Lots of wilderness and Yukon Territory

I'm not going to try to post any pictures now, since the internet service here is a little sporadic--says it has a good signal, but it won't always connect and randomly goes away. I'm surprised we have it at all, so I'll take what I can get. We're in Watson Lake, Yukon Territory, just over the border from British Columbia. Just a quick update with pictures later. . .

The last two days we've driven through lots of gorgeous country again in northern British Columbia. It's been cloudy with lots of rain, but that just adds another dimension--the mountains look kind of ghostly with the mist and clouds surrounding them and settling down into the crevices and drifting over the trees, lakes, and rivers! Friday we drove from west of Prince George to Smithers, BC, spending Friday night in Smithers. We met a couple from Colorado on their way home from Alaska, so they gave us some helpful information. Everyone kept telling us that when we turn off Highway 16 onto Highway 37, we'd truly be in the wilderness after a "town" called Bell 2 (it turned out to be just a settlement catering to people driving through) . . . last place to get gas for a long time. We thought it was pretty wilderness-y between towns before that, but "towns" are much fewer and farther between, and they're often just a few run-down, dilapidated houses. This truly was wilderness!

We spent Saturday night in Kanaskan Lake Provincial Park, which didn't have any amenities, but we used the propane stove, propane heater, lights that run off the battery, and stayed warm and cozy in the rain. We had a long visit with the caretaker under the protection of the pine trees, and then met a young couple from Denmark who rode in on motorcycles and camped beside us. They're riding to Alaska on motorcycles and camping in a tent! Much more brave than I am! Of course Ernie had built another fire, even in the rain, and we invited them to come over and warm up over the fire before setting up their tent. We even toasted some marshmallows under the pine trees--yummy! Listening to the rain on the roof all night made for some fine sleeping!! We're extremely impressed with Canada's national and provincial parks--clean and well-tended, and usually quiet and peaceful in beautiful, natural settings. They don't usually have too many services such as electricity, water, and showers (although the national parks did)--but we really do fine without them--except for showers!

Yesterday we drove through more wilderness (I don't think I've ever seen so many non-stop trees!), arriving in the Yukon Territory late in the afternoon and entering the Alaskan Highway a bit later! Again, it was a drive in the rain, with periods of sunshine and blue skies interspersed with the clouds, mist, and rain. But the scenery was stunning! We drove into the town of Watson Lake and explored a bit before setting up at the campground.

One of Ernie's goals on this trip was to see lots of wildlife, and we've finally spotted some. We saw our first bears Saturday--a black bear was calmly eating in a pasture alongside the road, looked up at us when we stopped, and just went back to eating. Cute :). We later saw another cross the road and just barely caught a glimpse of another as we passed by. Yesterday we spotted a moose in the road ahead of us; as we approached, it (she, I suppose, since there were no antlers) just started trotting (literally) down the road ahead of us. As we got closer, she started galloping down the road! I didn't know a moose could gallop! She was probably scared to death! She finally got off the road and continued to gallop along beside the road in the grass, and when we slowly passed her, she ran off into the woods.

Another highlight (for me, at least) was a stop at a jade store in the middle of nowhere in the Cassier Mountains. Apparently British Columbia is a top producer of jade, especially in the Cassier Mountain area. The jade was mined right there, cut, polished, and made into jewelry, etc. in a family-owned operation. In fact, we watched them cutting it in the yard! Fascinating!

Today we plan to make it to Whitehorse, so I better head to the showers so we can get on the road! Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!