Hay River Northwest Territory to Fort Smith Northwest Territory 183 miles
Skies are once again very cloudy but no rain. Rob loaded the car while Connie brushed the dead bees out of the radiator grill. There were lots of bees. The car took some coaxing to get started but it finally started. We decided to drive a little around town and perhaps out to the Great Slave Lake. A guy stopped us asking for money for a good cause which was to buy him something. On out to the river past some pretty tough houses. A couple were cover in plastic to keep out the weather. We got to the lake but once again it’s hidden by trees. We did finally come to a small opening. The lake is very large. The opposite shoreline can’t be seen. Time to get going because we have a long day planned. We filled up once more with gas because no gas is available for 170 miles. That is right on the edge of what we can do. Patches of previous forest fires are along the road. Trees have started back but they are still short. The road has its usual rough spots so you must stay alert. Part of the trip was through the Wood Buffalo Preserve. We could see past and current buffalo manure. Finally we came to a small herd laying along side the road. They were in the shade which made them difficult to see. Shortly after we left the preserve we saw a lone male buffalo laying on a small hill. Traffic is light. Not much going on to see. We got to Fort Smith where we planned to fuel. We had a terrible time finding any gas pumps. When we did you needed a special card. A lady did come out of a nearby building offering help. She returned to the office and got a card so we could use the pumps. When Rob went into pay he learned that you can only go south in the winter when the water freezes over. The only way to go south is to return to Hay River and then retrace about the last three days. Rob was not happy about that. He wanted to stay in Fort Smith tonight and tackle the return tomorrow. Only problem is that all the hotels, campgrounds and B and Bs are booked full because of construction and a paddle fest. The suggestion was to check with the visitors center. In the mean time a newspaper journalist stopped and wanted to do a story. We must be one of the most interesting events in town. We will be in Monday’s edition. Numerous people stopped to photograph the car. Rob noticed we had lots of dragon flys stuck to the radiator grill. Not surprising since we had driven through thousands of them for a ways. We finally got away enough from the crowd to cancel our reservations for the next two nights. Won’t be going to either of those places. Next stop Visitors Center. A young lady who works for CBC broadcasting company offered us the granny apartment where she lives. She will stay with a friend. We followed her to a very small apartment. She suggested we go have dinner while she cleaned up. So we went to Anna’s Home Cooking where we had pizza. I think we met the other half of town. This evening the mosquitos moved in for something other than pizza. The bug spray helps but some of them are VERY hungry.
Spoffords Travel 