Alison doesn't just deliver babies - she delivers travel tips too! We stopped at Boya Lake on her recommendation - beautiful Turquoise Water surrounded by Fir Trees. Idyllic! Campsite too. But masses of Mossies! Had to keep moving.
Just north of the State Border where British Columbia meets Yukon Territory we joined the Alaska Highway. Built during WWII this 1,700 mile road was constructed in just seven months by the US Army Corp of Engineers. Following the Pearl Harbor attack, the US Government wanted a highway to link Alaska with the Lower 48 states and ordered the US Army to build it. 10,000 troops toiled through tough conditions and extreme weather, spurred on by reports of the Japanese invasion of Kiska Island and Attu Island off Alaska.
We stayed one night in Watson Lake at Air Force Lodge. Originally built in 1942 as a barracks for pilots flying during the Second World War, it has been lovingly restored to its WWII splendor. Ironically the lodge is now owned and run by a German couple!
Watson Lake's main claim to fame is the 'invention' of the Sign Post Forest, whose first sapling was planted in 1942 when a homesick GI, working on the Alaska Highway, erected a Sign Post to 'Danville, Ill. - 2,835 Miles' (his hometown). Others followed suit and there are now over 80,000 Sign Posts in the Forest!
