We had a quiet night. Thirty minutes after awakening, we were on the road. We knew that we had a long day. We wanted very much to join Lee and Claudia in Copper Center this evening.
The drive started well.
We knew that after Kluane Lake, the road deteriorates. This is because the roadbed is built on swampy ground and permafrost. The overwinter freezing and thawing wreaks havoc on the pavement with mighty frost heaves causing unpredictable bumps and dips. It is like an undulating rollercoaster ride…but it is NOT fun. Many damaged sections were marked by signs and flags and cones and then suddenly, not so much. Maybe the Yukon government ran out of orange flags! Then there were miles of dusty, loose gravel throwing rocks up onto the tow vehicle. Pick your poison! Either way it was a very slow go. We had ambitious plans to get all the way to Salmon Grove tonight. It was 390 miles; which is a lot for us on any day.
We were not going to complain. We had been warned. There is no other way to go. Thank goodness for air ride suspension!
We would get a decent stretch of pavement and then back to the hippie dippy stuff again.
The White River.
A wrecked car. This road is no joke.
We saw a few swans in ponds and lakes by the road. It was kind of hard to appreciate our beautiful surroundings because lots of energy was devoted to being alert to the driving conditions.
We took a break before the US Alaska border. When we continued our drive, it was rough to Beaver Creek. It got a little better with bumpy patches further apart. When we got into Alaska we had gravel and then some good road and then 38 miles of road construction. We had to wait for pilot vehicles to come and lead us through.
In early afternoon, we knew we were not going to last another 4 hours on crappy roads. We decided to quit at Tok. Our sincere apologies to Lee and Claudia for missing dinner tonight; we really were trying. We know that nobody understands better. This is their seventh or eighth trip to Alaska from Tucson.
We took advantage of the campground WIFI to get the blog caught up. We will travel on to Copper Center tomorrow!
965 June 24, 2023 Skagway To Whitehorse To Destruction Bay
It was cloudy this morning in Skagway as I took my morning walk. I took the pedestrian bridge over the river and into the woods.
Overnight our Jeep was ducked!
It was deserted so I turned back and continued my walk through town. When I got back to the campground, Tim was already warming the engine and pulling in slides.
We drove from sea level up to 3,292 feet; up into the clouds.
We went back across the Canadian Border, through a small portion of BC and back into Yukon.
We stopped for coffee at Carcross. Soon after, we saw this mama bear and her cub. Can you see the little ears sticking up behind her?
In Whitehorse we filled with fuel and then shopped at Walmart and for groceries.
We rested outside of Whitehorse and then drove on but not before installing our windshield protection.
The road was a little rougher in small sections. Areas of concern are marked with orange signs and flags and cones. Tim was also on the lookout for any change in the pavement color; another indication that there might be bumps.
We had the impressive peaks of the Kluane Range of the St. Elias Mountains for our scenery this evening.
We made a right at Haines Junction to continue our journey on the Alaska Highway.
The road was narrower with no shoulder. Bright fuchsia sweetvetch grew along the edge.
We ate our dinner at a turnout.
We approached Kluane Lake and the dust was blowing across the road.
There were warning signs for crosswinds, sheep in the road (though there were none), and falling rocks.
Kluane Lake.
It was 7pm and we were tired. We found a home for the night in a scenic overlook. Pink flowers, the aqua lake, snow covered mountains, tall green pines and blue sky made lovely pictures!
Today we got up early and drove the Jeep to the small boat harbor. We had booked a cruise on the Fjord Express to Juneau.
We had wanted to see the Inside Passage. We looked into taking the ferry with the RV from Washington but it was about $15,000.00 and we decided that there were better ways to spend that money. This daytrip allowed us to see a portion of areas only accessible by boat or plane. Lots of people would like to see a highway constructed from Skagway to Juneau. There are some good reasons to do this and lots of good reasons not to. One of the main deterrents is the 22 avalanche areas that would intersect with the proposed roadway. It would be the most extensive road construction project in Alaska history.
It was a cloudy morning but the sea was a smooth as glass. The water here is 1,800 feet deep; as deep as the mountains on either side are high.
We passed a waterfall that was glacial ice just 2 or 3 hours earlier. The water tumbled though the rocky crevice pure and clean.
Just over the mountains to the east is the largest glacier field in the world. On the west, is the largest contiguous piece of unmolested land in the world.
We began to see bald eagles perched in trees and on granite outcroppings.
We arrived in the fishing community of Haines. Although it is only 14 miles from Skagway by water, it is 352 miles by car. More passengers boarded here and once again we were on our way.
The shore appeared to be sandy but it is actually granite ground by natural forces. This silt is carried down to the waterway where deposits have altered the depth of the water to 50 feet. Cruise ships need 35 feet to pass. Eventually, changes might be necessary to allow large vessels to travel here.
We passed a red navigational marker. This is a reminder to ship captains that there is a large mountain beneath the surface of the water.
Rainbow Glacier.
There is still snow on the mountains. This is unusual at this time of year but it has been colder and rainier this spring.
We stopped at the sea lion rookery to watch.
We saw our first humpback whale. Spout, hump. and fluke! When you see the tail, you know that they are going for a deep dive and will be down for a while.
Eldred Rock Lighthouse; no longer a manned light house; but now automated and functioning. Harbor seals were swimming off the shore here.
Another glacier in the saddle between two mountains.
Bits of sunlight catching the snowy peaks.
Most of the rivers here are spawning sites for salmon; chums or the lowest level poorest tasting of the 5 varieties, sockeye with the best flavor, kings that are also delicious, silvers and pinks.
We saw stellar sea lions lolling on this buoy and an eagle perched on top.
This is the Herbert Glacier. The center appears to have a road passing through. This is called the medial moraine.
As we got closer to Juneau, we saw more humpback whales. These whales are coming from Hawaii and have journeyed for about 37 days to get here. New moms are traveling with their calves. We saw a couple of pairs.
The boat docked in the harbor at Auk Bay. The water by the capitol is non-navigable from this direction. We took a bus into the city center. The sky began to turn blue and the sun came out. This was an exceptionally beautiful day. Juneau is a rainforest. It rains here 240 days a year. We were lucky to have such a gorgeous weather.
We traveled through the Mendenhall Valley and past the Mendenhall Glacier. This is the most accessible glacier in Alaska.
We disembarked the bus and had 4 hours of free time. There were 5 humongous cruise ships in port.
Looking around this city, it is hard to imagine how EVERYTHING here had to be ferried or flown in. All the busses and machinery and construction materials and food and other goods. It was amazing how many cars there were for a place that only has some city streets and one 39-mile road out to the north.
We walked to The Hangar Restaurant and enjoyed a nice meal. Tim had halibut fish tacos and I had a hearty chowder with huge pieces of whitefish and salmon.
We watched seaplanes gliding across the water and lifting off.
We walked to the fishing dock and watched guys throwing Dungeness crabs into huge bins of ice.
Parasailing.
The tram to the top.
We walked to Overstreet Park and admired the 30-foot, life-sized, bronze sculpture of a humpback whale.
We had taken off our sweatshirts and we rested in the shade. It was 75 degrees and sunny.
We walked back into town and mingled with the throng of cruise ship passengers. Many had shopping bags and armloads of stuff. We bought postcards and waited for the bus. We met several interesting people today. There was a woman was maybe in her sixties who lives out of her Nissan. She has all of her earthly belongings and toys in her car. She travels everywhere on her own. She rents VRBOs and finds other interesting places to stay. We also met a couple from Texas who has been fulltime in their RV for 5 years. They had visited a lot of the same parks and places we have and it was nice to share experiences and recommendations for future travel.
We had a 4-hour boat ride back to Skagway. The mountains looked completely different with the sun shining on them.
We saw more whales.
There were also a bunch of dahl porpoises in the water.
We stopped again at the sea lion rookery. The babies and moms and younger guys were all in the water. Only the bull sea lions were on the rocks. It was too hot in the sunshine for them to be out.
We arrived back in Skagway at 8:15. The last cruise ship was pulling out of port. The town was empty and most of the businesses were shuttered for the night.
We had a spectacular day. Lots of mountains and glaciers and eagles and whales. Calm seas all the way and brilliant skies. We are so glad that we made this trip!
We spent the morning doing our exercise and other mundane stuff. Tim took a bike ride in town.
After lunch, we took the Jeep to Dyea.
Lots of pretty views along the way.
This is a National Historic Site; an old mining ghost town. We drove out onto the flats.
The wild irises are blooming in great purple swaths.
We took the bridge over West Creek and then the road was dirt and gravel and followed the path of the water. We could hear rushing falls and there were several places where the water gushed out of the side of the mountain.
We stopped at the overlook and could see the town and two cruise ships in the harbor today.
This evening, we took our dinner to the park near the Skagway River.
We watched a small plane take off toward the mountains.
We encountered this truck and trailer pulled over on the side of the road. They had a flat tire. Tim stopped to see if they needed anything but they were all good.
From Johnson Crossing, past Jake’s Corner, through Tagish and to Carcross we went. Portions of Highway 8 were gravel and slow but most of the way was decent road.
We saw one fox prowling in the tall roadside weeds.
We stopped in Carcross and walked through the town. There was a sign pointing to a bakery with sourdough bread. When we got there, the bread was fresh from the oven and too hot to take.
We walked along the railroad tracks and along the river. We browsed the open shops.
We returned to get our bread.
Klondike Highway South runs parallel to the Skagway River. The scenery is incredible with lots of large rugged and snowcapped mountains.
We climbed to the alpine region where it was craggier with less vegetation. The pines were stumpy and crooked, dwarfed by the bitter cold winter weather. There was lots of lichen on the rocks and patches of snow. The wind was cold and blustery at Summit Creek where we stopped for lunch.
We passed dozens of cruise ship tour busses heading toward Carcross. We were grateful to have been there early.
It was all downhill as we crossed from Yukon into British Columbia and finally into Alaska. This is the southeastern part of the state.
After passing through the border into the US, we could see cruise ships in the Skagway Harbor.
We arrived in Skagway in the early afternoon and we are staying for three nights in the Garden City RV Park.
Today is the day of Summer Solstice. Here in Skagway the sun will set at 10:23pm and will rise again at 3:43am…more than 18 hours of daylight. Even in the middle of the night it is never truly dark.
This afternoon, I walked and Tim biked through the town. The streets were crowded with the people from the four big cruise ships docked in the port.
We went back into town after the cruise people got back into their boats. We had a great dinner at Olivia’s Alaskan Bistro. We did NOT get the Alaskan King Crab at $90.00 per pound!
We were seated in a window nook and another couple sat at the table next to us, Kevin and Karen. We began to talk with them. They have traveled extensively for the last 10 years. They also sold their house. They travel in their F150 pickup truck and will often stay at lodges or Air B&B or sometimes they camp. It is more likely that we will meet like minded nomads out here on the road than back east. We talked about our travels and our experiences and the things that led us to life on the road. These people got us and they were fun to talk with.
This morning, I walked down to the lake and then did loops around the campground.
The ride today was not quite as thrilling as yesterday’s; though pretty.
We could see the Cassiar Mountains ahead.
We stopped at the Rancheria Falls Recreation Area to stretch our legs. This is a boreal forest. There was a wildfire here 100 years ago. It takes three times longer for a forest to regrow here in the north.We walked the easy trail to the waterfalls.
We passed over the Continental Divide.
The Alaska Highway flirted with the border of British Columbia and Yukon for miles.
Just before Teslin, we saw a mother black bear and an older cub munching posies. We parked on the shoulder and watched them for a long time.
Mama
Baby bear
We arrived in the town of Teslin at about 2pm. I worked on the blog for awhile but the service was slow and we finally gave up and moved on.
We were tired and I was getting grumpy. We decided to stay at Johnson Crossing Lodge and RV Park right along the Teslin River. The WIFI was ok and I was able to get yesterday’s blog completed.
While I was working on the blog, Tim went out for a walk. We saw a guy sitting by the roadside when we arrived and he was still sitting there a lot later. Tim approached him to see if he needed help. His name was Stefan. He had paraglided to the river and was waiting 3 hours later for his ride to come and get him. He had no cell service and couldn’t text. We helped him use WIFI to make contact with the driver who was coming with his car!
For dinner, I made a recipe from Dre. We had Taco Mac and Cheese with Banza chickpea pasta. We took our dinner down to the river.
I only had a brief walk this morning; a couple of laps in the campground. We had a long drive ahead of us today. And I guess I took too long to get myself up and out there!
We had only gone a short distance when we saw a caribou trotting along the road. He clambered easily up the bank and was quickly out of sight.
We are traversing through the northern Canadian Rockies. This portion of the Alaska Highway is the prettiest. Mountains and creeks and streams and rivers and lakes and waterfalls and wildlife!
We saw a juvenile elk near the Toad River.
Mountain views.
Turquoise tinted rivers.
Water dripping from rock ledges.
We saw a moose running in the riverbed below.
At Muncho Lake, the stone sheep were right near the road. They were eagerly munching at something in the gravel…not sure what but I know that the sheep are attracted to mineral licks here.
We stopped at the Liard River.
Soon after, we saw three black bears foraging in the vegetation along the highway…only have pictures of two of the three!
Then we saw a fox.
Then another bear.
We stopped for lunch at a turnout.
At Allen’s Lookout we walked to the scenic overlook. The Liard River runs below. It is said that bandits used this as a lookout point to spot river boats and then rob them.
We pulled out and saw another black bear and then #6 on the east side walking in the ditch…missed the picture of #6.
#7 was on the crossing the road.
We passed Contact Creek where the two regiments charged with completing the Alaska Highway met in September of 1942. One crew had worked their way south and the other had started in Dawson Creek and worked northward.
We saw our first grizzly bear. He was lying in a roadside depression licking his paws. We didn’t realize what we were seeing until it was too late to get a picture.
At 3pm we entered the Yukon Territory; “Larger than life!” We traveled on to the town of Watson Lake. We stopped for diesel fuel and then sat in the parking lot to post the blog and check messages and email. We had been out of service range for about a day and a half.
Further down the road, we saw a post office and stopped for stamps to mail postcards to loved ones at home.
We passed the sign forest but didn’t stop this time.
It was after 5pm when we arrived at the Yukon Government Watson Lake Campground after traveling 3.5 miles on a gravel road. It is lovely and inexpensive. There are no hookups but that’s okay. The forecast is for 41 degrees tonight but we will use the propane furnace and be cozy and warm enough.
We walked to the lake.
We grilled salmon and I made Vicki’s Summer Lemon Potato Salad to go with it…YUM!
We are sitting outside by the fire with a glass of wine. I am going to shut down the computer and relax and enjoy the sound of the wind in the pines.
It rained all night and this morning the skies were leaden. I put on lots of layers and then wore Tim’s bright yellow raincoat; prepared to walk in the rain. There were a few drips, but by the time I got back, the sky was turning blue.
We drove out of town and it wasn’t long before I saw a mother black bear and a cub down the bank and on the edge of the forest.
We saw a second solitary black bear along the roadside.
As we climbed, the mountains began to appear in the distance. The views were spectacular. This was a pretty ride.
We stopped at the Testa River to stretch our legs.
We had intermittent rain and as we reached higher elevations, the rain was slushy.
We had stayed at Stone Mountain Provincial Park at Summit Lake 5 years ago on our last trip to Alaska. This is the highest point on the Alaska Highway. It was such a special place that we decided that we wanted to celebrate our 40th anniversary here.
We took the Jeep for a ride.
We got out to hike in Baba Canyon. This trail required crossing the water on large boulders. The rushing water was crystal clear. The trail was a little challenging but fun. We hiked until the trail required rock scrambling and then we turned back.
View on the way back.
Lady slipper orchids.
We hiked again at the Erosion Pillars Trail. It began to rain fairly hard and we turned around. We were wet when we got back to the Jeep.
We rested awhile and waited for the weather to improve. We were up in the clouds and the mountain peaks seem to have their own weather system. It was 44 degrees and nippy!
We went back out to hike the Summit Peak Trail across from the campground. We went about ¾ mile when it began to rain again. We did have a really cool view of the campground and the lake below.
Or our dinner we had a nice meal of tilapia with a garlic lemon butter sauce with capers and mushrooms.
We went back out on the Jeep to look for critters. The sky was gorgeous.
We saw this pair of young caribou walking in the road.
This evening, we toasted: “To so many things.” We are so blessed to be together, to have worked together for the past 40 years to raise a family and run a business. We are grateful to be able to travel together and share this grand adventure. Isn’t that what life is about after all? We are lucky to have one another and we are happy to be enjoying this ride!
This morning was cool and sunny and perfect for walking. I walked to the highway and then to the river. I didn’t walk into the wilderness by myself…only a short nature trail in the campground.
We wrapped the Jeep with a windshield cover. Last time we travelled here, we had a lot of chips and then a crack. Maybe this time we can avoid having to replace the glass.
We drove over the Peace River. This metal grate bridge is the longest water span on the Alaska Highway.
This gas pipeline crosses the river here as well.
We passed through Fort St. John where we spent another $200.00 on fuel. Tim found a small farmstand and bought some excellent “real” strawberries.
We passed through a couple of fire ravaged areas.
We passed miles and miles of Conoco Phillips oil harvesting operations and all the housing and infrastructure to support the industry.
Our phone did issue a message: Wildfire warning affected area ahead; proceed with caution. We saw no evidence of fire or smoke. We did see a couple of helicopters carrying buckets.
We passed the Sikanni River RV Park. On June 14, 2018, we met Lee and Claudia in this campground. They have become great friends to us in the intervening years. They are already here in Alaska and we are going to find a way to connect somewhere along the road!
Our ride today looked like this:
We arrived at the Triple G Hideaway RV Park in late afternoon. Tim took a walk and a tour of Fort Nelson Heritage Museum.
I took a short walk and browsed the gift shop.
We decided to have dinner at the campground restaurant. The food was surprisingly good!
Bar stool.
It is our plan to camp at Summit Lake tomorrow. There will be no internet service there and so we will catch up the blog when we can.
My walk consisted of laps around the adjacent parking lots. I stopped at Walmart and got milk and I also stopped at Tim Horton’s for coffee.
The farmland and gently rolling hills of yesterday were replaced by dense forests of tall pines. The sawmill in Whitecourt was busy with tractor trailers hauling loads of long logs.
Route 43 out of town is also known as “Moose Row.” We did see a bunch of deer way too close to the highway…but no moose yet!
We traveled through Valleyview and Grand Prairie where as the names suggest, the vistas were wide open. The road was really rough and bumpy and Tim drove straddling the white line as the truck drivers ahead were doing.
The sky was heavy with clouds and by the time we got to Grand Prairie, it was raining. It was unfortunate because there were lots of nice trails and parks that we might have enjoyed. We parked at the Visitor Center and took a break. Tim went for a walk and I took a nap!
43 west toward Dawson Creek was a smoother road and we began to see some bits of blue sky.
We stopped at the Visitor Center at the beginning of the Alaska Highway. Alaska is 1,023 miles from here.
The town of Beaverlodge is “A place to build dreams!”
We passed an elk farm.
We decided to stay at Peace Island Park tonight. We needed a full hookup site after dry camping the last two. Load two of laundry is already in progress. Tim took his bike to explore. I took a walk in the park. It was windy but mild. After dinner we took the Jeep and sat down by the river and then we went exploring.
