Day 6 - Whitehorse - Yukon Territory

Animal Count remains the same as we traveled 450 km and didn't see a living thing.
Rain
Sun
Cold

This evening in Whitehorse is a balmy
14 degrees following a day off wind and rain. First part of the day was the windiest and wettest we have had since leaving the island and the nature of the road changed a little also today.
No more twisties, back to the wide open vista's and back up to the snow line.
Gravel and road repairs have been a feature of the day with mud, dust & dirt

A visit to the Signpost Forest in Watson Lake was the first stop of the day and a chance to add our own sign supporting Liverpool FC.
http://www.signpostforest.com/
Check this link out for the interesting history of the attraction.
At this time there are over 65,000 signs and one in particular took my eye.

 After spending the last few days with the highway to ourselves it was a big change to be sharing it with truckers who fly past at 130 kph while you are doing 65 kph in the gravel or mud.
When its dry the resulting dust-cloud leaves you blind for the next minute or so and unable to see potholes or banks of deep gravel.
Certainly keeps you on your toes.

Although a lot busier than the previous days we only got stopped at a flag person 3 times and had to wait no longer than 5 or 6 minutes each time.
Sometimes the flag person will call a motorcycle to the front of the queue for ease and/or safety, but sadly not today. Its always entertaining when you have to pass the gaggle of RV's and trucks to gain your own space and ride your own road.


I was lucky enough to sit and speak with a road engineer at 5.30 this morning while having coffee in the lodge and he described the method of using processed slurry that is positively charged, laid on the hard-pack and left to cure. Gravel is then raked over it to produce a hardy surface that will last a few years as they know they are going to be back in a couple of springs. Here it is being laid.

Staying over in the lodge was a guy called Bill from New York and when I saw the back of his bike I knew I had to have a chat with him, great guy who has traveled in 50 countries on bikes and is trying to make the other remaining 200 in the next few years. Now that's what I call a bucket list.

As stated above no wildlife to been seen anywhere today until we arrived at Mountain Ridge Motel on the outskirts of Whitehorse where a little fox was sniffing around outside the cabins, he really wasn't bothered by the fact that I walked up to him to take a photograph, just looked up then carried on eating someones food they had left on their porch.
We did visit a museum of Wildlife today and I cant believe how big a bull-moose is, I have no desire to meet one of them head on in the middle of the highway.

Dinner in town this evening, following a stroll around the Klondike paddle steamer, was in the Burnt Toast Cafe and proved to be excellent. Local Elk and Blueberry Sausage for me and a warm Gnarly Barley Salad
for Wifey.

Weather forecast for the next few days is clear and sunny but as we are getting north its getting cooler so its thermal's out on Thursday morning for the first time.