That evening, we took a boat tour of Muncho Lake with "Captain Jack" from Double G Service who gave a fascinating talk about the lake and the geology of the surrounding area. Muncho Lake is bounded on the west by the Terminal Range, the northern most point of the Rocky Mountains, and on the east by the Sentinel Range. The Terminal Range is made of iron and is very heavily forested; the Sentinel Range is made of copper and is virtually devoid of vegetation (the copper from this range accounts for the deep green and blue waters of Muncho Lake). The Terminal Range is much older and is moving eastward, pushing up the Sentinel Range. In fact, Captain Jack told us that the Sentinel Range has risen three feet in the last 50 years!
Muncho Lake and Terminal Range:
RV park and Sentinel Range
The next day, we left Muncho Lake and drove 163 miles to Campground Services in Watson Lake, Yukon. We were going to stop at Liard River Hot Springs on our way there, but the parking lot was full with the Coachman caravan we'd seen in Dawson Creek, so we passed it by. We stopped at Fireside to buy some pies which had been recommended by the woman at the Visitor's Center in Fort Nelson. Unfortunately, they had been cleaned out of their stock of pies by the people who had been stranded there because of the road washout earlier in the week. And, while they were busy making more pies, they were reserved for a caravan -- probably that Coachman caravan. Today just wasn't our lucky day!
Movin' on down the road:
Laird River Bridge
(the only remaining suspension bridge on the Alaska Highway)
On our way to Watson Lake, we finally made it to the Iron Creek culvert where the road washed out. The story we got was that the culvert had become clogged and the rushing water washed out the road. There was one lane crossing Iron Creek, so I can understand the 12-mile backup on the day they first opened the road again. The Iron Creek culvert was completed in 1998 and was the largest culvert in the world at 25 feet high, 135 feet long, and 62 feet wide. Just goes to show the power of Mother Nature.
Repairing the Iron Creek Culvert:
Damage to the Iron Creek Culvert:
The road on the left is the temporary one with a make shift bridge that was prepared to get traffic moving again until they repair the main road.
Signpost Forest in Watson Lake:
According to the Milepost, the signpost forest was started by Carl K. Lindley of Danville, Illinois, a U.S. Army soldier in Company D, 341st Engineers, working on the construction of the Alaska Highway in 1942. Travelers are still adding signs to the collection, which numbered more than 43,000 in September 2000. The picture above shows only a small portion of the signs. If you were to go around and read each sign, it would probably take several days!
Cassiar Mountains:
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