We have had a few days where we found ourselves becoming closely acquainted with the local wildlife.

The bison were plentiful near Muncho Lake. I confess that I have always thought of bison as grassland or prairie animals. Here they live in the woods but wander down to the roadside to graze. This small herd had numerous calves. They were all quite placid when a pickup truck drove by and then pulled over to watch them. Their response to us on our bikes was less accepting. I guess they are fairly accustomed to cars/ trucks but we must have seemed like predators. As we rode up, they began to run and the big bull with them came up on the road to show us his displeasure at our intrusion. Fortunately for us, the friendly couple in the pickup truck slowly drove beside us in front of the big guy to keep us out of harm’s way.

Later we saw an unhappy looking caribou by the roadside that had apparently become separated from her herd. Poor thing…she also was frightened by the two of us on bikes and ran along beside us, spooked, for about half a kilometer until we finally managed to pass by. Later, I was cruising rapidly and had several caribou cross the road, splitting up, with some crossing in front of me and some behind!! Whew, that was close! Colliding with a caribou would not be a good move!

You might find it difficult to even see the mountain goats in this photo. They blend in very well with their rocky surroundings. I was slowly pedaling up this steep climb when I noticed some movement in my peripheral vision and there they were just a few feet away. Jim had cycled right past them because they were so tough to see.

It is so fun to see these animals in their native habitat. Speaking of habitat, on some nights Jim and I have elected to stay in accommodations near the campground rather than camp. As we are still in really remote regions, these accommodations have varied widely from almost scaryto rustic and quaintto lodges with welcoming lounges to get out of the rain.We had pie and coffee at this unique cafe with thousands of caps from visitors on the ceilingAh, the rain is stopping and it time to crawl out of our tent and join the group for meeting and dinner. See you again down the road!