07/17 Lady Luck was on my side today. After having a delicious bison burger, fries, bumbleberry pie and ice cream plus 2 cold beers at Donna’s Cafe in Coal River I hit the road with the intention of finding a good place to camp for the night. At mile 50 for the day and 10 miles beyond Coal River, I spotted a gravel road leading down to the Liard River. A couple hundred yards down this road was another little road that led to a clearing. It’s well hidden from the main road, flat, not too close to the river (bears) and it has plenty of mushrooms to eat (just kidding). I didn’t see any signs of bears but I’ll be hanging my food up. Finding this place also saved me from having to climb up a big hill which I’ll get to tackle in the morning.
Within a minute after leaving the CG this morning I saw 3 bison at the side of the road. No pictures of these ones because they were back at the tree line so the pictures would have been really dark. I didn’t have to wait long to see more though. The picture of the 2 standing on the shoulder of the road was a fun encounter. On my right was a steep hill and on the left a concrete barrier. On the other side of the barrier was a cliff that dropped down to the river. I just climbed a hill and was going around a curve when I saw the 2 of them walking on the shoulder toward me. Well I stopped pretty quick, took a couple pictures and turned right around. They just kept right on coming. A second later an 18-wheeler came by and didn’t move over at all or even slow down. That motivated them to move off the road and I rode by. That’s when an other rider came along who I’d passed earlier. He made it by without a problem.
The other rider is from Germany and he’s the older guy I think I mentioned already. His English isn’t very strong but he seems like a nice enough guy. He’s on his way up to Fairbanks too. He’s walking up all the hills so I usually just see him an hour or so after I hit the road and then at the end of the day if we happen to be staying at the same CG. He stayed in Coal River tonight so I don’t think I’ll run into him again. It was funny at the cafe… he came in right when I was getting ready to leave and walked back into the kitchen area. The owner was cool about it and told him he wasn’t supposed to be back there. I should mention how nice Donna, the owner of the cafe in Coal River is. She let me have a bottle of milk that they don’t even sell (I needed it for dried pasta stuff I have) and she sold me half a load of bread so I’d have something to eat my Saskatoon berry jam on.
Speaking of 18-wheelers, how freaking messed up the head do you have to be to pee in a plastic bottle, put the cap back on it and then toss it out the window so everyone moving less than 60 mph has to look at it? Twice today I got to see a bottle like that laying at the side of road. At least take the cap off! I read about this in Florida before I left and thought it must just be a Florida thing. I guess it’s just a wherever there are idiots thing.
Tires holding out OK and my foot is looking better. Tomorrow will be a big day. I’ll be in the Yukon! 
Update: The mosquitos here are insane! I really need to find something small and lightweight that I can use to cook/eat in. Maybe one of the stores in Watson Lake will have something. I’m so glad I brought my head cover netting. That helped but I had to keep lifting it up to eat.
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Get a net, catch enough mosquitoes, and you could have fly patties!
Gross.
The best part is when they fly in your oatmeal and you can’t find them.
I think those are pancakes disguised as mushrooms.
Maybe you should consider modeling head gear. So how were the mushrooms? LOL
I think I look like a serial killer in that picture.
You must have done a good job at deterging that wound since your foot is better.
I’m kind of surprised how fast it healed. It’s completely better today. Must be that refreshing mountain air.
Hi there. I live in Toad River, BC, and I have to say right now, you and all the other bikers who do this ride must be really hardened, because with the terrain and the weather, you’d have to be! Bravo!!!! It’s awesome to read your posts and see which part of the area you made it to each day. And your right with the bottle thing. My community does a cleanup day in Toad, and each year we find countless bottles with you know what in them. It’s utterly disgusting. People are pigs…. Bravo on your trip!
Hey Dave. Thanks for the support. Riding up in that section of Canada was one of my favorite memories. Thanks a million for volunteering your time to help keep the roads clean. I wish more people cared about how their communities looked as much as you guys do.