The road to Laird Hot Springs was steep and winding. The rain and fog didn't help much. At some points we were fogged in on the high mountain roads.
 







The area around Stone Mountain was littered with huge rocks.
 







Muncho Lake was a beautiful turquoise blue. We should have seen rock sheep in this area but instead we only saw large rocks on the road from landslides.
 






Me, Dot, George, Winnie, Mel, Jill and Art enjoying the Hot Springs.
 






A 1/4 mile walkway over a marsh led back to the hot springs. Lush vegetation grew there including orchids, ferns, and many wildflowers. Moose often come to this area in the mornings to graze on the aquatic plants.
 






The hat collection at the Toad River Lodge.
 






We hosted a cookout at our campsite after our "soak."
 





The campfire did a good job of keeping the mosquitoes away, and it made a nice place to sit and visit.

Day 13
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
On the Road to Laird Hot Springs

We awoke this morning greatly anticipating what was to be the most beautiful scenic drive with tons of wildlife on this portion of the trip. Unfortunately it was raining and a heavy fog blanketed the mountains. In case you didn't know, wildlife is too smart to stand out in the rain. We didn't see anything except one bear as we approached Laird Springs.

Robert, Bet, Jenna and I set out a little early with plans for stopping at the Testa River Lodge and Campground. Word was that they had the best warm buttery cinnamon buns " in the center of the galactic cluster." Now, when I think of a lodge hidden away in the woods, I think of a large log facility with a massive fireplace containing a roaring fire, with animal heads mounted over the mantle, and a beautiful view of the mountains and forest. The Testa River Lodge was a small clapboard shack with a wood burning stove without the burning wood, a moosehead and elk head hanging on the wall and a wolf in the corner, and a beautiful view of the gas pump. However, the cinammon buns lived up to their reputation. I put in $30 worth of diesel at $1.58 a liter while the others went in and ordered cinammon buns. Before I could get parked 8-9 other rigs from our caravan pulled in and came into the "lodge." One lone guy was running the store, making the coffee and baking the cinammon buns. Before everyone had been served he ran out of cinnamon buns. I do think everyone finally did get at least one since those who had purchased 1-2 for the road sold them to those who were shut out. Each day we receive a report of where to buy cinammon buns on our way to the next destination.

The drive would have been beautiful as there were high mountains and lots of raging rivers and streams. We crossed the Rocky Mountains for the 3rd time on this trip. The point of crossing was called "Stone Mountain," and that was an appropriate name. It was 4,250 ft. and the summit of Stone Mountain. From 1/4 the way up the mountain, there was nothing but solid rock as high as you could see. The rain was causing a lot of rock slides and the road was littered with rock as small as a pebble to as large as a basketball or even larger. It was a little scary dodging the rocks and avoiding cars coming from the other direction.

We did stop at the Toad River Lodge (similar to Test River) to view their collection of hats. In stead of having patrons pin a $1 to the ceiling, they have them donate their hat. To date they have 7967 hats pinned to the ceiling. Several members of our group made a donation and received a card telling them what # there were.


We saw our first moose today. He was huge!! We weren't able to get a picture because we just caught a quick glimpse of him as we drove by. We also saw a couple of bears and several buffalo.

We arrived at Laird Hot Springs about 2:30 and after parking the trailer, many of us went to the springs for a much needed soak. Jenna chose not to soak because we had no power; hence, no hairdryer or curling iron. She doesn't know how great it was and what she missed. The spring was 20-25 ft. wide and 100' feet or more long. Steps took you down into the water. One end was very hot - probably about 120 degrees. The center section was a little cooler, and the far end was much cooler - not cold by any means, but like nice warm bathwater.

After my soak we returned to the trailer and I started the charcoal grill. Mel, Dot, Robert, Bet, Bruce and Roni all brought something to cook and I cooked the meat. They also brought veggies, soup, condiments, etc. and we had a nice dinner. The campground manager came by and I asked him where I could get firewood. He said he would bring me a bundle. Shortly he returned with a large plastic tub full of logs and kindling. The grill and the campfire did an excellent job of driving off the mosquitoes. Bruce kept leaving the area and returning with others from our group and before long we had 12-15 people sitting around the campfire. It doesn't get dark here until 11:30 - 12:00, and before we knew it, it was 9:30. We all new we had a travel briefing at 8:00 A.M. so we called it a night, but not before we had a great time visiting, swapping lies, and having a good time.

Tomorrow we drive to Watson Lake in the Yukon. I'll report in about our journey tomorrow. Hope we have sunshine, clear skies and dry weather. Until tomorrow, Happy Trails!!