May 14, 2010 Continued

May 14, 2010 (Cont.)
Northbound along the Cassiar Hwy we spotted our first wolf. He wasn't a real big one, but he looked to be at least eighty pounds with a beautiful coat, very intense visage and an enormous, full, fluffy tail. We didn't try to stop for a photo, as we came up on him quickly and he trotted into the woods as we slowed to look at him.
Fifteen miles further up the road and we saw our first bear! This little guy was on the west shoulder of the highway digging in the grass. When he heard us approaching he looked up from his task and we were able to see him full face, standing on all fours. We slowed to a stop and tried to get a photo, but he headed for the woods before we had the cameras ready. This was a black bear, maybe a year old and two hundred pounds. We would be seeing several more before the day ended.
At the junction of the Cassiar Hwy #37 and Hwy 37A we took our first side trip. Rather than continue Northbound on Hwy #37, we turned west and headed for Stewart, BC and Hyder, AK. Due to the unique shape of Alaska, the eastern tail of the state curves southward along the western edge of British Columbia (BC). This geographical quirk allowed us to enter Alaska long before reaching the official border crossing at Tok, AK on the Yukon/U.S. border, over nine hundred miles to the north. Driving through the valley on 37A we saw half a dozen black bears. We also were able to stop and photograph Bear Glacier, the first glacier either of us had ever seen. The short, sixty mile drive to Stewart was filled with one amazing view after another. Upon reaching Stewart, we found that it was only three miles to Hyder, so we decided to visit the small "town" before making camp along the Bear River for the night.
Hyder, Alaska is straight out of an old black and white movie. It looks like a late 19th century mining town that died, but was then brought back to partial life by a bunch of mountain men. Joe and I figured the only thing we could do in Hyder was get into trouble at the local saloon, so we drove down the dirt road through town, turned around at the general store and headed back into Canada. Another odd thing about this part of the coutry, is that Stewart, BC and Hyder, AK are both on the Pacific Ocean. Having both sailed vast stretches of the Pacific, Joe and I wondered how we had missed this tiny port-of-call during our Navy days.
We drove the three miles, back to the Bear River Camp Ground, made camp, cooked our supper of beans and sausage with black coffee, took a much needed shower and hit the sack. It was 10:30 PM and still light out.