The night before riding into Watson Lake, Lisa and Darcy Dewhurst, our hosts from Teslin, came to camp with us.

“It’s so nice to see you two again,” Lisa said stepping out of her white SUV.

Lisa’s cousin John and his wife, who live on Vancouver Island and were traveling north with their motorhome, also joined us. 

We camped out next to a creek about 12 kilometers north of town. With a small fire dancing between us, we drank and talked late into the night. It was a nice break from our lonesome ride during the past two weeks. 

The next morning we bid our friends goodbye and continued on into Watson Lake. The rodeo grounds are located on the other side of town so we ended up arriving in the afternoon. 

“Welcome to Watson Lake,” a friendly gentleman said when I finally arrived.

I thanked him and began untacking Mac. While I pulled the saddle off, his wife and granddaughter came to greet us as well. The 7-year-old girl immediately stole my heart with her questions about the horses and the ride. I tried to answer them as quickly as possible because there were so many. 

“You want to see my horse,” she asked after I turned my boys out in the huge arena in the center of the grounds. 

“I would love to,” I responded with a smile. 

For the next hour we tacked up her miniature horse and I watched her ride in her bright pink boots. She was too cute on that little horse. Clara and I couldn’t get enough of it. 

After two weeks of ramen noodles, we drove to town eager to eat some real food. The family invited us to dinner at their house the following day. We happily accepted!

After two weeks in the middle of the Yukon wilderness, it was nice to finally be in a real town again, staying with a family.