7/4/19 - Day 6 - Moose, Lynx, and Bears, Oh My!

After a drizzly evening we woke up to low clouds. So low that we couldn't even see the hill across from us, let alone the mountain with the waterfall behind that! However, after breaking camp we stopped in a turnout to watch for animals and drink our morning coffee. An hour later and the sun broke through the clouds. As we drove back down the valley, we were able to see the Bear Glacier
Note the gushing water coming out of the
left side of the terminus!
again. This time though with the bright blue sky and sunshine, we could see they typical glacial blue color at the terminus and the crevasses.  This was such a gorgeous drive.

Then we got back onto the Cassiar Highway which totally lived up to its reputation for wildlife viewing today! Not long after getting back onto Highway 37  I saw a black bear run off through a small grassy glade to our right. Then, maybe 15 minutes later, both of us saw a black bear standing on the right embankment looking at the road. About 15 minutes more, a cow moose walked across
the road in front of us. Then as if to ensure that we got a picture of it, the moose walked back across the road, turned to look at us, and then dove headlong off the road. A bit after lunch, I told Pat to look in the mirrors at the beautiful  mountains behind us, just as a black bear climbed up to the road with a piece of grass in its mouth. Boy, I got in trouble for that diversion! If those sightings weren't enough, close to the town of Ipsuk, another black bear was slowly meandering his way along the ditch to our left.  That was followed by Pat seeing a black blurr run across the road. He didn't think it ran like a bear... a coyote or wolf maybe? However, the most thrilling sighting today came after we set up camp along Deese Lake.  While sitting with a raspberry iced tea along the lake shore, we spotted a beige animal walking along  a nearby bank just across a small bay. At first we thought it was a brown bear, nope. Then we thought it was a dog, nope! By then the camera was out and zoomed in. A cougar?
Nope, there was no long tail. It was a lynx! It just kept padding along the bank, disappearing behind brush and then reappearing further along the shore. We've never seen one outside of Northwest Trek before!  Today's adventures will be hard to top. However, we will give it a go!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 1 – Searching for Some Sunshine

Image
We headed south from Olympia, driving through gloomy rain showers until we were well east of Portland, Oregon. Our destination? The Total Eclipse of the sun in Texas, which will occur on April 8th. That will give us about 9 days to travel the 3,000+ miles. I always forget the interesting geology that is exposed in the Columbia River gorge. The varying shapes of the basalt columns kept my interest for miles on end. Especially this time of year, spring, there were many waterfalls spraying the cliffs, and Multnomah Falls was roaring! Our first night was spent at a Harvest Host location in Echo, Oregon. The host was Echo Ridge Cellars. They have a nice flat gravel lot for Harvest Host guests.   The wines sold are pressed from their vineyard which is about 3 miles away. The building itself is my favorite part. They have restored and updated an old grain elevator. The inside of the elevator was left exposed so visitors can see the construction. It is very solid 2x6 boards stacked flat, rat
Read more

Day 9 – Side Trip to the Border

Image
With an extra day before our reservation at Lake Brownwood State Park for the eclipse, we debated where to go. Pat suggested a side trip down to Del Rio and/or Eagle Pass at the US-Mexican border which had been in the news of late. After looking over our maps, we decided to just go take a look at it. (Our apologies, this blog is longer than our normal ones, but it was a very interesting excursion) We drove down Hwy 277 through relatively flat terrain. There was scrub brush and cactus for miles and miles. When news reporters talk about illegal immigrants disappearing into the brush, we could easily see how that could be. Someone could be just feet away from the edge of the road and not be seen. The two-lane road was a good road with regular passing lanes. The further south we went the sparser the traffic became. It was kind of eerie and we wondered at times if we should be heading down there.   “Was this really a good idea?” However, curiosity kept us going. About thirty miles fro
Read more

Day Two – Diamonds and Daydreams

Image
We found our next camp along the shore of Diamond Lake with the towering Mt. Thielson keeping watch over us. A cloudy first day gave us some rainbows and puffy pink clouds. It seemed to us that the mountain looked an awful lot like the mountain that The Grinch lives in, so we kept watch for him. This was a great campground and our site was right on the lake. During the day, we had frequent visitors in the form of gray jays, squirrels, ducks, and geese. Later that night, the sparks from our campfire flew away into the black night and brought back with them a brilliant sunrise. As the sun rose behind Mt. Thielson, first there was a glimmer, then there was a silvery rim, and finally the sun rose, a white diamond above the black mountain.  The suns rays spread more diamonds across the lake surface.  What a beautiful way to start our day.
Read more