Wed. Aug 28 - Now in Fort Nelson, in north-eastern B.C. Being in the north has its problems so far as connectivity is concerned. Half the time there is not much, or you have to go to designated spots, only to find that this computer rejects the provider. So there are some frustrations. Last night we were in a park 80 kms from here, where they had wifi, but after composing a brilliant post the connection crashed, and it wouldn't publish. So we'll try again.

Yesterday was one of the finest drives done by these r.v.ers anywhere. Coming down from Watson Lake on the Alaska Highway rivals the drive from Jasper to Banff. The road may be a little rougher, it's lonelier and tougher, but it has spectacular views, and quite an abundance of wild-life. We saw three black bears yesterday (pretty close), two large herds of bison, as well as some strays, and 4 cariboo. So that wasn't a bad day for this old photographer. A few photos are posted at the end of this message.

It's been raining off and on most days, but fortunately no snow. Where we stayed last night had 30 centimeters last week, which shut them down for 4 days, and left a lot of tree damage. Not something you wish for in August. Today is brilliant sunshine, probably the brightest day we've had since leaving Vancouver 12 days ago. Temps have been mid-teens, lows around 6 or 7. So not bad, really.

We enjoyed Whitehorse. It's a nice small city, right on the Yukon River. Twenty thousand of the thirty thousand Yukoners live in the city, so there is a lot of territory out there without too many people. There is a lot more presence of the Indigenous people in the north, as they represent a significant proportion of the population, and their culture is much more front and center than in much of Canada. We hit the highlights of Whitehorse, including a visit to the Yukon Wildlife Preserve, where we did a lengthy hike in order to see the major species of the north in a very natural environment. We followed that with a visit to the nearby hot springs, where we had a great chat with a couple from Alaska. We also did a hot springs yesterday in a very lovely wooded setting, with water temps ranging from hot to very hot to very very hot. A nice break in the middle of the day.

We had a spirited chat with our campground host in Watson Lake when we checked in. He had a lot to  say about the ills of the town, but feels helpless to do much about it. Sound familiar? An interesting guy, who used to work on submarines as a hydraulics specialist. He worked all over the world, including on dives that uncovered the mysteries of the Titanic. He was actually down in a sub that did some of the exploratory work on the ship, and lamented that the wreck is in danger of deterioration because of the intervention of humans. Sound familiar?  And here he is running a campground in Watson Lake. A lot of the folks up here have stories to tell about how they ended up in the north.

We've had very little t.v., so aren't in touch with much of what's going on. Kinda nice. We've come to an even greater appreciation of the vastness of our country, of its fantastic geography, its people, its emptiness, and the options it offers to travellers. Now that we're heading back to more populated areas, we have a little sense of sadness, as we've appreciated the quiet, the lack of bustle, the towns that go at a much different pace, the lack of traffic. But on we'll go...maybe stay here in Fort Nelson, as there's a good r.v. park nearby, and two good hikes that might be good for our old bodies.

That's enough for now. Let's hope this publishes. Thanks to all who have forwarded birthday greetings to Lar, who is now feeling just a little older, but still spunky and rarin' to go. More later. Stay tuned.