Day 4
So, after a good night's sleep in the hotel, some more pills, lots of water, and no dinner I was feeling much better. I loaded up the bike and rode back out of Watson Lake to the campground where the guys camped. It was overcast and cold, but I was feeling pretty good, and we were going to see something cool first thing this morning.
We all fueled up and set off back into Watson Lake to visit the famed Sign Post Forest. This was a very fun place. The
official story of how this got started is...
The forest was started in 1942 by a homesick U.S. Army G.I., Carl K. Lindley of Danville, Il., Company D, 341st Engineers. While working on the Alaska Highway, he erected a sign here pointing the way and stating the mileage to his hometown. Others followed his lead and are still doing so to this day.
Today there are more than 60,000 signs. The town of Watson Lake puts up new posts each year, and visitors are welcome to leave a sign. I had one designed, but the sign company messed it up, and I wasn't able to get it re-made before departing.
This one is for you, Ana...
Also on display in the Forest, are examples of the equipment used to build the Alaska Highway...
Panorama of the Sign Post Forest...
After spending an hour or so wondering through the forest fascinated by all the signs from all over the world, even Europe and Australia, we got on the bikes and continued northwest up the Alaska Highway toward Whitehorse. Once again, the scenery was breathtaking...
We encountered many construction sites throughout the trip where we'd have to stop and wait for the road to clear.
We made it to Whitehorse and stopped for lunch. This was the last major town before we got to Alaska and it was the last opportunity for Timmie's for several days, so we took full advantage...
View of Whitehorse from across the river...
Timmie's!
The entrance to the Whitehorse airport...
After lunch, we pressed on northwest up the Alaska Highway...
Stop for a break...
At some point on this afternoon, we saw another bear. Actually, we had seen several black bears along the roadway, but this one was a brown bear, the only one of that species we saw on the trip. That makes three species we'd seen, grizzly, black, and brown.
Late in the evening we were getting tired and thought we would try to find a campsite. We came down into a valley along Kluane Lake. The wind coming down the valley was howling, at least 30 - 40 mph, and was blowing dust out over the water. It was quite a site, and really punctuated the feeling of being in a truly wild place...
The highway followed the lake for 30 miles or so, and with the wind howling like it was, we decided that a motel or cabin was in order. We stopped in the town of Destruction Bay and fueled up, and the guy at the gas station was nice enough to call around and see what was available for us. We ended up at Cottonwood RV campground. They had this really beautiful cabin by the lake. It was very nicely furnished, but had no electricity, or running water, and an outhouse out back. They did have showers and a laundry facility by the office. As we were checking in, the lady informed us to be careful using the outhouse because they had a bear invading the campground. About the time, the wildlife officials showed up with a bear trap.
The cabin...
The view from the cabin window...
Al enjoying the view...
More views of Kluane Lake...
Mileage for Day 4: 465 miles
Total Mileage at end of Day 4: 1,665
More to come...