Alaska 2024: Roll 9 - Watson Lake to Miles Canyon
The Sign Post Forest has been an institution in Watson Lake even before the Alaskan Highway changed over from military to civilian use.
There are thousands of signs nailed to the vertical posts in this many acre park on the west side of town. It has grown quite a bit since we were here back in 2015 and I imagine it will continue to grow over time.
I decided too quickly that I should shoot another roll of Ilford HP5 and then realized that these signs and all of their color would have been better suited to color film. Oh well, maybe next time.
Once we packed up and rolled out of Watson Lake, the first stop for the day was at Rancheria Falls, which is about 80 miles west on the Alaskan Highway.
The hike out to the falls was very easy and much of it was on an elevated boardwalk. It makes for a nice stop about an hour and a half out of Watson Lake.
We drove for several more ours through some pretty monotonous countryside and then stopped at Johnson's Crossing at a large bridge over the Teslin River.
We made some lunch, were entertained by crows in the area and then stopped in the little store/gas station for a super large cookie that was a nice treat for lunch dessert.
Miles Canyon that squeezes the Yukon River between two narrow cliffs is another attraction that we didn't see on our first time through in 2015 but that got added to our list when we were starting to plan this year. It is amazing to see, hear, and even feel all of the water that is moving by below you as you cross over the suspension bridge across the water.
Kenai wasn't too excited about the bridge as people were moving across it because it moved quite a bit and that can be pretty unsettling. We had a good time stomping around on the other side and then we headed back to the Suburban so we could go into Whitehorse.
We ended up having a nice stay in Whitehorse. We were even able to get Kristy and I a bubble tea and had a good taco bowl from a local restaurant.