On the 5th day from Alabama I arrived at Dawson Creek, and the official start of the Alaska Highway. I received a respite from the snowy weather and enjoyed stopping and taking it all in as I drove along that late afternoon. I took a side trip on the Old Alaska Highway and visited the historic Kiskatinaw Bridge, which crosses the Peace River, and was the first curved bridge to be engineered in Canada. .....Pretty soon I was under the spell of the Yukon, while still in British Columbia, the long days beckoning me to drive on. This photo was made just before 8pm. I continued until just shy of Fort Nelson.I awoke early the next morning, having bivvied in a pullout, made some coffee on my camp stove and started into Easter Sunday. I had no idea what a magical morning it would be. I felt as though I was given gifts in all the animals I was allowed to fellowship with that morning.I’d heard the bears were still in hybernation, but low and behold in the still-early dawn I spotted a black bear still in a bit of a stupor from the long winter sleep. I let her be and moved on. There were a few icy patches on the road, but the day held much promise. I was blessed with a sighting of Stone Sheep, a fairly rare sighting in these parts according to the locals. Soon after that sighting I saw my first caribou! It’s known as a caribou when it’s wild, and a reindeer when it’s domesticated. As I dropped down and across the Toad River the clouds were beginning to thicken in the sky. I was fortunate to be there at a time when the rivers had thawed just enough to show their turquoise color. .By the time I’d reached Toad River, the snow was coming down in earnest. There were patches of road that were totally white and I wondered what the rest of the day would hold. I drove up the road to Muncho Lake and checked the weather report. There was a time or two when I remembered some kids on an Outward Bound course singing, “Jesus take the wheel,” when things were challenging. I probably sang that phrase a time or two that day. I’d hoped to soak in the hotspring at Liard, but it wasn’t to be this trip, a big storm was said to be moving in and I wanted to stay ahead of it. I did like this old home I ran across in Liard. This day would also provide my first sighting of wood bison, a bison that lives in the mountainous regions of Alaska. My blessings kept up until they were in a heap. The scenes along the Liard River were breathtaking. .I’d say soon, but it took a good few hours of driving that day to finally reach the Yukon, a place that’s long held a nearly mythic place in my mind.  A beaver dam (below)After years of reading Robert Service, here I was, crossing for the first time ever into the Yukon Territory.