Whitehorse, Yukon

Today’s blog entry will cover two days. We are taking a break from driving to do the touristy stuff in Whitehorse and rest a bit. 

Yesterday we drove from the north end of the Cassiar Highway to Whitehorse. We covered the 250 miles in a quick 4-1/2 hours. The road was much improved over the last couple of days. We did hit one stretch of road construction and had to wait for one-lane traffic but it was just a few miles of rough road. The time went by quickly as we searched for wildlife along the way. We hit the jackpot. Two elk a-runnin’, two grizzles a-frolicking, two porcupines on the road (one roadkill), one fox watching and numerous loons a-floating. I feel like writing a Christmas song! The grizzly sighting was really amazing. We passed on open lot near the Swift River and the two bears were chasing one another. We stopped, reversed the RV, (again we were the only ones on the highway for miles) to get a picture but they ran into the woods. They watched us for a moment and then disappeared deeper into the forest. So far that’s the highlight of animal encounters. 

We arrived at the Hi Country RV Park in the early afternoon. We made a trip downtown for a stop at the ATM. We found the financial district of Whitehorse. It is one corner of Main Street with three banks and one Starbuck. In Seattle that would be three Starbucks and one bank. We found enough time for a little gift shopping for our favorite grandson and some laundry. Normally, when we travel we bring back gifts for our kids but I think this time Holden gets the lion’s share of our shopping dollars. ;) Sorry Stacey, Scott, Carin and Dustin. 

Yesterday the weather was a bit stormy and cold. Today we awoke to blue skies and cool temps. We wore coats and gloves in the morning and shorts in the afternoon. We spent the morning downtown with a stop at Starbucks, some more shopping for Holden and an hour’s stop at the McBride Museum. I would like to have spent more time studying the history of the area but Charlie can only be left alone for a short while. We had a great sandwich from a street cart and then returned to the park for a leisurely afternoon. It became quite warm so I laid in the sun and worked on my tan. After all, this is a vacation! Whitehorse has been a wonderful stop. The rest was needed. We are considering a side trip to Skagway and a ferry ride to Haines. It means less driving and new scenery with no backtracking. 

Prime moose viewing area - none seen :(

Whitehorse, Yukon

Yukon River

Whitehorse, Yukon

Marsh Lake

Marsh Lake

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.

Dease Lake, BC

Today was a day filled with bear sightings. Charlie got his first encounter and he was not a happy camper. He sounded the alarm and went into a barking frenzy with hair raised on his back. Fortunately, we were in the motorhome stopped in the middle of the highway. It’s a little strange to stop on a 60 mph roadway for pictures but there were no other cars for miles. The bear looked at us like we were aliens from another planet and then went back to munching dandelions on the roadside. 

We managed to move another 200 miles closer to the Yukon but the going was slow today. We encountered our first potholes and bad roads and they can really slow you down. It took six hours of driving but we finally arrived in Dease Lake. Not much of a town, expensive gas and free water to clean the bugs off the windshield. Life is good. We chose to stay at The Water’s Edge Campground just north of the town. The campground comes with no services so we are trying our hand at dry camping. We have a beautiful view of the lake from our campsite so we will enjoy this stay. NO MOSQUITOES! The camp host tells us they have not arrived yet this far north and I’m hoping that is the story as we head to Alaska. 

We have driven 1,300 miles so far and we will finally cross into the Yukon Territory tomorrow. British Columbia is a big province. It feels strange to see beautiful lakes with no houses, cabins or campgrounds on them. We are really into the wilds of northern BC. From here it is a 300mile drive to the nearest shopping, medical facilities, or banking (including ATM’s). We should have brought more Canadian cash with us. I didn’t realize before this trip that people could live this far from what we consider a normal life. We hope to refinance when we reach Whitehorse in a few days. Glad we brought the Visa. Don’t leave home without it! Ha Ha

Bear by roadside

View from campground

Dease Lake

Mehan Lake heading north

Mehan Lake