Liard to Muncho

 We are in Muncho Lake but since internet is so dear I want to backtrack and will possibly have photos from here in the next post. The whirlpool rapids on the Liard River had striking rock layering. All the rivers we've seen, until the Trout River have been broad, high and fast moving and not really that attractive to try to figure how to boat on. We fantasized about the Trout but really, the put in and take out and amount of time with the meanders made it intimidating too.
The woodland buffalo were almost extinct by 1906 but a small herd of introduced buffalo continue to thrive along the Alaska Highway. We saw over 50, crashed out in the afternoon warmth.

 Michael processed veggie oil above this spectacular falls. You only see the lower segment in this photo... there really was no way to capture the whole thing as trails to the area above don't exist. The area around it has all burned. Fires persist now and are the reason I'm not showing you the jewel-like Muncho Lake... because the air is far too hazy and that's been the way of it for days of travel.

 Yesterday we forked out the money to stay at the Liard River Hotsprings Provincial Park. We walked out there when we first arrived, then after dark and again this morning. There are two pools and the cooler, lower one shown here is completely natural. The upper pool is just about unbearably hot. It was a wonderful place to listen to the stories of locals and people passing through from everywhere imaginable... in all kinds of vehicles and from many different cultures yet we were lucky because there never really were that many people there at any one time.

 Earlier today we walked out to try to see sheep and moose eating the mineral rich banks above the Trout River but just got really close to four grouse (help! ptarmigan?) It's amazing these tame birds survive in the wild.

We'll continue into the Rocky Mountains now and hope the weather holds. Will catch up again from Fort Nelson. p.s. Diesel was 7$ a gallon at Liard Hot Springs Lodge.