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December 1 to June 3, 2006
June 4 to 11, 2006
June
12 to 18, 2006 June 19
to 23, 2006
Traveling the Deh Cho.
June 12 to 18, 2006.
June 12, 2006
Left
Sambaa Deh at 8:30
am, on my way for another 90 km of gravel. It was not too bad.
An hour later, I was at Checkpoint (it is the real name of the place)
and
the pavement starts again for another 60 km until Fort Simpson.
But before I get to Fort Simpson, I have to cross the Liard River with
the ferry MV "Lafferty".
There was only me and this truck on the ferry. The water was
very
high. The ferry employee had to put planks, lots of planks to keep
my overhang from rubbing, or should I say, to keep me from "low"
center myself.
In Fort Simpson, I filled up, and I treated myself to a Pizza Pan
from
Pizza Hut. Hummmm! I stopped at the info center. She was
not
the best resource person around.
I checked out the local airline for a flight to Nahanni National Park
and
Virginia falls. I was out of luck. There was no flight schedule
for
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. They suggested
I
check back with them tomorrow as they might have an extra flight or a
cancellation on the other flight.
On the way back, I visited Fort Simpson on
my
bike. With a population of 1200, the village of Fort
Simpson is not very big. The name Fort Simpson in Dene is
"Liidii Kue," which means "The place where the rivers come
together".
In the past, the Native used this area for its
abundance of games and fish.
The North West Co. had a fort here in 1804. Later on, the Hudson Bay had one in 1822.
In 1987, Pope John Paul II came to Fort Simpson.
Back at the campground, I made myself a feast of salmon and potatoes.
After diner, I went to the library to connect to the internet.
Disappointment, it was the only connection to the internet in Fort
Simpson. It has been down for the last 3 weeks.
Oh well!
I came back to the campsite and had a shower. I then worked on my
blog. I am on page 3 already!
Got to bed at around 11 pm.
Useless
information.
By Fort Simpson, 2.5 million gallons of water goes by each second on
the Mackenzie River.
The Mackenzie river carries very little sediments, but the Liard river
contains lots.
In spring, the Liard river "gives" everything she's got to the
Mackenzie. So the
Mackenzie carries about 1.5 million tons of
sediments a day.
In summer, it carries only 220,000 tons a day.
The most the Mackenzie has ever carried, 10.8 million tons in a single
day and that was in 1974,
that
must
hurt the eyes of the fish.
June 13,
2006
Yesterday was a beautiful +25.
I even slept with the windows open.
Lazy morning, coffee, breakfast and reading.
I will wait until 1 pm for a possible flight to Nahanni Park.
At 10 am, I went to all 3 companies to check on a possible flight, no
changes. I tell them I will be at the info center from noon until 1 pm
just in case there is a flight.
A little shopping, 5 minutes and I am done in the only "big" store in
town.
Back
at the campsite, I read the local paper, which covers all of the
NWT. Even the little hamlets next to the North Pole!
At noon, I was at the info
center. I waited!
An employee came and let me know that they can set up a flight for
$1000.00. I said, "no, thank you!".
By 12:30 pm, I was on my way to the Liard Trail, towards B.C.
The crossing of the Liard River was without any problems.
I backtracked for 60 km to Checkpoint where the Liard Trail starts
(or ends).
They
say that "Liard" is a French word for black poplar. I will have
to
check that out when I get home!
The Liard Trail is 390 km
long
from Checkpoint to the B.C. border. The trail was open in
1984
with this description. When dry, it is dusty. When wet, it is
muddy! It was named Liard because of the river it
follows.
Speaking of dust, I complained when it was raining because of the
mud.
Well! Now I am complaining because it was dry and the dust was
getting
everywhere there was a small opening in the motorhome. All my
cupboards on the floor were full of dust, my outside storage was
full of dust!
Chocolate!
I stopped at the Blackstone territorial park at around 3 pm.
I had been on a gravel road since 1:30 pm. It was not so bad. I
could drive at 80 km, even some 90 km stretches. The park had
a
nice info center, for being in the middle of
nowhere. The
campground was small, only 19 sites without power, but they had
showers. I wish we had power because at +32 with no
wind...
All the buildings in the park were built like a
teepee. It gave a certain style...
Before diner, I hiked 2 trails for a total of about 3 km. I could
not get to the Blackstone river because the trail was flooded.
Here is a picture of the Liard River. In the background, on the
left,
you can see the "Nahanni Butte" and the mountain range Nahanni, which
is part of the Mackenzie range.
Back at the campsite, I had a cold beer... Then I took off
on my
bike to go to the Blackstone river by the road, a little ride of 14
km. Back at the campsite, it was a nice +29. I had a few
cold
ones. I finished the evening inside as when you have taken your
shower, the bugs get you in no time.
Oh well!
It is 10:30 pm and +26.