DLTK's Alaska Road Trip
Day 4: Toad River to Watson Lake
The Signpost Forest in Watson Lake, B.C.
We were on the road by 8am again this morning but enjoyed a much shorter drive (under four hours)
Right off the bat we drove through Muncho Lake Provincial Park and mom was back on the hunt for Stone Sheep, still with no luck. We did however enjoy the gorgeous scenery and learned that the High Blue Lake is over 300 feet deep! Maybe that’s why it’s such a nice turquoise color.
Right after the lake we stopped to let dad take some pictures of Centennial Falls, a waterfall that dries out when it hasn’t been rainy and to learn about the alluvial fans.
About 20 minutes later we stopped for a scenic nature walk. Mom enjoyed the micro view of moss, lichen and wildflowers, while dad admired the macro view of wide valleys, meandering rivers and tree-covered mountains.
We ended up at mineral lick where Stone Sheep, elk and caribou come for their daily dose of magnesium, calcium and sodium but we still didn’t see any Stone Sheep. Mom, Tasha and Kaitlyn had a little bit of the limestone rock the mineral lick is made of (its more like dust then rock). It wasn’t salty like we thought it would be.
After our walk we continued to Watson Lake where we did some grocery shopping and visited the signpost forest.
The signpost Forest was started in 1942 by Carl Lindley, a US army engineer working on the Alaska Highway. People have been adding signs ever
since and its now up to over 51,000 signs.
Tasha and Kaitlyn painted a sign to add to the forest and Dad nailed it up. Maybe one day they will come back with their children to try to find it.
We passed through the town to our destination, the Watson Lake Campground. The girls played in the playground while dad made the fire. He did a great job. Tasha spun on the tire swing for so long she made herself ill and had to lie down for a while.
We enjoyed the supper and the Banana Boats for dessert. Again Dad raised his eyebrows at moms Girl Guide ideas, but loved his banana boat!
After that we practiced casting on the road with our fishing rods. Then we tidied up, played magic and went to bed.
We saw a lot of wildlife that day including a mom moose and her calf right by our campsite in the morning, a large black bear, a fox with his lunch, three old birds that wanted to share our supper, a grey rabbit with a very white tail and a beaver working away in the water.