Day 10: June 25, 2016 Time of the Signs Comment via blog

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This is at least the second programmable sign I've seen warning of bison on highway. I'll be watching for them and also for bicyclists on highway. I totally admire the folks who do this and am seriously amazed at their numbers.

I could easily fill another panel or an entire page with through the windshield pictures but I'll try to hold back. The pair of through the windshield pictures included here were taken on the approach to an overlook and the other three pictures were taken from the overlook.

OK. So these two through the windshield shots are unlike any others. One is of a dirt highway and the other is of a motorcycle on a dirt highway.

I expected to be completely cut off from cinnamon buns for the entire length of the Alaska Highway but nothing could be farther from the truth. The highway passes right by the "Cinnamon Bun Centre of the Galactic Cluster", a.k.a. Tetsa River Lodge. As I enjoyed my cinnamon bun behind the bench held up by two cute bear cubs, I snapped a picture of the gas pump beyond. Note the "NO SNIVELING" admonition which no doubt comes into play when someone discovers that the fully justified price of fuel here is $1.59CAD/litre or $7.76USD/gallon.

This time the monotony of through-the-windshield pictures is alleviated by the inclusion of a through-the-side-window picture.

In Muncho Lake Provincial Park, it's a biped on the highway. By the lake itself, it's quadrupeds. Although they are certainly watchful, a motorcycle putting by doesn't really disturb them nor does a car or even a truck.

About a half-dozen kilometers north of the park, I encountered the biggest construction project of the trip so far. The wait for the pilot car was just over twenty minutes by which time we had a pretty good little parade assembled for the five kilometer drive through the construction zone.

I thought the animal in the first photo was a bison calf when I took the picture. I had earlier seen a full grown bison when I was still some distance away and by the time I was beside it the rising road blocked my view so no picture. However, as I edited the picture, I could see that what I thought was a bison calf was actually a pretty good sized black bear. A pair of bison soon appeared on the right side of the road and another was on the left a short time later. I saw no bison on the road and I've a feeling that, even if all four I did see were on the road, it wouldn't be enough to seriously impede roller skating.

I ended the day in Watson Lake whose most famous tourist attraction the Sign Post Forest that has been growing since 1942. That's when homesick GI Carl K. Lindley personalized a set of distance markers by adding the mileage to his home town of Danville, Illinois. That original sign is long gone but Carl signed this replica in 1992. The constantly rising sign count is uncertain but is somewhere beyond 72,000. To me, the use of license plates isn't really keeping with the original spirit of the place but there are a lot of them including several from Ohio. Many of the signs are made specifically for hanging here but even more have been retired or "borrowed" from their original purpose. Among the many real signs from Ohio I found is one from Dayton that's been here awhile.

As predicted, reasonably priced rooms are becoming scarce but my room at the Big Horn Hotel was nice and the price not quite outrageous.

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