My next destination after leaving Muncho Lake was Liard Springs BC. I had heard about this place from several people I had encountered while traveling. Everyone had glowing reviews for this place.

I have to agree with them. This place was amazing! I love visiting hot springs. Soaking in the hot water feels so good for joints and muscles. Especially these days with all the driving I’ve been doing.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve realized I started driving to Alaska way earlier than most people usually do. Because of this I’ve been able to stay at places without making a reservation. And I’m so early in the year, I’ve been following spring as I travel. This means I’ve managed to be places before the hordes of mosquitos have taken over the landscape. And this proved to be true at Liard Springs. I was able to enjoy being outdoors without worrying about mosquitos or other bugs.

Liard Springs is the first hot spring I’ve ever visited that was kept as the natural river. Every other hot spring I’ve visited had the water piped into pools or hot tubs. It was so relaxing to be out in the natural environment. The only change that was made was to add a short barrier to create a shallow pool for soaking. This allowed the water to flow through the pool and on down the river.

To get to the hot spring, you have to walk about 1/3 mile along a boardwalk through the warm marsh created by the springs. It was so beautiful.

There was also a side trail that took you to the headwaters of the spring. The water is supplied by six different springs that flow in to the river.

When I arrived at the springs, I was blown away by the beauty of the place. Such a peaceful location. And being in the area earlier than most travelers meant the pool wasn’t very crowded.

You can also enter the river below the pool. It was cooler in the lower pool which was nice for when you get too warm in the hot pool. I saw that you could venture down river from this area. I was eager to explore this beautiful place. I followed the river until ended in a natural barrier. There were fish located at this barrier. The fish are a unique variety of Lake Chub that have adapted to the specific conditions of the hot springs.

I took a video of my explorations. You can see the little school of fish in the clear water at the end of the river. You’ll see how peaceful the springs are with the sound of the water and birdsong.

After I left Liard Hot Springs, I got to stop several times to hike to several waterfalls along the highway. The first stop was Smith River Falls. Not as picturesque as most falls I’ve seen. But I always enjoy seeing waterfalls because they are very rare where I come from.

Maddie always has to find a stick to carry around whenever we take a hike. Sometimes her choices of sticks are slim, so she has to carry around a less-than-desirable stick.

Then a few miles further down the road, I saw a sign for Brule Rapids Protected Area. A short hike brought me to an area called Whirlpool Canyon.

Maddie loved this area as she could play along the shoreline. A lot of the rivers run too swiftly and deep for me to feel comfortable letting her venture into the water. This place had a nice cove for her to play.

The third stop was at Rancheria Falls. I loved this place. It had a great boardwalk trail through the woods to a beautiful viewpoint of the falls and river.

Maddie and I had a lot of fun exploring this area. I’ve been so fortunate to have gorgeous weather almost every day. This day was so nice with cool weather and no rain.

After a fun hike along the boardwalk, the view opened up to a beautiful river. I love the dark rock walls along the river. I’ve seen so many gorgeous views on my trip. It’s so fun to wonder what I’m going to see further down the road. I love taking road trips that are so scenic. The miles are much easier to drive when the views keep you entertained.

Then around the next bend of the trail I saw the waterfall. So beautiful!

When I walked further up the trail, I realized the river was split and created two waterfalls. It was difficult to capture, but a panoramic view was able to show how the river split. A second panoramic view shows that great dark rock walls as the banks of the river.

Have I mentioned that I see bears almost every day while I’m driving. Most of the time I’m unable to get a photo. But I came across an older bear that didn’t care at all that I stopped to take some photos. He was too busy enjoying the dandelions along the roadside to be bothered by me. I was thrilled to finally get a decent photo of a black bear.

I also got a great photo of a caribou right next to the road. He wasn’t concerned about being photographed either.

One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced on the Alaska Highway is getting gas. There were a lot of gas stations that were closed. Maybe I was a little too early in the season for them to be open. One time I was really sweating it wondering if I was going to get gas before I ran out. I do keep 10 gallons in gas cans just for this reason. Thankfully I haven’t had to use them yet.

I finally limped into Teslin where the gas station had a long line of RVs waiting to fill up. This town is popular because it’s the home of the Signpost Forest. There is a park dedicated to signs and license plates left by the many travelers of the Alaska Highway since 1942. It was so interesting to walk among the posts and see all the different items left there. After much searching, I was able to find one sign for New Mexico. I wish I had known about this place before starting my trip. I would have loved to leave my own old license plate.

Eventually I started climbing (yes! I’m still climbing!) up towards White Pass. I climbed high enough to be above the timberline. The views opened way up.

The evidence of the gold mining history became more evident. I saw many areas with old cabins and places where the gold had been dug out. I arrived at Summit Lake and there was a large gold mill still standing. I love seeing old historic buildings like this. That had to be challenging to build on that steep hillside. But it made it easy to move the ore downhill to the lakeshore.

The Summit Lake area was so scenic. I loved how the road was right next to the lake. You can see I’m definitely gaining elevation. I was heading for the snowy peaks in the background.

Then I arrived at White Pass. This pass is famous for the scenic railroad out of Skagway, Alaska. When I arrived at White Pass Summit, I was blown away by the stunning beauty of the area. The weather was very cold at 38 degrees with winds blowing 30 mph. The conditions were not good for taking photos. But it was so amazing that I just had to endure the weather and get out there take photos. I bundled up as much as I could, and Maddie and I got out and explored the area for two hours. It was so worth the discomfort to get the beautiful scenes I captured.

Maddie was so excited to see snow. She just ran and played in the patches of snow. I think the strong wind just gave her more excitement!

After a cold but fun two hours at the summit, I drove the last few miles to the Alaska border. It was so exciting to see that sign in front of me. I finally made it!

My next post will be about my time in Skagway and Haines, Alaska. So exciting to have made my goal of driving to Alaska!