South to Barriere

A short ride (260 odd km) to Whitehorse today. The weather turned to shite and it was wet and cold. The frog togs are doing a great job of keeping us warm and dry.

Highlight of The day was to see a mountain lion stroll across the road and into the bushes. I had a near miss with a tree. Some tree fellas were felling saplings down a bank off the road  and just as I rode past one fell. It brushed the back of the bike but thankfully was not large enough to knock me over. Doubt they even were aware. Bit daunting when you see it falling towards you and there is no way to avoid it. Lady luck was with me again.

Checked into the Family Motel again as it's reasonably priced and pretty central. Did the laundry and walked into town as I wanted to buy a pair of moose socks to add to my collection of moose attire.

We decided to stay another day as I had Panda eyes and still felt tired. First job of the day was to take the bikes to a car wsh. Easier said than done. We didnt take the gps as there was one very close by. It was closed for renovations.  Luckily I had my phone and found another one. It was very hard trying to follow the phones GPS, luckily our intercom was working and I was able to shout a last minute left turn at some lights as I recognised the street name. Marty wasnt so sure and got a bit testy for a moment but we sorted the instructions and eventually found it. $12 later the mud is off the bikes and they look a little cleaner but still need a proper going over.

I had a sleep while Marty went off and did the oil changes on the bikes. We went to KFC for tea then a walk along the river but the mossies drove us back to the Motel.

Got on the road at 9.45 bound for Watson Lake 411 odd km away.

We had a good run,  stopped st Johnson's Crossing for brunch then again at Teslin for gas. Next stop Watson Lake, arriving at 3.15.  We went up to the lodge where we stayed on the way up and collected my pjs then checked into our hotel.

No wildlife what so ever today. A very uneventful day.

An absolutely wonderful ride today. We were very spoilt with wildlife on the roadside. We lost count of the number of black bears we saw. Even saw a grizzly.

A surprise was seeing several bush bison. Apparently there are only 250 odd left in Canada and are listed as an endangered species. We went past one grazing on our side of the road and across on the other side was a man busy with a weed eater tidying up around his driveway.

We also got to see a couple of Caribou up close and this time I did get a photo.

Stopped for brunch at Toad Hole. I had my normal omelette and Marty had bacon and eggs. No need for us to have any tea tonight.

Lake  Muncho was a beautiful jade colour due to the minerals in the water. Looked like a lovely spot to camp.

Arrived in Fort Nelson about 4 oclock. Couple of other motorcyclists here that we a chat with before retiring.

We splashed out and had a trumpet for our supper. Feeling pooped.

Little miss security snipped the deadbolt on the door last night and this morning we couldn't get out of our room. I had to ring the office. He said to try wriggle it but it wouldn't budge. I said we could climb out the window and he said well that's an option and laughed. I said have you got any other options. Oh yea I'll get the maintenance man to come and unlock it. A few minutes later we are free and the maintenance man says he will get the door fixed after Marty told him the problem. But we got the feeling it wouldn't happen.

We had 434km to ride today. It was the most boring ride we have had on the trip so far. No wildlife and no scenery to enjoy. Just trees.

We stopped for brunch at Buckinghorse River. Omelette for me and the Truckies big brekkie for MJ. We packed the pancakes and had them for tea.

Stopped at Pink Mountain for gas then rode straight to Dawson Creek. A long 226km. Lots of traffic.

Once in our motel I crashed. Had a bit of a headache and needed 40 winks. It's been a long day.

A very lazy day. Slept in till 8.30 then went to breaky. Marty hunted out a new chain and sprocket supplier via the internet and has had them sent to John as they don't ship to the states. They were half the price of what the BMW shop wanted. Had trouble with our one cards. Both were declined so had to use our visa card.

We went down to Alaska House and got ourselves educated re the building of the Alaska Highway.  It was an amazing feat. 1500 miles thru unchartered country in 9 months and during one of the harshest winter's recorded.

Wandered around, did a bit of shopping for tea, card declined again grrr but worked when I went to the ATM. Have sent an email to One Smart to see what the story is. That will be a real pain if they stop

One Smart got back to me but can't help via email we have to call. The card worked at the gas stations today and at the hotel so I'm not too worried now.

Had a much nicer ride today. Better roads, lots of logging trucks with huge loads but on the whole we could pass them fairly easily.

I should have stopped in the town of Chetwynd and looked at all the wood carvings but I wasn’t in the mood, besides I didn' t see any moose carvings.

Had a leg stretch after 250km and contemplated putting our wet weather gear on but decided against it. We had a brief shower but nothing more.

Gassed up at McLeod Lake and had our picnic lunch there under the trees.

Had a chat with a harley guy from Illinois. He and his two mates  were on their way up to Alaska.

Arrived in Prince George just after 3. Motel more than adequate and only $74.

We didn't get an early start as we slept in till 8.45. Even then it felt like 6pm. A car alarm (We thought) has been background noise for hours. When we leave the room to go to breakie it we discovered it was a fan on an air con unit down the corridor.

We had a 4.75 voucher each for a continental breakfast. Marty had coffee and toast. I had coffee bagel and toast. We couldn't eat all the toast  so we took it with us added the cheese we had and packed it a long with a flask of coffee for our lunch.

We rode the Yellowhammer highway down to Barriere. 551kms. A long day but a lovely ride. Little traffic and very scenic. Found a nice rest area by a river for lunch.

Temp was up to 30°. We were entertained by some gophers while we had our lunch.

Our motel in Barriere is very nice but right beside a train track. A train went past when we arrived but none since. Free laundry here so we are cleaning up our act.
Slept well despite the trains. Only 250k to go today but It's raining. Using all of our 11am turfout time in case it clears in the meantime.

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