Another Critter day and then Dawson City

Day 31, Saturday, 7/18:

Woke early and left about 6:30 toward Two Moose Lake, 50 kilometers south. Decided to wait and make coffee and have breakfast there. Just as we were pulling into the turnout at Two Moose Lake we spotted a Mama Moose and two calves on the hill just north of the lake. She spotted us too!! Got some pictures and they wandered off. This is a nice spot to watch the ducks on the water and let the mosquitoes swarm around you…. We made coffee and had a bite of breakfast and decided to head on down the road since we figured the Mama and calves were probably all that we were going to see. Just after this spot we saw a black fox on the left side of the road and we watched him (or her) for quite a while pouncing and playing in the tundra. It was quite a sight! About 20 klicks (kilometers in Canadian) down the road we spotted another female moose just off the road grazing in a small pond. Probably the closest we have been to one and we got quite a few pictures! She was a bit nervous but didn’t run off. THEN, on down the road were a Mama fox (red) and her two (black) little ones running down the road right in front of us! They were sure cute and stayed on the road for a long time before disappearing into the bushes. We kept seeing what looked like female pheasant on the sides of the road but determined they are ptarmigan, a tundra-dwelling grouse and they eat willow buds. There is a thick cover of willow along the river. Anyway, it was quite a morning for critter watching! Left the Dempster about 11:00 and arrived here in Dawson City where we are planning to spend several days to clean up. They have an RV wash, laundry, and hook-ups.

After washing the truck/camper/trailer we settled into our spot. We spent some time cleaning inside the camper and trailer (everything was covered in dust). About 5:00 it started to rain and we had a tremendous lightning storm! It’s been a long time since we’ve experienced anything like it and the rain was coming down in buckets. We could hardly hear each other speak inside the camper! That lasted about 45 minutes but it continued to rain for awhile after that. Didn’t get to do laundry today because there were people waiting in line for the machines. Had some dinner and watched a bit of TV.