We did the drive first thing in the morning, almost 200 kms. We stopped a couple of times along the way, once to get gas and a couple of times to see the animals!
We hadn't seen the sun for a couple of days, so it was nice to see a bright blue sky.
Big buffalo!
Buffalo enjoying the morning sunshine.
We stopped at a roadside pulloff and did the short walk down to the rapids on the Liard River...
And then we saw a big bear!
Big black bear!
What are you lookin' at??
We sat and watched him for about five minutes and then he ambled across the road in front of us.
Scenery along the way.
The highway eventually makes it to the border, but it follows the border for a few miles, crossing back and forth five or six times. The official Yukon sign is further up, closer to Watson Lake, but there is one unofficial sign before then...
Sherman, at the first "Welcome to Yukon" sign.
Another buffalo.
Elk - 1
Deer - 2
Black Bear - 7
Moose - 1
Stone Sheep - 10
Caribou - 10
Bison - 22
Porcupine - 1
Fox - 1
Loon - 1
Kevin, at the official Welcome to Yukon sign!
Entering Watson Lake.
We sat outside the tourist info building at Watson Lake and used their free wifi. This is a must stop... helpful people, and a nice little museum detailing the building of the Alaska Highway, as well as a free 18 minute movie to watch.
Ruth, with blog readers Andy and Wendy.
Andy and Wendy from Calgary stopped by to say hello and we had a nice visit with them. They invited us to a campfire in the nearby Yukon territorial park ($12 a night with free firewood).
The Sign Post Forest.
The Sign Post Forest in Watson Lake began in 1942 when a guy from Illinois posted a sign pointing to his home town. The signs were added to over the years, and anything goes as a sign! We even saw a toilet seat being used as a sign... as well as a bra! Lots of people simply stick a licence plate up, but I don't really see the point in that... it's not really a sign, especially if there's nothing written on it.
We decided to leave a piece of Sherman behind. I still had his old licence plates from Ontario, we took one of them and wrote our details on it and nailed it to a post. The visitors center even supplies you with a hammer and nails, and they have paint and supplies if you want to make your own sign!
Kevin, nailing Sherman's old licence plate up.
Our mark at the sign forest.
We drove over to Lucky Lake and went for a short 4.5 km (2.8 mile) hike. Local folklore says that Lucky Lake got its name because a local gal set up a tent there and went into business for herself. The prospector men who visited her spot by the lake were hoping for a change of luck!
From there, we went to the Yukon liquor store and bought some overpriced beer and wine. Not as bad as I was expecting, actually about on par with many other Canadian provinces.
Yukon Chilkoot beer... I like it!
$24.65 CAD ($19.00 USD) for a 12 pack.
The, we went and bought some overpriced groceries. Some items are as much as double what they should cost, but we were expecting as much. Should be a little more reasonable in Whitehorse. We did manage some not bad deals on ground beef and chicken leg back attached, but the yogurt, milk, and eggs were pricey.
Then, we drove over to the Territorial Park, but we couldn't find Andy and Wendy. Perhaps their plans changed. The Yukon Territorial Parks are very reasonably priced, at $12 CAD ($9.50 USD) per night with free firewood. We will for sure be taking advantage of some of these parks over the next two months, but in this case we decided to head over to the airport on the opposite side of the lake where we had read of some great free camping spots.
Yep, this will do!
GPS 60.111597, -128.825334
A loon! Haven't seen a loon in years.
Yesterday's drive, 190 kms (118 miles).
We're going to hang around Watson Lake today and do some exploring, although we might do some driving this afternoon. We'll see. I think we're going to head towards Quiet Lake on the old Canol Road before going to Whitehorse.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And in Canada...
Glad you made it, it seems your wildlife count is up there already! That porcupine spotting might have been the best one, you don't see those all the time :)
ReplyDeleteYes, our wildlife count is doing well but we honestly thought that we might have seen more moose on the drive but so far only the one. We also thought we did well with our porcupine sighting but yesterday evening we talked with an Argentinian couple and they saw 9 porcupines plus 2 lynx! We are going to have to keep our eyes peeled even more looking for wildlife.
DeleteWelcome to the Yukon, looking forward to more of your adventures.
ReplyDeleteWe are also looking forward to what might be in store for us! :-)
DeleteNow you have to add Loon to your wild life count :-) It's so exciting to see animals in the wild and not the zoo. It's too funny but it always seems people don't visit their own state or states nearby. In this case 56 yrs before you visit Yukon.
ReplyDeleteBTW the only state I haven't visited in USA is Vermont. One day I'll return to New England and make sure I visit Vermont. Been to some areas of Mexico and Canada too. There is so much to see and do just in north and south America. You can spend a life time just exploring.
DeleteKevin already had the loon in our wildlife count. It is way better seeing the animals in their natural setting rather than a zoo. After being in Africa, I don't think we would enjoy a zoo anymore unless it was to take our grandchildren to visit one.
DeleteThe Yukon, was never a close place to visit for us, we had been all across Canada but going north would have been a very long trip. This is really the first opportunity that we have had to visit it.
There is so much to see in the world, but we are going to give it our best shot and see as much of it as we can! :-)
Yay! Welcome to the Yukon, so far the reading has been awesome, good luck with the wildlife count.
ReplyDeleteThank you Peter! Glad that you are enjoying our posts. :-)
DeleteYou always get nice spot.... I'm impressed, you'll have to teach me one day 😉
ReplyDeleteYou are coming this way so just follow the cookie crumbs (lol, GPS co-ordinates)! I hope our paths will cross. :-)
DeleteWow oh WOW! Nowhere we have ever been tops the photos you are showcasing on this trip!! We are enjoying this one on our porch in Valle De Juarez. What a treat to follow along!!
ReplyDeleteWe are so glad that you are enjoying this trip with us "virtually". So far it has been an amazing trip and really it has only just begun. :-)
DeleteYour pictures are beautiful and BINGO on the wildlife total!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Connie and Barry! We really are enjoying ourselves. Hopefully we can add more moose to our wildlife count as well as a grizzly bear or two.
DeleteGreat photos . Are all the buffalo's free range or are they kept to a certain area like they try and do at Yellowstone Park . I think everyone is enjoying your trip as much as you are . Keep up the great job and be safe . Vern in Boise
ReplyDeleteThank you Vernon! Yes, all the buffalo/bison are free range, nothing is stopping or restricting their movement.
DeleteWow, you've seen a lot of critters already!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on making to the YUKON!
We sure have and we just want to keep adding to the list. :-)
DeleteToday is the anniversary of D-Day. From the BBC, on the Canadian landing on Juno Beach, Normandy, June 6 1944:
ReplyDelete"Many Canadian soldiers in the Normandy campaign were young and new to battle, but their courage and skill meant they often helped lead the Allied advance against a determined enemy. Canadians soon captured three shoreline positions on D-Day and established themselves near the village of Creully, but this was to be only the beginning of the struggle to liberate France. Savage fighting in Normandy continued and grew even more intense as Canadian forces faced powerful German Panzer tank divisions in the struggle for Caen."
Nice to know that Canada had a big part in D-Day! Thank you for the reminder.
DeleteThat is a Pacific Loon - it has a brownish-grey head whereas the Common Loon has a black head.
ReplyDeleteThank you Elaine for the clearer identification on the loon. :-)
DeleteAbsolutely gorgeous!!! You found a good overnight spot again. Love your contribution to the sign collection.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many beautiful boondocking spots up here, you almost don't even have to look for them.
DeleteKevin was sort of against putting up the license plate as our "sign" but after seeing so many others there and the fact that it was a bit of Sherman being left as a reminder, he caved in. I personally liked the idea. :-)
Beautiful, Beautiful,! Love the pics and the sign collection that's really special!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! Yes, Sign Post Forest is definitely something to see, we didn't realize how big it was going to be or how many signs were going to be there.
DeleteWe will for sure be up that way soon and look forward to reading your sign and knowing we know you both personally. Must be such a thrill be to up there and know another one of your dreams has become a reality. Wonderful pictures and so many interesting sights to be seen. Thank you both for posting your blog and bringing us all along on your wonderful journeys. Looking forward to your next post until then enjoy and be safe!
ReplyDeleteSo glad that you and Rick are enjoying our travels up here in the north. We are totally loving it.
DeleteWe sure hope that you can both make it up here once you get a new to you RV. :-)
We've been busy traveling ourselves (just to NC from FL) so am just getting caught up on your trip and enjoying the travelogue and beautiful photos! It's especially interesting to me because I followed a couple who vlog on Youtube (Chris & G Travels) on 2 trips to and from Alaska and recognize many of the sights in your blog posts, like the hot springs and the sign post forest, from their travels. So even though I've never been on the Alaskan Highway myself, I almost feel like I have.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes for continued smooth travels!
We know what it is like when you are traveling, there isn't always much time so we get it.
DeleteThe hot springs and the Sign Post Forest are common places that the majority of people stop at so we aren't surprised that they would look familiar to you. Looks like they didn't spend much time coming up north on their Alaska tour which is a shame.
Yes, they work in Alaska during the summers (Seward) so sometimes have to make a bit of a beeline to get there. But they've been going for several summers, so I guess they've seen quite a bit of the scenery coming and going over the years. Watching their videos is fun since you see so much of the road -- and you can feel the bumpiness they sometimes encounter on the Alcan, shaking everything in their motorhome. Eeek! Hopefully the road is in better condition this year for you two!
DeleteI figured that they must have been up here before but it sounds like they are back in Colorado already. They were only in Alaska for one week, seems an awful long way to drive for only one week, not to mention the money for gas to get up there and back.
DeleteYup. Nice to relieve those same memories we had at the Watson lake museum. I even bought a souvenir bag of gold nuggets lol. Isn’t Teslin Lake and all the lake views there just gorgeous with those mountains in the backdrop? That Pacific loon photo was a first for me. Thanks for keeping up the blog and pics. Safe travels.
ReplyDeleteThe museum at Watson Lake was great and very informative. You are right Teslin has gorgeous views of the mountains and the lake from just about every angle.
DeleteWow, great trip! Great wildlife sightings:)
ReplyDeleteThanks Chuck and Anneke, it has been a great trip so far. Still haven't seen a grizzly bear yet, really want to add that to our list. :-)
Delete