Interesting day today: We left Teslin at 7am with the temperature at about 7 degrees C and drove east towards Watson Lake through the rugged but beautiful Yukon country. Soon after Watson Lake we turned south into British Columbia whose countryside was gentler and richer – though still full of trees, lakes, mountains and rivers with more or less nobody living in it. The temperature started to climb and our animal count went through the roof – dozens of black bears which you could stop nearly next to. They’d just sort of look at you at carry on grazing. They’re also smaller than you’d think – about the size of a fat St Bernard or just a bit bigger. We also saw a Bison and a Grizzly – who we didn’t go near. And I’m sure I saw an Otter or Beaver swimming in a lake we passed.
After several hundred miles – we did over 400 today – we started riding alongside the Northern Rockies – through beautiful valleys where the road often ran alongside swiftly flowing rivers.
Journey’s end was Toad River Lodge, a motel that is straight out of an old American movie i.e. it’s old and falling apart, dust blows all about, it’s hot and you aren’t sure what you’ll find when you open a drawer in the very seedy apartment that cost $100 for two the night! However the motel’s café did a good “Rib’its” and our shower room seems clean and has clean towels. We’ll only be staying here one night before riding another 400+ miles to Dawson Creek which is mile zero on the Alaska Highway. In short we’ll have ridden the whole highway by tomorrow night.