1007 August 10, 2023 Chasing Rainbows

The morning was clear and chilly and perfect for a nice walk in the campground.

The light was beautiful on the mountains as went.

The Kluane Range Icefields in are the largest non-polar icefields in North America.

We stopped at the Kluane River Overlook.  In a couple of weeks, the chum salmon will have traveled more than 1,500 miles from the mouth of the Yukon River.  The eagles and bears will be hunting here in mid-September!

The Kluane First Nation People continue to preserve their culture here; hunting, fishing and gathering as they have for eons.

After Destruction Bay, the road conditions improved tremendously.

The mountains around Kluane Lake were imposing and gorgeous and not able to be photographed in their full glory…but I took pictures anyway!

We stopped at the Thachal Dhal Visitor Center.

This is a lambing area for Dall sheep.  The ranger counted more than 60 sheep high on the mountainside this morning.  He had an excellent scope for viewing and we could see mamas and babies grazing on the steep slope.

There was a First Nation Kluane woman educating visitors about the animals in the area and the importance of utilizing natural resources as a matter of survival for her people.  Thachal Dhal means “skin scraper mountain.”  The indigenous people used the stone from this particular mountain to tan hides for clothes and shoes and blankets and rugs.  This stone was important to the survival of the tribe.  There is only one other place in the region to collect this type of rock.

This was such a pretty ride!

80 miles from Whitehorse and we could see storm clouds gathering.

Tim saw what he thought was a small crack in the windshield in the lower driver’s side.  I thought it was a bug…but it was definitely a ding. 

We found a place, All West Glass, that could repair the chip in the morning.  Avtar who worked in the shop said that he did after hours mobile repair and would be happy to meet us after 5pm and fix our window.  We drove to a nearby parking lot to wait.  In the meantime, we were able to accomplish a couple of errands.

Avtar got to us a little after 7pm. It took him only about 15 minutes to professionally and efficiently repair the crack!

We stopped to fill our containers with fresh drinking water at Canadian Tire. We filled the RV with diesel and we were finally on our way again after 8pm.

We went to Wolf Creek Yukon Government Campground but it was full. The ranger told us that we might find a site at Marsh Creek another 20 minutes to the south. The evening light was soft and pretty.

We thought about camping at the Marsh Lake Dam but there were No Camping signs posted.

We traveled on and as we did, we saw the most vivid rainbow that we have ever see. Pictures do not capture the brilliance of the colors. I felt such giddy joy! It was simply breathtaking!

Then, as I was snapping pictures, another fainter rainbow appeared to the left.

The rainbow began to arc across the sky.

Then it began to disappear.

The chip in the window was unfortunate…but fixable! We had another good day on the road; filled with lovely views, Dall sheep, and rainbows!