Friday we left Dawson Creek and started our journey on the Alaska Highway. As we got farther away from Fort St John the scenery became more natural and void of man made structures.

 We spent the night at a campground in Fort Nelson that was complete with a restaurant. Over the bar area of the restaurant a few stuffed animals stare down at the patrons. One is a badger and we were told by an employee that the badger was the only animal that a bear would not mess with.

It was a short walk over to the museum located next door to the campground. This museum is not what usually comes to mind when one thinks of a museum. No paintings on the wall or artifacts from ancient ruins. It was like a "man cave" on steroids with countless old cars, obsolete machinery, stuffed animals of all types, old outboard motors, and the list goes on and on. There was even an old oil rig out in the back. We got the impression that many of the items were donated to the museum.

The theme of one building was old telephone and electrical test equipment. The photo below shows some of the items located in that building and it was interesting to Pam and I both. Some of you know that Pam retired from the telephone industry.

Leaving Fort Nelson Saturday morning we noticed that the scenery continued to improve. This photo depicts some of the views from our windshield.

Along the way we stopped at a roadside establishment noted for good cinnamon buns. We may overdose on sugar if we keep finding home baked cinnamon buns.

Moving on up the Alaska Highway we came to Muncho Lake and more breath taking views.

Pam was barely able to take a photo of some mountain goats as we passed them by.

Here is another typical view as we motor down the Alaska Highway.

The travel day ended at a campground near Liard Hotsprings. We haven't had any cell service since leaving Fort Nelson and this campground was advertised to have WiFi, a phone, and a restaurant. The restaurant was closed and the WiFi was no longer available. They had a business phone but would not allow us to use it. We got an early start and struck out for Watson Lake.

The bears were very active Sunday morning as we drove along. We must have seen 8 or more eating the vegetation in the clearings on either side of the highway. They were so intent on eating that we were not able to get a decent head shot. Look close in the following photo and you can see the vegetation in the bears mouth.

There were several juveniles and here is a close up of one.

The following three photos show what it looks like to the driver of a big motorhome negotiating steep grades mixed with curves. Sure hope those brakes work!

Hill ahead

Going down the hill

Whats around the curve

We finally made it to the Yukon and Watson lake. The Alaska Highway actually meanders into the Yukon for a few miles and then back into British Columbia before crossing back into the Yukon near Watson Lake. As we continued our journey on to Whitehorse today we once again drifted back into British Columbia for awhile. The aspen trees change in appearance almost instantly when you first enter the Yukon. Pam inquired about that when we reached Watson Lake and was told it was because the temperatures were colder this far north.

Watson Lake is a small community with a population of about 800. It is famous for the Sing Post Forest, the name given to a collection of thousands of signs placed here by travelers just like us. A soldier helping to build the highway placed the first sign here and as others imitated him the signs multiplied and the number continues to grow today. 

The entrance to the forest

Our sign in the forest

We landed at Baby Nugget RV Park just west of Watson Lake for the night. This is an interesting place ran by a hardy family. More on that later. We are about to head out in the car to explore Whitehorse.