Whitehorse and to Watson Lake

We returned to Whitehorse and picked up all the supplies we had stored on the trip north. After fuelling up and resupplying with a few things we headed towards Watson Lake. Along the way we came across the Teslin Tlingit Heritage Centre. We drove in but then saw that it was closed at 5, however there were lots of vehicles and the door was open. While deciding what to do we were approached by someone from inside who welcomed us into the centre to look around. They had an amazing museum inside that showed how they Tlingit people had moved inland from the coast. The development of the Alaskan Highway in 1942 changed things significantly for them all, both positive and negative. The beadwork the Tlingit do is amazing. This is a vest and mukluks made for the RCMP officer stationed locally back in the early 1970's, he recently donated the items to the museum. The ladies were doing a sewing circle and were so friendly and helpful. They invited us to come back in July 2023 when they were hosting the Nations reunion. They also told us of a sticks tournament happening that same night in Watson Lake and urged us to go watch, which we did. In Watson Lake there is a Sign Post Forest, which is a site that is about 1/4 an acre of posts covered with sign posts from all over the world. Here are just a few images to show the size and variety.

We went to the friendship centre to watch the sticks tournament and were amazed at the drumming and the game itself, we only wish we understood the rules of play!

We continued on south from Watson Lake looking for a camping spot and eventually had to settle on a rest area just south of town right on the 60º latitude line. It was a cool night and it snowed on us for the first time.