Day 32 Watson Lake and decision time again

Sept 12 Watson Lake

Well the northern lights may have seen queer sights, but they didn't see us last night.  We kept warm by the fire til midnight, watched the sky slowly darken and the stars begin to twinkle, but no aurora appeared.  By 12, we were cold and tired and the appeal of our warm bed was greater than the risk of freezing to death outside waiting for celestial enlightenment.

The day dawned cold and clear, and we spent the morning with biologists who are monitoring migratory birds at the campsite.  They deploy fine mesh nets that catch the tiny warblers, then record and band them before release.  The forest here is aspen and spruce with dwarf willow along the lakeshore.  It's busy with birds but they flit between branches too fast for me to identify them.  It's lovely to see these gorgeous wee things close up, and recognize many who are headed, as we are, to the garden on W 14th Avenue.

The biologists also monitor larger birds on the lake, as this is a major migration corridor for thousands of swans, ducks, owls and eagles.  We are midway through the fall migration, but numbers are already dropping.  Ten days ago when the north wind began to blow in earnest, there was a southbound stampede.  They counted 300 raptors passing in one day alone last week.

The north wind continues to blow and it's unseasonably cold, so we beetle down to Watson Lake where we can hook up our electric heater overnight.  Of course when we drop in to the Visitor Info office they can't help but mention how great the show of northern lights were last night at 12:30pm!  I'm beginning to think this is a conspiracy to lure innocent tourists into believing in the aurora!

We'd planned to take our time down the Stewart-Cassiar highway from here.  The campgrounds are beautiful and the lakes just begging to be fished.  But once again, the weather is against us.  The road is quite high, traversing the Cassiar mountains, and snow is in the forecast.  Several of the nicest campsites have closed early this year because of weather.  We try to ignore the dire predictions and snuggle in for a long night of catch up sleep.