SIGN, SIGN EVERYWHERE A SIGN IN WATSON LAKE SIGN POST FOREST - Monday, May 8, 2023

Today’s trip to Watson Lake from the Liard River Hot Springs was only 131 miles. We left at 9 a.m. to cloudy skies and a temperature of 48 degrees which would only get to 52 degrees throughout the day. We passed through Coal River and Fireside on the way to Watson Lake.

We saw numerous wildlife on the road including 98 wood buffalo in herds, four black bear and one cub. 

There were still low clouds and smoke in the air on our journey today.

But also gorgeous scenery. . .

We crossed back and forth between British Columbia and Yukon Territory, before entering finally the Yukon.

We soon arrived at Watson Lake, Yukon.

Shortly afterwards, we arrived at Tag’s Gas Station at noon. After getting gas, we checked in at Tag's RV Park for one night at $44.55 CA.

The campground was mainly gravel, but they did have a table and two chairs that we quickly grabbed and put beside our campsite.

* * BRIEF HISTORY OF WATSON LAKE * *

Watson Lake has a population of 1,563 and an elevation of 2,254 feet. It is the first major settlement north of the British Columbia border in the Yukon Territory on the Alaska Highway. Watson Lake is in the traditional territory of the Kaska Dena. Kaska territory extends across 240,000 square kilometers of land in southeast Yukon, southern Northwest Territories and northwest British Columbia. In pre-contact times, the lakes around Watson Lake were important fishing and harvesting sites for the Kaska Dena. Travel and trading routes also passed through this region. Today, the First Nation continue to live, travel and hunt in their traditional land. 

Originally known as Fish Lake, Watson Lake was renamed for Frank Watson, who settled here in 1898 with his wife, Adela Stone of Kaska First Nations heritage. Frank Watson who, at the turn of the twentieth century, interrupted his quest for gold in the Klondike to settle here and maintain a trap line. In the 1930s, pioneer aviator Grant McConachie envisioned a great circle route from Edmonton to China. His company, Yukon Southern Air Transport Ltd., began with a contract to deliver mail to Whitehorse. Eventually, this developed into Canadian Pacific Airlines. Watson Lake serves as the trade center for the southeastern Yukon. Watson Lake was an important point during the construction of the Alaska Highway in 1942.

McConachie hired Jack Baker, Vic “Tiny” Johnson and Frank Watson to set up the first radio shack and landing strip at Watson Lake. In 1940, prior to the construction of the Alaska Highway, the Canadian government improved the facilities and planes destined for Alaska on the Northwest Staging Route stopped here at Watson Lake. The original townsite was located at the airport where two settlements had formed: the United States military and the Canadian military. A third community grew at the intersection of the Alaska Highway and the airport road and became known as the “Wye”. The “Wye” grew into what is now Watson Lake. In 1946, the Canadian Army took over the airport community when the U.S. Army departed. 

Timber construction predominated and required a minimum of skill. There are also some prefabricated buildings dating from the period. Local logs were milled flat on three sides and were chinked with whatever was handy – blankets, rope, old clothing, moss and oakum. Construction of the Robert Campbell Highway began in the 1960s to provide a service road to mining developments in east-central Yukon. The 583 kilometer highway is named for Robert Campbell, a nineteenth century Hudson’s Bay Company fur trader and explorer. The route heads north past the Watson Lake Airport. 

Watson Lake Signpost Forest is a great place to take a walk, just like tourists from all over the world would have done before us -- and left their mark while announcing where they are from on their sign. It's definitely a work in progress as more and more signs are added each year.  

During World War II and the construction of the Alaska Highway, the U.S. Army posted directions to various locations in Yukon and added New York, Chicago and Tokyo. A homesick G.I. named Carl Lindley was ordered to work on damaged signposts and, taking the task to heart, set up his own signpost to his Illinois hometown. His signpost has grown into the forest you see today -- including more than 91,000 signs and license plates left by visitors from all over the world.

Mel and I made our sign before we left Colorado and wanted it to be just right for the Sign Post Forest -- but as we actually walked through it for over 2-1/2 hours from 1:45 p.m. until 4:15 p.m., we realized just how many signs there were actually posted in the forest from paper plates, hats, cookie sheet to wooden signs like ours -- anything seemed to go.

We looked around the Sign Post Forest for just the right spot for our sign. And then we found it and Mel climbed up on the ladder, while I handed him the sign. He then fastened the sign to the signpost. Voila! 

Now I challenge all you fun-seekers to come to Watson Lake and walk the Sign Post Forest and find our sign. Here's a hint . . . see that white building, it's the back of the Visitor Center, and right down the hill is our sign.

Another hint - Margaritaville is at the top of the signpost our sign is on, and to the left is the city of Belleville on a blue sign. Good luck!

We had our own little challenge when we walked through the Sign Post Forest. We were trying to find the signs of two different YouTube Alaska video makers we watched before our travels to Alaska. They were "Adventures of A+K" and "Keep Your Daydream." Both were very good YouTube videos to watch.  Well we searched for both of these and we did find them.

We found the "Adventures of A+K" first as shown below:

And a little bit later, we found "Keep Your Daydream," as shown below:

We also found “Gertrude”, a 1938 International TD 35 tractor that had been used for 40 years on Yukon building projects, including the Alaska Highway construction. 

The Sign Post Forest was designated a Yukon Historic Site in 2013 -- and it is worthy of that destination as it was really a wonderful! I encourage you to go out and seek to find your sign -- no matter where you have to look.

We posted our sign for eternity, so now it is your turn to go find it. Good luck!

Shirley & Mel