July 1st 2014: What a beautiful sunny day it is amidst this not-yet very warm summer.

My husband Don and I are off to our neighbouring province, B.C. by way of the Haines Road to celebrate Canada Day our particular way.

At Klukshu, we check to see if there are any salmon in the river yet. I walk along the banks, bumping into a big porcupine, we both stop in our tracks. Before each of us goes back the way we came,  I however stay long enough to take some pictures, while the porcupine — who knows. He has his own reasons, first for standing still, then in heading back.

Again on the highway, Don and I spot a black bear swiftly fleeing into the willows.

By a lake right along the road, we stop to watch the swans that always nest there. This year they have three cygnets.

At Million Dollar Falls, a cow moose is feeding in the water. She leaves at a leisurely pace when she notices we are watching her.

On we go, too.

We catch fish on the Yukon side of the Blanchard for our Canada Day feast. Freshly caught fish is so delicious, we never want anything else.

Driving further, yet another black bear keeps us company, feasting for a long time on dandelions. We enjoy waiting to watch her magnificent canine teeth from the safety of our car.

Higher in the mountains, we finally reach our destination, The Three Guardsmen. They literally stand guard close to the border of our beautiful, abundant Canada.

Here, we enjoy the tundra at our leisure.Don makes a fire and cooks our fish, as I wander the open spaces underneath the mountains looking for flowers.

The  shootingstars (Dodecatheon frigidum) are our fireworks. For music, we enjoy birdsong which seems to come from golden-crowned sparrows. And then there are the screaming semipalmated plovers. Walking around more, I seem to be causing a disturbance, scaring a number of them casually nesting on the open gravel.

Driving back, before I fall asleep in the car, like clockwork comes the highlight of the parade. The mighty Grizzly Bear poses for us on the highway, then leaping, crosses away.Woken by a thunder shower, I think, “never mind our summer, Canada Day brought the most beautiful weather yet.”And the parade? As always a grand success!

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