We’ve seen plenty of black bears (and one grizzly) on the side of the road, but today as we drove from Watson Lake to Fort Nelson, this was the first one where I was able to pull over and take a couple photos:

A bit farther on we passed a number of Wood Bison:

Then still further up the road, we had to stop for some Stone Sheep crossing the road:

We had lunch at an overlook at Muncho Lake:

Copper oxides brought down by glaciers into the lake saturate the water and give it a blue-green hue:

Just when we thought we were through with Alaskan megafauna, we passed a caribou running along the road:

We arrived at the town of Fort Nelson, and were told at the visitor center that the IGA grocery store allows overnight parking, so we drove over and set up there for the night.  Since sunset wasn’t until 9:45pm, I went for an evening ride. 

About 20 minutes out of town, I encountered a bear on the road.  I waited for it to cross the road, then spoke to it as I rode by him.  We watched each other as I continued down the road.

Eventually, I reached a bridge over the Fort Nelson River:

On the way back, I passed three more bears, thankfully with a fence between me and them.  The fence had gaps at the bottom, so I didn’t stop to photograph them, hence the blur:

It was a great ride!  See the trip map for today’s drive.