June 16: Once again we enjoyed a variety of stunningly beautiful mountain scenery as we drove toward Whitehorse. Along the way we almost lost count of the number of bears (large and small, mostly black bears) we saw along the road! We also saw stone sheep and rabbits, but no moose. I think the moose must be hiding somewhere! 😉 About mid-morning, though, we lost use of the throttle on our coach and managed to “coast” almost to the top of a hill before stopping on the shoulder of the road. Dave found the problem (a missing bolt) but didn’t have a replacement for it, so we could do little but wait for the service coach (presumably last in line) to come by. Fortunately, almost every Foretravel that passed us checked to be sure we were OK and that help was on the way. A couple of the coaches stopped to see if they could help, and one waited until the service tech arrived. Long story short, one bolt was lost, so a couple of bolts were rearranged to best use the remaining ones, some baling wire (literally!) was judiciously and expertly applied to the faulty mechanism, and we were back on our way to Whitehorse, where we’ll stay for a couple of days. We plan to buy some new bolts while we’re there.

We continue to have days that are part bright sunshine and part light rain. Which part of the day each occurs varies, but both components are always comprise the day. Temperatures range from mid-40’s to low 60’s. Nice! Glad I brought my rain gear and long jeans, though. The more we travel, the more aware we become of how sparsely populated this area is. The most obvious indicator is the paucity of traffic. Makes for great leisurely paced traveling! After getting situated and hooked up at our RV campground in Whitehorse, we enjoyed a delicious dinner, a drivers’ meeting, and lots of camaraderie with fellow Motorcaders, and then called it a day!

June 15: We left Muncho Lake and headed toward our next stop, Watson Lake, Yukon Territory. Most of the day was sunny, and we saw numerous bison, black bears, and stone sheep along the way. We saw no moose today, but others in the Motorcade did—a timing issue, I’m sure. All along, the scenery was breathtakingly lovely, and it just went on and on and on! 🙂 We stopped to take photos along the way. A few of them are shown below. We also crossed several large rivers. Amid the gorgeous scenery some of the forested areas showed the ravages of fire and/or disease. Fortunately, most of the forests looked pretty healthy and green.

Along the way we stopped at Liard Springs, a tourist favorite for swimming/bathing in the hot springs there. Dave and I passed up a dip in the hot springs and went on a hike slightly beyond the springs to hanging gardens that had grown over an area of naturally terraced rock. It was a lovely hike, especially for folks who are interested in the local flora … and fauna, too. One small squirrel simply refused to let us bother him as he munched on the pile of seeds before him! We just eased past and left him to his brunch. 😉

After we all arrived at our campground in Watson Lake, we had a drivers’ meeting followed by a brief worship service. Both were held in a large tent (?) set up beside the campground office building at our request. The campground doesn’t have a meeting room and it had rained off and on for most of the afternoon; thus, we happily used the tent. It proved to be close quarters but served our needs quite well. Afterward, a group of Motorcaders, including Dave, posted a sign in Watson Lake’s nearby Sign Forest, listing all of our names and “Motorcade 2014.” Everyone who wants to can hang a sign there representing them or where they’re from. Given the miserable weather, I stayed back at the coach, but he indicated that all who went had a grand time.

Today was a special day, too, because it’s Logan’s 8^th birthday! We called him to wish him a happy birthday and found him with his whole family in Florida, vacationing! Got to talk to Brian for a few minutes, too, which we enjoyed.

Tomorrow, our group goes on to Whitehorse, YT. We’ll stay there for 2 or 3 days, so Dave and I are looking forward to less rigorous driving demands while we’re there.