Dr. Bellows, I Can Explain…

Dateline: Fort Nelson

No, no Majors Nelson and Healey here, and, sigh, no Barbara Eden in a harem outfit. But we’ve seen lots of mountains, serious ones with snow on them and everything.

Critter count for today:

• 2 baby somethings. They were bigger than a grown deer, sort of gray-tan in color, and all knobby knees and long legs. They didn’t have moose-y faces, so I’m guessing elk or caribou, but I don’t know. They were still fuzzy like they were recently born, and pretty cute for something so big.
• 1 very preggo doe.
• 1 lazy black bear who of course suddenly came awake and darted for the brush as soon as I grabbed for the camera.
• 1 thing (young caribou?), pictured. He was quite cooperative and waited patiently while I backed up the rig (dumb, I know, but that road is empty).
• 3 generic deer, meandering aimlessly along the roadside.

The drive started off as “Wisconsin with hills”. It could have easily been the 51 in the Nort Woods, except that it was a lot more slope-y. I met up with a couple from Mequon (I recognized them by the fact that they were the only other people in shorts while everyone else was in down vests–the must-have fashion accessories for teens in the 70’s Valley, don’t ask why). They agreed–just like Wisconsin! Then it transitioned to more Cali Sierras-ish, then Colorado-ish.

BTW, seen a lot of motos on the drive. Mostly Harleys, but a few sport bikes. Except for the potholes (which are horrendous but mostly right around the towns and especially in the gas station parking lots) these are roads that are made for bikes. Oh, the gigantic logging trucks going 80 zillion miles an hour aren’t so great for two-wheelers either, but they’re just like in Wisconsin.

Tomorrow, we’re off to Watson Lake, and soon the first big decision: up the middle of the Yukon via the “somewhat paved” Klondike Highway (and a side trip to Mayo), or straight for the border. Yeah, it’s a tough one.