Alaska Highway, Part 2: Fort Nelson, Liard River Hot Springs & Fireside

The next day was spent driving to Fort Nelson. The roads were okay- not great, but okay- and the scenery was starting to look like we were in the mountains.

I'm not sure how much other traffic I was expecting to see on the road with us, but there has been enough that I've never felt REALLY remote or out in the middle of nowhere (even though we pretty much are). Lots of oilfield service vehicles.

We rolled into Ft Nelson around dusk and finally had enough cell service that we could call Lindsey, our contact for the night's accommodations. It wasn't a business, she'd be letting us & our animals stay at her house, so I was worried that we were going to be too much trouble or she had changed her mind or we had gotten in too late or something. But, the awesomeness of people along the Alcan continued and she (and her family) were EXTREMELY nice and accommodating. Stormy & Gaefa got to stay outside in a round pen, where Gaefa promptly rolled in the snow, and the rest of us stayed in the trailer in the driveway. They let us plug in our heater which was awesome because then we didn't need to run the generator. Getting up to their house was an adventure in itself- we should have suspected as much when Lindsey asked us if we had 4WD and said we'd need to use it. Not only was their road reeeally steep, it was also dirt/gravel and really muddy. I almost thought we wouldn't make it but of course the Chevy didn't let us down. We inched up there & finally made it.

In the morning they invited us in for coffee. We wanted to hit the road early as we had a long day of driving to get to Watson Lake, but I wasn't going to turn down their generous offer so we sat and chatted for a few. Then it was back on the road.

Their place was just north of Ft Nelson so it was a nice little jumpstart to the day's drive. Unfortunately though, the driving was really slow going because of a lot of very steep ups and downs. We'd creep up 8-10% grades at about 20 mph or less. We soon realized that Watson Lake wasn't going to be feasible. We figured we'd play it by ear and find a place to stop when we got as far as we could.

It was a rough driving day for Rich. Lots of stress about keeping the horses safe & comfy with the rollercoaster ups and downs. And with the wind added in there, it was requiring all of his concentration just to keep us on the road.

Liard River Hot Springs was along the day's route that day. It's supposed to be one of the highlights of the whole Alaska Highway so of course we wanted to see it. As the day wore on though, the stress and effort of the driving built up until I was ready to skip it just to avoid the hassle and time of another stop. But I was surprised when Rich still wanted to see it, I figured he wouldn't, so we ended up stopping anyway. And we're both so glad we did! The hot springs were amazing. And REALLY hot. I could barely walk over to the end of the pool where the water was coming out of the ground to take pictures, and even then I couldn't get too close. My legs looked sunburned when I got out of there! It was a really nice refreshing stop for the both of us and just what we needed to melt away some of the stress and fatigue of the day.

On the downstream side of the little waterfall, where it was a little cooler.

It was REALLY HOT over here, I almost couldn't get close enough to get this photo.

Gotta do the feet pic!

A welcome oasis on the Alcan

Can't you just feel the "AAAhhhhh...."

Hot spring selfie!

Another view of the spot where the HOT HOT water was coming out.  You could get pretty close if you approached from the right angle, but one step off track was OUCH!

Still really hot over here, but oh so pretty.

Yes, it really was that inviting, and it felt every bit as awesome as it looks.

After that, Rich figured he'd be good for another hour of driving which turned out to be a pretty close estimate. Only problem was that there wasn't much of anything between the hot springs and Watson Lake, and Watson Lake was still a few hours away. We needed a place to eat and a place to stop and let the horses out for the night, and it looked like we weren't going to find either.

Rich saw a sign that said “Buffalo Burgers, 40 km” and decided that if there was food, he could make it that far. I wasn't so sure because the only thing I saw in the Milepost guide at that spot said “Fireside, no services”. I was afraid it was an old sign and that he'd be disappointed. But, if we were going to stop on the side of the road for the night anyway, I supposed that we may as well do it 40 km further along. So imagine my surprise when we drove up on the Fireside Truck Stop with big signs saying, “OPEN for business!” and “New Owners!”. Wait, so... there really is food here?? And other humans?? And possibly even a hotel room??? It was an absolute oasis in the middle of backcountry Canada.

The Fireside was definitely one of our best stops on the whole trip. Now the place doesn't look like much, in fact it looks more dive-y than any dive I've ever seen (and I've been to the Florabama), but the hospitality was top notch. The owners, who I don't think have even had the place for a year yet, went out of their way time and again to make sure we and the animals had everything we needed. There was no place to put horses, so I thought we'd have to leave them on the trailer, but our hosts Norma and Daryl didn't give up until we had cobbled together a small pen made out of any and all building materials we could round up, plus a couple of trucks and a tractor, Not the prettiest accommodation, but the horses were safe and happy to be off the trailer. As for us, after a nice hot meal we and the dogs were put in the “suite” right up the stairs from the horses so we could keep an eye on them.

Our room.  Not much to look at but the hospitality made it just perfect.

The next morning Norma got some pictures of the horses and made sure we signed the wall before we left. She said it was only the 2^nd time they'd had horses there and seemed really excited about it. I highly recommend their stop to anyone who travels the Alcan... they've got a lot of work to do to make the place look presentable but you won't find nicer or more accommodating hosts. They came along just at the perfect time too, when I was starting to freak out over where/how we were going to spend the night. Yet another small miracle in a series of them that happened throughout the trip.

Side of the "restaurant" which was made of two adjoining travel trailers.

We left our mark!