the night we meet up with our fellow travelers again. Now we know them as J.D. and Jerrie and agree to go get a bite to eat at the only place in town.  At the restaurant, we order Klondike pierogies and caribou sausage.

Oh yeah, before eating we saw these bikers terrorizing the neighborhood.  One of them crashed but I think only his pride was hurt.

The Teslin Motel

It was a busy day, 332 miles of terrific Canadian wilderness. Time to turn off the lights and close the heavy curtains to block the sunlight out.  Tomorrow, gold country !