Day 15 - Liard Hot Springs, BC to Watson Lake, YT

Blog for Day 15 -Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Liard Hot Springs, BC to Watson Lake, YT
 

By: Winifred Meiser - Rig# 16

 

We woke up to the sound of silence – no raindrops falling on our overhead or anywhere nearby.  Yah!!  I know, we are in a rainforest but now I know, on our relatively short drive north to Watson Lake, we can take photos that don’t include windshield wipers.

 

Chris and Mary with Robert and Bet
enjoying no rain this morning

We spotted several wild life species that came out to enjoy the sunshine – a herd of buffalos, a small black bear having a drink in a stream, and a quick brown fox on the run.  None of them were in the mood to pose so I guess they had places to go and people to meet.  And so did we. 

At our first stop, refueling at Contact Creek, we met Evan, a nice young Swede who was sharing the highway headed south from Alaska to San Diego, CA – on his BICICLE!  He has been on the road for eight months, and expects to arrive in September.  He was nice enough to let me have a photo op with his bike. 

Evan said he sings along the way so the animals hear him coming and are not startled by him on his silent machine.

Good plan!   Later, we saw a solo hiker and I wondered what his game plan was for sudden bear encounters etc.

 

Pulling over for a late ham n eggs breakfast in our home-on-wheels gave our “tail-gunner” Spence and guardian angel Madi a chance to catch up with us laggards before we reached the “Welcome to the Yukon” sign, and after that little photo op, we all arrived at Watson Lake in time to be reunited with all 22 of our Adventure Caravan’s RV Family and a group visit to their world famous “Signpost Forest” an overnight stay at a nearby RV Park.

 

For those uninformed about the signpost forest (and lacking an internet connection) it’s a small forest of poles with signposts where visitors (thousands and thousands of us) follow the tradition started by homesick US service members who put a sign with their city and the its’ miles from the Yukon.

 

With materials provided by the Wilczynski's, Madi created a sign for all participants with our names and the Adventure Caravans 58 days tour.  Several hardy members of the group carried a battery-powered drill and a big ladder (so we could have top billing) and the rest as they say is history.  Several of us individually made signs or brought license places to nail in place.  Yes, I brought something too – a “hunkajunk” of recycled metal - THAT’LL never wear out - from the Vista Antique Steam Engine Museum (a little plug for my townJ) and used red nail polish to write our hometown and the miles we’ve travelled thus far. 

 

We all gather to hang our signs

The Caravan's sign

Winifred and George Meiser hang their "sign"

Roni and  Bruce hung their sign

But Watson Lake is more than a quick tourist stopover for one of our group Ronnie & Bruce Wilczynski, Rig #22 – it’s a part of Bruce’s family history and one of Watson Lake’s regional lore with a tale of survival, courage and

determination that made local headlines. 

  

In 1943, a USAF plane crashed in mountainous terrain near Watson Lake during a blizzard, and all aboard were given up for dead. But, nineteen days later, USAF Staff Sergeant Eddie Wilczynski (Bruce’s dad) and a civilian passenger - both crawling for four days on broken legs - were finally found by a Canadian Mounted near a Watson Lake settlement. ”Am I glad to see you!” was Eddie’s welcoming remark.

 

Reading about Staff Sergeant Wilczynski and his traveling companion dragging their broken bodies through the snowy peaks trying to avoid the ancestors of the bears we’re happily photographing today makes me think “How lucky we are in our mobile palaces with our little “Toads” faithfully following along, enjoying a glass of wine and the company of our favorite companion and friendships at the end our day’s “rough road” journey. 

 

So here’s a toast to you Eddie Wilczynski, and to all the other service members who made this Alaskan Highway and our journey possible.