WATSON LAKE - TESLIN - WHITEHORSE

Visiting the Yukon Territories

We're covering a lot of territory but making plenty of time to stop and visit along the way.  Watson Lake Signpost Forest was started by Carl Lindley (1919-2002) of Danville, IL.  He was a U.S. Army soldier in Company D, 341st Engineers, working on the Alaska Highway in 1942.  Travelers have been adding signs to the collection and visitors are encouraged to add a sign. They have over 72,000 signs and growing.  The visitor's center at Watson Lake was nice and we enjoyed a film about the Yukon.

Next stop was the Teslin Yukon Motel and Restaurant to tap into their wi-fi, have breakfast and visit the wildlife gallery.  We met at couple at Liard Hot Springs who highly recommended the wildlife gallery there.  It was an awesome display of indigenous mammals some with interesting stories.  For example, they had a pair of  bull elk that had been fighting, locked horns, died of dehydration and starvation and the display had them in their locked horns position.  Great exhibit, however, I wouldn't recommend the breakfast.

One of the many great exhibits

Between Teslin and Whitehorse we decided to stay overnight at a beautiful scenic turnout overlooking the valley and river below.  When we pulled in it was raining and we were blessed with a rainbow.  We were settling in for the night and heard buzzing.  OMG - we were invaded with mosquitos inside the coach.  We were up all night killing them to no avail, they were relentless and we were outnumbered.  At 3AM we quit the fight, started up the engines and headed for our next destination.

Our beautiful but deadly overlook stop

Next stop was Whitehorse, the capital of Yukon Territory since 1953 and serves as the center for transportation, communications and supplies for Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories.
We pulled into the RV-friendly visitor center parking lot, got their self-guided walking tour map and learned about their resident bald eagle family.  We toured the grand old stern-wheeler S.S. Klondike which was built in 1929 and was the largest vessel on the Yukon.  It had a cargo capacity 50% greater than previous boats and carried over 300 tons.  It carried supplies and passengers along the 460-mile route between Whitehorse and Dawson City until 1955 when she was retired.

The Old Log Church Historic Site

The Old Log Church was built in 1900 by Rev. R.J. Bowen for the Church of England.

SS Klondike

 We walked along the picturesque Yukon River to see the resident eagle family and we were in luck.  Mom was with her three chicks and dad came flying in with his huge wingspan just as we arrived.  The visitor center has a camera above their six-foot nest nestled on the top of a tall pine and they watched the hatching of the chicks.

Proud and protective Daddy Bald Eagle

The Whitehorse visitor center does not allow overnight camping but the Walmart less than two miles away does.  We pulled in around 2:30 and were surprised to see so many other "campers" already set up for the night.  We were in a desperate search for mosquito coils to rid our uninvited guests.  Walmart, Dollar Store and Canadian Tire were sold out and we had to walk to a hardware store to finally make our purchase.  We lit that coil, opened all the windows, screens and vents and we smoked those little devils out.  Now we were finally able to relax, watch a movie and get to bed early.  After getting only a hour, maybe two hours of sleep last night, we were tired and had a great night's sleep.

That's all folks!  Thanks for stopping in.