Day 5 & 6

 Didn't get far today. Cal went to call the only place in Watson Lake that might have the water pump and was told it would take 3 weeks to get it in. "No such thing as FedEx up here" he was told. The guy told him we should just "go for it" and not turn the truck off even when we stopped for gas. Cal said he had a bad feeling about doing that as it was a little over 300 miles to the next place and if that thing went out on the way, we would be literally stuck in the middle of nowhere. I didn't like the idea of hanging out in Watson Lake for 3 weeks, but I don't argue with Cal's bad feelings. Got on the phone again when we got to Watson Lake (only 20 min) and found out that Napa in Whitehorse had a water pump, and they offered to put it on the Greyhound bus that was leaving in 2 hours...headed towards and going through Watson Lake. (sheesh, weren't we just there the day before looking for something to do??) It arrived at 7pm that night, Cal changed it, and we left the next morning. So much for the wacky guy's 3 weeks!  Thank you Jesus!! Greyhound did charge us $30. Thirty dollars for a water pump to ride the bus. I thought that was kind of funny.

We had all day there and only took pictures of the signs. Didn't even get out of the truck to walk through them. I have no idea why not. It's not as if we had anything better to do. Here's what Wikipedia says about the Signpost Forest: "The Signpost Forest was started in 1942 by a homesick U.S. Army G.I. working on the Alaska Highway, who put up a sign with the name of his home town and the distance. Others followed suit and the tradition continues to this day. Today there are more than 76,000 (aug 2010) signs of various types depicting locations across the world."

I don't know why I didn't think to get a picture of Cal changing the water pump. I really wish I had a picture of he and Thomas coming over the little hill back into the campground after going to meet the bus. I opened the door to sweep out my dirt pile and heard my name. Looked up and Cal was standing on top of a hill holding a box up in victory. It was a relief. I was paranoid all day that the Napa guy wasn't going to get the box to the bus before it left.  

Start of day 6- Warning....

...and they aren't kidding. These guys are everywhere. At least this time we didn't see any roadkill. On the way up in April '09, we saw several on the side of the road. I'd hate to hit one of them. I bet it would be worse than a moose.

Animals are always sticking their tongues out at us



Since we missed the hot springs in Whitehorse, we decided to stop at Liard Hot Springs. We'd been told that they were better anyway, because it is kept natural. Takhini is pumped into a cemented pool. It was wonderful! The water really was hot. Enough to have a little steam coming off the top in some areas. Cal and Thomas, who both love super duper hot showers, thought it was too hot. Myself, who is more of a warm showerer, thought it was perfect. Go figure. There was a couple there from the area, and the woman said they've been out there when it's -40. I'm not so sure about that. It's not a short walk from the parking lot, and the changing area is not heated! I'd get in the water and they would have to knock me out and drag me back to the parking lot.



So Matthew...



Those eyelashes should be against the law



Walk back.. it was about 1/4 of a mile. I was hobbling as fast as I could with the boot. Although we had bear spray, Cal was happy to inform me of who would be left behind if a bear showed up. Thanks dear.

Bigfoot call. Cal told him that Bigfoot takes his baths in the hot springs.

They found prints. We should've casted. Could've made lots of money, but we didn't want to give Bigfoot up to science. He deserves a better life and to be free to bathe in the hot springs.

First look at Stone sheep. Ignore Cal's arm in the bottom right corner. He won't stop for me to get out, and I don't how many times during the 14 day drive he'd throw his arm up just as I snapped the picture.

Yeah, so glad we didn't "go for it" the day before.

Saw these two and only had time to throw the camera up and push the button. I guess given it's through the windshield going 60mph it's not too bad? Could've been a really good picture though...

The end of a stressful two days for this daddy and husband.