A very beautiful morning and the sun was already peeking above the mountain valley.
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Muncho Lake
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Our group, Sea Turtles left the campground at 7:55 am. The next destination is Watson Lake, YT where we will spend one night.
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| Rich getting his toad hooked to the rig |
A small herd of Stone Sheep and one kid were licking along the side of the highway at Milepoat 711.
Erwin spotted two moose, possibly a third one, in the woods, alerted three RVs behind us to look out for them. I did not see them.
Not much traffic on the Alaska Highway. There was road construction at Milepost 742. Because there were loose gravel on the surface we had to move at 30 km for 5 miles! Then there was another construction at MP 759, and we waited for 5 minutes before we were escorted out.
Lower Laird Bridge (1,143 foot) is the only remaining suspension bridge on the Alaska Highway and was built by the American Bridge Co. and McNamara Construction Co. in 1943.
Wood bisons were on the west side of the highway. There were few calves.
Rest and breakfast break at Coal River Lodge (built in 1949) and Erwin got a piece of blueberry pie ($4.75 CD). It is said that the cafe serves the best bison burgers. It is open May to September.
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| Moose Antler |
There was one black bear on the west side of the highway. We were hoping to see more of the wildlife, but none was seen except this one.
The clouds started to develop, blocking the sun, but it was still a pretty day.
We stopped to check
out Allen's Lookout (DC 550.9), a nice view of Laird River. The cairn is
dedicated to the surveyors of the Alaska Highway. It shows the
elevation and latitude and longitude of the lookout.
We made it to Yukon Territory (YT) border at 11:25 am. There was a welcome sign but it was not as pretty as we hoped for.
There was a black bear on the east side but I was not able to get pictures because it started to run into the forest when we approached.
There was a better "Welcome to Yukon" sign, and we the team got together for pictures.
Before checking into Baby Nugget RV Park we stopped at Tempo Tags in Watson Lake, YT to fill up diesel. We also picked up antifreeze that we need for the Lil' Home. The RV Park was 22 km away from Watson Lake.
Steve
was waiting for us when we got to the campground, led us to campsite
#50. The pad was of gravel, but it was very level. Electricity is 30 amps, no sewer, but
there is a dump station nearby.
We visited Watson Lake which was named
after Frank Watson, an American from Lake Tahoe, NV. When he was 14
years old he went with his daddy to seek gold in the Klondike. In his
mature years he married Adela Stone and they settled on the shores of
Fish Lake, later to be known as Watson Lake and led a life of a
prospector and trapper. He died of pneumonia in 1938. (Information from
Watson Lake booklet)
Watson
Lake is the "Yukon's Gateway", and is well known for its famous Sign
Post Forest where there are thousands and thousands of signs of all
kinds. In 1942 a homesick U.S. Army G.I., Carl Lindsey of Illinois was
the one who erected a sign pointing the way with the mileage to his
hometown. Soon others followed his lead.
After
our tour of the signs we went inside the visitor center to get some
information about attractions in Yukon. Then we met Newmar Caravan
members and witnessed the posting of our Newmar Caravan sign with names
of all members.
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| Watson Lake Visitor Center |
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| Ted putting up the sign |
Afterwards, we took a leisurely stroll on the boardwalk at First Wye Lake Park to get a view of Wye Lake.
There was a spaghetti dinner at the Wolf It Down Restaurant near Baby Nugget RV Park. While we were dining Linda Goodwin shared tales of the Yukon and stories of how her parents founded the RV Park when they were in late 70's and the restaurant when they were in their 80's. Her parents, Gwen and Don Lee, wrote a book titled Rivers of Gold. They own a 40 acre property in Okanagan, BC. where they still live.
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| The Northern Beaver Post Gift Shop at Baby Nugget RV Park |
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| Linda Goodwin |
Miles driven: 184+ miles from Muncho Lake, BC to Watson Lake, YT
Campground: Baby Nugget RV Park for 1 night
Site #50
Erwin spotted two moose, possibly a third one, in the woods, alerted three RVs behind us to look out for them. I did not see them.
There was one black bear on the west side of the highway. We were hoping to see more of the wildlife, but none was seen except this one.
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