YUKON-ALASKA 2018
ALASKA HIGHWAY - Yukon Territory
June 13 cont...
Our first real exposure to the Yukon was the small "town" of Contact Creek, and their gas station. It had the cheapest gas we had bought so far on this trip, especially since we paid $1.98 per Litre at the last fill up.
$78.70 Contact Creek, Yukon (1.39 c/L)
You know you have arrived in Watson Lake, Yukon when you see the world famous sign post forest. The tradition began during the Alaska Highway Project in 1942, when a soldier was recovering from an injury in Watson Lake. He was asked to repair and erect the directional signposts, and while completing the job, he added a sign that indicated the direction and mileage to his hometown. Soon after that, other soldiers added their hometowns, and then tourists started doing it. At last count there was 89,000 signs in the forest, based on the number of people that messaged me about their signs when I posted where we were in Facebook, I am surprised it's not more.
There was so much here, we didn't have time to take it all in, it really was overwhelming just how far these signs had come from. Some were street signs, some license plates, gold pans, frying pans, pieces of peoples cars... basically anything you could write on was attached somewhere.
The RV Parks in Watson Lake didn't look great, and they were right in the city, so we thought we would continue down the road to Nugget City. It sounded interesting, but it turns out the "City" is just named after the gas station/Restaurant/RV park that is there. Remember when I said that when we don't like a place or can't get in, the next place is always better? The Baby Nugget RV park had some trees in areas, but we got placed in a giant open parking lot... At least we weren't crammed in with a bunch of Motor-homes.
They had a couple historic buildings, but they were all closed. It felt just like a drive-in theatre, so when it started raining, we just stayed inside and watched the movie 'Baby Driver' on our laptop, then called it a night.
June 14
Back on the road again early, things got wild pretty quick when we saw a pair of Bears on the side of the road. They just didn't care that we were there, and at one point Norine rolled up her window as he went wandering right past the door of the truck. If Silva ever cared to look out the window I am sure she would have lost her mind, but car rides are just not her thing, and she never even lifted her head.
An interesting stop we made was called Rancheria falls, a nice boardwalk through the forest leads to a couple waterfalls and a river that winds around an island in both directions.
$105.75 (1.75c/L) Swift River
We spent most of the day trying to drive away from rainy weather, but decided to make a stop in Teslin to see the wildlife and some of the first nations art.
Silva didn't seem to be enjoying her car ride, so we made another stop at Marsh Lake Beach to let her run around, socialize with some local doggos, and get some air.
Apparently it is a famous destination to see the migrating Swans... in the spring. We missed it by a few months.
$120.58 Whitehorse
Whitehorse was definitely the biggest city we had seen in a while, our plans were to find a dog-friendly hotel or an RV park in the city so we could explore a bit. For whatever reason, everywhere was full, I guess we arrived a little too late in the day.
So after visiting the Tourist Information Center, we ended up heading out of town a bit to the Takhini Hot Springs campground
As soon as we pulled in to the campground we see a Fox wandering around.
The campsite was nice, we had a secluded spot in the trees, but they had an odd rule about campfires. Apparently due to a previous forest fire, no campfires are allowed past 10pm. So even though it was light out, and the foxes were wandering around, we would be calling it an early night.
Turns out, that may have been for the best.
June 15
Every once in a while Silva can get fussy eating, but she doesn't skip 2 meals in a row. She was not doing too well, I think her dislike of car rides was catching up to her, and she was getting sick. Luckily for us we were just outside Whitehorse, and they have 3 vets, Copper Valley vets and Dr. Pottie (yep, real name) was the only one that could see us right away. They were great, checked her out, suggested a small dose of Gravol before driving, and gave us some doggie Kao Pectate. If there was any further issues we should call them back.
Since we wanted to keep it low key for Silva, today would be Laundry day and just some of the local sights.
First place to check out was the historic Klondike Rib and Salmon restaurant, it is housed in the two oldest buildings still in use in the Yukon's Capital. The dining room was originally opened as a tent frame bakery called, MacMillan's Bakery around 1900.
Just down the street is the SS Klondike, a sternwheeler that ran freight between Whitehorse and Dawson City along the Yukon River from 1929-1950. It is now part of the National Park Service and sits on the bank of the Yukon River.
Wanting to give Silva a little more walking trails away from the city streets, we headed just outside the city to Miles Canyon. This was a key part of the Klondike Gold Rush route, and was known at one time as the Grand Canyon. It's reputation as a narrow river with boiling rapids resulted in a wooden train route being put in place after hundreds of boats were lost.
The suspension bridge across Miles Canyon was built in 1922, but it looks like it may have been updated recently.
Heading back to our campsite, we made a quick stop to stock up at the Yukon Brewing Company.
Silva seemed to be doing much better after her walk, so we decided to visit the Yukon Wildlife Preserve that was just down the road from our campsite. We parked in the far back of the parking lot under the shade of the trees, and took Silva out to put her in the back of the camper where it stays nice and cool, and she has a big comfortable bed. All of a sudden this lady from the park is yelling at us how we can't take the dog out, and wouldn't even listen to how we were just putting her in the back... a real piece of work that felt she had to show her authority and embarrass us. It is a unique park with only local animals, but that kind of ruined the whole experience there, and I wouldn't recommend it.
Is it a good sign when these are scattered around a park?
Elk (Cervus canadensis)
Arctic Ground Squirrels (Urocitellus parryii)
Wood Bison (Bison bison athabascae)
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
Moose (Alces alces)
Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou)
Arctic foxes (Alopex lagopus)
Mountain Goats (Oreamnos americanus)
Thinhorn Sheep (Ovis dalli)
Muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus)
The hike around the back side of the park was steep and hot, but the views at the top were great. It's really too bad that one lady could leave such a bad taste in our mouth for a unique park.
Watching for angry park lady, we got Silva back into the truck and drove the 5 minutes back to our campsite.
Tonight would be some fun with the Foxes in the campsite. Silva still wasn't eating her food, and the full bowl was beside her. I spot a blur on the side of our camper, and grab my camera just as a fox comes right into the campsite and steals some of Silva's food. As it's running off with a mouthful Silva wakes up and is not impressed.
For the rest of the night we would see him wandering around our campsite to see if Silva was sleeping again, she wasn't.
Even though she wasn't eating her food, there was no way she was letting that strange looking dog back into our campsite.
One interesting thing to see was an Escape room in the middle of the campground. Apparently it's called Kidnap, and you start blindfolded and handcuffed in the back of that van. My niece thinks that sounds very suspicious when I told her about it.
Since we couldn't have a campfire after 10pm, we walked over to the Takhini Hot Springs which were open until midnight. Unlike the Liard river hot springs, these were the looks like a cement pool type of hot springs, and they tell us the water is emptied every night and allowed to refill, but it sure didn't look like it.
Almost the whole time we were there, a squirrel was watching everyone from the far end of the pool.
While we were waiting for our laundry earlier in the day, I bought a cheap underwater watch for $12, as mine had died. While sitting in the warm waters of the hot springs, I looked to see what time it was, and my new cheap watch was toast. (It worked out to about $1 for every hour of use) Turns out it was 11:30pm, and it was still daylight.
June 16
When we woke up Silva was feeling even more sick, so we went back to the vets. While we were waiting for test results, we went to another Kaltire as we still seemed to have a slow leak. They fixed what turned out to be a leaking tire valve for free, they probably should since their guys in Dawson were the ones that put them in. After a surprisingly good curbside lunch, we headed back to the vets.
$61.80 (1.44c/L) Whitehorse
Turns out that between not eating and getting sick, Silva had given herself an ulcer, lost over 4 pounds, and we needed to chill for a bit while we gave her some meds, and needed to simplify her diet to pork chops to get her eating again. We were able to find a pet-friendly room at the Coast High Country Inn, and spent the day keeping her relaxed and out of the car. It was nothing fancy, but they had a big parking lot for our camper, they had a restaurant in the hotel that did takeout, and Silva could just relax for a while spending an extra day in Whitehorse.
June 17
We tried to book the Hotel for another day, but it was all booked up for incoming German flight. Luckily for us Silva was feeling much better and starting to eat again, so we decided to continue on instead of turning around. One thing we knew would help to keep her eating was a specific type of Wild Boar dog treat that is her favourite. We had been trying to find them for days. Every store we tried either didn't carry them, or was closed... and then I see Norine skipping out of our last attempt, arms full of treat bags... she emptied their shelves.
Before we left Whitehorse, I noticed a sign for the Klondike Kruisers Show and Shine at the Yukon Transportation Museum, so we took a little extra time and checked out the show.
A super cool element to the Aviation museum grounds is this giant DC-3 that is a fully functioning and rotating weather-vane.
Surprisingly to me there was some really nice cars at the show, it wasn't just 4WD rust buckets.
Right next door was the Beringia Interpretive Centre, but we only stopped to see the woolly mammoths.
Just as we are leaving the city limits, we spot an Elk on the side of the road, she takes one look at us and darts into the trees.
We decided to take way more frequent stops to keep Silva calm, and the Whitehorse to Haines Junction stretch was great for this with gorgeous mountain ranges, wildlife, and curious drivers.
I feel a little bad for posting so many pictures of the highway in Kluane National Park, but...
A very interesting stop was the Canyon Creek bridge, built in 1903 during the gold rush era. It wasn't replaced until 1942 when they built the Alaska Highway, but decided to leave the old bridge behind for nostalgia's sake.
Sorry, more Highway shots... I mean it is a road trip after all.
$72.00 Haines Junction
Haines Junction was a noticeable stop, not just for the cheap gas, but their roadside viewpoints, the Wildlife Monument and the 'Our Lady of the Way' church that was built in 1953 out of leftover huts from the army.
With a combination of more frequent stops, her Thunder-coat, and a little gravol, Silva seemed to be back to her regular self, sticking her nose in every hole she could find and trying to chase after ground squirrels.
Out of the big city of Whitehorse and back into the wild, we stayed in Kluane National park, at the Congdon Creek campground. A great deal at $12 night including wood. Even with the new measures in place, Silva was happy to be out of the truck and fell asleep before we set up.
Congdon Creek campground is right on Kluane Lake, and although there is lots of warnings about bears in the area, we didn't see any. Although we were being stalked by the other famous critters of the campground.
Kluane is a beautiful lake, a nice place to just sit and absorb the surroundings.
With no campfire curfew, we stayed up late, burned a bunch of firewood, and watched the sun set after midnight.
June 18
The next morning we make our way through Burwash Landing, you know you're in Klondike country when their sign is a giant gold pan.
We made a stop at the scenic Donjek River.
We took Silva down to the bank to have a little wade in the waters and a drink (she doesn't really like to go beyond her belly), and of course she goes right into the muddiest section. Covered in mud, we walk to a nicer area on the shore, and she decides to step out after a stick. The bottom drops right of where the stick is and she falls right in over her head, she wasn't too happy, but at least she's not muddy anymore.
You hear stories of breakdowns and crashes on the Alaska Highway, but we rarely see much other traffic and haven't seen anything bad until today. An older Winnebago has run off the road and crashed into the culvert on the side. We can see the skid marks going off the road before we see the RV, and pull over to see if they need help. Apparently the front tire blew, and when he felt like it may roll trying to correct the change in direction he drove off the road instead. Other family traveling behind them had driven on to get help or a tow truck as there is no cell service here. Sadly, that RV was not continuing it's trip as it had extensive axle and wheel damage, but at least no-one was hurt.
Continuing on, signs tell us we are in another wildlife corridor (What part of the Yukon isn't?), and we do see a bear and moose on the side of the road, but it wasn't safe to stop, so we had to continue on. Feeling a little disappointed we stop at the next rest area, and take Silva down a little trail. Right there in the lake below us, a Moose
Our last stop in Canada on the Alaska Highway is Beaver Creek, the most western town in Canada. We had to stop and check out the Our Lady of Grace Church (also made with leftover army buildings), and the famous Buckshot Betty's Cafe and Bakery.
and... lastly the 1202 Motor Inn and Gas station. Still not sure why they have a polar bear on their roof... there isn't any around here.
$122.00 (1.59c/L) at Beaver Creek
The Milepost book said "Look for Swans in roadside lakes"... so we did, and they were there.
It's a unique border crossing, the Canadian border crossing is 30 km earlier, and as you drive past it, it's a long ways before you arrive at the US border crossing, and the closer you get, the worse the road gets... I guess Canada doesn't want to pay for the comfort of people leaving.