Watson Lake to Whitehorse

First thing was to post our sign at the Signpost Forest in Watson Lake.  Steve made a great sign shaped like the State of Utah with our name, where we live & the miles
between the two, & the year.

 I think the building is where it began.

We drove by the little Anglican Church

Then a short hike to Rancherias Falls.

We had a picnic at Morley Lake.

We went to the Teslin Tlinget Museum.  We
didn't have very good timing as an elder had
died & most everyone had gone.  So there weren't. any demonstrations going on.  They
did have some beautiful displays. Notice the totem poles on the far right.

After a long drive of about 6 hours we made it to Whitehorse.

Watson Lake Yukon Territory

Our first stop of the day was at the Liard River Hot Springs.  I had packed bathing suits & watershoes with every intention to
go in the hot springs. But alas,  it was not
meant to be.  There was a cold wind blowing
& the day was overcast & we had been cold for days.  There was a beautiful boardwalk
out to the springs through the Boreal Forest,
& swamp areas.

We stopped for a picnic for lunch, & arrived
in the small town of Watson Lake.  We had
dinner at Kathy's Kitchen, about the only game in town.  We shared a table & had a wonderful visit with a couple from Edmonton.  We went to the Northern Lights
Center, & saw 2 great shows.  One was on the Sun & the other on the Northern Lights.

We came back at 8:30 pm.  The sun looked to
be at about 4pm, hot & bright. We walked over to the Lake but the bugs were swarming, so back to the safety of our little
trailer.

Hopefully we left the rain behind as we head up north!!

Are you being notified when I post a blog??
I have done 6 before now. Can you e mail
me at ldpike52@gmail.com Linda

Some random observations of Canada.
We have had 3 days of sun & 70's now as
We head north.  Even the people in BC,
say it's not usually that wet.  Everything is
so green!!  Good thing I packed sweaters & sweatshirts & lots of levis.

I have not seen a piece of litter on the side of the road.  Canadians & business's are very into recycling & you pay for plastic grocery
bags supplied by the store. They are very environmentally conscious.

Canadians are very kind,courteous, & helpful.  There are many mixed races up here. Many of the First Nation People. There
are many French, people from India, Arab &
Asian. Many dark skinned people but I don't
see much Mexican.  Maybe some of our border crashers should come up here. They
probably would be treated better.

14 days into the trip & we've come up with
ideas for the trailer, how to be organized in a tiny space & how to dance around each other in the little trailer.  Everywhere we go
there are questions, comments & pictures
taken.

Prices in Canada are crazy expensive!!!
We have paid as much as almost $8.00 a
gallon in gas, even though they have oil &
gas exploration up here.  We were told they ship it down to the Coast & then sell it at a higher cost back to the people here.

Restaurants are very expensive here. .Even
McDonald's is over $6.00 for a big Mac & we
paid over $9.00 for a burger at A & W!!


Wal-Mart items are definitely more than home. Their "Superstores" don't have much selection. They also don't have produce or delis or bakeries in some.  And, get this, I have to spend 1.27 to send a postcard to my mom!!!

Getting ice in a cup of pop is almost as bad as Ireland!  Restaurants serve bottled pop
with little ice, or else their ice machine is
broken. No Dr Pepper most places, including gas stations with no fountains, so I am
grateful for ice cubes in my freezer & bottled
Dr. Pepper from the store.  Also, fast food places with fountain drinks & all the ice you want!!

The maximum speed on the Alaska Highway
works out to 60 mph- There are many places
it is 35-45 at curves & construction.  Steve is
a model of patience!!!

It seems like half the road is under construction. It was all paved, but them winter comes with all it's frost heaves & cracks.  So every year they put down oil tar
& gravel.  Then they come back to asphalt but many long stretches of fine gravel

There is nowhere like the USA.!!! Alaska will
probably be expensive & under construction too!  But we are totally enjoying the scenery.
It seems like we are always beside a lake or
a River,  SO MUCH WATER & TREES.

OK, back to the pictures. We left the mud hole @ Sikanni & thankfully didn't get stuck.
This was our second day on the Alaskan Highway.  We saw 3 more bear, 7 Stone Sheep, & 2 herd of Bison.

We stopped at the Fort Nelson Heritage Museum.  Steve was amazed at all the old
Classic cars they had.  Unfortunately I had
the camera & didn't go inside.

We ate a late lunch at Toad River Lodge. The place has over 7,000 hats all over.

We got 1 of the last camping spots at Munch Lake where the campground was on the water. The lake looked gray due to the overcast.

Till next time!!

Day 2 Dawson Creek

After breakfast at Stuie's Diner (pics at end
of last blog) We finished up Dawson Creek
at Walter Wright Pioneer Village.

The buildings were furnished with so many
things of that Pioneer era. These are a few
buildings

We saw a bear & some unexplained animal

It rained on & off all day. We pulled into our
Campground at Sikanni River & it was a mud hole. We picked the least muddy & hoped for not getting stuck in the mud!!
Here's a pretty lake at a rest stop
( Sorry flip your camera.

This is a picture at Sikanni River. I need to
go to bed.  I will post more tomorrow