Mile 12768

 This morning we leave Fort Nelson, BC with blue skies, but as we progress further West, the skies progress as well to more being overcast, finally ending in some drizzle rain.  We continue through the forests, some of them just burned this year, some of them perhaps last year or before, some of it just recovering from those fires, but the devastation of the wildfires is immense.  

Looking at the Northern Rockies from the Muskwa-Kechika management Area

 After passing through the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area we pass Summit Lake before stopping for lunch at Toad River, BC.  From there we drive on the ALCAN along Muncho Lake, which indeed is still as cold as it looks, before passing through Liard River, Fort Halkett, Coal River, and Fireside and Lower Post, BC, before finally reaching Watson Lake, YT. 

Impressions from the ALCAN:

    

                                                                                                    

 Watson Lake is the town where 2014 our bike broke down, but it is also the place where we placed in the Sign Post Forest our sign "WI-OL 25" then.  So this year we went to search for it amongst the now more than 100,000 signs (last count in 2023), and surprise, surprise, we found it.  Still at the same place, same post, amazing.  

Sign Post Forest in Watson Lake, YT

    The story of the 'Sign Post Forest' began during the construction of the ALCAN, when US soldier Carl K. Lindlay was recovering from an injury at an aid station in what has come to be known Watson Lake, YT.  A commanding officer asked Lindley to repair and erect directional signposts, and while completing the job, he added a sign that indicated the direction and mileage to his hometown of Danville, IL.  Other homesick soldiers followed suit and the trend caught on eventually growing from a single sign post to a full "Forest".

 Here the animal count for today, unbelievable for just one day along a road with so much traffic:

Moose:              2

Caribou:            1 

Bison:                uncountable

Wolverine:        1 (unfortunately no picture)

Black Bear:       1

Birds of Prey:    1

Caribou

Black Bear

Bison

So all at all a great day, and some good mileage too.

"Between every two pine trees there is a door leading to a new way of life."  -  'Son of the Wilderness' by John Muir, Scottish-born American naturalist, author environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist, and early advocate for the preservation of wilderness in the US, 1838-1914