Nugget City, Yukon

We have had lousy internet service the last few nights so today is catchup time for the blog (if service is better).  

We survived the night. We reheated leftovers on the BBQ and enjoyed a great dinner. Dry camping was not a problem. The new house battery held up well since we didn’t need much power. It stayed light way after we went to bed and it was light at 4:00 this morning. The roads today were the worst we have driven so far. The potholes were bigger and more numerous. It helped that we had very few other cars traveling with us. We saw no bears today but we did see a ring-tailed fox standing near the highway. He heard us coming and darted into the woods. We are surprised that we have not encountered any deer, moose, elk or caribou. I guess only predators around at this time of year. The views were not as scenic today as they have been. Not the dramatic snowy mountains as before. We did have some snow banks along the road and some of the creeks are still covered with a layer of ice.

We finally crossed into the Yukon but only by 2 miles. The campground for tonight is on the Alcan Highway. It’s pricey to stay here but in the wilderness, power and water are a luxury worth paying for.  Baby Nugget Campground has no nuggets or babies. Just 2 motorhomes (as I write this more have arrived). I guess we are ahead of the season. We talked to a clerk at the Jade House today who said it’s not unusual to end up at the tail end of a fifty RV caravan later in the summer. As an aside, the Cassiar Mountains produce 80% of the Jade mined in the world today. That’s a trivia answer that may win you the game someday.

This place is called Nugget City but I don’t know why. It contains a restaurant, 2 gas pumps, a general store (closed) and the RV park. Good news for tonight. Karen doesn’t have to cook and we are not eating leftovers. We are dining out and I’m starting with a piece of pie and then an entrée. Karen thinks not but we will see what happens.

Tomorrow we plan on a longer driving day so we can reach Whitehorse. We are planning a 2 day stay there to rest and investigate the museum and do some shopping. Sounds like fun.