Saturday, June 30, 2007

JUNE 10-21, 2007: YUKON TERRITORY AND ALASKA


June 10th found us driving 273 miles from Watson Lake to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. It was a 12-hour trip due to some planned stops along the way as well as road conditions slowing us down when we hit the intermittent stretches of gravel and frost heaves. When on gravel stretches that had not been wetted down by rain, the visibility was virtually zero from the dust as trucks passed. Fortunately, we didn’t have many encounters. Signs were posted saying “Extreme Dust” in these areas—we believed them after the first one! We also found that most bridges were marked for two-way traffic; however, when driving a wide-body RV, they are basically a one-lane bridge in most cases. You could (and I did) pass a small car going the other direction, but it was tight. Fortunately, there wasn’t much traffic so we both just took the center out of the road since no one was coming the other way. Once in awhile, we would just wait until a truck got through before we started across.

We drove along Teslin Lake (78 miles long and 2 miles wide) awhile before stopping at Teslin, YT, to visit a museum and wildlife exhibit. Both were very interesting—we learned a lot about the times before the building of the Alaska Highway, the Tlinget Indians, gold mining, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at the George Johnston Museum and Heritage Park. Many diseases were brought into the area with the building of the highway and subsequent trade/business along the way. At one point, 128 of the 135 residents of Teslin were sick with measles, meningitis, etc., resulting in numerous deaths. This was a story we were to hear many more times in the Yukon and in Alaska as white men moved into the areas. The wildlife exhibit at the nearby Yukon Motel was very informative about birds and wildlife in the area. Our next stop was at Mukluk Annies for a salmon dinner—it was good. We crossed the Yukon River for the first time about 15 miles east of Whitehorse. It is wide and pretty this far inland. We parked at Pioneer RV Park in Whitehorse—it is wall-to-wall RVs, all headed to Alaska. I went outside a few minutes after 11 p.m. to take a picture of the RVs and to enjoy the daylight. It is still very light at that hour here and I just had to record it! I am still getting Sirius satellite radio along this part of the route; however, I lost my DISH TV service shortly after crossing the border in Alberta.

We stayed in Whitehorse June 11th and 12th. What an interesting town! We toured several museums and buildings; however, the most noteworthy (I thought) were the MacBride Museum, the Yukon Transportation Museum, and the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre. The latter was particularly interesting since it focused on the landscape, flora, and fauna of the last ice age. Eastern Siberia, Alaska, and Yukon were untouched by glaciers while the rest of Canada was covered by ice. Sea levels dropped over 300 feet and grassy tundra appeared that supported amazing varieties of animal and plant life. This is called the lost sub-continent of Beringia and North America’s earliest human inhabitants moved in from western Beringia at least 24,000 years ago. The center has a wonderful collection of life-size exhibits of animals such as a full-size cast of the largest woolly mammoth ever recovered. Its use of computer simulation to present the story of Beringia is outstanding.

We went to the Frantic Follies vaudeville show which celebrates the Klondike Gold Rush. This was a good choice since both Roberta and I really enjoyed the show. We also enjoyed seeing sights around town such as the Yukon Assembly building, the Log Skyscraper (3 story high single-room apartments), the Old Log Church, and the historical SS Klondike—the largest vessel to work on the Yukon River. A real “find” was the Yukon Artists at Work Coop south of town. We spent quite a lot of time there admiring the work and talking with artists present.

Yukon Territory’s population is just over 31,000 and about 23,000 of them call Whitehorse home. The city provides free parking to tourists passing through for three days which is nice. The town has a real small town feel to it. What struck us both was how friendly the people are and how very proud they are of their Yukon. It was nice to see their spirit.

All too soon, it was time to leave Whitehorse, but we know we will be back later on this trip and we have a list of things yet to do in that area. June 13th found us on the road to Destruction Bay, YT. This was a short day because we know the next leg will be a long day. About 40 miles west of Whitehorse I saw the largest cow elk I’ve ever seen. We also saw our first Dall Sheep at Sheep Mountain near Kluane Lake. I counted 17 head of them up high on the mountain. Many blue and magenta wildflowers adorned the roadsides which made for a beautiful drive through some very rugged countryside. The mountains were obscured much of the way by clouds and rain; however, the drive really reminded me of New Zealand’s South Island countryside.

We arrived in Destruction Bay (population 40) just before noon and had a delicious lunch at the lodge where we were camped. I spent 4 hours washing the rig using extremely cold water piped up from below the permafrost layer. I knew it would get dirty again the next day, but I needed to get some of the layers of mud off the coach and the car. The Destruction Bay Lodge and RV Park has only had water turned on for a couple of weeks this year. They wait until the ice (6 feet thick this year) is out of Kluane Lake before turning on their water. The permafrost at this location begins about 4 feet below the surface and extends down 130-140 feet. Their well goes down 150 feet. This is a very pretty location; however, we have really noticed the mosquitoes for the first time on the trip. Temperatures since we arrived in the Yukon have been in the mid-forties at night and up to the high sixties during the day.

June 14th found us departing early for Tok, Alaska. We knew from talking to various visitor center personnel, truckers, and other RVers that this would be the most difficult leg of the Alaska Highway because of the frost heaves, stretches of gravel, and areas of road construction. We were hearing stories of 10-12 hours for the trip. It was indeed slow—it took us 9 hours for the 231 mile drive. However, we both felt the stretch wasn’t quite as bad as promised—you just gotta slow down!!! Most of the drive was at 30-40 mph and occasionally we were driving 25 mph. The posted speed limit was 50 mph—only the truckers were doing that and they even had to slow down sometimes. By the way, I am getting good at watching for squiggly white lines marking the road edges and the yellow lane divider. I didn’t learn to watch for them while growing up in SD where we dealt with frost heaves every spring—you just remembered where the heaves were. However, when you are up here driving unfamiliar roads with heaves all along the way, the squiggly line stripes are a primary way of seeing rough roadway ahead. That is, if there are any pavement markings at all!

We made a brief stop at Buckshot Betty’s to try her cinnamon rolls; however, they were not as good as others we have had along the way. This is a small roadside restaurant and Betty was quite the character. So far, the cinnamon rolls at Tetsa River Services still take the prize for the best rolls and they will be hard to beat! That place is up for sale—I hope the family’s recipes are part of any sale deal for the benefit of future travelers.

After clearing customs and taking the requisite pictures entering Alaska, we parked the rigs at Tok, AK. This town is about 90 miles inside AK and caters to people on the Alaska Highway since it is the first major “entry” town. There are more RV sites and motel rooms than residents.
We left the rigs in Tok and took my car over the Taylor Highway to Chicken, AK, and on to the Top of the World Highway to Dawson City, Yukon Territory. This was a two-day trip into some of the most remote and beautiful country on the continent. The Taylor Highway was paved but had quite a few frost heaves. Chicken is a delightful little settlement about 75 miles from Tok. It has a few businesses, 3 of which are owned by a woman, an RV park and associated business, and a wonderful small log post office. Gold mining has been in the community’s past history but it now serves as a destination for RVs going between Tok and Dawson City or a stopping point for cars going the same route.

We continued on to the Top of the World (TOW) Highway which runs for about 110 miles over mountain ridges past Boundary, AK, across the US/Canadian border, and on to Dawson City, AK, returning on the same route the next day. We had read and heard all kinds of stories about the TOW Hwy which is why we decided to park the rigs and take the toad. What we found was a mostly-gravel road which was a slow go, but only had one stretch that was very narrow with no shoulder on the cliff side. It would be a very long fall if you were to go off the road there! While driving the road, we both agreed taking the toad was the best way to do the road since we were driving 10-15 miles faster than we would have driven the rigs and that one really narrow area, just over a mile long, would have been a “challenge” if you met someone in it. Someone would have had to back up because it is not wide enough to pass. Additionally, I paid $5.60 Canadian per US gallon for regular fuel in Dawson City which was also a good reason to take the car instead of the rig.

The TOW Hwy drive itself was an incredible experience and I would not have wanted to miss it. There are miles and miles in every direction of unspoiled, uninhabited wilderness, much of it above timberline. You really get a sense of how BIG the land is up here—a sense that I can’t find adequate words to convey and pictures won’t do it justice. I just felt surrounded by the incredible immensity of the land. What an experience! It is truly a drive that no one going to Alaska should miss.

Dawson City was a very interesting town and we found the people there very proud of their heritage as well as their land. A free ferry transports people and vehicles across the Yukon River to/from the TOW Hwy and Dawson. The city is clean and codes keep it looking like the historical town it is--right down to the board sidewalks.

We saw old buildings left on the main street to show the effects of permafrost. The buildings are sagging badly and will eventually fall. Some newer buildings are put on blocks with multiple jacks that can be adjusted as the building shifts from the effects of permafrost melting. Shims are added or taken out after the jacks are adjusted to stabilize the particular part of the building affected. The adjustments are made when doors don’t open properly, etc. Another construction technique involves digging a large hole into the permafrost and putting rocks/gravel in it, sometimes topped with a layer of insulation to try to keep the permafrost from melting. Open-air spaces are frequently left under new buildings in an attempt to keep heat from the building from going down to melt the permafrost below.



We saw some local sights such as Robert Service’s cabin, the Jack London Centre, and Diamond Tooth Gerties show at the Gambling Hall. The latter was a disappointment since it is really hyped. The show in Whitehorse was much better. We drove up Bonanza Creek to see the “Discovery Claim” as well as Dredge No. 4 which was a very impressive structure. The valley has mine tailings throughout and claims are still being worked using Caterpillars and hydraulic mining procedures.

Locals in the North Country have told us that the seasons of the year are divided as follows: June is spring, July is summer, August is fall, and the rest of the year is winter. Others divide seasons into two—“construction season” and winter. They also divide these long days into hours of “sunlight” when the sun is up and hours of “daylight” when the sun has set. Therefore, in Tok, AK, on June 16th, we have 20 ½ hours of “sunlight” and 3 ½ hours of “daylight”. It is light outside 24 hours/day now.

A note about the folks in northern BC and, especially, in the Yukon. Roberta and I have frequently talked about how proud the people are of their communities, their heritage, and their land in these areas. It just oozes from them whether you are talking to someone in a visitor center, a waiter or waitress in an eating establishment, a campground owner, or someone on the street. I am in Alaska as I write this posting—we don’t have the same feeling here. So far, after several days in the 49th state, it’s like being in the lower 48 in that respect. Maybe this will change as we go further around the state.

June 17 and 18 were spent in Tok looking around town and doing errands such as laundry, washing the RV and car, etc. The vehicles were filthy after the drive from Destruction Bay. We wanted to catch the favorable weather for the TOW Hwy drive when we arrived at Tok, so delayed the vehicle cleanup until after our return from Dawson City.

June 19th found us on the road to Fairbanks. We stopped enroute at Milepost 1422 in Delta Junction—the western end of the Alaska Highway. We did it—we drove the Alaska Highway! What a trip! We took the requisite pictures and got (make that we bought) a certificate stating
we made the journey. (This is one difference between the
theU.S. and Canadian cities—in Canada one doesn’t pay for certificates along the way. I think they are truly glad to have you pass through their area. We haven’t felt that way since crossing back into the U.S.) We pressed on to Rika’s Roadhouse for a good lunch and a nice walk around the grounds of the state park along the Tanana River where we had our first view of the Alaska Oil Pipeline. Our arrival at the campground just east of Fairbanks was just after 5:30 p.m.—4026 miles from ABQ.

The next day we went to the Santa Claus House in North Pole, AK, a few miles from our campground. It was full of tourists and is really quite a draw. We then went into Fairbanks to the visitor center, get some groceries, and in general begin to get the lay of the town. It was a quiet day, all in all, which was needed after some of the long days we had on the road.

June 21st—the day of the Summer Solstice is a very big deal up here. We began the day with a 3½ hour cruise on the sternwheeler Discovery III. This exceeded our expectations, I believe, because not only was it a nice trip on the river to see local homes, but they had a couple of demonstrations using float and tundra tire equipped Super Cubs, a stop at Susan Butcher’s home to see a sled dog demonstration (Susan, of Iditarod Race fame, passed away last August of leukemia), and a stop at a “native village” exhibit where interesting presentations were made. We ventured downtown in late afternoon to join the festivities at the city’s biggest event of the year—the Midnight Sun Festival. Several blocks were cordoned off for exhibitors, food vendors, attractions for kids, musical performances, etc. The event runs from noon to midnight every June 21. At 10:30 p.m. on this date each year, a local minor league baseball team begins a league game which is played in its entirety without artificial lighting. We spent a lot of the time “people-watching” while at the festival and saw a lot of tattoos, body piercing, Mohawk haircuts, and clean-cut folks from the local military bases. Although we didn’t stay in town until midnight, I was still up at midnight at home. Sunrise in Fairbanks this day was at 2:57 a.m. and sunset was at 47 minutes after midnight for about 21 hours and 50 minutes of sunlight and 2 hours 10 minutes of daylight if I did my math correctly. It was neat to be this far north on this special day!