On August 28, we drove from Fort Nelson in British Columbia to Teslin which is in the Yukon province of Canada. After passing Muncho Lake, we came upon the Liard River Hotsprings which is a tropical wetlands area in the midst of the mountains. 
A wooden boardwalk leads from the parking lot down to two hot pools where people can swim year-round. These wetlands are enjoyed by bears and moose as well as folks passing by.
From the Liard Hot Springs, we crossed over into the Canadian province of the Yukon. 
Shortly after crossing into the Yukon, we spotted a bear sitting in the wild flowers along the highway, eating roots to his heart's content. He could barely be seen from the road, and we were lucky to see him only because he raised his head. I got out of the car to take his picture because it was obvious that he was quite contented to just sit and eat. I can certainly identify! 
Black bears are not as large as the brown (or grizzly) bears nor do they have the hump in the middle of their shoulders like the brown. They are more vegetarian also (which is a good thing for humans!).
The second largest town in the Yukon is Watson Lake with a population of around 1700. Although it is described as "the gateway to the Yukon," its lodging services leave much to be desired. A couple of summers ago, Kay and I tried to stop there and were quite disheartened when we opened the door to the motel room and realized there were more mosquitoes inside the filthy room than on the outside. Kay declared that she would sleep in the car before staying the night and refused my suggestion that things would be fine if we left all of our clothes on, slept on top of the beds, and ran to the store for bug repellent. After reaching no agreement, we decided that cool heads could make better decisions, and we decided to go to dinner and then decide whether to go on down the Alaska Highway. Alas, after dinner, we came out of the cafe and ash from a huge forest fire was dropping from the sky, the sky had turned to a yellowish gray, and the sun was gone. The fire, not cool heads, urged us onward and we took off toward Whitehorse around 6:00 p.m. Unfortunately, more forest fires were around us and for the first 40 minutes of driving, we saw only one other car. It was somewhat like the Twilight Zone - - Eventually we discovered that the reason for no traffic was because the road had been closed due to fires ahead of us. Kay got her wish. We spent most of that night sitting in our car at different spots on the Alaska Highway, waiting for the road to open! We finally reached Whitehorse around 3:00 a.m.
After that experience, we have skipped Watson Lake and gone on to Teslin, almost 200 miles away, to spend the night. Teslin is between Whitehorse and Watson Lake. But a stop in Watson Lake is always in order because of its Signpost Forest. Begun in 1942 as the Alaska Highway was being built, the signs are left by travelers on the highway to mark their passing by. We did the same. 
Our sign was a pizza pan that was made by Claudia who noted our friendship and the fellowship that has shaped our friendship.
As we neared Teslin, the mountainsides became clothed with a mantle of golden aspens, yellows, reds, and oranges. Fall was upon us. 
. . another unexpected surprise of the north! 
In Teslin, we stayed at the Yukon Motel which lies next to the Nisutlin Bay Bridge. Few amenities are available in its rooms - but it is clean and the restaurant has good food. It is also home to a moose that formed a huge crush on Elizabeth when he met her. 
On August 29, 2006, we drove to Whitehorse which has a population of 22,000 and is the capital of the Yukon. The fact quoted by locals to visitors is that "there are more moose in the Yukon than human beings." We have found no reason to doubt the truth of that oft repeated statement. Outside Whitehorse is a lake that is a resting place for migratory birds during the spring. It's called "Swan Haven" and was a great place for a picture.
Kay as a chemical dependency counselor has always been interested in human behavior. Elizabeth, on the other hand, . . . .
After a brief coffee break in Whitehorse, we turned north to take the Klondike Highway (Highway 2) to Dawson City where we would find the Dempster Highway. The Dempster would take us into the Artic Circle.
and Elizabeth was drafted into working part-time. It had rained off and on during the day, and we began seeing caribou along the road and rainbows decorating the sky for us. 
