Alaska–Day 35

We are really enjoying Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park.  We didn’t know what to expect.  Sometime parks that are centered around something like the hot springs have nothing but a parking lot for RVs.  But we discovered when we choose our site, we are nearly in heaven.  No tin city here.  the nearest RV isn’t within reach of our slide or front door.  Just look at this space.

Within 20 minutes, a group with 20 or more teenagers moved into several sites across the road.  Oh oh.  But everything was fine.  There are from Alaska and I learned they are going to a “summit” in Missouri.  Wonder if they aren’t a church group.  We have never seen a quieter, more well-behaved group of high school students.  Wow.  They were gone before 7:30 this morning (quietly).

We walked around the camping loop and encountered a couple we had volunteered with more than three years ago in Arizona—Jim and Sandy.  We knew they were going to Alaska this summer and I saw on Facebook they had just been to Mile 0 in Dawson Creek.  It is really a small world.

We haven’t dry camped or boondocked for ages.  On our way here, we stopped for water at Toad River, where we bought fuel (at $1.699 a litre or $6.43 a gallon!).  We paid $3 for about 20 gallons—I think.  There is a small RV park there that had beautiful sites backed up to the river.  It would be worth staying there.

When we got set up with the RV, we tried to turn on water.  Mainly, we got air.  We worked and worked, saving the small amounts that came out of the faucets.  No luck obtaining running water.  What we have is a very luxurious tent with no water.  Here is our water supply.

This park exists because of the hot springs.  We had read about in blogs by other RVers, so we decided to stop here for a day or two.  When we saw the beautiful sites, we decided to stay for three nights. This morning John went for a run, I walked about 3 miles.  Part of the walk took me to the hot springs.  It was cool enough, steam was rising off the water.

A boardwalk leads to the pool.

The greenery nearby is lovely.

The boardwalk also crosses a boggy area.

Later, John and I went to the hot springs pool.  What a great way to relax.

When we were finally warm enough (one pool is really warm, like a hot tub), we dried off and climbed up to the Hanging Gardens above the pool. The water cascades down a hill, building tufa and encouraging interesting plants.

This is a great place to spend a day or two on the trip to Alaska.  Almost all campers come just for one night, some to enjoy the hot springs, some just seeking a place to sleep over night.  Of 53 sites, I believe only four or five of us are staying more than one night.