Day 64

2004_0604Image0002.JPG Inside the Fort Nelson hotel I stayed in 2004_0604Image0003.JPG 2004_0604Image0005.JPG a bison ranch 2004_0604Image0008.JPG the Rockies off in the distance 2004_0604Image0012.JPG This is in someone's ranch; I couldn't tell if these were decoys or actual ducks 2004_0604Image0018.JPG 2004_0604Image0022.JPG 2004_0604Image0023.JPG 2004_0604Image0024.JPG a beaver dam 2004_0604Image0028.JPG a beaver 2004_0604Image0029.JPG 2004_0604Image0030.JPG Summit Lake 2004_0604Image0033.JPG 2004_0604Image0037.JPG 2004_0604Image0042.JPG 2004_0604Image0043.JPG

Day 64 - 6/04/04
Fort Nelson, BC to Stone Mountain Provincial Park, BC
94 miles

The weather was good, but it was a tough day of riding.  I'm heading through the northern end of the Canadian Rockies and consequently had to go through two major passes.  The second one, Summit Lake Pass, is the highest point on the Alaska Highway at 1295 m.  Stopped for lunch at a little cafe at the top of the first pass, on Steamboat mountain.  Between the big towns the typical stop, like this one, has gas pumps, a cafe or small store, and perhaps some RV hookups and/or a few rooms.

The scenery improved and I finally saw some wildlife.  The shots of the mountain goats came out pretty good; not so for the beaver and the eagle (not shown above).  Even with a 10x zoom it's tough to catch the smaller animals.

Ran into a guy named Steve going the other way who was biking from Seward, AK, to Newfoundland.  He was on a tight budget and was doing the trip on an old mountain bike with what looked like about double the amount of stuff I have loaded onto it.  He was camping as much as possible and even had a fishing reel with him that he's used a couple of times to catch dinner.  He looked to be in his late twenties; best of luck to him.

I stopped for the evening at a little place that's actually a few miles past Summit Lake called the Rocky Mountain Lodge.  It has a couple of gas pumps and a couple of rooms for rent.  The rooms are nice but have no phone, and no TV.  They also turn the generator off from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., so no electricity during that time.