day 12: trek to ak

A gorgeous sunrise met the chilly temperatures this morning. We began today’s journey from Toad’s River Lodge, British Columbia to Watson Lake, Yukon Territory (201.6 mi / 324.5 km). The route offered spectacular scenes from all angles and different views around each corner of the winding mountainous path.

We climbed and descended throughout the day, changing the landscape from trees, rocks, cliffs, rivers and lakes. Much of the drive followed a whimsical fog or cloud which was a neat feature to the region. While climbing one of the inclines, we spotted a mother stone sheep (ewe) and her lamb.

We passed Muncho Lake which was breaktaking. We drove over the last remaining suspension bridge of the Alaska Highway to find four bison on the side of the road. A few clicks down the road, we encounter a calm herd of 40 bison, including some babies. We came across another group of 25 alongside the road shortly after. We read that bison like the side of the highway as it offers tall grass to feed on, a great place to spot predators and an easy way to to travel in comparison to the wooded areas. We spotted five male bison, each traveling on his own.

We continued to our next destination, Watson Lake, following the Liard River. The highway crossed province lines of British Columbia and Yukon Territory six times. After some amazing lookout spots, we found a red fox running joyfully alongside our van.

We are thankful to the Lord for another safe day of travel and the opportunity to see amazing creatures of his creation.