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Alaska via Canada

Juni - September 2019
Ein 84-Tage Abenteuer von Katboz & Tom Weiterlesen
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  • Alaska via Canada
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    Tag 18

    Teslin, Yukon Territory

    3. Juli 2019 in den USA ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    Another peaceful day on the road...no wildlife, except for a single, soaring eagle. Lots of road construction, mostly laying a chip seal, so a little slow going! But we really weren't going as far today because there were things I wanted to see in Teslin, which is just southeast of Whitehorse on the Alaskan Hwy.
    We would have been here sooner but i simply was not paying attention and let Tom go the wrong way out of town, like 10 miles or so! Couldn't understand why the navigation device we have kept wanting to turn us around...but you see I had a box of doughnuts in my lap to go with the hot coffee we got as we left town! So my focus was not what it needed to be! Well Tom finally found a spot to do a u-turn with our 30' RV on a 2-lane hwy, and we headed back the way we came, stopped for another cup of coffee in Watson Lake and headed the opposite direction.
    Crossed the continental divide mid-morning, crossed the state line between BC and YT several times, and lunch found us at yet another roadside lake, and by mid afternoon we got into Teslin. We grabbed a beautiful lakeside site at one of the Yukon government campgrounds outside of town and then headed back to town to visit the George Johnston Museum.
    The museum was so well done; and told a great story about this native Tlingit Indian. He pretty much lived his life in Teslin and besides being a trapper and business man, he photographed alot of his life and family/friends. The pictures tell so much about what life was like (before the highway) and the museum has a great number of artifacts, and some natural history. The 50 min documentary about his life and how the Alcan highway changed everyones life was excellent! Tom even stayed awake!
    Gassed up and headed back to our campsite. The Yukon government sites, like the BC provincial parks, are very nice, but generally have no power or water, pit toilets, no showers. So we kind of bounce between private parks that have most of the amenities and these government parks every other, or every two, days. Additionally the parks in the Yukon are all $12 Canadian, which is about $9 American!
    "Good" hot dogs and cabbage and apple salad for dinner!    Weiterlesen

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  • Alaska via Canada
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    Tag 19

    Whitehorse via Carcross

    4. Juli 2019 in Kanada ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F

    Started our day at the Tlingit Heritage center, and boy are we glad we did! They served (free!) Bannock and coffee, with smoked whitefish. The bannock are literally fried dough, similar to fry bread, but shaped more like a pop-over. The were hit out of that vat of oil they are fried in....add a little butter and jam, yum! And the a bit of smoked whitefish, freshly caught and made from the day before. And COFFEE!
    We watched a video presentation about their annual cultural celebration and looked around the gallery. They also had carving demo by a gentleman related to George Johnston (the museum we saw the day before) and we saw the fishing demo and smoking area. Very interesting and nicely presented!
    Drove on to Carcross for lunch. (Stopped in Johnson Crossing because we heard they had cinnamon rolls!) We had been to Carcross before with the cruise. This is a day excursion for many Inland passage cruises. Passengers catch the train in Skagway, and it brings you out to this town in the Yukon. Kind of two aspects to this town, the old homes and a couple of buildings; (very early 1900s) or the "commons" which are all new shops developed together so you can do alot of shopping! All in walking distance...we had a great lunch, bison burger and beer, walked a little with Auggie, visited the Carcross desert and Emerald lake overlook; and headed on!
    Oh almost forgot, BEAR sighting on the way to Whitehorse! Just walked across the road... I was so panicked to get a photo I hit the button that reverses the lens and was taking a picture of myself! Collected my wits and still (with Auggie in my lap barking wildly) managed to get a photo!
    Checked into Whitehorse, went to the drug store for Benadryl (i had a bite that resulted in my eyelid swelling, I really do struggle with mosquitos...), went to the liquor store for some wine, and grocery store for more food! You can only buy wine in separate liscensed stores so a little inconvenient. And a lot more expensive, at least the wine is! So been drinking more sparkling water....simple salad with chicken and we called it a day!    Weiterlesen

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  • Alaska via Canada
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    Tag 20

    Day #1 in Whitehorse

    5. Juli 2019 in Kanada ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F

    What an interesting day, we have really enjoyed getting to experience Whitehorse! Enough that we decided we want to have another day here. Fires in Dawson City area have us changing our route, and we will stay on the Alaska hwy on this leg and try to hit Dawson City on the way home.
    We spent some time at the visitor center this morning, then headed by foot to the S.S. Klondike, a stern wheeler from the gold rush days. It traveled on the Yukon river from here to Dawson City. They have done a really nice job restoring it! PS, the Yukon river is one of the few rivers that flows north (!) to the Bering Sea AND has a lot of history!
    Then downtown for halibut at the Klondike Rib & Salmon! Cute old historic building with excellent halibut...and I'm sure the ribs and salmon must be good too! Walking distance to a great museum, the MacBride. Had alot of First Nation artifacts, Sam McGees cabin, Alaska hwy history, gold rush history, and alot of stuffed (not sure that is the right word?) animals, representative of the animals found in the Yukon. Seemed like a relatively new facility and was a great visit.
    Then back to the visitor center for a two hour "city" tour by van. Turns out we're were the only guests so we really had a wonderful time with our driver, Kim. Born and raised in the Yukon, and had so much personal insight to add to our discussion as we toured various parts of the city and landmarks. Getting the lay of the land and putting our eyes on a few stops made us want to stay an additional day!
    Kind of happy to see a pretty big wind storm blow through mid afternoon, so the skies are blue again. We're have been dealing with alot of hazy, smoky, (= gray) skies, and we are seeing some blue again. So hopeful we will get more of the same tomorrow. Sounds like there is also a fairly significant fire on the Kenai peninsula right now, again hoping it is well over when we're get there with Cindy!
    Update: Benadryl (overnight) helped my swollen eye!    Weiterlesen

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  • Alaska via Canada
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    Tag 21

    Day #2 in Whitehorse

    6. Juli 2019 in Kanada ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F

    Had another fun day in Whitehorse, this is the largest city in the Yukon, and the capital of this territory. It's odd, Canada has provinces (mostly) and the several areas that are known as territories, not quite sure what makes them different, but some of the canadians we have spoken to say they're really isn't any difference anymore. The name just stays as is...
    We started yesterday with a visit to the "world's longest wooden" fish ladder. And it is long. For hydro power there is a dam on this part of the Yukon, just shy of a major spawning area for the same, hence the ladder. Very interesting, no salmon yet, but we're are hoping to see some on or return trip thru this city.

    Then we headed to the Beringia Interpretive Center museum. This one is all about the land mass that connected Asia to Alaska/Yukon during the Ice Age and the animals that existed during that time. Once the glacier receded, the sea levels rose and the two continents are separated by the Bering Sea. Then a tour and an video presentation.

    Next stop was a quick grocery run at Walmart, and a stop at the First Nation Heritage Center. Was pretty well deserted, poked our noses around and moved on.

    Back to visitor center, walked main street shops, the little Log Church downtown, and then spent time in the visitor centre accessing their Wi-fi. Creek service still okay, but weak here, so to catch up on Quicken it is easier to get somewhere with decent service. You can "buy" it at the campgrounds sometimes, but it is usually a pretty poor solutions. $5 for 30 minutes. Shoot it takes me 15 minutes to boot my laptop and get on Wi-fi network!

    So instead of cooking dinner we headed to a Yukon brewery, Winterlong, for a beer tasting and pot pie dinner. Very tasty! Back to camp and showers!

    Interesting decision point, trying to figure out whether we stay on the Alaska highway (west option) or the klondike highway (east option) through Dawson City. A Canadian couple next to us are heading that way, and they know some one connected to the MP (police) who said that the highway maybe closed by today....so not quite sure what direction we will be taking yet, and we are already having our morning coffee!    Weiterlesen

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  • Alaska via Canada
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    Tag 22

    Pellys Crossing, Klondike Hwy 2

    7. Juli 2019 in Kanada ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F

    We woke up this morning pretty much agreed that we're should adjust plans and head to Alaska via the Alaska hwy (hwy 1) instead of north on the Klondike Hey (hwy 2) via Dawson City. Our Canadian RV neighbors confirmed our choice and adjusted their plans to get to Dawson t.he long way round via the Alaskan hwy. as well.

    We said our goodbyes and headed out to the Yukon Wildlife Preserve to try and finally see some wildlife! Up close and personal....and we did to a certain extent. We did spy a single moose, and it was confirmed with the use of binoculars, but would have never been apparent in a photo, other than a brown lump...we did see mule deer, thinhorn sheep, mountain goats, caribou, musk ox and bison, so we did partially achieve our goal. Dont have many pictures to share because I used our big camera...we spent all morning there, we missed the bus tour, so we walked! But it is set up to be either walked or bussed so it was fine. After our walking tour we cut up meat , cheese and fruit for lunch and took off driving....

    While at the preserve we chatted with some local folks about the fire situation and they said that they understood that even the Alaska hwy was having problems due to a fire up the road we were to travel! Decision time again! Apparently the Yukon (and Alaska) are all ablaze! Ultimately we decided on our original route up to Dawson....

    Had a nice drive and about an hour plus into our afternoon drive we decided we would pull over to one of the intermittently placed "lodges" to ask locals, or fellow travelers, what they knew of road conditions to Dawson. We stopped at Braeburn lodge, (last check in for the Yukon sled dog race) and home to their "world famous cinnamon rolls, check out my picture!

    Anyway, Tom saw a fellow walking back to his RV and told me to go check with him. I looked more closely and it was Ron our "neighbor" from the RV park that morning! We all had determined that Hwy 1 was the best option and by mid day we all met up by pure chance on Hwy 2 instead! Boring story for any one reading this, but the four of us had a great laugh! They are on a 3 week trip from Saskatchewan. I cant even properly say the name of their province! We will probably see them again in Dawson...

    Couple more scenic overlooks and finally stopped at Pelly Crossing, again another "lodge", which really means a building, often can be log building, that offers gas and sort of a mini mart....some are pretty nice and offer alot, and some are not as nice. But every one seems to have a hanging basket of flowers! Overnighting in their local campground, no amenities, but it is free and pretty quiet!    Weiterlesen

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  • Alaska via Canada
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    Tag 23

    Dawson City via the Klondike Hwy

    8. Juli 2019 in Kanada ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F

    Got a pretty good start on the road today because we could not find a local bakery to slow us down with a decision; and frankly we did have half of the dinner plate size cinnamon roll we had bought yesterday!

    Fortunately about an hour up the road we got to Moose Creek lodge, so "quaint" that two different tour buses stopped by while were were there! You know how we tourists love our "undiscovered" little outposts. Wonderful sausage roll, strawberry-rhubarb tart and of course, coffee!

    Oh, did I mentioned the grizzley we are almost certain we saw. It was brown, and it was large, but we were doing 60 mph and were still looking for a bakery. Pretty dang sure it was one...we ran into a couple of 70 plus, silver hair ladies touring on their three wheel motorcycle that confirmed the sighting! They also asked if we saw the moose. Sadly we seemed to have missed that, I was probably busy reading the current description out of "Milepost" regarding this leg of our trip. It did have a picture of a moose, so I guess that counts? Also the ladies very generously sent me a picture of the grizzley we are pretty sure we saw!

    Drove through the smoke of the ongoing fire that is just south of Dawson. We were close enough we could clearly see the fire line and lots of smoke. There is still discussion that this highway we are on will be closed in the next day or two depending upon wind direction.

    Arrived safe and sound in Dawson and hit the Visitor center, Heritage center for the local First Nation, and just walked some of the old streets. This is a city that once was home to 30,000 during the Klondike gold rush in approx 1896. Currently home to about 1,800. But they have worked with the federal, territorial, and municipal authorities to save and slowly renovate some of the buildings. All the streets are hard pack gravel and dirt, sidewalks are wood...and a lot of buildings are sort of shuttered. Slowly key properties are being renovated and operating with local retail business. Sort of, kind of, like Virginia City. But this place is not that accessible, and has about a 3 month season!

    Got back to our RV park, a gravel parking lot at one end of town that was in full sun and it only had 15 amp service so no AC in the 85 degree end of day....I know 85 degrees does not sound hot but in a box with only fans it does get warm. I went to bed with a cold wash cloth, and my little personal 4" fan pointed at my face. And don't forget we have to cover the windows to get some semblance of dark to sleep with since the sun is still up until 11 p.m. Probably our warmest night out and look how far north we are! Have not worn a long sleeve shirt since Vancouver! But we both actually slept well, probably because I take Benadryl every night to help with my mosquito bite reactions.    Weiterlesen

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  • Alaska via Canada
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    Tag 24

    Dawson City, up close

    9. Juli 2019 in Kanada ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F

    Had a fun day exploring Dawson! We joined a 2 hour walking tour first thing in the morning and got to see some of the interiors of the older buildings. Our Canada Parks guide was fun, and has lived in Dawson for over 15 years. She like a number of people we met, come to work the summer and then end up staying. They have a hospital here, but mostly for minor injuries, etc.. If you are due to have a baby they have you leave about 3 weeks before your due date and head to Whitehorse.

    Had an early lunch at Klondike Kate's and then hit a couple museums. Dawson City museum was interesting and had some great photos of Dawson before its "almost" demise. And then spent some time at the Jack London museum. Watched an interesting video about finding his cabin on Henderson Creek which feeds into the Yukon. Half of his cabin went to Oakland (where he spent most of his life when not traveling) and the other half to Dawson because of his time there during the gold rush, which was the inspiration for some of his most famous novels, "Call of the Wild" and "White Fang".

    Finished our day doing a couple of "drive bys", (no real time to stop), got some gas and an ice cream cone to eat while we waited in line for the George Black ferry. There is no bridge across the Yukon this far north, but thefreere is a free ferry that runs 24/7 when the river is not iced over. Only a short 5-10 minute trip, and it appears any size vehicle can be accommodated. We watched a fairly good size truck ferried over. He was big enough that it was the only vehicle on the ferry. When we went over they had 2 RVs and maybe 5 cars and some pedestrians. Very efficient, you just get in line and wait your turn...

    Found a campsite right on the other side of the river, on the Yukon, and with shade! No power, but this is a great site, and the trees helped! Tomorrow we will actually cross the border into Alaska!    Weiterlesen

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  • Alaska via Canada
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    Tag 25

    Back in the USA via Top of the World Hwy

    10. Juli 2019 in den USA ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F

    Drive....every day, a little bit at least. And on July 10 we reentered the USA! Its seems so odd to think we drove all the way through Canada to get here. It looked so far on the map and day by day we inched closer. And the exciting part is that now we get time in Alaska, and then drive all the way back!

    So this day was just one long, slow, DUSTY drive. Top of the World highway is all gravel, but pretty well graded. The drive is pretty cool, 80 miles of ridge top driving, but the smoke from the fires really obscured the views. Just a LOT of gray sky....and DUST!

    Crossing the border went smoothly. After I was mildly chastised for taking pictures instead of being part of "inspection" process; we spent some time chatting with the border agent. He asked if we had seen any caribou and was shocked when he heard we had seen (of course) NONE! Apparently the various parts of the herd have been seen around the border quite a bit. In fact a week or so ago the border was closed for over 3 hours because they were hanging out and grazing at the crossing! The overall herd is sized at approximately 72,000!! And we didnt see even 1! (Although Tom thinks he saw a hoof print at a rest stop)
    Well we found out the road beyond the border was not only DUSTY, but had that awful "washboard" texture that Tom just hates! He kept turning to me and asking "did you know it was going to be like this?" 40 miles later he was happy to find pavement!

    We stopped at Chicken, AK for a chicken sandwich. This little town is all about chickens...and has no water system, sewer system or power source! And the name Chicken came about because they wanted to name the town Ptarmigan (state bird) but couldn't spell it....hmmmm? Finished the day with more driving, this time it was a mixture of patches, gravel heaved pavement, but no "washboard" and finally arrived at Tok, AK.

    We pulled into an RV park for the night a little weary, and a little dusty! Inside and outside....you could write your name on some of the surfaces, check out our stove top picture!    Weiterlesen

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    Tag 26

    Smoke, smoke and more smoke, Fairbanks

    11. Juli 2019 in den USA ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F

    Wow....several days late on this entry! But we have been busy anticipating the arrival of our third traveling companion!

    This day was pretty uneventful and actually kind of took a little joy out of the journey....the closer we get to Fairbanks the worse the smoke is. It is like being in Fresno on a foggy day, just a gray haze everywhere. Our eyes burn a little, its warm and muggy. There are a couple of fires on either side of Fairbanks, and the news is reporting this may be the worst fire season ever for Alaska! Had to try and let this go, and just enjoy the fact that we are on this trip, and the fires cant last for two months! Well maybe they can....arrrgh!

    Oh! We did see today, not just a moose. but a moose and a calf! Just when we thought we would never see wildlife on the busy Alaska highway, Tom spied them. Tried turning the RV around to get a picture, but I just could not get my fingers to push the right buttons on my phone as they sauntered back into the trees.....arrrgh!

    Mid day we arrived at Delta Junction, the official end of the Alaska Highway. I had our picture taken because by the time we get home we will have done most of it, but as of today, technically not that much. I have had Tom "take the road less traveled" so we could see more wildlife....which was a bust, arrrgh!

    Had lunch a Rika's Roadhouse, I had to stop and visit something!? But it was a nice historical stop even with the smoke. Well, I thought it was nice...

    Last picture for this day is of the pipeline, in the smoke. Just one of the hundreds of rivers this pipeline had to cross besides 3 mountain ranges!

    Arrived in Fairbanks, checked out the visitor center, which is really beautiful and very informative! So much so, we left and went to our RV spot so we could come back, take our time and have Cindy with us! Parked on the Chena River for the next three nights!    Weiterlesen

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  • Alaska via Canada
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    Tag 27

    Rivers Edge Rv Park, Fairbanks

    12. Juli 2019 in den USA ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F

    Hallelujah! We had rain! From late night and intermittently all through the day! Wow, it barely made a dent in the smoke! But hopeful it will begin to make a difference.

    We actually did nothing all morning thinking we're had most of the day to clean up the RV and get laundry done prior to picking up Cindy at the airport! Well we actually needed all day! The dust from the "top of the world" wad every where, even in drawers! And I ended up with 4 loads of laundry, at $3 for wash and $3 for dryer.....using math that means each load cost $6! And I am providing the labor! Have you ever put $24 worth of quarters in your coin purse? Guess what they don't make coin purses that big....I had to use a baggie!

    We managed to finish with just enough time for showers and then headed to the airport to get Cindy. Her plane was on time and we found her and her luggage without incident!

    Pack to our riverside slot, welcome cocktail hour and dinner at the Chena Grill. Crab cakes, calamari, and salmon salad!    Weiterlesen

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