Laird Hot Springs

6-9-09

We left Fort Nelson about 9:00 AM and gassed up at $114.9 per liter, it’s enough to bring tears to your eyes. I’m told gas will get higher once we hit Yukon Territory.

Shortly after heading north we saw a buffalo beside the road grazing. A little after that we saw a bighorn sheep, but he was gone before we could get a picture, next we saw 2 elk, then after that two dall sheep. We stopped at Muncho Lake for lunch. It is one of the prettiest lakes we have ever seen, it is several miles long with dark dark green water. It is surrounded by snowcapped mountains. We got several pictures of the lake a couple of which I hope to post. When I say hope, it is because I still don’t have this down very well.

We left the lake and the next thing we saw was a mama bear and two little cubs, I was surprised at what a kick I got out of seeing them, I have seen quite a few bears but these were special. The little ones were really cute, pictures to be posted hopefully

The roads have gotten a bit worse and are rougher with bumps along the way that require you to slow down. Some rough areas are marked, but not all. Oftentimes you don’t see the warning signs you are already on top of it. The only solution is to slow down.

We are spending the night at Laird Hot Springs dry camping (with no hookups), but we have everything we need. I have heard several people rave about how wonderful the Hot Springs are, but in my humble opinion it is much ado about nothing. We all walked down to the springs and 3 of our group went in. One end is very hot and as the water moves away from it source is gets cooler. It smells of sulfur and didn’t appeal to Margaret or me.

At about 9:00 PM nine pickup loads, about 30 to 35 Forestry workers pulled in and headed for the springs, most were extremely dirty, apparently they bath here.