The Adventures of Andrew Maurer

We woke up at 7:30, 30 minutes later than normal because of the hour time change. We had a very efficient morning, taking only an hour from wake up to depart instead of the 2 hours we normally take.

It was 30 minutes to Whitehorse, where we are now. We went through photos, and updated the blog. We’ll now head to Superstore for blueberry muffins and then head the 646km to Liard Hot Springs. We’re sincerely hoping that it will be open when we arrive. It’s 11:30am now. Off we go!

Update:

The blueberry muffins were most tasty! We left Whitehorse, and found ourselves being stopped at a police checkpoint just before Watson Lake. They said that they were searching all vehicles and checking driver’s licenses, insurance, and registration. It was a bit of an effort searching through all the repair documents in the car pouch, but we eventually found the insurance. We couldn’t find the registration, but the officer was nice and let us go.

Signpost Forest at Watson Lake

It was a straight drive to Liard Hotsprings during which we encountered much wildlife – black bears and buffalo primarily.

A baby and grown up buffalo grazing beside the highway

When we arrived at Liard Hot Springs around 6pm the lady told us that it would be $10 for day passes for the both of us or $21 for camping which would include the hot springs. We decided to make it our first day paying for accommodation of the trip. She then told us that she only accepted cash, but we only had $10.50 CAD and $2.00 USD. We went across the street, but the rude lady of the restaurant exclaimed that she was not a bank and that we would have to purchase at least $10 worth of product. We didn’t. On going back to the Park entrance, the lady took pity and gave us the “senior’s rate”, which just so happened to be $10.50 CAD. We were most happy.

We put up camp for the first time in the rain in record time. We then drove off to the day use lot and had dinner under sheltered picnic tables. We followed the boardwalk 10 minutes to Alpha Pool, the main pool at the hot springs now since Beta Pool is permanently closed to protect the rare species of snail population.

The Hot Springs were amazing. Katie and I were the only ones in the pool for a good portion of time. The pool is mostly natural, with some wooden benches around the edges, a waterfall, and a staircase to get from one pool to the next. The water gradually went from piping hot to warm the farther away we got from the source. There was a little creek where the water exited, and it was interesting following that for a short distance.

We went to bed feeling refreshed for the following day.