Watson Lake to Whitehorse

When we arrived at Watson Lake yesterday, we passed up the signpost forest, for which Watson Lake is known. We did see it on the way by. Our new friends, the Coffeys, made a sign to post. When I said we hadn't, Mike asked how people would know we passed through Watson Lake. I replied "a trail of credit card slips".

Rather than paint a sign, Ginnie headed off to the laundry as we had exhausted our supply of tidy whities, and it was time to refresh. We stayed at the Downtown RV park (in a gravel parking lot) as the one we were headed to wasn't open. The Downtown had great facilities, clean laundry, clean washrooms (a Canadian term), but it is just a gravel lot although fine for a hit-and-run like we were making. All sites had full hookups. WiFi was marginal from our site.

Chalk up another wet start with moderate rain in the morning. This seems to coincide with outdoor plumbing chores (dumping), but a raincoat and hat kept me dry. While I was playing with the plumbing, Ginnie hoofed it to the adjacent grocery for a few supplies.

Next stop, the Petro Canada station across the way for a $180 fill-up, then off we go. It was the first station where I couldn't pay at the pump, and I was surprised I didn't have to pre-authorize the purchase. I did mentally calculate how many beaver bucks we had in case Mastercard got cranky again. All was good.

Another RV pulled up at the pumps in a class A diesel. He looked over the pump for a card reader. I said that there isn't one, just start pumping. He was incredulous. We chatted a bit about fuel prices, then he said "You didn't come up here to save money, did you?" Good point.







We had light rain and low ceilings, wondering how much spectacular scenery we were missing. After 11:00, the weather cleared and we had lifted spirits and a more scenic ride.












Very low critter count.  Just one something, not moose, not deer, not sheep, not sure.

We are bad at the guess-the-critter.

A common aspect of driving on the Alaska Highway - no one in sight ahead, ...












... and often no one in the rear view mirror, although this shot has one set of lights behind. Traffic!


It may be very different during more typical tourist times. This is May, not July, after all, and many businesses haven't yet opened for 'the season'.

Lunch stop was at an overlook just before crossing the Teslin River.

We got to Whitehorse mid afternoon, checked in at the Hi Country RV Park, then drove into town looking for something to see. Given the time (nearing 4:00), a number of possibilities were closing.


A trolley runs along the river.

Whitehorse's log cabin skyscraper.

We ended up driving back to the Alaska highway to the Beringia Interpretive Center which is dedicated to the land bridge between Siberia and North America during the last ice age. We had an incredible time and learned much about the land bridge, glaciation, and how critters including homo sapiens got here. It was fascinating. Two curators spent a lot of time with us. They kept asking if we had questions, and I said it was information overload. A great find.





We didn't have time for the museum of transportation next door. I did get photos and a video of a DC-3 wind vane!



We capped of the evening with a reading of "The Cremation of Sam McGee" by Robert Service as we sit adjacent to Robert Service Way here in Whitehorse, YT.

We used the rented gas grill more than I expected.

I kept looking around for hungry bears, just in case.












Today's miles ~280, total 3319.