Time seems to slow down in the North. It does for the vegetation. Trees grow more slowly due to the short summer. A sign in the Rancheria Falls Park I visited today said it takes 100 years for the vegetation to stabilize again at its climax composition after a fire. In the Southern Yukon the blue spruce eventually dominates, followed by lodgepole pine. As one travels down the highway there are signs indicating the year in which the most recent fire occurred. Trees from 1958 do indeed look half the size of those untouched by fire.
Also, World War II is much more present here than in Washington DC (in spite of the monuments)
. Yesterday I crossed the convoy of WW II vehicles (and re-enactors) commemorating the highway. Today it was the remains of more vehicles used to build a road from oilfields in Northern Canada down to the Alaskan Highway in 1942. The oil proved too expensive to develop, so the project was abandoned, but the road remains.
And people have more time. Winters are long. Towns are small. The range of activities is limited. Michael, our charming German host at the Airforce Hotel agrees. He says he stays in Watson Lake all winter, and has no desire to return to Germany, after 16 years away.
I had dinner with a group of Australians traveling on motorbikes around Alaska and Western Canada. They had done this kind of thing before and loved it so much they actually bought their own bikes, and store them with a friend in Seattle for future ventures. After dinner we tested out entertainment alternatives in Watson. Our choice was the Northern Lights show
. Held in a small planetarium, what you see are time lapse sequences of the aurora borealis -- taken from different points on the Arctic Circle. I never realized there is a ring around the world, hundreds of kilometers high, of these lights dancing and glowing continuously. It more or less tracks the Arctic Circle. One only sees them when its dark, no clouds, and the Sun is electromagnetically active, sending out charged "winds" which interact with our own little magnetic field and our atmosphere, and make light.
I spend the day either freezing or sweating inside this enormous grey suit -- armored at the joints to diminish the physical damage from a potential fall. I feel like a certain knight, of doleful countenance, mounted on a trusty but crusty steed going from town to town listening to peoples tales. No windmills in sight... but trucking down the highway today I saw the next best thing -- an old WW II vintage DC 3 airplane wrapped up in blankets to keep it warm...
Day 4 - Watson Lake
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Watson Lake, Yukon, Canada
Other Entries
-
1Day 0 - Anchorage
Aug 124 days priorAnchorage, United Statesphoto_camera9videocam 0comment 1 -
2Day 1 - Tok
Aug 133 days priorTok, United Statesphoto_camera8videocam 0comment 6 -
3Day 16 South Deerfield
Aug 133 days priorSouth Deerfield, United Statesphoto_camera8videocam 0comment 3 -
4Day 2 - Dawson City - Yukon Territory
Aug 142 days priorDawson City, Canadaphoto_camera21videocam 0comment 6 -
5Day 3 - Whitehorse
Aug 151 day priorWhitehorse, Canadaphoto_camera6videocam 1comment 4 -
6Day 4 - Watson Lake
Aug 16Watson Lake, Canadaphoto_camera12videocam 0comment 6 -
7Day 5 - Fort Nelson
Aug 171 day laterFort Nelson, Canadaphoto_camera15videocam 0comment 5 -
8Day 6 - Dawson Creek
Aug 182 days laterDawson Creek, Canadaphoto_camera2videocam 0comment 5 -
9Day 7 - Edmonton
Aug 193 days laterEdmonton, Canadaphoto_camera10videocam 0comment 10 -
10Day 8 - Edmonton Rest Day
Aug 204 days laterEdmonton, Canadaphoto_camera21videocam 0comment 3 -
11Day 9 - Saskatoon
Aug 215 days laterSaskatoon, Canadaphoto_camera10videocam 1comment 3 -
12Day 10 - Minnedosa
Aug 226 days laterMinnedosa, Canadaphoto_camera18videocam 1comment 1 -
13Day 11 Kenora
Aug 248 days laterKenora, Canadaphoto_camera6videocam 0comment 6 -
14Day 12 Thunder Bay
Aug 248 days laterThunder Bay, Canadaphoto_camera15videocam 0comment 3 -
15Day 13 Wawa
Aug 259 days laterWawa, Canadaphoto_camera4videocam 0comment 0 -
16Day 14 Sudbury
Aug 2610 days laterSudbury, Canadaphoto_camera11videocam 0comment 5 -
17Day 15 - Ogdensburg
Aug 2711 days laterOgdensburg, United Statesphoto_camera7videocam 0comment 3 -
18Day 18 - Arlington and Home
Aug 3014 days laterArlington, United Statesphoto_camera1videocam 0comment 2
Comments

2025-02-07
Comment code: Ask author if the code is blank
Pita
2012-08-17
It is great to read your blog again; quite the treat! I'm enjoying BA. Back to Juanicó tomorrow. Thank you for sharing your amazing trip with good writing and wonderful pictures. Cariños y un fuerte abrazo rioplatense.
Harry
2012-08-17
You are probably taking 97 to Edmonton, but if the spirit moves you, the area around Jasper is more than worth seeing. Banff and Lake Louise are real high- end tourist traps, although the views are still spectacular, so you would probably want to cut back toward Edmonton before you get that far down. If you don't go to Jasper you can always see my pictures as a second or third best alternative. How are the saddle sores?
Gwynn
2012-08-18
Photo-wise, it would be hard for me to choose between the guerilla knitting or the totem poles. Creativity abounds.