We left Fort Nelson on a cooooold morning in anticipation of finally reaching the Yukon!
You would not believe the incredible views we were seeing. Unfortunately the camera does not do them justice...
It was so weird. So we were driving up quite high in alitude and all of a sudden all the windows instantly fogged up!!!! And another note is the temperature went back and forth between -7C and -25C all day.
So if you have been paying ANY attention to our blog thus far, you would know that there hasn't been any wildlife at all, which is crazy since we drove for about 5000kms!! Anyways we finally spotted a couple caribou on the highway, they didn't seem too spooked as they just trotted away.
Apparently there are herds of wild horses in these areas, but Lau was very disappointed to not see one. Also I think a 5 year old could have drawn a better sign!
8067 hats and counting... (Toad River Lodge)
We had been anxious to finally see the "famous" buffalo herd on the highway, so here is the first warning.
We decided to stop at the
natural hot springs in Liard Hotsprings National Park. They were such a treat!! The water on top must have been 120C and when you go down a few inches it was about 95-100C
Buffalo!!
Ya so here's where the trip got hairy. I must admit we had been very fortunate up to this point. The weather had been very good along with the road conditions, everything was working fine and no hiccups. Anyways after the hot springs Lau took the driver seat and after about 1 1/2 hours was getting tired so we decided to switch. I got out and saw this!!!!! :(
shedding a tear...
It was just before 4pm when this happened and the sunlight was failing fast! We were obviously pissed off a bit at first but didn't panic because we had a spare. The darn thing didn't want to come off!!! We were following the owner's manual to the tee but it wouldn't disengage from the support. We ended up flagging down a transport trailer and the guys (a couple cool Indians, eastern kind) jumped out to help us. They couldn't figure it out. Even a guy in a pickup truck tried his best but with no luck.
At this point it was dark and the spare was NOT coming off. The Indians suggested we try and get our truck to the nearest garage, Contact Creek, to save on any towing services, but that would mean driving on a flat tire. Well the road was packed snow so we gave it a shot...ya not the best idea... After 5 min there was smoke and the tail of truck was basically wagging haha so we had to pull it over to the side of the Alaska Highway. They offered to give us a ride to the next rest stop where they said there was a garage. Since we were on the side of the Alaska Highway, it was dark, -26, no cell phone reception, the wolves were howling (or some creeper in a ditch) and only 1 car goes by every 1/2 hour or so. We took them up on their offer. Unfortunately we could not get help at the rest stop so we rode the transport truck to Watson Lake. Yeeeehaw breaker breaker 10-4.
After about an 1 hour riding with these cool dudes, we made it to Watson Lake where we checked-in to our hotel for the night. From there I called every towing company in town (two) and no luck. I tried the towing line for the territory and finally got through. I told him my truck was 80km outside Watson Lake and that that needs to be done is to get that **&%^&^** tire off! He quoted me $350 to bring the flatbed (since it was policy). After I balled my eyes out, haha jk, I got some cash and met him where he had some "good" news. He could take me with his pickup and for "only" $200 get my spare on. We did it and it he took off the spare tire as if nothing was holding it...*&^%^!^&^&!%^&!*&
Anywho, it may seem like it was a disaster but looking back it could have been much worse and hey how can it really be a road trip without an experience like that right??
A few videos...
