Liard Hot Springs
British Columbia 
Airstreaming  2006

Arrive:   July 4
Depart:  July 6
Road Conditions:  Very Good
Weather:  Sunny/Cloudy
Miles:  152

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Sunny, warm, not a long drive today, and the brakes are working - pretty good start. Two days have been scheduled for Liard. When planning this adventure I naturally talked to as many former visitors as possible. Art and Carol Hall had visited Liard while on the 2004 Airstream Caravan and loved it. Carol ranks it as one of her favorite places.  I found it quite relaxing and definitely worth the stop. Ted did mention one of the locals ask him  "Why are you all still here, no one stays more than one day.", then he chuckled clearly enjoying the WM jibe.

The drive to Liard rouses a "wilderness" sensation. You know you are on a modern paved road in a hopefully reliable vehicle but you feel alone and sense the distance from civilization. There are no telephone poles, no power lines, just the road, it was beautiful.

This is what you will find in Liard. Liard Springs Provincial Park, Liard Springs Lodge, and Liard Springs. The park offers very nice dry camping and was first come first served, they may offer reservations at this time. The lodge is across the street from the park within walking distance and offers rooms and camping with water and electric, this is where we stayed. The springs are within the park  and lie at the end of a leisurely seven minute walk on a very nice boardwalk. Seeing wildlife from the boardwalk is not unusual and bears are not uncommon. There have been tragic bear encounters in the past, we saw none but Kathleen's moose paid a visit and on her birthday. We celebrated Kathleen's and Ted's birthdays with a fine dinner courtesy of Sarah/Joe and Lois/Ted and we even had a cake.

The only other wildlife we encountered buzzed about, sucked blood, caused itching, and were relentless. The entire area surrounding the springs is the perfect home to zillions of mosquitoes. That's right - zillions. Staying submerged in the hot springs was absolutely necessary, exposing only your itchy lumpy head. Clearly the fact we have armed ourselves with vitamin B1 is meaningless to these skeeters.

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