Day 31, Aug. 2

 

We decided that we would stay another night here in Strawberry Flats. It was too cold this morning to launch the canoe, so we decided to go to the Hot Springs at Liard. 

The first 10 km or so, the road followed the edge of Muncho Lake curving along the steep mountainside. At around 45 km from the campground we came upon a lonely bison walking along the edge of the road. A few kilometres further, there was a herd of about 25 bison lying in a field at the edge of the road. 

Liard Hot Spring Provincial Park is likely the only provincial park that is surrounded by electric fence to keep the moose and bears out. Moose in particular like the warm salty environment surrounding the hot springs. There is a boardwalk that extends .6 km to the hot springs. There are washrooms and change rooms there. The temperature ranges from “I can’t handle this for more than 5 minutes” to “I could soak in this all day”. 

The “pool” has a pebbly bottom but I still wished that I had brought my water shoes. There are benches along one wall and a couple in the middle of the pool. We spent a very pleasant hour and a half soaking and chatting with fellow travellers. 

On the drive back we got close to a mama bison and her calf as well as several groups of Stone Sheep. 

The rains rolled in again this afternoon along with a brief thunderstorm. We are getting really good at afternoon naps!

The choice spots along the water were all filled by noon today and by supper time there was only one site left of 15. This is a popular stop for good reason. 

We took the drone out this evening to get some footage. We didn’t have fantastic luck trying it out at home (Addi said don’t let Grandpa fly the drone). We got a funny disconnect message when we took it over 18 m, so kept it fairly low and got some interesting video. We need to learn more.