Homebound Down the ALCAN: Yukon and British Columbia

From Whitehorse we continued south and east across the Yukon Territory, then into British Columbia.

Camp near Pine Lake YT (MP 699). A super-wide double ender with toilets

We chased the pot of gold but it eluded us

The Sign Post Forest is Watson Lake’s most famous attraction. Travelers from around the world have been bringing signposts from their hometowns to the Sign Post Forest since 1942 and continue to do so today.  The tradition began during the Alaska Highway construction in 1942, when U.S. soldier Carl K. Lindley spent time in Watson Lake recovering from an injury. A commanding officer asked him to repair and erect the directional signposts, and while completing the job, he added a sign that indicated the direction and mileage to his hometown of Danville, Illinois. Others followed suit, and the trend caught on. Today there are over 83,000 signs in the Forest, and the number grows each year as visitors contribute signs and continue the tradition. The Town of Watson Lake maintains the site, adding more sign posts as they fill up.

We posted our sign

Real estate was at a premium on the posts.  I was tempted to pull an older, less substantial sign down to make room for ours.  Many folks had done just that.  At the bottom of each post were several older signs that had "fallen" off.  However, I was prepared and carried a 3' step ladder and was able to reach high on a post where there was some room.

We even found the sign we posted in 2011

On September 28, 2016 there were 83,886 signs in the forest.  But who's counting.  No really, I mean, who's counting???

Watson Lake signpost forest: sign count by year

After we left Watson Lake we almost immediately crossed into British Columbia.  We had hoped to spend the night at Liard River Hot Springs, but the campground was full when we arrived.  We had met to a lady at Watson Lake who was from Juneau and was traveling to Idaho to watch the solar eclipse.  We ran into her again here at Liard, and she had scored the last campsite.  DANG!

No room at the inn

Flexibility is a virtue, and we made the best of it.  We parked in the day use parking area and hiked to the spring for a dip.

What CAN you do here?

We had dinner at the day use area and went back to the hot spring one more time for a final dip.

Toasty water at Liard River Hot Springs

After our second visit to the spring we left the park and found a nice spot to park just a few miles down the road.  Faithful readers will know we are not strangers to roadside camping

Camp near Liard River YT

At one point we rounded a bend and found ourselves smack in the center of a herd of bison.  This ain't Yellowstone, folks.  They were right there in the middle of a 100 kph (62 mph) highway.  Click HERE to see a video of the bison

Bison on the boulevard

Caribou on the carriageway

We also saw some less conventional wildlife.  We later learned that a nearby outfitter was letting these horses roam freely on the highway.

Horses on the highway

Between a rock and a wet place

When we passed through here in 2011 this place had excellent home made cinnamon buns.  We were looking forward to some more.  DANG!

It's a good thing we didn't need any fuel!

At $1.59 per liter, I certainly would snivel (~$4.79 per gallon US dollars)

Another interesting potty door.  Kinda like a freezer latch

There is a reduced speed zone coming into the Village of Teslin.  We saw this mountie on the side of the road and hit the brakes.  They sure fooled me!

Faux Mountie

A glorious sunset

Flowers at the Fort St. Nelson Visitor Center 

This map gives a good depiction of the length of the Alaska Highway

Normally Mile 0 is at the beginning of one's trek up the Alaska Highway.  We're a little different; we did it backwards.  We came by here only on our way home.

Does anybody really know what time it is?  Does anybody really care?  (Chicago/Robert Lamm 1969)

On this day we had a strong tail wind, which seems to almost never happen. I was getting a little over 10 mpg.  SWEET!

Flags blowing at the Dawson Creek railroad depot museum and visitor center

Departing Dawson Creek we entered Alberta CA and began our long trek across the Canadian plains.


Oh, by the way, news from the good luck department:  I am a long time subscriber to Sirius satellite radio.  I received an email for a sweepstakes offering free tickets to this event.  I entered, and we won two tickets.  The event is in Charlotte on September 15.  It will be tight, but we plan to make it home just in time.