The road then crosses through the northern tip of the Rocky Mountains, a mountain range that spans almost all of North America. An awe inspiring, wild place. Nothing like Banff or the Rockies we know clos- er to home. This place is remote, and isolated. The sun began to set as we counted our last hour of driving through these wild landscapes before arriving at the iconic Northern Rockies Lodge positioned on the shores of Muncho Lake. A big day of driving called for a hot meal and a good sleep, so we settled into the beautiful rustic cabin for the night and got organized for the rest of the journey. Of course, we kept an eye on the aurora forecast; after all, we already entered prime Northern Lights territory, but sadly, the data looked flat and we had 100 per cent cloud coverage for the entire night. Day 2: Muncho Lake to Whitehorse - 702 km We headed out quite early for another big day of driv- ing, excited about a few places we wanted to check out along the way. It was particularly nice to see the stunning views of Muncho Lake and the surrounding Northern Rockies in the daylight, after arriving in dark- ness the night before. The next stretch of the Alaska Highway is well known for a number of wildlife species such as woodland caribou, herds of wood bison, and bears in the summertime. With this in mind we kept our eyes peeled, hoping for another exciting wildlife encounter. Not long after leaving the lodge, we had just that. We came across a lone caribou and our first of many bison herds grazing along the ditches. After putting in some serious driving time, our first stop of the day was one we had been looking for- ward to - Liard Hot Springs, a magical set of natur- al hot pools set right off the Alaska Highway. Winter is particularly beautiful here because the steam rising from the warm waters crystallizes on the trees and vegetation, making for a scene out of a fairytale. We walked down the winding boardwalk and hopped in for a soak. The water here ranges from comfortably warm to too hot to handle as you wade closer to the
38
Powered by FlippingBook