Masters of RVing Adventures

The last few days have been filled with beautiful scenery as we’ve traveled close to 800 miles through BC into the Yukon. Sparse on activity stops but we’ve managed to find a few.

Liard River Hot Springs

We boondocked in their overflow lot for the night and enjoyed a few hours soak in the hot springs. We also spotted our first moose and another bear, but it wasn’t the best time to set up the Nikon for a wildlife photo shoot.

Into the Yukon

Our Wagon Master determined we would be pulling out in order of parking in 5-minute increments beginning at 7:55am (see above photo – Oz, the big green HDT, belongs with the next to last DRV). Jackson & Cheeto were North bound again promptly at 8am heading for Yukon territory!

The Signpost Forest

Our 291-mile drive today included more incredible scenery, some wildlife sightings, a few tired and even dilapidated structures, and long stretches of empty road, except for our rigs. We had one on-the-way stop for fuel that included a quirky road-side attraction. Known by many RVers traveling to Alaska for the first time, a ‘must-do’ is to add a sign with your name and hometown to a post in the Signpost Forest. It all began in 1942 by Carl Lindley, a homesick American soldier who was working on building the Alaska Highway. While repairing a directional post, he decided to add a sign for his hometown in Danville, IL, and inadvertently this act created an enormous collection of over 100,000 unique signs today. The town of Watson Lake continues to add posts each year so more visitors can add to the Forest. We spent about almost an hour adding our signs and walking around reading others’ signs (we spotted cities near home, such as Ashville and New Bern, NC; Myrtle Beach and Travelers’ Rest, SC; Blairsville, GA; Charleston, WV; Richmond, VA; and plenty other small towns that I can’t remember!).

Teslin

From Watson Lake, we kept heading North for another 264km traveling through the lush river valleys and low mountain passes of Canada’s Yukon Territory until reaching Historical Mile 804 and the small town of Teslin. We are camping two nights (with limited services of just water and 30amp) at the Yukon Motel & RV Park. Their website description says it is a Lakeshore Resort. I’m including a quick video for you to get a better grasp of the word “resort.”

Teslin is home to the Teslin Tlingit people. “Teslin” is Tlingit meaning “long narrow water.” They have two interesting heritage and historical places for learning about indigenous culture and local history. We toured the Teslin Tlingit Heritage Center and the George Johnston Museum. George was quite industrious and brought by river the first Chevrolet car years before the highway was ever constructed!

Teslin River Bridge is the last original steel bridge remaining on the southern Yukon stretch of the Alaska Highway. You have to cross over the bridge to reach Teslin (and our campground).

RV Life

I’m starting to get more used to tiny spaces and lots of dust and dirt, piles of things on counters, dashboards, or anyplace you can find, tucking away as much as you can into any nook or cranny, washing dishes daily, unstacking and restacking pots, pans, bowls, cups and other utensils in order to get the one you need, hanging clothes and towels back up after a long bumpy ride, and sleeping in daylight!

Prior to leaving Fort Mill, I pre-made and froze about 30 some meals for Mark and I to have as quick dinners after long drives. We’ve been grateful for the foresight and quick ability to heat up a frozen lasagna, pasta, soup, or casserole when tired and road weary. We also have had several group dinners and cocktail hours. We just added a group breakfast for when we reach Tok, AK.

For the most part, we’ve pre-planned our grocery stops so that we have milk, eggs, fresh produce and select meats, even if we don’t recognize all the brands. All have to be consumed prior to crossing over the US border or risk being confiscated.

We have one additional boondocking night before reaching Alaska. Will give you more on that in the next post. But for now, off to a happy hour and Navigator meeting for tomorrow’s drive!