NORTH TO ALASKA - DAYS 10 & 11 - WILDLIFE & TOAD RIVER LODGE

Wait until you see all of the WILDLIFE we saw today!!

After leaving Triple G Hideaway in Fort Nelson, we were treated almost immediately with some wildlife along the road... 

First there was another black bear, similar in size to the one we had seen yesterday. He scampered across and up the hill so fast that I didn't have a chance to take a picture of it. But rest assured, he was there.

We were driving along, admiring all the beautiful scenery as it passed before us. The trees are a little different than what we are used to, the grass looks a little different, and we really have been enjoying good smooth roads.

Imagine our surprise to round a corner and see this big herd of bison hanging out along the side of the road!  They strolled on past and couldn't care less if a car had stopped to look at them or not.

There were about 20 of them in all. It was awesome to see them up close. Of course, we stayed within the safety of our vehicle with the engine running and Steve ready to hit the gas in case one of them decided to charge us. I slid open the window and the screen to take photos out the side by the love seat.

This big huge one seems to be standing between the road and the rest of the herd. Maybe it was the guardian? Checking out for the safety of the herd??

This one really made us laugh. It was stationed in between the two posts of the sign. He was rubbing back and forth and back and forth, itching himself on both sides at once. He "just" fit. He seemed to be really enjoying it and taking care of all his itches until he was well satisfied. I caught it all on video in the link below.

Of course, there were one or two adorable little babies. They look so soft and sweet don't they?

We left them to their business and continue onwards North and West. 

We were told ahead of time about this absolutely wonderful place called Tetsa River Lodge.  

 https://tetsariver.com/

They are known for their absolutely huge and wonderfully tasting cinnamon rolls. We rolled on in and we were happy to see that they were open for the season. I'm not sure if they close for the winter or not, but glad to see that they were there and welcoming our business.

We chatted with the owner for a while. We were the only ones there. It was a delightful place with tasteful decorations and some giftware. Not tacky and not overdone touristy.  The glowing warm wood fireplace in the corner just added to the complete ambiance.

She served our cinnamon roll with a flourish. We especially loved them because there were no raisens in them!!!  We split this one in half for the two of us, and ordered some others to go. This thing was huge! Yes, that is a dinner plate. 

We enjoyed chatting with her and took our extra two sweet rolls to go. These will be for two more mornings for breakfast for us to split with our coffee. They even had a little sticker on top with microwaving instructions to prevent over cooking them.

We are now reaching the Northern Rockies. Yes, there's still snow up on them thar' hills. 

As we reached Summit Lake, it was still frozen but with melting edges. It won't be long and it will be clear.

We were climbing up and the hills were getting steeper. We were meandering in between the mountains when we rounded a corner. Quick as a wink a mama bear with two little tiny babies flashed across and were working their way up the bank. Frantically the little guys were trying to get up and out of the way. The mama, I am sure, was urging them to keep on going. I was not able to capture it with the camera but it came out on our video. I did a still shot from the video stream. It's not the best and it's not sharp. But it makes me chuckle when I think of those two little tiny guys just crawling as fast as they can to get up that steep bank.

I hope Mama told them they did a good job...

We wound our way among the craggy Rocky Mountains. Some areas had guardrails, others did not. I hung on tight. Steve did a great job guiding our motorhome through the passes, and up and down the steep slopes.

Now we came around the corner and found three huge sheep. At first I thought they were called Rocky Mountain Sheep. But later on I found out they are called Stone Sheep? We found these three on the side of the road and we found a safe place to pull off nearby. They kind of walked closer to us. 

This one just looked so majestic...

I was able to zoom in quite well and capture the detail of their magnificent horns.

We decided that our driving was done for the day, and pulled into this nice little RV resort and motel called Toad River Lodge on the Toad River. Somehow something got messed up in translation for the name years ago and it had something to do with towing a boat? 

It should be as in towing: "Towed River". 

Toad River Lodge 

https://toadriverlodge.com/

(Off season rates without water or sewer, electric only) 

$31.50 a night Canadian 

which converts to $22.59 US

They have a sweet little business of multiple little cabins along the river to rent out, as well as a little restaurant inside and gift shop. They even have baked items and things to grab and go if you were just stopping for fuel. 

There are single little back end campsites all around the edge of the river, and about five or six pull through sites in the center of the parking lot for those who don't even want to unhook for the night.

We noticed that most of these places carry fuel, both gas and diesel, and also propane. Many of them also offer dump station or water to fill your tanks. 

Across the road was a little airstrip. We saw multiple little small prop planes come in and leave, as well as two different helicopters. 

The people inside were so nice and put us up in the most beautiful site, I thought, in the entire campground!

Yep, this is the view right out our front windshield! We have a pond with a beaver lodge, and a beautiful mountain, and tall gorgeous pine trees surrounding us.

I can't think of a nicer spot to be parked.

This pond area is part of the river, but is a calm section that's kind of bermed off along the shores of the Toad River Lodge. 

After getting settled into our campsite, we got out and walked around. I did this panorama view from in front of one of the next sites down. We were totally enamored with this place.

Nick kept an eye out for the elusive beavers that came and went from the lodge. Every once in awhile one would rear its head or slap its tail on the water. They are busy working on a little dam on the other side of that gravel berm.

As I was sitting and working on my blog, I looked up out of the front window to see this beautiful trumpeter swan going all hell bent for leather after a Canadian goose!! He chased the goose (who was honking frantically in fear)  down the beach and up the hill, right in front of our camper and then right through the campground! He didn't care what was around, because he had his mind on giving that Canadian goose the what for!!!

After he sorely trounced him, he strutted back to the pond. He seemed very pleased with himself... Just look at that attitude?

 THIS is what he was so fiercely protecting. His mate was sitting on the nest of eggs out on one of the little islands in the pond. 

How wonderful to see his devotion and dedication to protect his mate and the upcoming babies that she is sitting on. 

We walked out on the other side of the pond to not disturb them where they were nesting. Look at the cute little toad structure that was put up along the beach. I bet children get a kick out of these two. Someone left a cute little painted rock.

As the sun was going down, I snapped probably one of my favorite photos of the day....

Then a huge moon arose...

It just couldn't get 

 any better

 than this!

We liked it so much at Toad River Lodge that we decided to even stay a second day. 

But the road ahead beckons us. Standing out in front of Toad River Lodge as we were watching some airplanes take off, we looked up the road to the west. This is what's coming next...

HERE IS THE YOUTUBE THAT GOES ALONG WITH TODAY'S BLOG:

119 miles today

2392 miles so far