That Road Trip Guy: 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.