Dawson City cont'd

Today we took a side trip to see "Dredge #4" - a historic gold mining dredge built in 1912. The largest bucket type dredge built in N. America. One can certainly understand how all the dredge lines and rock piles got to where they are today -- all over the valley around Dawson City!





I've never considered myself an environmentalist, but it's kind of freaky how this dredging re-routes waterways and changes the 'look' of the land. I don't consider the 'gravel pit' look that's left behind, very attractive!! We did enjoy the tour and the short video after, that showed how the dredge works, plus showed the digging out and restoring of this abandoned dredge after it had been frozen in ice and silt for many years which in fact helped preserve everything in pretty much perfect working order.

We continued driving along that road and it was interesting (for awhile!!) to see all the abandoned mining equipment laying everywhere along the road side. Also saw some present small mining ops. It's impossible to find out how 'rich' today's miners are and how much gold is still being found here... noone is 'talking'. But the fact that they come back every year and buy all the big equipment, kind of tells the story! Anyway... after 3 + hours of climbing and driving along this rough road, everything starts to look the same (!) and I was more than happy to get home again!! (Ron loved it !)

So tomorrow we take the 5 - 10 min ferry ride across the river at Dawson and continue up the "Top of the World" highway in to Alaska !! Will spend the night at either Chicken or Tok, depending on the drive. It is winding, climbing, narrow and gravelled. And Alaska means a US border crossing. :-( Have I mentioned how much I dislike those US customs people!! They better not take my chicken this time!!

Ferry and Border Crossing went fine. Quiet and remote! Note: Population 2 ;)

Sat - 31 Dawson City

Guggieville RV Park
Site #8 - $20.79, p/w, Temp 13C

This campground is not officially opened, but we were told we could stay. The power and water is turned on, but there is no internet. We can drive to the hotel parking lot next door for internet. (owned by the same people) It is not 'camping' like some of the places we've been, but it's probably the best place here. There are a FEW trees behind and beside each site. And the fact that we are the only ones here makes it 'seem' private!!

We drove the 2 km to the townsite to check things out. Stopped at the tourist centre for more literature and watched a couple of great little films on gold mining and the 'beginnings' of Dawson. 



We caught the tale end of the readings at the Robert Service cabin and saw the Pierre Burton and Jack London family cabins. We then came back for our bikes and did the tour up and down the streets.





It's an interesting community. That evening it was the Diamond Gertie show at the casino/bar. It was "fun", but the show was only 1/2 hr. which was a bit of a disappointment. "Diamond Gertie" was singing and the dancing girls danced a couple of numbers.





We sat for a bit after and watched the gamblers which I found just as entertaining! Some old gal on the roulette table who won every time because she played everything! We were out of the 'show' by 9:30 and of course it was bright as ever, so we drove up to a lookout known as "The dome" where you could see over the city, through the valley etc. Very beautiful.

There are so many 'gravel piles' around the town. Our campsite actually looks like it's in the middle of a gravel pit. These are the 'tailings' left from the dredgings when they were digging for gold.



The weather continues to be something else! This is constantly the best weather we've ever had on our May trips -- who'd have thunk -- way up north like this!!

Ron is reading the paper at midnight while I went in for a shower. Only "up north" !!

Oh yes, Ron was pretty 'ticked' when he filled up with diesel at the Shell station in town for $1.73-- outrageous!! When we came back to our campsite, he found the diesel here at $1.64 Ya, he was some upset!!

Moose Creek to Dawson City

Moose Creek Campground
Site #13 - $12, n/s, free wood, Temp 16C

This was another great Campground. We were the only ones there until later in the evening when one other 5th wheel came in. As with all the gov't campgrounds, we appreciated the price along with the free wood. You can't beat that! It was so quiet and peaceful. Camping at it's finest.

Early in the day we had driven by Lake Lebarge, the lake from Robert Service's "Cremation of Sam McGee"(see below). As we were cooking dinner, we took turns reciting 3 of Service's poems about the Yukon that were in one of our travel books. That was pretty cool, hearing and 'feeling' his words in the middle of Yukon. It was much more meaningful then hearing them in our classrooms way back when!!

Also while we were cooking, there were 3 gray jays that kept trying to steal our food!! They were landing right beside the cooking stove and attempting to grab from the frying pan. It proved too hot or they would have gotten away with it!! Crazy birds.  We had to move closer to the stove to protect our dinner!!

We went for a short walk on one of the hiking trails to the creek.  The mosquitoes weren't a problem, but we were well sprayed.

After that it was our customary evening around the fire. 

LATER:  We will be in Dawson City for lunch today. This stretch of highway is a little rougher once again. Ron is artfully dodging some holes. It's amazing how little traffic we've seen. The campground in Whitehorse was pretty full both evenings that we were there, so we wonder where they all are now??

That's it 'til Dawson.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"There are strange things done in the midnight sun
By the men who moil for gold;
Their Arctic trails have their secret tales
That would make your blood run cold;
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,
But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
I cremated Sam McGee."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thurs - 29th Moose Creek

And we are off on our 4 new tires now. Did I mention that the used tire that "Charlie" sold us in Dease Lake was no good. It looked good, lots of tred etc, but there was a cut on the side. The Fountain Tire boys were going to use it as our spare, but on further inspection, they found that cut.  It was probably somebody else's discard and it's $70. in the garbage for us. Anyway, it got us to Whitehorse.

We were a little late getting on the road this morning. We slept til 8:30 and then had to stop for the potatoes and onions that we forgot to buy. We are really enjoying your "Milepost" book Carolyn and the interesting 'tidbits' that we pick up on the route. ie: Our neighbors were complaining about the mosquitoes that could "carry you away' at the Hot Springs they were at. I read about Takhini Hot Springs in the Milepost. Well, it tells me 'Tahk' is the Indian name for mosquito and 'heena' means river.  Now we know!

Also, the bits of history we pick up are most interesting! The abandoned rail beds where track never got laid and the 'ash lines' along the ditches from 1,250 yrs ago when volcanic ash covered 1/3 of south Yukon. We wouldn't know this but for the book.

We pulled off for lunch at a rest stop that was originally the old Montague House. It is the only remains of one of the 52 stagecoach stops between Dawson & Whithorse. The original was built in 1900, but this was built in 1915 (after fire) and used until 1950. Travellers along the route were expected to carry enough rum to keep the driver 'happy' (and warm) along the way.

By the way, we had this morning's homemade bread for lunch. I always bring my breadmaker and make bread overnight at the 'power' stops. I often wonder if our neighbors 'get the whiff'.

It looks like we won't be going as far as Dawson. Our GPS is giving the arrival time as 6 p.m. and we don't usually drive that late. So, our destination for tonight is Moose Creek Gov't campground just beyond Stewart Crossing.

Wed - 28 (cont'd)

Well, we now have FOUR new tires.... !! Hopefully we are set for the rest of the trip! I'm kind of wondering why this wasn't done before we left AB, but, what can I say. Ron tells me he did have the tires rotated before we left and Dwayne, our OK Tire guy, said they were still good.

We did get in a bike ride on a great trail, part of the Trans Canada Trail, so that was kind of cool. Both of us are quite impressed with this community. Nice clean looking city, pretty setting, well kept yards and homes for the most part.

We didn't get to the "Follies Show". We will do so when we come back. Sharon (my sis-in-law) tells me it's a must see. Tomorrow it's up toward Dawson.

This picture above? It's 11 pm in Whitehorse! Too weird!!

Wed - 28th Whitehorse, Yukon

Our campground at Whitehorse is a little busier than our previous spot at Watson Lake! We are parked close together plus there are the sounds of traffic and airplanes. There are firepits available at each site however. It was nice to find some crocus' blooming in our campsite.



The weather got quite cool and windy last night (no fire). We had to wear our sweatshirts again! I think it's about 11C here now, but sunny. Whitehorse is a busy community. There are a lot of services available, like Walmart, Superstore, Can. Tire plus a small mall. We will pick up a few more supplies here. (Seems we have to do that lots -- the disadvantages of a small fridge!!)

The Klondike

I am sitting in the laundromat at the moment. Ron went to check out a nearby museum. (Something is wrong with this picture??!!) Anyway, we have an appointment at Fountain Tire at 1 p.m. to install our new tires. The tire guy said that as good as the highway would seem between here and Watson Lake, the finish is really just like sandpaper. I guess that is why it's so hard on tires. I'm thinking Ron should 'slow it down' a notch or two from the 107 km. and it would probably be better. Although that's hard to do when the going is good!!

Rides still available on the old street car

We thought we might take in a Hertie Gertie show. Also thought we might take one of the train excursions, but probably on our way back. Well, it's time to check on that laundry.

Tues - 27th Whitehorse

Hi Country RV Park
Site #51 - $26.10, p/w/s, Internet, Temp 22C

It was pretty quiet in our campspot last night. Not many units there. We'll keep our eye out for more of these "Government Campgrounds" We enjoyed listening to the loons once again last night.

Forgot to mention that when we pulled off the hwy for lunch along side a lake yesterday, there were 2 loons swimming around under the water that we could see clearly from our window in the 5th wheel as we ate. -- It was so interesting to watch. -- love those clear northern lakes!!

As mentioned, we picked up a few groceries in Watson Lake yesterday. Things are much more expensive. I'm sure we'll find that the rest of our trip. This is one of the few campspots we've been at where firewood is still free and plentiful. We started an early fire and roasted wieners.

At 9 p.m. when it cooled down, we were reminded of the 'downside' to northern camping -- MOSQUITOES !!! They are terrible right now. I think just hatching in this warm weather. Lots of spray and swatting but we moved in at 10:30 when we couldn't stand it anymore.

The Highway to Whitehorse was excellent, except for a 14km stretch that was gravelled for re-paving - smooth but dusty. We pulled off for a bathroom break and got a few pics of a moose eating in a swampy area below us.



4 p.m and just arrived in Whitehorse. We will be spending a couple of nights in the campsite on the edge of town. More bad luck on the road, just after I typed above message, we blew a second rear truck tire which caused a fair bit of damage to the truck (thank heavens it was still drive-able tho!).



Ron was going to replace this tire in Whitehorse as it was a 'pair' with the other one that blew and he was concerned about it. (Even though they were our newest tires and still with good treds???) So more tire shopping in Whitehorse. At any rate we had planned to spend a couple of days and do some sight-seeing. (Trip just got more expensive though!!)

Looks like internet available here, so will be in touch. Time to set up camp.

a campsite welcome!!

Sat - 26 Watson Lake, Yukon

It's hard to get used to going to bed when it's still so light outside! We tend to stay up much later up north -- as we did last night! I took advantage of having internet in the campground. It is much nicer than doing my internet  on the road as we pass through towns - rather hit and miss.

Anyway, we are on the road again complete with a spare tire. I hope we don't have more vehicle problems -- Businesses are fewer and further between now. This gets a little worrisome and scary!

-----------------------
Watson Lake Campground
Site #43 - $12, n/s, Wood!, some cell

We are now in Yukon!!

Today was quite the drive. A real mix of good, bad and very very bad road !! The last stretch to Watson Lake was the worst. We had to come to complete stops and slowly 'crawl' through the soft spots while meandering around the holes on the highway. It's unbelievable!

Yes, that semi ahead of us is driving on the wrong side of the road!  One had to use the whole road -- wherever one could drive. There was no oncoming traffic which was a good thing. There is no need for radar along that highway, that's for sure! Also, it's interesting to note that all the campgrounds at Watson have a mechanic on site and there are plenty of tire and truck repair shops around!

We stopped at a Jade place along the way. Did you know that over 75% of the world jade comes from the Cassiar Mts. We bought a couple of little trinkets only.

We are now camped at a beautiful wilderness type campground. Large sites, lots of Lodgepole pine, so it's very much like Cypress Hills. There are no services, but it's only $12./night. It is just minutes out of town. The Campsites in town are all parking lot style, so we opted for this.

And we are now off to town for some supplies before heading up the Alaska Hwy tomorrow and on towards Whitehorse.

What great weather here!!! It 27-28C, sunny and hot !!  Eat your heart out!!

Note:  The "Sign Post Forest" here is pretty cool. Wish we had a sign to add to it.



It was started in 1942 when a homesick army fellow from Illinois erected a sign with his town name and the mileage pointing to 'home'. Others followed and it was said the 10,000 th sign was posted here in 1990. The original soldier visited the site in 1992 - 50 yrs. later. It's difficult to guess how many signs would be there now. I think Charlie & Carolyn posted one, but we have no idea where to look for it!?

Sun - 25th Dease Lake

We are back on the Cassiar Hwy. It was tough to leave that beautiful and relaxing spot on the lake. Driving back from Stewart/Hyder yesterday we saw another 5 bears and we have seen quite a few this a.m. already.  They are certainly out and about!

We stopped for fuel at Bell and paid the highest ever at $1.536 We were told it's gets worse further north. One good thing is that we are getting better mileage with the slower driving :-)

We had our first 'glitch' just after Bell when we had to change a separated truck tire. Just beyond there we ran out of our smooth highway (km 300 on the Cassiar) and we had to slow down considerably for some patches and rough spots..  Yuk, and I understand that too gets worse.  Anyway, we had our tire problems on the "GOOD" highway?????

We had planned to get further than Dease Lake today, but now we'll have to try and pick up another tire, so, maybe not.
--------------------------------------
Dease Lake RV Park
Site #12 - $22, p/w, Internet, Temp 25C

It's 4 p.m. at Dease Lake. Ron stopped at the local service station as soon as we got to town and a tire guy happened to be there, because his wife was the cook! He followed us to campground and then led Ron to his tire shop out of town. Ron had just un-hooked our truck and left with him.  I managed to get set up myself -- power, water plus, I put out the canopy for shade as it is 26C here and HOT !! (I was pretty proud of this as I'd never done it myself before!!)

Ron is back now.  The tire guy has a used tire to put on the rim for us ($70.), so we'll have a spare again. BEER TIME!

Sat - 24 Meziadin Lake, BC

Miziadin Lake Prov Pk

Site #46 - $15, n/s, Internet cost, Temp 22C & warm!!

Meziadin Lake turned out to be a beautiful spot. Yes, there was still snow laying around and the manager had to have a plow in yesterday to clean his site off, but at 22C (34C in the sun) it was melting fast.  And it was GORGEOUS!



It was the first time we put on shorts and tank tops and I am supporting my first sunburn for the season. We are just a step off the lake, There were 13 units parked at this spot. Many had their rods out for the good fishing.



We just enjoyed the view and our campfire. The days are certainly starting to get longer and it was still light after 10:30 p.m.

This morning we had our coffee and listened to the loons. We cooked bacon and eggs and we are now doing a side trip to the border towns of Steward, BC and the 'ghost town' of Hyder, Alaska -- hanging glaciers, bear watching and breath taking scenery.

LATER: Well, been there, done that! That was pretty funny!! It's a good thing that the scenery was nice (and we saw a bear!) because there is basically NOTHING at Stewart and Hyder. Anyway, we had some good laughs and we got a few good pictures.



It's a ghost town all right. There is no US customs driving in to Hyder, but Can. customs coming out.





That was funny also (what would you would even 'buy" there?? I don't know!! The lone custom's guy is obviously new to the job and low on the seniority list to be stuck there! (he's from ON)

Anyway,  back to Meziadin Lake for the night and then on up the Cassier Hwy to Dease Lake area tomorrow.

Loon on Meziadin Lake