Blogs from Watson Lake, Yukon, Canada, North America - page 3

Life again had its way with changing things on us. Originally we just let Google maps choose how we ended up in Grande Prairie, but after talking to our friend Paul he smartly suggested we get to GP via Jasper national park. And what a trip it was! It’s kind of sad to say that in both our 27 years we have not really experienced this amazing place. The views were stunning and the drive was calm and peaceful. Both BJ and I loved checking out Athabasca falls…. What a show! We seem to have great timing with beating any rushes, and made it to the falls before all the good view points were stuffed with other tourists. Although I suppose that we can be classified among them now. We also took the scenic route to ... read more

There were lots of Canada flags flying for their Canada Day weekend. It was odd for us not to see all the red, white and blue hoopla for the 4th. Instead, we took in wildlife viewing today. We saw a moose, two caribou, 3 black bears, and about 90 wood bison. We also paid $1.79 per liter for fuel! No fireworks, but it wasn't dark anyway...... read more

We woke to a mostly clear but chilly morning (about 37 degrees). Bob went out to take pictures - - got a really good one of two Loons paddling by. After breakfast, we got ready to leave but had to wait while Bob installed limiting blocks on the supports he had installed on the camper top last night. Norm Vig, owner of Norseman RV park came over to supervise. Norm was a friend of Dad’s. Once everyone was ready to go, we bid farewell to Norm. Charlie and Kerry headed on up to Jake’s Corner while Bob and Gena went over to Elizabeth’s house to say “Hello”. Elizabeth was a close friend of mother’s and had been the postmistress in Atlin for many years. We had a really nice visit with her, got her phone ... read more

Internet access has been spotty while visiting friends the last little while, in the sense that I've been too busy having fun to post to the blog. However, now that I'm back on the road all that has changed. Today was an absolutely epic drive from Vanderhoof, BC (just west of Prince George) to Watson Lake up in the Yukon. Suffice to say that the drive across the Yellowhead to Smithers was peachy, but half way up the Cassiar in the middle of no-man's land things started to get interesting. My lasting impression/description of the upper portion of the Cassiar - long (500 km) - right through mountains - twisty switchbacks with hairpin turns - gravel surface - snow covered - desolate - gas stations closed at 6 pm, used the 60 liters i had in ... read more

Watson Lake was an important point during the construction of the Alaskan Highway in 1942. The airport, built in 1941, was one of the major refueling stops along the Northwest Staging Route, the system of airfields through Canada to ferry supplies to Alaska and later lend-lease aircraft to Russia. Of the nearly 8,000 aircraft ferried through Canada, 2618 were Bell P-39 Airacobras. The economy of Watson Lake is based on services to mining exploration and on the forest products industry. White spruce and lodgepole pine are the two main trees of the Yukon and provide a forest industry for the entire territory. The Signpost Forest is also located here. At the north end of town, the Signpost Forest is an area of town where Carl K. Lindley of Danville, Il., a U.S. soldier working on construction ... read more