Blog
9 June: We stayed overnight at the Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park. A dip in the hot springs is almost mandatory for 
travelers of this road, and well worth the stop. The hot springs are 53oC at the source, allowing a number of more southerly plants to survive in an otherwise inhospitable environment. And for mere mortals, the hot springs were a welcome replacement for the (now drained) hot tub in NC.
The rig has been difficult to start mornings. I’m beginning to be concerned. We had this problem earlier in the year, and it seemed to resolve with a new battery, but why the battery would now be draining so quickly is a mystery.
10 June: We tried to second guess the rig last night, leaving both the slideout and the stairs unused, and it started right up for the first time in several days. We were pleasantly surprised, and hopeful that we had a handle on our somewhat unpredictable starter. But when we turned it off after a 3-hour drive, it was slow to start up again. First time we’ve had that happen.
We stayed the day in Watson Lake, a small town in the south of the Yukon Territory, mostly famous for it’s “Signpost Forest”, a collection of more than 80,000 signs. The signposts were started by a homesick GI in 1942, and just grew from there. (The original sign is long gone.)
More lore on the AH: There was talk of building the roadway as early as the 1920s, but the Canadians were reluctant to grant the US permission, fearful that the US might take over parts of Canada. Shortly after Pearl Harbor, and the Japanese assault on the Aleutian Islands, it became clear that a land route north was essential, and the US Army built the “Pioneer Road” in about 9 months in 1942. The original road was intended for use only in the winter (when the bogs froze over). A close reading of the history shows that the US Army began troop movements for road building about a month before the Canadians actually agreed to let us in. A larger army of Canadian and US civilian contractors followed the US Army and built a more permanent , 4-season road the following year (18,000 men; military and non-military). There were actually 3 different routes that were considered; the one chosen was the most difficult, least understood route, chosen because it was the only route that could link a number of airfields that had already been established in upper BC and the Yukon. After WWII Canada bought the AH for half of what it cost the US to build it.
11 June: We pushed on to Whitehorse, where we stopped at a truck repair shop to see if there was anything obviously wrong with the starter. Of course, it had worked flawlessly all day. Best guess was that the starter solenoid was sticking on occasion, but of course they didn’t have the part for this German engine. We’ll have to try again in Anchorage.
Along the way, we crossed the Continental Divide (rivers to the east flow into the Arctic Ocean, rivers to the west flow into the Yukon), and watched a summer storm cross over the valley.
We learned that the Alaska Ferry has changed our schedule again, and now to an unworkable one. We’ll have to revisit the whole “southeast” thing when we get to Fairbanks (and free cellphone calls). For now, we’re going to enjoy a couple of days in Whitehorse, and maybe take the Skagway-Whitehorse railway from this end, instead of from Skagway.