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Not Just Alaska
  • No Set Path

Not Just Alaska

This trip started off as "Wouldn't it be cool if..." and is now becoming reality. After raising a family and working for 35 years it is time for us to explore with no set path... Read more
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  • No Set PathNot Just AlaskaNo Set Path

    Haines Junction

    July 6, 2018 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Haines Junction is a funny little place. It is the administrative centre for Kluane National Park and it is at the junction of the Alaska Highway and Haines Road. Both highways are very popular for anybody travelling into Alaska. Haines Junction is a small village but the Friday night we were there is was a very happening place. The Village Bakery (open only during the summer months) serves a BBQ salmon dinner which is very popular and they have live music. Reservations are needed for the dinner (we missed out) but anyone can enjoy the music (we bought some dessert while we were enjoying the ambience).Read more

  • No Set PathNot Just AlaskaNo Set Path

    Burwash Landing

    July 7, 2018 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Burwash Landing has a population of about 100 people but the Kluane Museum at Burwash Landing is easily one of the best we have been to. Yes it is tiny but it is well laid out, includes a well thought out displays of the fauna and history of the area. We were also able to watch some older but comprehensive films about the Alaska Highway. It is well worth a visit.Read more

  • No Set PathNot Just AlaskaNo Set Path

    Million Dollar Falls

    July 7, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    This campsite is on the Takhanne River. It named after the construction camp that was built for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that built the Haines Road in the 1940s. The rumour in the day was that it cost $1,000.000 to build the camp but it was never used. Whether that rumour is true or not we don’t know. However the campsite is a popular stop for those travelling the highway and wanting a glimpse of the falls. And they are worth the glimpse! Or Gawk! The river drops 60 metres at this point. It is also the end of the line for the Chinook salmon going upstream to spawn. We went for a drive in the late evening and OH JOY! We spied a moose doing her moose thing down in one of the valleys. We watched her for a time through the binoculars and I tried to get a picture with max zoom. It didn’t turn out that badly I think.Read more

  • No Set PathNot Just AlaskaNo Set Path

    Rock Glacier Trail, Kluane National Park

    July 8, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    While we were driving along the Haines road on our way to Million Dollar Lake, we saw the rock glacier and promised ourselves a stop on our way back towards Haines Junction. The trailhead is about 44km south of Haines Junction, when we arrived at the trailhead we checked out the interpretive panel and set off up the trail. It is a short hike being only 1.6 km and with an elevation gain of only 90m it is very doable. The first part of the trail is along boardwalks until you reach the front of the glacier, then you begin to climb. From the top you are rewarded with a wonderful view of Dezadeash Lake. In case you are wondering (as we were) in a nutshell, a rock glacier is a glacier covered with rock or is a mass of rock with ice between the rocks. In either case, both move slowly downhill due to gravity and neither are likely to look like a glacier. This particular glacier is stable and most if not all of its ice core has melted leaving the rocks behind.Read more

  • No Set PathNot Just AlaskaNo Set Path

    Emerald Lake, Carcross

    July 8, 2018 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    We were very fortunate that the day we drove by the sun was out and we were able to see the blue-green colours that have given this lake its name. The colours are created by sunlight reflecting off a white layer of “marl” on the lake bed. The marl itself is a white calcium carbonate clay that is formed when enough carbonate from dissolved limestone reacts with calcium in the water. The resulting clay then settles, often unevenly on the lake bed.Read more

  • No Set PathNot Just AlaskaNo Set Path

    Conrad Campsite

    July 8, 2018 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    We arrived at our campsite in the evening. The Conrad campsite is the newest of the government campsites and the last campsite before entering B.C. on the road to Skagway. The site is beautiful and we were not bothered by mosquitoes! Most probably because it is very windy! Of course had we thought about it we could have figured it out as the campsite is on a part of Tagish Lake known as Windy Arm. It lived up to its name.Read more

  • No Set PathNot Just AlaskaNo Set Path

    Conrad a mining ghost town

    July 9, 2018 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    A short walk from our campsite is the old mining town of Conrad, named after John Conrad. Mr Conrad originally wanted his Windy Arm district silver mines to be the best and so built a state-of-the-art mill to accommodate that dream. The site has been designated as a Historical Site by the Yukon Government. There are not many buildings left standing but the few that are, while they are not being restored; steps have been taken to halt or at least slow down further deterioration. As we walked along the old road and then along trails in the forest, we were able to find evidence of buildings, old tramway towers and various pieces of equipment left behind. Looking up the mountain slope you can also see further evidence of mining activity. The good folks of Carcross have capitalized on the left over mining roads, tramway lines and traditional trails and have created a vast network of hiking and mountain biking trails in and around the Carcross area. The trail intensities range from easy to extremely challenging.Read more

  • No Set PathNot Just AlaskaNo Set Path

    Carcross

    July 10, 2018 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Carcross is a very picturesque town with a year round population of about 500 people. The name Carcross comes from the older original name of Caribou Crossing. It is situated on the narrow Natasaheen River between Bennett Lake and Nares Lake and was a natural crossing point for the herds of Woodland Caribou to cross at during their seasonal movements. One of the unique features of the area is the “Carcross Desert”. It is not really a desert as it is not dry enough to be classified as a true desert, instead it is an area of extensive sand dunes blown in from Bennett Lake. The sand originates from Watson River which runs into Bennett Lake and deposits the sand and silt into the lake. When the water levels are low, the winds then blow the sand up and onto the dunesRead more

  • No Set PathNot Just AlaskaNo Set Path

    Well this happened...

    July 11, 2018 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    A funny thing happened on our way to Alaska. Our vacation has taken something of a turn. While we have been travelling, Kyle went and landed himself a job with the Government of the Northwest Territories. Go figure! As a result we are back in Whitehorse because we are spending valuable souvenir money on a work wardrobe 😞 Janet got to spend some too on Qiviut! 😉. Stayed tuned folks this is going to be interesting!!!Read more

  • No Set PathNot Just AlaskaNo Set Path

    So It Just Got Interesting!

    July 12, 2018 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Remember in our last post we said “Stay tuned Folks this is going to be interesting” ??? Well it just did.

    Do you remember that tire that went flat coming down the Dempster? Well today, between Carmacks and Pelly Crossing, it flew off the truck! Yup, I know, I watched it go at 13:00hrs. Off into the woods it went. Wheee!

    A huge shout out to Pat Hogan with Yukon Highway and Public Works and his entire crew who were working exactly where the wheel came off. They stopped the road work they were doing, helped us stow our trailer off the highway and then helped move Ted the truck off to the side and in a position for recovery. They also put their heads together, gave us suggestions and then provided us with a ride back to Carmacks so we could use our cell phone to call CAA and arrange recovery.

    Second shout out to Sharon and Gary at the Carmacks Post Office who put up with us for the afternoon, allowed us to charge said cell phone, and generally hang out until the tow truck arrived a few hours later at around 18:00hrs.

    Third shout out to Mike Brown from Pelly Crossing who recovered the truck from the side of the road, then recovered us, and drove us back to Whitehorse.

    Honourable mention goes out to NAPA Auto Parts and the local Ford dealer who between them had the right parts in stock and have set them aside for us.

    Everyone, and we mean everyone we have met today was super friendly, super helpful, super reassuring and a few even tracked us down (after their work day) to see how we were making out.

    We are very lucky, all that has happened is that we have been inconvenienced. So many things could have happened differently. We are holed up in a hotel (conveniently next to the garage) waiting to see when the repairs can take place. Thanks here goes to some anonymous traveller who cancelled his reservation at Skky Hotel in Whitehorse just when we needed a room. The garage owner is not making any guarantees but will try to fit us in tomorrow so we can be on our way again. Again super friendly and super helpful.

    Kyle might not make it to work for 9:00 Monday morning. As I said before, stay tuned for more details...    Read more

  • No Set PathNot Just AlaskaNo Set Path

    Dempster Part 2

    July 15, 2018 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Ted the Truck was repaired and we were back on the road within 24 hours after the breakdown. A big shout out to Mark Heynen at Centennial Motors in Whitehorse for fitting us in, getting the repairs done quickly and double checking the remaining tires to make sure we were safe.

    Then it was back up the highway to pick up the trailer from where it had been left, and onwards to Dawson to order a winter parka and then back down to the beginning of the Dempster Highway. It was interesting to see the difference the month had made to the landscape. It was noticeably greener for a start and less snow!

    As the day wore on we were trying to gauge whether or not we were going to make both ferry crossings (the tourist information we had received indicated that the last ferry crossings were at 12:30 a.m.). That information was wrong. We managed to make the first crossing at Fort McPherson but alas, by arriving at Tsiigehtchic at 11:35 we were 5 minutes late at the second crossing (yes the sign there was correct) and watched the ferry land on the other side of the river. All I will say is that it was interesting watching the sun go behind the hills across the river, skirt along them and then begin to come up again and that the fox family (mom and 4 kits) were awfully cute at 4:00 a.m. By the way, the first crossing is 8:30 a.m.

    We rolled into Inuvik about 2 hours later.    Read more

  • No Set PathNot Just AlaskaNo Set Path

    Great Northern Arts Festival

    July 19, 2018 in Canada ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

    Well what a good week to arrive in Inuvik! The Great Northern Arts Festival is going on all week and will be culminating this coming weekend during Inuvik’s 60th anniversary celebrations.

    So while Kyle has had to go to work and slave away, I have been busy at the arts festival! One of the artists teaching a workshop at the festival happened to be camping at the next camp site over from us. She and her husband had lived in the NWT for about 40 years and have only recently retired to their current home down south. I was late to the festival Monday so only had a short time to familiarize myself with the goings on. But, since then...

    I have had wonderful chats with some of the artists and have learned how to make an elegant porcupine quill bracelet. I am presently learning how to bead using tanned moosehide, seal hide and beads, and was lucky enough to be offered some muktuk! I would show you a picture of the moose hair tufted broach I am making but after thinking I had almost completed it, the artist teaching me was testing the “tufts” to make sure they were secure and.... they were not. The tufting pulled out and I watched about two hours of work fall apart. 😞

    I have yet to make it to the carvers’ tent!    Read more

  • No Set PathNot Just AlaskaNo Set Path

    New Home

    August 1, 2018 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Well folks the trip really has come to an end. We have signed a lease for an apartment, opened a bank account and have a post office box; it doesn’t get more official than that! We are sorry that our travel adventure has come to an end and while we have no idea what the future will hold for us up here we are on our way to finding out I guess. As you can see from the pictures in a way we continue to camp but in an apartment now instead. It is funny, I had often thought it would be great to be able to just up sticks and start again; is this a cautionary tale? Having explored the few stores here in Inuvik (and more importantly looking at the ordinary cost of things in said stores) , and hearing horror stories of shipping costs, we are in no hurry to go buy or order any furnishings until we are certain of the purchase. Happily Inuvik is a lively place on very popular social media site and the buy and sale section is a must!
    And so it begins.    Read more

    Trip end
    August 1, 2018
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