Watson Lake is a tiny community, population ~1500, that serves local First Nations people and highway travelers with a few gas stations, a NAPA auto parts store and a couple of cafés. Its main claim to fame is the Signpost Forest, an attraction for tourists from all over the world. The whole thing began during the construction of the military road in 1942. There was an airport at Watson Lake as a refueling stop for the ferrying of supplies to Alaska and planes to Russia. Thus, the town became a main staging point for construction supplies as well. A homesick soldier posted a sign post pointing to his hometown and others followed suit. Then, passers-by added more signs. The town now hosts the Alaska Highway Interpretive Centre, operated by Tourism Yukon, and installs and maintains the posts for visitors who add to the collection. At the time of our visit, there were about 65,000 signs and many were added on the day of our stop. The caravan posted a sign and I posted a marker for L.A. City College. We found signs from familiar communities, including many from Southern California and several from our native states of Connecticut and Rhode Island. Some foreign visitors had also posted signs and I think that if you searched hard enough you could account for almost every country of the world. When I returned later in the day for some more pictures, there were already some 20 additional signs on the posts near ours and people were still arriving even late in the evening.
Watson Lake also has the Northern Lights Centre, a planetarium-style auditorium that entertains and educates visitors about space and the aurora borealis. We enjoyed the show and the exhibits featuring Canadians in space. Several NASA astronauts have been Canadian and the Centre displayed mission memorabilia.
Gas in Canada is sold by the liter (litre in Canadian spelling) and has been getting steadily more expensive as we travel north. Our Watson Lake fill-up cost C$1.26 per liter. With 3.6 L per gallon for a 40-gallon fill, you can do the math! Plus, the credit card company charges a 3% conversion fee. Since the Canadian dollar is currently about 4% below the value of the greenback, we end up at about par. We’ve vowed not to worry about fuel prices, although we still hunt for the best price at each fuel stop. Still, fuel for the trip will cost more than we expected and the fuel expense has limited our spending for souvenirs and gifts. We’ve been warned that prices will continue to rise as we move into more remote areas!
No comments:
Post a Comment