"Left Our Mark in Canada!"

14 Jun 2015--So it's been a few days since we had any internet at all, and today it's in an out here, so we thought we would try to get this blog before we go out for the day.  I keep meaning to show some of the Canadian money...the paper money is pretty, with at least 5 & 10 having previous Prime Ministers on them, and the coins are called the "loonie" and the "toonie", the 1 and 2 dollar coins. They both have Queen Elizabeth on them, as does the $20 bill, I think.  A grocery store clerk told me they are talking about making the $5 a coin also...I would hate to have to carry all that change around...haha.



So back to the trip.  Lots of signs on the road, but we thought the moose one was a little funny. Doesn't he look a little depressed?  All slouching and sad-sack looking.  haha  And then there is a real moose.  We saw 2 over the past 3 days of travel, one a smaller, younger one and then this guy coming up out of a marsh on the side of the road.  By the time I got out of the RV and ran to where we saw him he was already in the brush, but you can still tell how big he was..the biggest one we have seen yet! In these 2 days of pics we traveled 620 miles and there were lots of hills and valleys...9% grades downhill on a curvy road in a big RV can be a little hairy at times.  haha

 

Due to the road conditions, we were fortunate not to be going that fast when these sheep suddenly appeared.  They were smack in the middle of the road as we came around a corner.  They are called "Stone Sheep" and look a lot like bighorn sheep, but are somewhat darker and slighter than those.  There are actually 5 of them in the 1st pic, and you can see the leader running up the embankment if you enlarge it.



We had rain on and off the whole trip from Dawson Creek to Muncho Lake, and it made for some nice pics as we went back and forth.



There was and is still a big forest fire going on in British Columbia, but we were safe as we were driving away from it.  I saw on TV this morning that it is still only 15% contained.



This is Muncho Lake, one of the largest natural lakes in the Canadian Rockies.  We actually stayed at this spot, at an overlook of the lake...our 1st night in Canada where we weren't in an actual RV park. So pretty!  (Sure beats the Walmart parking lots!)



We hit the road again the next day, heading to Watson Lake in Yukon Territory, where for miles and miles of driving there were signs warning of live Bison!  We ran into this herd on the side of the road not far from Muncho Lake.



We stopped to stretch our legs at a pullout for views of Allen's Lookout, where legend says a band of outlaws took advantage of the view of the Liard River to attack and rob riverboats.



Into the Yukon and Watson Lake, famous for its "sign forest"!  Watson Lake is the smallest town we have stayed in so far...I don't think the whole place is 10 blocks long, but they get gobs of people to come through with this attraction.  It was started by a homesick American soldier in 1942, assigned to the building of the Alaska Highway.  At last count in 2013 they had over 78,000 signs, and estimate over 80,000 today.

 

Diana, a friend we met in Florida this past winter, told us she put her sign here a few years ago, but we couldn't find it.  Sorry Diana, but a quick look at these pics shows it is like a needle in a haystack situation unless you know exactly where someone put it. haha

 

People put all kinds of things up here, from license plates to a toilet seat, but this bra made us laugh...we couldn't help but think of our friend Hallie...but that is her story to tell!  haha



Off we went to the local home depot-type store and bought our wood for the sign.  The visitor's center provided paint, markers and even spray cans of clear shellac, so we have left our mark!!! (How do you like Cathy's drawing of an RV?) haha


 

I haven't mentioned yet that as we go more west and north, the days are getting longer and longer.  I went to bed last night at 11:30 pm and it was still light enough to go for a walk if you wanted to.  And in the morning the sun comes up like it's noontime somewhere between 4 and 5 am, so unless you sleep like a bear, an eye mask is a must.  hahaha



We got into Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, yesterday afternoon and we're here for a week, our longest stay anywhere since we left Great Falls on the 31st of May.  We've been around 1800 miles and all I'm going to say about that is we still have a few days to drive before we get to Alaska, and we're not getting any younger...whew!!!  haha