We arrived at Dawson Creek late in the day and it started to drizzle on and off. We camped at the City Park which is cheap and convenient. Next day we had to make an obligated stop at Alaska Highway mile zero, and took pictures.
According to Milepost magazine, the section of highway before and after Summit Lake was supposed to be winding and narrow. It was fine for us but then we drove a small car. It was easy driving compare to the central Pacific coast in California. Summit Lake was picturesque but windy. No one was camping there. We prefer Muncho Lake further down the road.
By the time we got to Watson Lake in Yukon, it was the third week of August. Some of the tourist shops and RV parks were already closed for the season. Luckily, the Sign Post Forest was opened 24/7. You got to walk it to appreciate it. It was started by a homesick G.I. during the original construction of the highway. He put up a sign post from his hometown which now had grown to more than 10,000 signs from all over the world. The Sign Post Forest is like a hugh international collaborative art installation. Too bad we didn’t bring a sign from home to add to it. If the gift shop was opened, we could make a sign on the spot and hang it up ourselves. Simply amazing!
The Alaska Highway crisscrosses British Columbia and Yukon in several places. During this stretch of highway, we encountered mama grizzly bear and her cub, a herd of bison obstructing traffic, caribou family feeding by the road side, trumpeter swans on a lake; we even saw a beaver crossing the road. Some wild flowers were displaying their last blooms, fireweed all over the place, the sky was getting cloudy, the air was heavy with moisture, and campgrounds were getting more primitive.
Whitehorse is the capital of Yukon Territory and the biggest town in the province. We camped at Caribou RV Park just south of town. That evening while we were cooking dinner at the campsite, we heard wolves howling in the distance. And the next morning, they woke us up with their howls too.