A sand hill crane high-stepping it through the snow, undoubtedly rethinking his migration time table.  The stark outline of a bull moose against a blanket of white.  He seemed to be taking it all in stride.  A black bear plunked in a snow covered field contentedly munching on some tasty spring sprouts he had plucked from beneath a drift.  So what did we see?  Yes, that’s right, SNOW.  Lots of it.

It flurried as we broke camp.  No problem.  Small detail, not only are we heading North we are heading back into the Rockies and up.  The temperature dropped as low as 31.  Slush collected between the tire tracks on the roadway.  In the Ft Nelson Visitor Center they told us “It should be ok today.”  “The event crews have been out all night and have everything plowed out.”  Good to know.  We press on.  On the peaks as much as 2 feet of snow had fallen. Vista point pull-offs are one track at best so we don’t stop much to enjoy the views.  The road is just wet.  We make it to slightly lower ground for the night and by sunset the snow in camp is limited to shady areas.  It is forecast to all be gone by tomorrow.  We are hoping it is our last taste of winter for a while.

The local critters seem to be taking this fluky weather all in stride.  We saw 5 more bears this evening when we went back out to check the vistas.   Mama and her three cubs and one lone bear.  A white background certainly makes them easier to see.

A cow moose trots along the edge of the road.  A small shadow seems to be tangled up among her long knobby legs.  It is a brand new calf just barely able to keep its feet under itself.  He wobbles and weaves as he figures out exactly how those legs are supposed to work; all the while doing his very best to keep up with mom.  She keeps one watchful eye on junior and the other on us as we drive near.  It is fantastic to watch them interact.  Fortunately they make it safely across the road.  We and they head off to whatever is next.

Dawson Creek and the beginning of the Alaskan Highway; the official start of our 2014 journey.

Chetwynd BC hosts a chainsaw carving festival.  The artists draw lots to determine which red cedar log they will get to work with.  Over the next 3 days they spend 35 hours creating absolute masterpieces in unbelievable detail.  Wildlife and First Nations peoples are the most frequent subjects.  Some carvers go for technically accurate and life like and others have a more whimsical bent.  There is even some fantasy and sci-fi stuff along with some very not-friendly-looking dinosaurs.  The workmanship is amazing and the pieces (135 so far) are scattered all along the streets of this little town.

While their main work is being judged, the artists do a 1 hour speed carving.  Those pieces are then auctioned off.   I bet I could find one that would suit our someday cabin!  I’d love to see the actual carving happening but the 2014 festival here in Chetwynd is not for another 10 days and we are moving on tomorrow.  I suspect there is something similar in the Appalachians; I need to check that out.

A huge wooden train trestle and it is curved.  They had plenty of room to make it straight and turn after the crossing.  It was built in 1930 and we could still smell the creosote as we walked toward the ravine.  The criss-crossing timbers are mesmerizing.

4 horses, a Chuckwagon, standing start facing the wrong way around the track, do a figure 8 turning around a couple of barrels and then complete the ½ mile race in 1 minute and 14 seconds.  Sound exciting enough?  Add 4 teams running the race at the same time.  That’s excitement.  Yes, they are thoroughbreds much like the better known ones that race at Churchill Downs etc.; but these are also trained to run as a team pulling a chuckwagon.  For some of the classes they add two out-riders per team.  The outriders must load a water bucket into the Chuckwagon after the start, mount their horse, then join the race to the finish line.  If they don’t catch up by the finish their team is penalized time for each late rider.  More than one chuckwagon team outran their rider and was penalized.

Pony carts.  Kids under 16 ride a wagon or chariot behind pony teams of either 2 or 4 ponies.  Little hooves were just a-flying.

I had resigned myself to seeing only this caribou:

Then, it was only a fleeting glimpse but a real live woodland caribou appeared along the roadside and disappeared into the trees.

A big grizzly and her yearling cubs were hanging out on the hillside.  They seemed entirely uninterested in the cars whizzing by.  We stopped for a few then left them to their breakfast.