Day 13 - May 3 - I'M LONG GONE TO THE YUKON

After two days at Dease Lake we saw no signs or heard any mention that an actual lake existed so as we left this morning we drove about 5 kilometres out of town in the direction the chambermaid indicated and, sure enough, there it was. Just couldn't leave without verification.

Once again the lonely, almost empty road undulated slowly through the mountains of northern BC. 

One last magnificent view of the snow-capped mountains greeted us before the landscape widened and the mountains slipped behind us.

Sadly as we approached the northern border there's about 25 kilometres of previously devastated forest in varying degrees of regeneration. Nice to see them coming back but so sad to realize this happens every year in this province (and many others as well).

The Yukon does borders in awesome fashion. We have arrived on three different occasions and the welcome sign embraces you every time. Bravo Yukon!

Their city signs aren't bad either.

The Sign Post Forest in Watson Lake houses signs from the hometowns of travellers from around the world. The tradition began during the Alaska Highway project in 1942 when a lonely U.S. soldier spent time in Watson Lake recovering from an injury. Asked to repair and erect the directional signposts, he added a sign that indicated the direction and mileage to his hometown, Danville, Illinois. Others followed suit and continue to do so today. There are over 100,000 signs there today.

We had to visit because in September 2018 Karen and I made our own sign and erected it. We were determined to find it but with 100,000 to choose from we knew we'd be there awhile. The only thing I remembered was it was near a front-end loader or some type of road grading equipment. Well that won't still be there...or will it? The machinery is all vintage equipment from the building of the Alaska Highway so it proudly remains. I also had brought with me (on my phone) the photo I had taken when we placed the sign. Lucky no one was there with us because Karen was off on her own search when I started shouting at the top of my lungs. Wow! What are the chances?!

We have developed a nasty habit of running our gas tank to near empty so desperately needed a fill. It wasn't as bad as in Dease Lake (where we thankfully did not get gas) but was still a new high for us. I don't believe I have ever spent this much to fill any vehicle.

We're only here for a very short time so must enjoy what we can.

😎

Long Gone To The Yukon