We made it to Watson Lake in the Yukon Territory and took an extra day to sightsee and slow down a bit. Today we went to the Signpost Forest where there are over 72,000 signs from all over the world. In addition to official road signs, we saw signs made from a toilet seat, hats, frisbees, underwear, baking dishes, boots, oars, wood pieces, and plastic lids. Just about anything you can think of has been turned into a sign and hung here.
We left after walking around a while and went to the grocery store in town, and as we were driving, we decided that we needed to leave a sign. So the search began….
We looked in every cabinet and storage compartment in our RVs and then I found it. A plastic bag holder that you hang on a wall to recycle those grocery bags that seem to accumulate from nowhere. It was in our house under the sink and I thought I might have a place for it in the RV. With no such luck, I shoved it in a cabinet.
So that was going to be our sign. With a little imagination, I added a thermometer using a red peanut butter lid to the inside because it came to mind when I saw the shape of the opening. I wrote the words “we Texans are freezing ya’ll” along with our names.
Just a little history about this place:
In 1942, while the Alaska Hwy was being built, it was common for the US Army of Engineers to put up a directional post at their camps. It gave directions and mileage to surrounding communities and various parts of the world. While working on the Alaska Hwy near Lower Post, BC, Private Carl K. Lindley was injured and taken to the Aid Station in Watson Lake to recuperate.
During that time, Carl’s commanding officer assigned him to repair and repaint the directional post. While Carl was painting, he thought it would be a good idea to add his home town sign of DANVILLE, ILLINOIS. Carl was known as the homesick, lonesome soldier and he is the one who started the Signpost Forest.
It was a very cool touristy spot and you could literally walk around for hours reading and laughing at signs. Everyone seemed to be looking for their home towns. It was easy to pull in for the RVs passing through, and you can’t miss it if you are driving the Alaska Highway. Look for the plastic bag holder if you stop by!
