The last post discussed the realities of driving the Alaska Highway. Let’s now show you some of the fun we had along the way! Admittedly, we came through this section of the world faster than we would have liked. But we were on a mission….our youngest daughter Janelle is flying into Anchorage to join us in a few weeks and we need to be there on time to pick her up! We will be taking the Alaska Highway back home in September, so we’ll slow it down then.
I need to mention a Facebook group that we belong to. It’s called “RVing to Alaska (the Original)”. It’s run by former fulltime RVers that now live in Alaska. This Facebook page is a great “gathering space” for people making this trip of a lifetime. Do we have a secret handshake to identify one another IRL (in real life)? No, we have a sticker that we apply to the back of our rigs.


Cinnamon Buns
On the Alaska Highway, you keep driving. And driving. And driving some more. And if you pay attention to what the aforementioned Facebook page says, you discover that this part of the world if full of little bakeries that claim to have the world’s best cinnamon buns. I have no idea how this came to be a thing, but we we definitely had to participate. So, one of our stops was at the Tetsa River Lodge in British Columbia.

We arrived shortly after 7:00 a.m. when they opened. Hey, we wanted to make sure we got a cinnamon bun before they ran out! It was not problem. This establishment proudly proclaims on their website AND on signs around the property that they are the “Cinnamon Bun Center of the Galactic Cluster.” I don’t know if it is true or not, but who are we to argue.

One thing that struck us about this lodge was that they were totally off the grid. They were running a big generator for electricity, you could hear it in the background. And the woman who sold us the cinnamon buns could take a credit card because they now have Internet via Starlink. Starlink has been a game changer for these remote businesses.
Hot Springs
The next place on our MUST STOP list was the Liard River Hot Springs. We did not have reservations, so the early start to score a cinnamon bun allowed us to arrive at the Hot Springs by 10:00 am and were able to score a first come-first served campsite in the Liard River Provincial Park. We parked and quickly got out the swim suits.





The Yukon
After a day a the hot springs, it was time to push on to the Yukon.
The 60th Parallel (60 degrees north of the Earth’s equator) defines the southern border of the Yukon. That unseen landmark rated its own wayside, so we just had to stop.

Shortly after the 60th parallel wayside, we came upon the Welcome to the Yukon sign. Yet another photo opportunity.

We had been covering a lot of territory, and needed a way to visually keep track of where we were. The Milepost Guidebook that I mentioned in the last blog post, has a map. This map has been hanging in our home office for the last couple of years, with post-it notes on it to remind us of the names of all the highways (confusing) and all the must-see-sights. I decided to put the map up on the wall of the RV. Get out the blue tape!

Watson Lake Sign Post Forest
Visiting the Sign Post Forest in Watson Lake is a must-do. Back in World War II, a soldier was tasked with installing a post with arrow shaped signs denoting local destinations and how many miles to get there. He added a sign for his home town. Then another soldier’s sign was added. And another. And that was the birth of the Sign Post Forest. It has grown quite a bit since the 1940s.





We, of course, came prepared. Knowing this was on our route, James made us a sign while we were still home in Las Cruces.

Now to find a spot for the sign. We had with us a step stool and a drill to aid in the installation.



I’ve been saving this photo below since we visited Dawson Creek. Near Mile Post Zero is the Dawson Creek Sticker Forest! Get it? Sign Forest…Sticker Forest!!!! This cracked me up. Apparently putting stickers on “Welcome to” signs is a big deal here. Dawson City has embraced it.

Our next post will be about Alaska sights (finally).
Just a final note. It is not the summer solstice yet, that won’t be until June 21st. That date, the sun won’t set if you are above the Arctic Circle. We aren’t that far north, but we are far enough north that the sun is not setting until around 11 pm and rising before 4 am. Those are some short nights. We have been told (and agree with) pulling the black out shades in the RV when we settle in for the evening. That tricks your brain into acknowledging that it’s night time. By doing this, we haven’t had any trouble sleeping.

The road is calling. On to the next adventure.

We left a sign too when we were there in 2019. Randy was very disappointed to learn that the signs from 1966 (when he was there as a teenager) were removed many years ago.
Really? They took signs down? That would be a disappointment. That would have been funny if I had found your sign. But there are sooooo many of them! We will be through Watson Lake again on our way back south in September…give me an idea of where you sign is and I’ll look for it.
The hot springs look wonderful! And I love the sign post tradition.
Your post-its on the map really do put the distances in perspective!
The hot springs were so nice! And you bring up a good point about the map. People have no idea of the distances involved to get to Alaska. I may have to elaborate on that!