Wildlife was almost non-existent last night, as Dennis already mentioned. Disappointing. I thought the quiet place with good vision down the old road, was an ideal viewing spot.
As we turned back on to to the Alaska Highway this morning a hare crossed our path. A snowshoe hare. So called as they have large white feet to enable them to run faster on compacted snow. I wondered if this would be our sole wildlife viewing today. Not so.
Shortly after we came across a grizzly among the fir trees. He took no notice of us watching and photographing him. I thought he was pretty big but Dennis said not big for a grizzly. I wouldn’t have liked to have opened the back door of the Land Rover and come face to face with him though.
A bit later there was another smaller grizzly on a bank. After this it was an animal free day. Still no caribou or elk to be seen.
Just before lunch time we passed the Canadian border Customs Post and about 30 kilometres further on, the US border. This time the reception was not so friendly. Just one guy on duty and he instructed Dennis to turn the engine off. He wasn’t amused when Dennis said the Land Rover might not start again if he did. She has been very capricious so far this trip. Sometimes she starts first time and sometimes is very difficult again.
The border guard wanted to know where we were going and how long we were intending spend in the US. We explained our route and what we were planning to do. At which he said we only had until 23rd August to do it. We said we thought we would get another 90 days when we re-entered the US in the East in a couple of months or so. He said not necessarily. It is entirely at the discretion of the border personnel and we should get a visa to ensure a longer stay. This is a pain as getting a visa is not so straight forward.
It get’s quite confusing changing one’s watch, changing from kilometres to miles and from Canadian to US$ all the time. We gained an hour today. The scenery was very much the same all afternoon. Green forests, lakes and rivers with snowless mountains in the distance. We saw clouds of smoke and an orange glow on the horizon. Obviously a large forest fire. Fortunately a long way away.
This evening we are in Tok. A very unprepossessing township. RV parks, motels and a gas station/convenience store and not much else. We have camped in an RV park, which is a bit like a ghost park. There is one other vehicle parked here, with no occupant(s) in sight and the office is closed. The facilities are open though and the water is lovely and hot, so I am looking forward to a shower and hair wash in the morning.
Tomorrow we will continue to head for Anchorage which is still 329 miles away.
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