Wow...Forty days...I can't believe that I've been gone that long!
I headed out of Watson Lake around 11:00AM bound for the Liard Hot Springs Lodge...about a one hundred and fifty mile trip.
I had called the lodge from Watson Lake to make sure that I had a room reserved...ah, I had no idea what would await me.
A nice drive down through some beautiful mountain areas (saw an Elk...see photo)...arriving at the Lodge around 1:30PM. OK...no "front desk", you check in to your room in the restaurant. The waitress/hostess/desk clerk is very nice...Hi, I'm checking in...Sure, no problem. Forty-five minutes later, I'm still waiting to get checked in because she is unable to maintain the concentration to check me in...Oh, I'll look in the reservation book...oh, you're not there, I'll have to get someone else to help with this...meanwhile, I'll count receipts, look for a key for you (darn, no key!)...check on the kitchen...oh, I'm sorry, you're checking in, aren't you? Pretty soon, a guy comes in to help...hey, I'll put you in a cabin instead of a room...now, if I can just find the key (darn, no key...still). Another person comes to help...and the (now) three of them spend fifteen minutes complaining about how people aren't putting reservations in the reservation book. Wait...I'll get your key...hey...nobody is putting the keys on the right pegs...so...I just wait another fifteen minutes while all of the keys get put on the right pegs...hey, your key isn't here (still!!!)
OK...I'll be honest with you...at this point, I'm worried about the Hot Springs...I'm thinking that all of these people have been bathing in the springs and maybe, just maybe, there's some ADHD-inducing chemical in there...some backwoods "meth lab" guy has dumped chemicals in the river...or...some tanker truck with pharmaceutical waste jackknifed up the highway a few weeks ago...or maybe some alien chemical-filled meteorite has fallen here.
Finally, FINALLY, I get to go to my cabin...dirty...back to the restaurant...Oh, I don't know what's wrong with our cleaning lady..she's taking hours to clean each room (gee really...has she been spending time in the springs!?)...I promise, It'll be clean in an hour...tops. Three hours later, I dump my stuff into the still-dirty cabin and head for the Springs...now VERY wary.
The Springs are wonderful...see photos. Unlike the springs up in Chena, these are right in the "wild", so to speak. They're in a Provincial Park...you pay $5.00, drive to the parking lot, then walk on a wooden boardwalk through the marshes, through the woods...to the springs. The springs feed into a river, so you can go in and decide how hot you want it...closer to the springs (hot) or further away. It's warm, sulphury and very, very relaxing. Still, I'm exercising some caution...doing mental exercises, getting out and doing puzzles...anything to make sure that my concentration is not being affected by the "chemical" that I'm sure is in there. It's OK, I'm not affected...apparently, it requires prolonged exposure.
Relaxed now, I head back to my cabin...somewhat famous for having been used as a set for "Texas Chainsaw Massacre IV". I have a few beers, then head over to the Lodge for dinner...they mess up my order...are you sure you ordered soup?...hey, didn't I see you over at the springs this afternoon?...then have my worst meal of the trip...gristly burger, stale bun, greasy and cold French fries...I'll definitely need more beer! I'm reading "Kitchen Confidential" by Anthony Bourdain (my hero) by the light of a single bulb hanging down from the center of my cabin...I'm tired...I go to sleep...not very well.
2 comments:
WOW! what a wretched experience. I can see frustration mounting from here.
Needless to say your not recommending that place.
Sorry you weren't a happy camper brother.
Miss ya, YOU have been gone a lifetime!
You poor thing...maybe a tent would have been better. Like Terri said...Miss you!
Post a Comment