#56 Towards Prince George

After a weekend of R & R in Whitehorse we left there on a wet, cool overcast Monday afternoon and got back on the Alaska Hwy going east. We stopped early at a roadside pullout beside a rain swollen river and slept to the sound of the rapids. Continuing east in the morning we soon came to BC Hwy 37 and turning south we left the Yukon behind us.

Last summer this road was closed for nearly two months as a forest fire swept through the area. Above you can see that the vegetation has begun to return. Fires are actually good for the forest, it removes deadfall and all the old weak trees and allows the sun and air to get through to the ground where the seeds that have lay dormant can now germinate and grow. The new vegetation now brings the smaller animals who spread more seeds and eventually new trees sprout and the forest is renewed. ( Not a very complete explantion but a start, you can look up the rest yourself).

During the day the sky cleared up and the sun came out ,we stop again beside a small river rapids and enjoyed a nice BBQ dinner. We usually read or play games for a few hours before bed about 11 oçlock we looked out and the sky was like a billion sparkling diamonds on a deep blue black velvet. We couldn't help but think of the song;

The mountains are His, The valleys are His, The sky is His handiwork too.

We couldn't help but just marvel at such beauty. Those of us that live in or near cities where the lights pollute the night sky are certainly deprived of sight like this. Unforuately pictures don't turn out.

We make our way to Stewart/Hyder. Stewart is in BC. Canada, Hyder is in AK, USA. The only way to get to Hyder is through Stewart. There is no stores, no banks, nothing in Hyder except some small gift shops for tourist. The 3 or 4 dozen residents of Hyder, do all their shopping in Stewart, they use C$ and Canadian banks. There is one road in Hyder that goes north back into BC to some mining operations. There is no US customs but there is a Canadian customs but no one seems to know why.

One of the highlights of Hyder is the bears. The bears feast on salmon at the river and there is a board walk built to walk out and watch. We watched for 1 1/2 hours and no bears. We decide to leave and drove about 200 feet and there he is going for his dinner.

And there he is with his catch walking across the road in front of us.

Another Glacier, you can see the melt water running out at the bottom, and fresh snow falling at the top.

This is a hanging glacier, called that because it hangs over the rock
and melts before it gets to the bottom of the valley.

The river valley on the Suskwa River at Hazelton BC,

The bridge over the river, called the Hagwilget bridge, first built by the native people as a walking bridge made out of vines. This one built in 1931 is one of the highest suspension bridges in North America. It is only one lane at 16 feet wide, it spans 460 feet and is 262 feet above the river. There is over 1 million pounds of steel and 16 miles of 1/2 wire rope in the bridge.
We arrive at Prince George for the Labour Day weekend and stay put until Tuesday when we continue on south.