Day 8: New Hazelton, BC to Watson Lake, Yukon

512 miles
6:50 AM to 4:10 PM

Thank you, Lord:
Moose sighting!
Incredible views
privilege of making this trip

We made our way up route 16 and turned north on 37, the Stewart-Alaska Hwy. In the entire length of this road there is one turn off (to Stewart on the Alaska border) other than logging roads. Kind of hard to get lost. I was amazed at the school buses. Where do the kids live? But occasionally we passed a First Nations settlement. Besides the signs that reminded us not to pass school buses when the lights are flashing, there were signs with an odd picture. When I finally was able to read the words underneath, they said, "Do not pass snowplow on the right." Hard to imagine who would even consider passing a snowplow on the right, but you never can tell.

We are north woods people. Yesterday and this morning we kept seeing bits that reminded us of Wisconsin up near Ashland or the upper peninsula of Michigan. But soon it was like nothing in the upper midwest. Snowy mountain calendar pictures everywhere we looked.

And this was BEFORE we got to the scenic route marked on the map. I kept pinching myself. I can't believe we actually get to make this incredible trip.

The scenic part on the map was less scenic for us because it was about then that the clouds closed in and blocked the view. It rained for several hours. I tend to dress for the weather the day before and today was no exception. Day before yesterday I was cold, so yesterday I wore a long sleeved top and my comfy stretch pants. With the sun coming through the glass and no fan, I was hot, so today I wore shorts and sandals. Dumb. We were heading north. I soon added a sweater and mid-morning pulled out my stretch pants to change. Tomorrow I will add socks and closed shoes instead of flip-flops. (BTW immediately after Steve asked God's blessing on today's travel we noticed that the fan had come on. It hadn't even occurred to us to ask.)

Steve raved that Route 37 was everything the road to Alaska should be. Although it started with occasional passing lanes, it narrowed to two lanes without shoulders, but seeing as how we averaged meeting one car every ten minutes or so, it didn't matter. Mostly it was well-paved although one section deteriorated to the level of Burnett County Road A. Gas stations were few and far between. At half tank we filled up to be sure we could make it here to Watson Lake. As we approached steeper sections of the road, we always saw gates like these that could be closed in winter.

Watson Lake where we are staying tonight is on the main Alaska Hwy. Very disappointing. At least in this section it is just like a normal state road back home. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

But this morning was a three-bear morning--all meandering along the side of the road or crossing. Given how quickly they disappeared into the underbrush, I can't imagine that we will ever see one that isn't on the road. I was beginning to think that a bear a day keeps the moose away when Steve almost walloped me in the face. He was pointing to the moose standing at the side of the road, and I would forgive him if he had hit me. A cow, I think, but at this time of year the bulls don't have much in the way of antlers, and the glimpse was brief. No time for photo. Also saw a porcupine, just sitting on the edge of the road watching us. Steve thought he might have seen a wolverine earlier, but I missed it and can't confirm one way or the other.

Talked to Mom via Skype. She has her reservation. We will pick her up Saturday morning in Fairbanks. The passport has been sent, but did not arrive today. Praying it comes tomorrow. The place we are staying tonight would not have worked well for her--a WW2 with barracks with bathrooms down the hall. Simple and clean, but not convenient for those who have to get up in the night.

Supper at Bee Jays, a truck stop where the locals eat. Looks like a dump from the outside, but the guy who runs the hotel said the kitchen was clean and good. Yummy Salisbury steak with mashed potatoes, salad and veges. We followed it up with a hike around Wye Lake and racked up 4000 steps on the Mayo Clinic app on our phones. I  caught my breath when I realized I was hiking in the legendary Yukon.

The tourist attraction in Watson Lake is this sign forest. It seems one of the workers on the Alaska Hwy in 1942 put up a sign from his home town. Others have followed suit. This is only a tiny corner of the "forest" that has grown up. Some were business signs; some were town signs; some were the sort of sign people put up by their lake cottage. My favorite was the one for the sign company.

Afghan update: First time on the pattern row I realized something was off in the first pattern set and had to pick out two pattern repetitions. Sigh. I tend to do a six-stitch section of pattern and then look around at the spectacular scenery before I start the next six-stich section of a different pattern, but I failed to change patterns and had two of the same in a row. Had to pick out two complete patterns (2x12). I was congratulating myself that I had now undoubtedly made all the mistakes possible to make and would henceforth be alert to them and make no more errors when I discovered two dropped stitches that were unraveling. Sigh. HOWEVER, the last row before arriving at Air Force Lodge in Watson Lake I did not have to pick out anything and it came out even with no adjustments necessary--the first such perfect pattern row of this entire afghan!