Day 22 and 23 - May 12 and 13 - A GRAVEL ROAD CAN BE BETTER THAN SOME PAVED ROADS

 Day 22 - May 12

We were on the road at 6AM to beat the traffic to Fort Providence  😂  as we left, so too did the bison.

From Fort Liard most of the roughly 500 kilometre journey is on gravel roads but as the RCMP officer we met said, "It's better than a lot of paved roads! I shouldn't tell you this but I drove it at 130 kph!" We actually saw 5 bears today but only 2 of them were moving at a pace I could follow and capture. Got this one just as he was making his exit.

The Sambaa Deh Falls was a stop Sergei our pilot had recommended. The falls is actually the least interesting thing you see here. It's fairly high and a little loud but a mere trickle as waterfalls go. The surrounding canyon more than makes it amazing.

At the junction of Highways 1 and 3 the storied Deh Cho Bridge, the longest bridge in the north, crosses the mighty Mackenzie River. The thick ice at the river's edge reminded me just how far north we have travelled.

We had been driving for close to 8 hours so our approach to the end of the road today was most appealing, no matter what Fort Providence might hold for us.

One notable bonus is our motel room finally has a great view. The Mackenzie River flows right outside our window and though you can't tell from the photo, all that ice is flowing swiftly by with the current.

A quick little anecdote...as she left the grocery store a man watched Karen with a stern look on his face. He asked her rather concernedly if she was with the government group in town to examine emergency management and indigenous negotiation. When Karen answered no she was a tourist he broke into a huge smile and extended his arms with a resounding, "Welcome!" I wish I had a photo of THAT!

Day 23 - May 13

The plan for the day was a walking exploration of the town and river...and get a car wash! If I don't get the mud out of the wheel wells and under the panels the wheels will stop turning. It was a cold and windy day, so different from anything we've had before now. As mentioned earlier, the ice in the river is breaking up rapidly. Huge pieces are deposited along the shoreline at each bend in the river.

Our Lady of Providence Roman Catholic Mission stands proudly at the end of the road in town. The historic mission serves the local Dene community. Established in 1861, it is a significant spiritual landmark with a deep, often painful history related to early residential schooling run by the Grey Nuns. They worked as nurses and teachers in a number of the schools where they participated in the effort to remove children from their traditional indigenous ways of life in order to "civilize" them.

A very poignant memorial stands in the park in the mission fields at the end of the road. It contains a wall memorializing names and dates dedicated to the memory of the Dene and Metis descendants of the Fort Providence area. It is also dedicated to the orphans and children of the Mackenzie Valley that attended the Scared Heart Residential School. The bodies are buried approximately at the site of the memorial. 

Children's shoes and boots have been placed at the memorial to symbolize the loss.

Tomorrow we head for Yellowknife. The weather is not supposed to be good but we can't control that.

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Day 19, 20 and 21 – May 9, 10 and 11 LOWEST TO HIGHEST, WHAT AN AMAZING TERRITORY

Day 19 – May 9

As we left Fort Nelson I felt blessed we were able to spend 3 nights there. A wonderful place beyond refute. It actually depressed me leaving because I knew it was all downhill from this point on as far as accommodations go. Little did I know we would fall so far so fast.

Backtracking a very short distance brought us to the Liard Trail which would take us about 200 kilometres north to Fort Liard, NT. 

The burnt out forests regenerating ever so slowly continue to disturb me. I love how when it's time to stop and take a photo you just stop and take a photo – none of this pulling over stuff. 

Wildlife sightings were what we were coming to expect. It seems that bison numbers are on the rise again, at least in the north. They are everywhere! You really have to be prepared to stop because they don't care where they amble. On the entire drive only 2 vehicles came up behind me and maybe a dozen passed going in the other direction. No matter how you slice it we saw far more bison than vehicles by a factor of about 4 to 1. 

Only saw 2 bears. One ran off into the woods and the other sat up on a hill staring at me as I watched him.

As you cross the border into the NWT you revert back to Mountain Time but nothing could alter the thrill of being here. This is what this trip is all about. A whole new world. You bet. Wait til you see your motel. 

I knew what to expect, I just didn't expect it to really be like that. The motel is owned and operated by the adjoining General Store people. The grocery prices are not that bad but the motel...we paid more for it than we had for the fabulous place in Fort Nelson. Here we have no internet, very spotty cell service, no drinking water and pretty much nothing else that would be classified as an amenity. There is a TV but it's satellite and does not work if it's windy, cold, sunny, raining, dark...

When we checked Karen walked into the room we were assigned (a room with a kitchenette) and came out immediately. She wasn't sure if someone was still there or the room had just not been made up. Bottom line, we get to change rooms. Just ask my kids how often that happened when we travelled with them.

Day 20 – May 10 Happy Mother's Day

I'm not exactly sure what the drinking water truck was doing here but I've seen it several times since we arrived so have reason for concern. Is he making deliveries, filling a reservoir, what? We were warned not to drink the water as it is heavily chlorinated. No worries. As soon as I saw the motel I grabbed several bottles of water. 

The Liard River begins its journey in the Pelly Mountains of southeastern Yukon, flows over a thousand kilometres southeast through northeastern British Columbia then crosses into the Northwest Territories where it drains into the Mackenzie River. Here, behind our humble accommodations, it is actually quite pretty.

There is a truck bypass around this tiny town. The sign states no vehicle under 2500 kilograms can use it. That means no cars on the road. What a great idea because that means that trucks cannot use the main highway through town. Of course the only vehicle we saw on the bypass was a car so there goes that theory. 

The gas station is not even that, it's called a fuel centre because you can fill with other energy sources as well. I love these places. We've used them in SK and Tuktoyaktuk, NT so are not strangers to their operation. The biggest surprise was regular gas was $2.02 per litre. I honestly expected it to be closer to $3.00. 

Here comes tomorrow! Perhaps this is a good omen...

Day 21 – May 11

This is the single most reason I wanted to explore the Northwest Territories in more depth. Nahanni National Park is a remote UNESCO World Heritage site in the territory. The area can only be reached by flying in at this time of year. You can paddle and hike in in the summer - both multi-day excursions.

The Fort Liard airport has to be experienced to be believed. We arrived about 10 minutes before our flight. Karen went into the terminal to find the controller lying asleep on a treadmill. No need to disturb her, we know she'll be ready when needed. The entire terminal building, which also serves as the tower, and the parking lot easily fit into one photo.

It was a windy day so that combined with sudden up drafts and down drafts, particularly over the bowl-shaped mountain regions made for some very sudden, very unnerving drops. I was very concerned about getting sick but was fine. Karen was not as lucky but the scenery was stunning - no words can describe it so here it is.

Virginia Falls is the central must-see attraction. This was frozen solid last week so we were fortunate to see it today.

Our pilot Sergei worked out of Fort Simpson but picked us up in Fort Liard where we're staying. He made this a truly once in a lifetime experience!

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Day 18 - May 8 - EVEN THE ROAD TO NOWHERE DOESN'T EXIST

Old Fort Nelson, an historic settlement on the Muskwa River, is allegedly located near present-day Fort Nelson. The original fort was established in 1805 as a fur trading post, and today the area includes the historic Warden's Cabin (which I believe is in the museum now), a mission and a cemetery, showcasing deep roots in local First Nations' history.

It certainly was not through a lack of trying...we spent hours on a wild goose chase looking...and all we saw were a few ducks! 

Two problems; the settlement no longer exists (we stopped in at the airport and no one working there had ever seen it, saying they thought one person lived there) and the road to get there is no longer a road. All navigation systems indicated to turn at the exact same spot and this is what is there.

The "road" starts on one side of the highway...

...and continues in the direction we were supposed to go on the other side of the highway.

   Nevertheless, it was a beautiful drive but we didn't see any wildlife, except for the ducks.

As we always try to do, we made the best of it.

For about two kilometres, as you travel out of Fort Nelson on the airport connector road, there are hydrants about every 100 metres. It looks odd but I'm assuming it has something to do with wildfire control, though I can't imagine a hydrant would have much of an impact on a wildfire. Any other thoughts anyone? I'm pretty sure they are not in preparation for a new subdivision.

We spent the rest of our time at the Heritage Museum. It was closed but there is so much stuff outside there was no need to go inside. It was like a drive down Route 66 for me - fabulous!

Ever since Karen had her heart attack 7 years ago she has religiously stuck with her exercise regime, even when we're on holidays. Something to be proud of and it's doing her a world of good.

Talking Heads - Road to Nowhere (Official Video)

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Day 17 - May 7 - SLOWER DAYS CAN BE ENJOYABLE AS WELL

Fort Nelson, BC is most well known as a Gateway to the Northern Rockies and a key service hub on the Alaska Highway. It is also known for its rich history in fur trading, the oil and gas industry, forestry and as a scenic entry to the northern wilderness.

The Fort Nelson Demonstration Forest is a 100 hectare, easily accessible forest in the northwest corner of town designed for education and recreation. It features managed trails for hiking and biking in the summer and cross country skiing in the winter. We gave it a whirl today, between seasons, not as easy as it sounds.

The trail started out beautifully...another gorgeous day.

Soon it became a bit muddy and spongy in spots.

It only got worse - a little wet.

Soggy with ice and snow rounded out the battle.

Finally decided to grin and bear it...and try not to fall. Hi Everybody!

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Day 16 - May 6 - UP DOWN AND ALL AROUND, WHAT A DAY

It was a long day; over eight hours and 600 kilometres brought us back through northern BC to Fort Nelson. The perfect day seemed to bring us out of the mountains in Yukon, through the foothills, back to the mountains then finally levelling off at Fort Nelson. If variety is the spice of life today was HOT.

As we crossed the border back into BC there were numerous signs warning of wildlife encounter near and on the road, especially bison. I, being a die hard skeptic, dismissed the thought and immediately saw a herd of bison coming up the hill toward the highway.

Topography aside, there were many things to explore as we made our way east then north again. The Mountain Portage Rapids flow through the Whirlpool Canyon along a river still choked with ice breaking into huge chunks.

The "gravel" road into the Smith River Falls is only about 2 kilometres long but it takes about 20 minutes each way because the road is atrocious with potholes and huge ridges. We would never have made it if we had kept the Mazda. It was a bone rattling, nerve twinging ordeal, especially when we met a camper RV in a large mudhole. Somehow we managed to pass one another with a cordial wave and a kind "Enjoy!" But it was worth whatever it took. At the confluence of the Smith and Liard rivers the 35 metre high, 10 metre wide falls plunges into a deep pool below with a thunderous roar.

The mountains today reminded me of Banff, Alberta. High and snow-capped with the highway clear cut much farther back than we have seen elsewhere in BC, it made us appreciate the meaning of majestic.

Muncho Lake was beautiful. We had planned on staying there but changed that plan to accommodate our travels through the Northwest Territories to come. 

Unquestionably a great day for wildlife, something rare for us until recently. Ironically there was a sign for almost all these...and there they were.

And of course it just wouldn't be right if we didn't see another one of these guys.

Just before we arrived in Fort Nelson we descended to an inspiring vista. Accompanied by a sign claiming "Limited Visibility" I couldn't help but wonder, what do they know that I can't see. Sure didn't seem limited to me.

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