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isusuallyclosedfromearlyAugustonbecauseitisapreferredfeedinghabitatforthegrizz-
lies and they trump tourists in their own backyard.
Just before Watson Lake, we cross the border into the Yukon Territories. Just the place
name“Yukon,”isloadedwithevocativeimagesofaKlondikeGoldRushthatencompasses
grizzled gold panners and diamond-toothed can-can dancers. We would experience both
the imagery and the reality brought to life in Dawson City a few weeks later. They know
how to put on a good show - tourism is the number two industry.
Mining is the number one industry, good for an annual production in excess of $100 milli-
on. Considering the total population of the Yukon barely tops 32,000, that is a lot of ore.
Watson Lake, of course, is famous for its signpost forest. These days tourists from all over
the world hammer up signs from their home cities, states or countries. But it was all started
by U.S. Army GI Carl K. Lindley of Danville, Illinois back in 1942. Assigned to work on
what they were then calling the Alcan (Alaska-Canada) Hwy, this homesick GI erected a
sign pointing home. And so it began. There are now in excess of 70,000 signs.
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