The guide book said to watch out for caribou, Stone sheep and bison along the road. And while we saw all three, mostly we saw bison.
There were 2 caribou crossing the road not far from Toad River, the only ones we saw in the several hundred kilometres we drove that day.
Stone sheep are a sub-species of Dall sheep and are named for the area where they're found.
There were lots of bison along the road and they munched away completely ignoring us. Must needs be focussed when you're ramping up your body weight preparing for winter.
We decided to motel it for our first evening in Watson Lake and not because it was our 6th day in the confined space of the A-liner and tempers were fraying. No, there was a much more important reason than that: the Roughriders were playing and we needed TV access.
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There were lots of bison along the road and they munched away completely ignoring us. Must needs be focussed when you're ramping up your body weight preparing for winter.
We decided to motel it for our first evening in Watson Lake and not because it was our 6th day in the confined space of the A-liner and tempers were fraying. No, there was a much more important reason than that: the Roughriders were playing and we needed TV access.
We did manage to catch the last half of the game (which the Riders won), then headed out to explore the town. First stop: the Visitor Centre and Signpost Forest. The latter was initiated by some poor, lonely sod during the building of the Alaska Highway who, slowly expiring from homesickness and loneliness, posted a signpost identifying his home town and the exact number of miles he was away from it. To date, there are roughly 75,000 signs and counting.
The Visitor Centre staff were very knowledgeable and helpful locals who directed us to the various activities and sights the town and district offers. One particularly outstanding one was the Northern Lights Centre (http://www.northernlightscentre.ca/) which offers a couple of informative and really beautiful films on the universe and on the aurora in particular. What makes these films unique is that the theatre is in the round, as it were, and the film plays all around and over you.
It's the only place in North America (maybe the world) to offer this particular experience but unfortunately has seen attendance steadily decline for the past few years. So, what are you waiting for? Getcher sorry butt up there and buy a ticket to the show. Just saying...
We spent our second night at Watson Lake in the government campground down the road. Peaceful. Quiet. Some interesting folks. Oh, and bears. Actually, we didn't see any but a couple of guys camped down the way from us were cycling along the highway near the campground and noticed one. Kind of puts a damper on my own cycling plans. The little folding bike I bought just for this trip has yet to set its tires to pavement. Or anything else.
We spent our second night at Watson Lake in the government campground down the road. Peaceful. Quiet. Some interesting folks. Oh, and bears. Actually, we didn't see any but a couple of guys camped down the way from us were cycling along the highway near the campground and noticed one. Kind of puts a damper on my own cycling plans. The little folding bike I bought just for this trip has yet to set its tires to pavement. Or anything else.
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