Had my normal breakfast. Went outside to fix the Protect-A-Tow because the repairs I made on September 17, 2009 didn't hold up — the tie-wrap loops for the clasp to hold it to the Jeep had failed. I rethreaded the bungy cord so that the break was in the middle of one of the sides so that the clasp could attach to the bungy cord as designed. We prepped the RV to move. When we were ready to pull up to the fuel pumps, there was a hose draped across the lanes by the fuel pumps and the lanes were blocked. :( We waited. I pulled the RV, which was towing the Jeep, up as far as I could because I thought we could fuel, and we could. :) Filled up on the $1.149/l gas which is supposed to be cheaper than in Watson Lake. We waited for the hose that was draped across the fueling lanes to be put away. We left at 9:40 and continued continued heading east/south on the Alaska Highway.

We stopped at 10:25 to photograph two male wood bison at the edge of the road cut. They were extremely cooperative, and we were able to get lots of good images (far left). We left at 11:18.

We stopped at 11:52 to photograph a herd of twenty or so wood bison by the side of the road. We were particularly interested in photographing the youngest calf. It's body was still light brown, whereas the other calves were now completely black and also larger. The little guy (near left) reminds me of Donkey from Shrek with his line of teeth showing as he was stripping leaves off this bush. As I was finishing up, a woman driving by slowed and yelled out the window, "Be careful. They can kill you." I always appreciate wildlife experts giving me advice. :) We left at 12:25.
The Liard Hot Springs Lodge was closed which wasn't good because we had been planning to go there for lunch. :(

We arrived at the Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park at 12:55. We had lunch in the RV, then changed into our swimsuites. We walked along a nice boardwalk from the parking area out to the springs which range from 108°F (42°C) to 126°F (52°C). We entered the springs in the warmer area, and the temperature was quite pleasant. I was quite pleased that the bottom of the shallow pool (about 4 ft, 1.2m, deep) was covered with small round pebbles. After we got too warm, we moved downstream to where it was cooler. We talked with the family of a 12-year-old boy with Dystonia who were soaking in the hot springs. J's mother had ALS for 23 years, beginning when J was 11, and J has a special sensitivity for people with similar diseases. The family lives in Alaska, and the mother was quite unhappy with the medical care they've been getting there. In fact, they were on their way to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to have three different surgeries performed on their son. Later, a young, fit woman came into the hot springs. I felt really sorry for her because she was too poor to afford a top for her bikini. :)

We returned to the RV and took showers. I also edited some images before we left at 5:09 and continued heading east/south on the Alaska Highway.

We went by some really nice hills with fall color. The color was still increasing, and was nowhere near peak like it was on the Glenn Highway through Alaska a few days ago.

We reached our favorite boondocking spot west of Muncho Lake Provincial Park at 5:33. I unhooked the Jeep so we could back the RV into place, and the Jeep wouldn't start. :( That happens occasionally after we tow it for days on end because the US Gear Universal Break System causes the brakes in the Jeep, and the brake lights, to cycle when the RV is not running. I usually unplug the Jeep from the RV if it's doing it a lot, but I had only unplugged the Jeep on two of the last four nights, and the Jeep was started on one of those days just briefly — not enough to charge the battery back up. :( I backed the RV around the Jeep to a good parking space. We started to set up camp, and the slide wouldn't go out. :( It was at that exact spot where the slide wouldn't go in on July 14, 2009. The batteries had a good charge now, so there must be some other problem — I suspect water in the control circuitry or the position sensor(s).

I made dinner of Bertolli Italian Sausage & Rigatoni with Texas Toast. While J was doing the dishes, I went out to the Jeep and washed the windows because they get filthy after a long tow. Then I used a Husky emergency jumper battery to start up the Jeep. We left at 6:46 in the Jeep.

We headed into Muncho Lake Provincial Park to look for wildlife — in particular, stone sheep. The light level was really low, so we turned around after going far enough to charge up the Jeep battery.

We returned to the RV around 7:20. I downloaded images from today and edited them. Then I cleaned up some files on my MacBook Pro to get more free disk space.