Hay River Northwest Territory to High Level Alberta 197 miles
Day 2 of our back tracking. The skies are mostly clear and the temperature is cool. The woodie was reluctant to start again this morning. Down the road to the gas station we have been using every time in Hay River. We didn’t have to put in much so the cashier was concerned something was wrong with the pump. She indicated at least two stations with gas before High Level. We are somewhat concerned because this was the stretch where we ran out of gas. We are still in the Wood Bison National Park but we didn’t see any bison today. We did see two cranes (the birds) in the barrow pit. We came to the 60th parallel which is the border between Northwest Territory and Alberta. We stopped for lunch at one of the pull outs. All they have is a few places to park and trash barrels. Restrooms are at a premium. At one point we saw a dark animal cross the road. It was too far in front of us to determine for sure what it was. Later we learned it might have been a wolverine. We stopped twice for gas fill ups so we would not run out this time. Lots of bees, dragonflies and mosquitos again today. We arrived in High Level a little after 2 pm. Plenty of time to do the errands we wanted to do. We checked into our hotel and dropped off luggage. Our room actually has a fake fireplace. It probably helps keep you warm when the outside temperature gets to -40F. Might feel really good in the winter. Then off to the Visitors Center for some information. The young man there was very helpful on where gas stations might be on our proposed route. The local museum is in the same building so we looked at that. Very well done. They had several different furs on display. One was a fisher. Well we had never heard of that animal. Learned that it is a member of the same family as a weasel. They are only found in Canada. The museum also had shelves set up as if it was a Hudson Bay Company Trading Post. They had lots of old cans and jars of goods. Most interesting. Then we are off to the bank to get some cash. The first bank had the doors locked. While preparing to leave a man came up asking for money to purchase alcohol for himself and his friends. We declined. In the next block was another bank. While stopped for that one couple in a classic era Cadillac stopped. He was super friendly. Offered his help with tools and/or labor. Next stop the grocery store. Another really nice place. A sign on the door said that August 1 is a Civic Holiday. Wonder how that will affect businesses. When we got back Connie did the laundry. That cost $3 to wash and $2 to dry. Unfortunately the clothes didn’t all get dry so they had to be hung in the room over night. Rob re-timed the woodie and cleaned bugs out of the radiator.
Spoffords Travel 