Meziadin Junction--Stopover for Stewart and Hyder

 The drive to Meziadin Lake Provincial Park was not too bad. Once we arrived it was time to set up camp and plan our activities. Meziadin was our base to explore Stewart, British Columbia and Hyder, Alaska.

 Bob and I took a campsite on the lake. Larry and Connie took a site on a ridge overlooking the lake.

 After getting settled we drove around trying to find the fish weir. We found it, but the weir was closed for the night. We did talk to the fish biologist who lives near the weir. Every fish that swims upstream is counted. Once the fish are counted, they are sent on their way to complete their life cycles.  The biologist did tell us to stop at a bridge on our way back to the campground as it is frequented by grizzlies in search of salmon. Low and behold, we heard something in the bushed and then this small grizzly appeared at the stream.

He pretty much ignored us, but kept an eye on us. He ran down to the area away from the bridge and tried to catch a salmon! We think the only thing he caught was a mouthful of water!

 The next day we drove to Stewart. There were several glaciers along the road. And because of the glaciers, there were hundreds of waterfalls.

Stewart is just a small town located on a bay. Hyder is the main draw. The Fish Creek National Forest is located in Hyder. The creek is home to spawning salmon, grizzlies, birds, and wolves. As we drove into the Fish Creek area we saw eagles just perched above the water watching the salmon.

The forest service built a boardwalk to protect the animals from people. It is a good place to watch salmon.....

and birds. We saw plenty of well-fed birds and many dying salmon.

 

I would say it is a good place to watch bears, but once again, we didn't see any!

The weather was damp and cold so we went in search of lunch.Our original plan was to eat at 'The Bus.' Bob and I ate there five years ago and it was the best fish and chips we had in Alaska. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be this time, the owner of 'The Bus' was under the weather so the place was closed. On our way out of Hyder, we asked the Canadian Customs officer where to eat in Stewart. He unofficially told us to dash on in to Dash Bistro. That is what we did and the food was good. Bob even ate 'snappies.' The chef marinates snap pea pods and then grills them as an appetizer. It was definitely different.

After lunch we headed back to Hyder in hopes of seeing bears, but the bears were no-shows once again.

On our way back to our campsites we stopped again at the bridge where we saw the bear. There were salmon, but the bear didn't show his face this time.

After returning, it was time to get in another round of Pegs and Jokers. Connie and I couldn't catch a break this trip and we lost this round, too.