7/22 Whitehorse to Watson Lake

The day started overcast and cold then the clouds broke and warmed up to very hot. We stopped at Fort Nelson quickly to check the visitor's center and decide whether to continue. The Center and the town was very clean and the staff was very helpful. Late in the afternoon we made it to Watson Lake. WL is the home of the "Signpost Forest" started in 1942 by a soldier during the construction of the AlCan. Now whoever passes through (except us) tacks some piece of memorabilia Ilicense plates, name boards, street and village signs, etc." to posts sunk in the ground by the village for that purpose. There are now over 65,000 signs on hundreds of vertical posts occupying one quadrant of the main intersection in town. The Visitor's Center is also located here. The VC was very clean and the staff extraordinarily helpful and we thought we had hit a real gem of a town. However, although clean, the recommeded motel was clapped out. The carpet was puckered and threadbare and cigarette burnt. All the electrical appliances in the room were plugged into a rats nest of adapters and wires connected to one outlet. The curtain covering the window over the tub in the bathroom was a ragged piece of translucent plastic sheet held up by pieces of wire that looked like paper clips. OK maybe I'm too picky. Amazingly, the WiFi was the fastest connection we encountered on the trip. We decided to do laundry and went to the local gas station/convenience store/deli/ laundromat. This was an experience. The place looked as if it was newly built. The paint was fresh on the walls and it had bright fluorescent lighting. The guy behind the counter had the greatest mullet I've ever seen. "Joe Dirt" did not sport as magnificent a pile of hair as this guy did. And he had a mustache that, if you could have removed it from his upper lip, would have made an outstanding floor brush. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like he wanted to be there as he was quite surly when we asked him simple questions like, "Where is the laundromat?" and "May I have change to spend in your laundromat?". Ah well some people have no sense of humor. The deli girl who we did get change from had cracks and open sores on her hands with which she handled food and money without gloves. This was not a place that we wanted to order a sandwich from. As soon as we made it to the machines a very nice lady came up to us and gave us "boys" the lowdown on which machines were the best in the place and what their idiosyncracies were. Very valuable information. The restaurant left a bit to be desired. Again, worn out carpet that looked as if it would never be clean again, silverware that we had to wash ourselves, non-descript battered and fried cuisine and the intimate atmosphere one can only get from ambient fluourescent lighting. Watson Lake is definitely a place to stop and perhaps to stay, but it is a town with a mix of dusty, rundown facilities and new, modern facilities and mostly ultra-hospitable folks. On to Fort St. John tomorrow.