Tuesday, July 28, 2015

We are at Charlie Lake, British Columbia, just outside Fort St. John.

It’s been a rough 48 hours.  Obi woke me Sunday night at 11:30 to go out, not unusual, but not common.  He went out and did his duty and we came back in, but he couldn’t get settled.  He was whining and crying.  He and I ended up on the couch all night.

We were in Fort Liard, Northwest Territories.  The internet said Fort Nelson, back on the Alaska highway, had a vet.  It was 3 hours away.  I let Steve sleep, figuring one of us needed to, so that he could drive.  He got up at 5:00 a.m. to check on us and we were on our way by 6:00.  By 9:00, we had reached the Chamber of Commerce in Fort Nelson, only to find out that the nearest clinic was actually in Fort St. John, another 4 hours away, not counting construction and pulling the trailer.

We were finally able to phone the clinic around 2:00 p.m.  They had an open appointment at 4:30, but would work us in as soon as we arrived, which we anticipated would be 3:30.  Obi was still obviously in a lot of pain.  I made him as comfortable as I could on my lap.

He was dehydrated and his digestive tract was blocked.  They wanted to keep him overnight and get some fluids into him.  They gave him some pain killers to make him as comfortable as possible.

Unfortunately, this morning there was not good news.  He had pancreatitis and needed to have his gall bladder removed, assuming they could get him healthy enough to have surgery.  We were reasonably sure with his diabetes and other health issues, that he wouldn’t survive the surgery and the vet agreed.  So we hugged him and loved him and let him go.

Rest in peace, Obi.

Sunday, July 26, 2015

We are at Hay Lake, Fort Liard, Northwest Territories.  This seems to be a popular local park with 12 campsites and no hook ups.  That means we are supplying our own electricity and water and we’ll have to dump our tanks at our next stop.  We’re using our propane for cooking and heating. It’s been a nice relaxing camp.

I didn’t expect to have Internet access, but thanks to all the mining companies around here, there is cell service so we have Internet. 

Here’s the view out my side window:

And the view out the back window.

 There’s a trail around the lake and apparently they don’t want people snowmobiling on it.

We are in the Northwest Territories of Canada and we mostly came up here to add another territory to our list.  It sounded like it would be a nice trip and was, except for the rain, but the scenery hasn’t been spectacular.  The sign welcoming us to the Northwest Territory:

 The bridge Steve said reminded him of one of the rides at Disney World:

But when we got to the campground and got settled in, the wildlife started making an appearance.  First (as always) came the ducks.

More ducks.

Then the swans from the end of the lake came close enough for some pictures.

But we couldn’t get all 5 in the same shot.

Non aquatic birds also made an appearance.  We think this might be a gyrfalcon.

And these birds played along the shore.

But we really got excited about the beaver, who was fetching twigs for his dam.

Neither picture is wonderful, but we had fun watching him.

We headed back to Fort Nelson tomorrow.  Then it’s on to Dawson Creek, where the Alaska Highway (formerly known as the Al-Can highway) officially starts/ends.  Luckily there are still highways beyond that to take us to Jasper and Banff.

Deb

Friday, July 24, 2015

We are in Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Canada.

It was an overcast, rainy day today, coupled with road construction.  I took a few scenic pictures.

Our last look at Muncho Lake:

A braided river

.

And then we saw the moose.  He was maybe 100 yards off the side of the road, content to pose for pictures for awhile.

We’ll probably be off the grid for the next two nights.  We’re headed up to Fort Liard in the Northwest Territory.  It’s supposed to be a beautiful spot.

Deb

Thursday, July 23, 2015

We are at Northern Rockies Lodge on the Alaska Highway between Watson Lake and Fort Nelson.  It’s in British Columbia.  And this is the view out my window:

The side window has a view of the float plane the owners use for flight seeing trips. 

The day in Watson Lake started off with a rainbow.

The scenery was beautiful.

But the stars today were the bison.  First we saw one.

Then two:

And then we found the herd:

Mommas and babies

Six babies in this picture, two laying together poking each other.  Kids will be kids.

And this guy walking up beside us to make sure we weren’t going to cause any trouble.

We saw one more bison, but he was heading into the woods.  But then we saw the black bear!

He posed nicely and was still munching along the side of the road when we moved on.

There was some heavy construction today, but no major delays.  It looks like they are upgrading and straightening out one of the older sections of the highway.  Steve read that they didn’t want a straight highway when it was built, as that would make it easier for the Japanese to shoot up a supply convoy, if war ever came to this land.

The Northern Rockies Lodge is an interesting place.  It’s on its third owners, who bought it as place to base their flight seeing operations.  They fly people up to a remote National Park or to one of their remote cabins for sightseeing and fishing expeditions.  They built a new lodge a number of years ago when their business outgrew the original lodge and now have rooms in the lodge, cabins, most on the lake, and spaces for RVs to park.  And a good restaurant.

A great stop in a beautiful location!  We hope to be back!

Deb