Watson Lake July 15-16

 Another short drive today, again very little traffic. At one stretch, we went over twenty minuets between cars. I think we missed summer up here, was 7c when we left and I don't think it got over 16c in the afternoon. today is even worse, maybe got to 11c. 

We are now in the Yukon.

Leaving B.C. behind for now.
We are in a full service parking lot, er RV park. At least the cell is good here. 

We set up then went to explore the town. Another nice little town, has everything you need. We ended up at the visitor center, did we ever get a lot of info from a very nice lady. She certainly seems to have the right job. While driving around we spotted a Chinese Food place, time for a late lunch, supper. It was a nice place and the food was pretty good as well. Prices were good and there was tons of food. It was called the New Nugget Cafe, lots of things called Nugget around here.

Today Fri. we took a drive up the Robert Campbell Hwy. Not much to see here unless you like trees, miles and miles of them. After about thirty km. we turned around and headed back.

There is an interesting airport here, we had to pass by, so we made a stop. It was built on a peninsula and each end you fly over water. It was built during the second world war to assist in the war effort. There is an interesting story of a bomber that crashed short and ended up in the lake. Most of the crew survived. It seems that they got fueled up by an old tank that had rotten hoses. Chunks of rubber from the hose made it into the planes fuel tank and decided to plug the engine supply lines on approach to land. Both right engines quit, the pilot did his best but it crashed into the lake. Freezing cold and winter, it is a wonder that the survivors of the crash didn't die from hypothermia. 

You can find more info on this here

https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/national-inventory-canadian-memorials/details/2269

A couple pictures from the airport.



Next was a visit to the Sign Post Forest. I borrowed this from the internet.

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 Project 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. In 1990, a couple from Ohio added the 10,000th sign in the Signpost Forest. Today, there are over 77,000 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. Bring along a sign to add to the forest, or make one at the Visitor Information Centre.

While you’re there, you’ll also come across pieces of equipment that were used during the construction of the Alaska Highway. A time capsule and cairn was placed at the Sign Post Forest in 1992. It will be opened again in 2042.

Eager to learn more? The Alaska Highway Interpretive Centre, located close to the Sign Post Forest, interprets the rich history of the Alaska Highway through photos, murals, audio-visual material, and dioramas. It also provides important information about the Yukon to northbound travelers.




Off to somewhere around Teslin tomorrow.



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