Two RV Gypsies: Full-Time RVers
(and Professional Travelers)
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WATSON LAKE - YUKON May 31, 2009 |
| The first white visitors to Canada's Yukon Territory were fur traders from England, who brought the Hudson's Bay Company into the country in the mid-1800's. Close behind the fur traders were the gold seekers, who began trickling into the Territory as early as 1863. By 1972, traces of gold were being found all over the Yukon. The Yukon is more than twice the size of Great Britain and larger than all the New England states put together. Its 186,300 square miles are bordered by British Columbia on the south, Alaska on the west, the northwest Territories on the east, and the Artic Ocean to the north. Yet, only 32,700 people live on this frontier, three-quarters of them in Whitehorse. | |
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SIGN POST FOREST |
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| The World Famous Sign Post Forest is Watson's Lake best known attraction. So famous, it is known and mimicked around the world. This forest was started in 1941 by a homesick U.S. Army G.I., Carl K. Lindley of Danville, Illinois, 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 today. On July 20, 1990, Olsen and Anita Walker of Bryan Ohio placed the 10,000th sign. Carl K. Lindley and his wife visited the site in 1992 - 50 years after his first post was erected. Today, the Town of Watson Lake maintains the site, erecting more posts as they are needed. | |
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| After walking through Sign Post Forest, the two RV Gypsies went back to their RV and made a sign of their own to post. Theme: Florida to Alaska & honoring Brian because he cannot be here in person. | |
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| A neighbor in the park, just came to tell us that they saw our sign at the Sign Post Forest, and knew it was us because of the photo of our RV with the wolf eyes. Then they mentioned the date of March 31st and Lee said "Oh no, it was supposed to be today, May 31st." Bummer. It is written in permanent marker and cannot be changed. Bummer! Guess the two RV Gypsies are brain-damaged. It is amazing that our sign was found among all those thousands of signs and that the wolf eyes let the neighbors we don't know realize it was us. Cool! | |
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| The next few photos show where the sign of the two RV Gypsies is among other signs | |
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| BELOW: THESE PHOTOS TRY TO SHOW HOW MANY SIGNS THERE ARE, BUT IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PHOTOGRAPH THEM ALL. THEN SCROLL DOWN FOR CLOSE-UPS OF A FEW CUTE ONES. | |
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This one is funny because the cat bailed out on the Alaska Highway |
| BELOW: Ed Kerry and Gertrude, his 1938TD 35 International tractor, came to the Yukon as a team in the 194o's during the building of the Alaska Highway. For 40 years, Gertrude could be seen at construction sites all over the Yukon, building everything from airstrips and Whitehorse city streets to portions of the Alaska Highway. "Gertie" was donated to the Yukon Government by the kerry Family in memory of Ed Kerry, a loyal and true Yukoner. | |
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INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER TRACTOR TD-35, |
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| This park is within an extremely short walking distance of everything: the Sign Post Forest, grocery store, library, post office, Northern Lights Center with an indoor show, car wash, fast food joint, bank, and liquor store. There is a free do-it-yourself area to wash your RV or car, free Wi-Fi, 20-30 amp service. It appears to be a place where RVers stay mostly just for the one night while passing through Watson Lake. The sites are packed close together - if sites are full, there is no space to put out your awning, or sit outside in a lawn chair. We have AT&T but did NOT have any cell phone service. | |
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| A nice lake right beside the park. Lee photographed a bird flying over the lake and landing in the tree. | |
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| Today the two RV Gypsies met their first RV snobs. They are heading for the "back roads" of Alaska looking for Grizzly Bears. But they said that since we are from Florida of course we wouldn't be doing that. What the h--- does that mean? And of course they saw many more wildlife than we did, and have been in all the USA states. We said we saw lots of buffalo, and they said, "oh buffalo" Everything they said seemed very snobbish, and that is rare in RVers. | |
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