Haines - Beaver Creek

We left Haines early today so we could cover some miles. On the way out of town we passed the Porcupine Creek area where one of my favorite cable shows began. Gold Rush started outside of Haines so this was high on my bucket list when we set out on this adventure. Again we crossed back into Canada and then drove the Haines Highway over the pass toward the junction with the Alcan Highway. The geology on the Haines Highway is very different. In 2009 it became a National Scenic Byway - you drive through areas of glaciers, coastal forests, and alpine tundras. It's a very different beauty from the highway into Skagway. The first half of today’s drive was over a very smooth, newer highway but the second half of the drive was not to be the same.

Haines Junction was a three hour’s drive. With the time zone change it was noon when we arrived. On a side street we found The Village Bakery and decided we would try it for our lunch. We both enjoyed one of the best sandwiches we have ever eaten. If you pass thru Haines Junction this is a must stop. With a loaf of green onion and cheddar cheese bread, a Nanaimo Bar, and a peanut butter cookie, we loaded up and set out to find our next stop. We tried the Cottonwood RV Park (still closed for the season), a Provincial campground (too many people and bear warnings), and a RV park in Burwash Landing (out of business). We started to worry a bit but continued on our drive. That’s when we hit our first stretch of road construction. Being Sunday, the road crews and delays were not a problem. The extremely rough pavement, gravel with washboard surface, and just plowed up dirt road, made for slow going - that lasted for sixty miles. We finally arrived at the Discovery Yukon Lodging. This is a beautiful park in the mountains with no village or town nearby. The park is grassy with small trees and is very quiet. We were told they had a grizzly in the park a few days ago. The host also told us the stretch of road construction work is nearing its end. It has been underway for three years and he said if we come back thru in a couple years, it should be done!

Charlie was allowed to run free on their grassy, small airplane runway so a game of Frisbee made him a very happy camper, so to speak. The running and exercise is something he really misses. Today was a long day’s drive but it is good to put some miles under our wheels. Maybe we did enough today to earn a second day here. We will see in the morning.

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Views from Haines Highway:

Views from Discovery Yukon Lodging:

Haines, AK

This morning we took a long walk around Haines, one of the nicest stops of the trip so far. The beauty here is spectacular. We stopped for coffee at the Rusty Compass on Main Street and sat outside to enjoy the quiet sunny morning. Weather here today is better than at home. Charlie was a hit with the barista and had to pose for a picture. We took Charlie to the empty cruise boat dock and he ran free for a while. He really needed to work off some energy! Now, he is asleep in his (our) bed.

We spent the afternoon relaxing in the sun and talking with our neighbors. They are from Wyoming and for the last fourteen years they have spent their summers at their lot on the Kenai River. That sounds like the life. This was an extremely lazy day but we both felt we deserved it. No pictures today. We had enough in yesterday’s post and today Haines still looks the same - beautiful!