Photo by The Joneses In Watson Lake we visited the Sign Post Forest. The Forest was started in 1942 by a homesick Army G.I. while working on the Alaska Highway. He erected a sign pointing to his hometown. Others followed and are still doing so — now there are thousands of signs. — — — E-mail Gisela — — — SLIDE SHOW: We're in Alaska now, and the views are amazing!
ARCHIVES: You wouldn't believe how beautiful Canada is! Wouldn't change a thing Who knew there was so much to see in South Dakota? Time is flying by — but at least we're having fun! I (heart) Hart Ranch, South Dakota Rallyin' in Goshen, Indiana A special day From friends to work to warmer temps, we're still having fun in Florida Traveling to Texas Finally, we're in Alaska! On the way to Canada Boise sure has changed a lot Escapees Rally in Wyoming Bittersweet trip through the southeast From Boy Scouts to ‘Stars on Ice’ Michigan is full of treasures Arriving in Florida Earning our ears Celebrating Christmas and New Year's in Florida and the Disney Parks Down in the Lowcountry Making our way through Minn., Wisc. and Ill. The holidays in Florida Our time in Lakeland has come to an end Couldn't have had a better time in Omaha! Arriving in Charleston A day with friends from Frederick 'Life is good' in Lakeland, Fla. Leaving Florida, and heading north Our final days in Kentucky Into the Keys Out of Charleston and off to Indiana Dreams come true in Vermont You never know what you'll see or who you'll meet in Alaska Leaving Indiana, but not before taking some of the state's best sites Idaho is full of natural treasures — and moon-like craters, too It's all about the theme parks From prairie country to beautiful views to grand 'ol Yellowstone Thunderstorms, flooding, tornados and a visit with the 'Duke' And so it begins ... Moving days for Greg and his family The gang's all here! Happy to be in Florida again Strawberries, and more strawberries 'The RV Capital of the World' From the beautiful Maine coastline down to southern Connecticut Training for our jobs at Disney World Chillin' out at 'Camp Monaco' Under the weather Back in Florida At long last, back in the area Lots to see in the 'Show Me' state With family and spectacular sights in Hailey, Idaho Look back, look ahead Back in the Lower 48 The cold weather is hitting Florida From Dallas to devastation Back on the road again Leaving Idaho and heading east Beautiful Alaska A memorable visit to Alaska's Kenai Peninsula Watch out for flying dinner rolls

The Park is in the North Pole theme with a large Santa Claus statue, the Santa Clause House, and elves, reindeer and snowmen decorations are everywhere. The street lights on Santa Claus Lane look like candy canes. I love it! I will write more about this area when we come back here in two weeks.

After leaving Grand Prairie we traveled through beautiful, but very isolated areas. We stopped at campgrounds in Fort Nelson, Toad River, Watson Lake, Teslin and Whitehorse. Most of these towns are very small, but all have nice campgrounds and the people are exceptionally friendly.

In Watson Lake we visited the Sign Post Forest. The Forest was started in 1942 by a homesick Army G.I. while working on the Alaska Highway. He erected a sign pointing to his hometown. Others followed and are still doing so — now there are thousands of signs. I saw many signs for German towns and streets.

White Horse is the capital of the Yukon and it has a population of a little over 24,000. All of the Yukon has only about 34,000 inhabitants. We really liked White Horse, it nestles on the banks of the Yukon river and is surrounded by spectacular mountain scenery. July 1 was Canada Day, their day of independence and we celebrated it with the locals, watching a parade and participating in some of the activities in the park. It was fun.

From White Horse we drove with the car to Skagway. Skagway is in Alaska on the inside passage of the Pacific Ocean and a popular place for the large cruise ships. There were six of them in the harbor the day we were there. It was a very lively place during the Klondike Gold Rush days in the late 1800s.

We took the White Pass &Yukon Route train that climbs almost 3,000 feet from sea level at Skagway to the Summit in just 20 miles. It was built for the prospectors to reach the gold fields in the Yukon and construction was started in 1898 and was just completed about 10 years ago. The ride was incredible with breathtaking and, at times, dramatic scenery because of steep gorges on one side and mountains on the other side of the train.

Our next and last stop before reaching Alaska was Destruction Bay. We had been told by an Alaskan couple we met in Omaha of a place near there where a guy named Scullies makes Burl Bowls.

A burl starts out as an irritation to a black spruce, common to this area, the tree sends extra sap to heal the area and that creates the burl. Artists then carve the burl into a unique bowl; each one different from the next. Scullies retired a few years ago, but we met a guy by the name of Duie who carves these bowls.

Other than being an artist who creates these beautiful pieces, he was also quite the character and Peggy and I enjoyed taking to him and listening to some of his local stories. I bought three bowls for Christmas presents — maybe I’ll keep one for myself. We also saw a lot of fence posts with these burls. They make very interesting fences and staircase rails.

After Destruction Bay we crossed the border into Alaska near Beaver Creek and drove onto Tok. The road became gradually worse as we were approaching the border. Mostly gravel roads, uneven road surface as well as cracks and pot holes, caused by permafrost. Permafrost is defined as ground that remains at or below 32 degrees for two or more years. It made for a nice "rollercoaster ride"! We had our coaches and tow vehicles well protected with guards, nets, and covers, so the rough roads and flying rocks did not do any damage to our motor-home and car.

Tok, the first town in the United States, is also a small town with a population of 1,435. We spent the Fourth of July there watching the "rather small" parade and walked around the activities area. No fireworks! It does not get dark enough.

We haven’t seen it getting dark yet. The latest we have been up was 2 a.m. and it was still light outside; not bright sunshine but certainly far from being called dark. The Alaskans have their fireworks around Christmas time.

Besides the beautiful and awesome scenery wherever we travel or stay, we have been meeting many nice people from all over the world. A lot of Europeans fly to Alaska and then rent a motor-home and travel. Yesterday I met people from South Africa. In the campground in Tok we met three German couples from Munich and spent a nice evening with them.

While in Tok we took the ‘Top of the World Highway’ to Chicken and Dawson City in our car. I’ll write about that interesting trip next time.