9. Day 4 – Sign Post Forest to green forests of Fort Nelson

Thursday 11 May 2006

After a really good nights sleep (our first on this trip because of the time zone changes) we were up at 7am and got going by 7.30.  At 8.15 am we stopped just before the ‘Sign Post Forest’ at Watson Lake where we had breakfast.  We then drove and parked in front of the famous ‘Forest’, initially started by Carl K. Lindley, a soldier of the 341^ST engineers who was working on the construction of the Alaska Highway in 1942. Signs are still being added with more than 50,000 at last count. 

Amazingly we found a clear space on the street frontage of the forest (it is many layers deep) and Dick nailed up our Terrey Hills sign.  Ours wasn’t a ‘pinched’ sign as most were – we had got this sign specially made in Australia.

The Visitor Centre had just opened for the first day of the season and we watched a short video on the making of the Alcan Highway – now known as the Alaskan Highway.  As we were leaving a truck driver from Nashville wandered over to the Earthroamer to ask us about the Around The World sign-writing on our vehicle.  He wanted to know if we were nearly finishing the trip – we had to admit that we were only just starting!  He said he was taking a load of computers from Nashville to Fairbanks and was being paid $3 per mile or an average of $1.95 per mile if he had to go back empty to Vancouver.  He obviously operated his own truck and he said he was born in Krakow in Poland.

On the road again, we cross from the Yukon Territories into British Columbia listening to Connie Francis on the 50’s radio channel. There were magnificent highway conditions and scenery.

Near Contact Creek we could see part of the old Alcan Highway and a little later a black bear standing peering into the driver’s window of an RV (recreational vehicle).  We stopped and took a photo.

It is obvious that people are illegally feeding the bears – that can be the only reason they are so tame and inquisitive.

We then saw the record RV of all time – a huge 40 foot mobile home towing a Ford F350 crew cab ute with two Canadian canoes on top and a motor bike mounted on the back.

We stopped at Allen’s Lookout and took photographs looking either way at the Liard River.

The ice had only recently broken out and small floes were still moving down river. Legend has it that a band of outlaws took advantage of the great views over the river from here, to attack and rob river boats.

Just before Liard Hot Springs we saw a bison herd which possibly belonged to the Liard Hot Springs Lodge as their advertisement shows these magnificent animals with the caption “Come visit our neighbours”.  We stopped in the parking area at the Liard Hot Springs for lunch at 1.15pm and Dick went for a swim in the beautiful warm and clear waters of the Delta hotspring (Pip forgot to bring her cossie).

The pools range from 42 degrees to 52 degrees C and are naturally occurring artesian water heated by the mantle of the earth.  There is also an interesting board walk trail across a wetland that supports many orchid species and plants which only survive at this high latitude because of the warmth of the springs.

We departed at 2.40pm and crossed the Lower Liard River Bridge, the last remaining suspension bridge on the Alaskan Highway.

The trees at this point are Lodgepole Pine, Aspen and Birch.  At Muncho Lake we stopped for some munchies – actually coffee and apple pie.  The local owner of the Northern Rockies Lodge Ltd. operates a twin otter aircraft to Prince Rupert and other cities.  The lodge also has small cabins in remote areas for rent where they will fly you in by a float plane in summer or ski plane in winter and leave you for the night.   Muncho Lake was just starting to melt so the aircraft were in the hanger having the skis exchanged for floats. A little further on we stopped beside the lake to take a photograph.

Near Toad River we saw caribou beside the road.

There were lots of small airstrips beside the highway, many built during the Second World War. However we had only seen one plane in the air so far. 

The scenery is truly magnificent and very un-Australian because of the vegetation and high snow covered mountains.

However we must admit we were listening to Slim Dusty on the iPod.  We crossed the highest point on the Alaskan Highway in the Stone Mountain Provincial Park,at  4250 ft.

As it started to rain we saw a number of young deer beside the road.

At first as they looked at our vehicle they appeared almost identical to kangaroos.  Dick commented that evolution is amazing, imagine such a similar face on such a different animal.

As we moved further south the deciduous trees were starting to show green buds.  Just before Fort Nelson we entered the first farming land since Palmer in Alaska. Beside the road we saw a bison ranch with a herd grazing.

Entering Fort Nelson, the local council had thoughtfully provided a watering hose and a ‘dump’ station for travellers needs.   Dick emptied our portable toilet and we filled our water tanks.  There were huge mozzies hanging round.  We tried the mobile phone but still no coverage since Anchorage.

Fort Nelson is a town with a population of 5,000 people. It was originally a Hudson Bay Company outpost. Forestry is a major industry and there are huge plants making ply wood, veneers and particle board.  We stopped just through the town in a deep gravel quarry (to get away from the noise from the local mill).  Dick went walking to get some exercise while Pip cooked dinner of lamb chops in our new electric grill bought at Wal Mart!  We watched High Noon on the DVD and Dick rang our office on our Iridium phone.

581km  today – 1,377km total

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