We have not had an internet connection for several days so the following covers the last few days of the trip.
Watson Lake
In 1942, during construction of the Alaska Highway, the United States Army Corps of Engineers erected mileage posts at their camps that listed places, distances and directions in the Yukon, other Canadian cities, cities within the United States of America and also other parts of the world. One of these posts was erected at the Wye, the corner of the Alaska Highway and the road to the Watson Lake Airport, where the Sign Post Forest stands today. The original post is the only mileage post of its type to survive from the Alaska Highway construction.
Carl Lindley, a homesick soldier, added his hometown sign to the army signpost and started a time-honored tradition. People from all over the world continue to add their own hometown signs to the Sign Post Forest on a daily basis in the spring, summer and fall. (reprinted from the sign posted at the Mile Post Forest)
Before Abby and I left The Woodlands, we had this sign made for addition to the more than 71,000 signs already posted.
We found a spot to post the sign that is highly visible from the Alaskan Highway going north, just to the right of the entrance sign.
After spending a couple of hours in the “forest” we headed north towards Whitehorse.
It was a gorgeous day with NO rain for the first time in 10 days. The road winds back and forth into British Columbia and back into the Yukon for about a 50 mile stretch. During one swing into B.C. we went down a narrow road towards Swan Lake as we heard the fishing was decent. Unfortunately there was no place to turn around so we had to unhook the jeep, turn around and reattach the jeep.
We reversed course and on the way back to the main road stopped and fished for a few minutes in the lake. Ken was using a Mepps lure and I was fly fishing. Ken caught his first ever Grayling (member of the Char family).
During the drive we did not see one wild animal! Dead or alive.
Back on the road and pulled into the High Country RV park but they didn’t have any spaces. Ken and Debbie went on into town as he had a mechanical problem that needed attention and parked in the Walmart parking lot along with dozens of other RV’s. Abby and I back tracked about 10 miles to Caribou RV park we had seen on the way. Great choice! We set up for the night and we walked to the restaurant that was on site. During the walk to the restaurant I took this picture as we passed the RV dump site.
The owners sentiments are self explanatory.
Turns out the restaurant is a gourmet Swiss restaurant that the locals from Whitehorse go to for a fine dining evening.
We had a wonderful meal along with a great Canadian Cabernet. We met some people that had both lost their spouses a few years ago and had just gotten engaged. They were celebrating her birthday with her kids and fiancé. We also met another couple from New Zealand who were visiting their daughters who work in Whitehorse. A wonderful evening.
We met Ken and Debbie Thursday morning in the Walmart parking lot but their camper was not with them. Wednesday morning Ken had noticed his trailer hitch appeared to be bent. He got it inspected this morning to discover it was severely cracked. The earliest a hitch would arrive was in 10 days so he took his truck to a welding company to attempt to fix it. It took all day to rebuild and several hundred dollars but now is good as new.
During the day I went for a short hike along a nature trail that parallels the main road in downtown Whitehorse. This trail has interpretive signs along the path that describes the local plants and wildlife. At one point on the trail, I noticed a man on a bicycle about 30 yards ahead. He was smoking a cigarette and coughing and hacking loudly. My senses were telling me there was something wrong with this picture. You don’t normally see a biker smoking and coughing like a chimney. He wasn’t moving and appeared to be watching me closely. As I walked closer to him my alarm bells were really clanging so I did an abrupt right turn and climbed up the embankment to the road. When I looked back, he was bending over to retrieve what looked like an 8” filleting knife from the ground. As soon as he picked it up, he departed. It pays to pay attention to your surroundings!
The Walmart in Whitehorse is a lousy store. Abby and I walked down the street to a local grocery store that put the Walmart to shame. We restocked our supplies for our next leg of the journey to Fairbanks, Alaska.
We spent the night in the Walmart parking lot enjoying a bottle of the Canadian wine we had discovered at the Swiss restaurant.
We left for Destruction Bay in the Yukon Territories Friday morning. The road for the next 300 miles is undergoing major reconstruction and speeds are as slow as 20 mph due to dirt and gravel and major frost heaves. In this part of the Yukon the road is built on what is called “perma frost”. It is basically frozen ground that thaws in the spring about 2 feet below the surface and the rest, stays frozen. It creates large ripples in the road that will tear apart an automobile if they are moving too fast.
It was a slow but pleasant drive.
10 miles west of Haines Junction we stopped at the Jarvis River to fish for Grayling. Abby and I had seen this spot 5 years ago and wanted to fish the waters on this trip. Abby caught her first ever Grayling! There would have been a picture of it but Ken accidently dropped the fish before the picture was snapped (both are sticking to the story) so there is NO photographic evidence to validate her claim. Ken caught 4. Don’t ask how many I caught. I’m still fly fishing, but maybe not for long.
We set up camp in a RV park on Kluane Lake. Looks very similar to Mucho Lake but is much larger. Ken cooked the remaining Lake Trout and the fresh Grayling for dinner and we ate overlooking the lake. After dinner Ken and I went fishing but the fish won. This porcupine accompanied us last night while we were fishing.
BACK IN THE USA
We left Destruction Bay this morning.
In a small town a few miles west of Destruction Bay we pulled into a gas station. There were several cars and RV’s refueling. It seems we all reacted the same way to the police car parked by the side of the road as we entered the outpost. It was a fake! It looked real until we got close to it. It was very well done.
We crossed the border into Alaska this afternoon and are staying in Tok for a night or two. The drive was brutal the last 3 hours. We saw a male Grizzly Bear run across the road right in front of us this morning. It happened too quickly to get a picture.
When Abby opened the closet tonight, she found all of the hanging clothes on the floor. The bumpy road had knocked everything off the rods. I’m really glad I fixed the rods in the closet while at Yellowstone.
The RV is covered in thick dust. I thought about washing it this afternoon but after a quick check on the weather, decided to see if mother nature will do it for me tonight.
The Arthurs are headed to Anchorage for some minor medical treatment and will meet us in Denali National Park in 7-10 days.
Tired in Tok
