ALASKA – WEEK 2 – MAY
26 to JUNE 1, 2016
MAY 26, 2016 –
Thursday
Left early this morning from Fort Nelson heading to Watson
Lake (but didn’t quite get that far).
Shortly after leaving the campsite and near Raspberry Creek,
a black bear was spotted along the side of the road nibbling on grass so, of
course I had to stop and take photos. It was a pretty foggy morning and driving
was slow. A different type of bear, maybe a young grizzly, was spotted a short
time later. This bear was brown and had a tuft of hair on his back (but not all
over) that reminded me of a Mohawk haircut. This guy was definitely not
sticking around for a photo op but I was lucky to get off a couple of shots
before he disappeared back into the trees.
Then, because the day started out so early, decided to stop
at a rest area and fix breakfast – pancakes…yum. Down the road a few miles, made a stop at
Testa River Services for expensive gas ($1.59 liter with a sign on the pump
that read “Stop Sniveling”). The family
owners of this place are famous for growing, butchering, curing, and selling
their meats but most importantly “The Cinnamon Bun Center of the Galactic
Cluster”…purchased enough cinnamon buns for a couple future breakfasts. Lovely
people!
A few landscape photos (of course) were part of the day as
were driving on gravel/dirt roads (main highway construction), a pilot car
procession, lots of rain, and then…a large herd of Bison chilin’ by the side of
the road. One, presumably the mother, was trying to get two young ones up to
their feet. What a sight!
Ended the day by finding a boondocker (free campsite) a
short distance outside Laird Hot Springs called Whirlpool Canyon Rest Area.
Didn’t stop at the hot springs this time (maybe on the way back) because I had
no suit and also because they charge an entry fee even for a ‘look-see’. At
least I’m close enough to make Watson Lake early tomorrow and then begin the
journey to Whitehorse in Yukon Territory.
MAY 27, 2016 – Friday
Watson Lake – Stayed at an okay RV Park – the showers were
great and free…free wifi too but only for 60 minutes. Apparently, only the
government facilities get high speed! The manager of this park also told me
that there are about 38,000 people who live in the Yukon and 28,000 of them
live in Whitehorse. I am guessing a significant number also live in Dawson City
as they are the only two large cities in the Territory. Stopped for groceries and happy hour stuff
before heading to the Planetarium to view a segment on space before the segment
on the Northern Lights. Great show! Visited the Sign Post Forest—People from
all over the world nail signs from their homelands/states and over the years, more
than 70,000 of them are nailed to posts in this “forest”. Met Glenda from Libby, Montana in the laundry
room. She was traveling to Alaska with
her husband. Maybe we’ll see each other again somewhere on the trail?
MAY 28, 2016-
Saturday
Left fairly early this morning in the hopes of making it to
Whitehorse but didn’t quite get that far. Stopped to take photos of Rancheria
Falls…no dirt path for these folks…the path was good gravel and a boardwalk
through the boreal forest. The falls
were very picturesque. Snapped a few photos of the Cassiar Mountains, the
Continental Divide and The Nisutlin Bay Bridge (the longest water span on the
Alaska Highway at 1,917 feet). Passed by
Teslin as there was not much of interest then stopped at a rest area on The
Canol (Canadian Oil) Road to snap some photos of old WWII vehicles. These old
vehicles are nothing compared to today’s road warriors!
Ended the day at a Yukon Government Campground – these are
VERY well-kept campgrounds with outhouses, water, firewood (the basics) and the
charge is only $12. Tonight I stayed at a site on Marsh Lake, complete with a
view of said lake.
MAY 29, 2016 – Sunday
Another early departure morning—destination Whitehorse. Not far after, I stopped at a rest area for a
photo of the Yukon River Bridge (elevation 2,150 feet). I made it to Whitehorse
while it was still early. Stopped by the Visitors Centre (always). The
Canadians are so welcoming and helpful and so far, everyone I’ve met has been
nicer and more helpful than the previous stop. Took a long walk around town,
stopped at the old stern-wheeler S.S.Klondike
(a freebie to board and look around) but most places of interest were closed
today (Sunday). On this leg of the journey, I decided to stop at Wal-Mart to
purchase a jacket because I forgot mine at home and it has been a bit on the cold
side (read freezing). Decided to not
stay in Whitehorse and continued north to Carmacks…still on the Yukon River
with a population of 444. Along the way,
I stopped at a rest area where they had the remains of Montague House…a typical
early-day roadhouse which offered lodging and meals on the stagecoach route
between Whitehorse and Dawson City. It definitely has withstood the winds of
time but I am sure there was no grass growing on the floor of this place back
then. Am staying tonight at a regular RV
park but the showers (which have been mostly free) here cost $3 for 3 minutes!
If the water runs out before you enter more money ($1 for one minute), it will
require another $3 and start over. I don’t know about anyone else but how does
one wet, soap, and rinse in 3 minutes?
MAY 30, 2016 – Monday
Headed north to Dawson City, Yukon and arrived early
afternoon. On the way, stopped to take a
number of photos, including the Five Finger Rapids, and flowers and trees. Before heading to the RV park, drove to the
top of the Dome (Dome Road) which overlooks the city and is a special place for
Summer Solstice because from there, the sun never sets. Decided to put down
roots for a couple of days as there was much to do here. The couple staying
next to my camp was from Thief River Falls, MN and knew some of my family from
Climax and Shelly areas (at least the names were familiar). I never got their
name though. After camp was set up,
headed to Klondike Kate’s for dinner…this was the first night I actually
noticed how it did not get dark and it
was kind of a strange sensation to look at the clock at 10 pm and have it look
like 3 in the afternoon. –received
notification early evening that my Uncle Dick had passed away today.
MAY 31, 2016 –
Tuesday
Did a walking tour of the city and took photos of a lot of
old buildings. Watched a short documentary about the Gold Rush Days and how
Canada passed a law requiring miners heading to the Klondike to carry enough
supplies to last one year…for many miners, this amounted to about a ton of
supplies and many had to make more than one trip. I am not so sure I would have
had the desire to do that, especially since so few of the these miners ever
struck it rich.
There was a TV series (5-6 episodes), maybe in 2015, called
Klondike. It was actually a very good series and based on some of the actual
people who came to the Klondike during the Gold Rush. The closing credits said
what happened to those people. I may try
and find it once I get home and watch it again.
JUNE 1, 2016 –
Wednesday
Before leaving this morning to drive the Top of the World
Highway went out to the Dredge 4 Claim—still a working mine. Interesting. I also
stopped at Claim 33 to shoot some photos of old vehicles. Claim 33 is a place I
could have tried my hand at gold panning but the place was not yet open.
To cross the Yukon River out of Dawson City requires a ferry
trip across. The Canadian government pays for this service so no charge to me
but it can require long wait times. Thankfully, it was only a one-ferry wait.
I would not recommend driving the Top of the World Highway
unless someday it actually gets paved. In reality, it is only about 66 miles
but it took HOURS because the road was so full of potholes and driving was
slow. The Border crossing into Alaska was pretty painless but did take longer
than I would have expected—no other cars were in front or behind me. I was
expecting the upcoming highway to take me into Chicken and Tok to be in better
condition, but, that was not the case. Seriously, a DIRT HIGHWAY? Needless to
say, it was a very long day of driving.
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