The Road Goes On…

  • Keno City, YT to Dawson City, YT

    First stop this morning was the Keno Mining Museum. This is truly worth seeing and is quite extensive considering the small size of the town.

    On the way back to the Klondike Highway we stopped in Mayo and visited Binet House Interpretive Centre and had a long conversation with the lady at the museum. She turned out to be a former chief and very active in the process of achieving self-governance for her tribe. The photos on the wall depicted life in the 1900s and included images of her ancestors who had been involved in the development of her communities.

    Once back on the Klondike Highway and heading towards Dawson City, we only stopped at the Tintina Trench which extends hundreds of kilometres between Yukon and Alaska and is the largest fault in North America. The bedrock in this area has shifted a minimum of 450km laterally.

    We were soon near Dawson City and drove down Bonanza Creek Road to visit the historic Dredge No. 4, the largest wooden hulled bucket-line dredge in North America. These large machines sifted tons of gravel and rock in rivers and creeks and sifted out the gold.

    Now it was time to find a campground in Dawson City and we lucked out at the Gold Rush Campground and RV Park at 4th Avenue and York Street, conveniently located right downtown. We set out to do a walking tour of the city, picked up some groceries and then visited Diamond Tooth Gerties for a show.

    Now at 9PM, we were really hungry and headed off to the Drunken Goat, a Greek restaurant and bar for a souvlaki dinner.

    Dead tired, we fell into bed.

    Tomorrow we will head up the Dempster Highway and will be without Internet and phone service for several days. We will post blog entries as soon as we can.

  • Twin Lakes, YT to Keno City, YT

    We left our wonderful campsite telling ourselves that we would definitely stay there again.

    Our first stop today was at the remains of the Montague House, an early roadhouse on the stagecoach route between Whitehorse and Dawson City.

    We passed through Carmacks and stopped at the Tage Cho Hudan Interpretive Centre to learn about the Northern Tutchone people. Of particular interest was the coming of age custom for a girl which involved her staying in a brush camp away from her people with her mother and grandmother preparing a special hat for her to wear. She was not allowed to look out from under this hat and learned to focus, concentrate, bead and sew.

    Another ingenious tool we saw was the bear spear walking stick. This was used when a bear charged. One end was placed in the ground and the other pointy end impaled the bear when it attacked.

    It was time for an ice cream and we stopped at Coal Mine Campground and visited a snack bar with all kinds of funny signs.

    Next up was the Five Finger Rapids lookup. The Five Finger Rapids are a navigational hazard for watercraft and many early rafts flipped over trying to traverse them.

    There was lots of road construction on this section of highway and tons of dust. We stopped for gas and Ruth took this picture out of the front window.

    We turned onto the Silver Trail, Highway 11, and drove to Keno City, a small town with a population of 12 in the winter. Here we found the Keno City Hotel, a snack bar and the Keno City Mining museum. The museum was just closing but we will take the time tomorrow to see it. We asked about a tour at the nearby silver mine and were told that there were no tours available, but that there was a gold panner in town who would possibly take us to pan for gold at his claim. Behind the museum and down by the river is a campground and we parked the van and Lucien, the gold panner, drove by with his red truck. We stopped him and had a great chat about life in Keno City but unfortunately weren’t able to take him up on the gold panning offer because of the cost involved.

    We walked back up to the town for dinner at the Keno City Snack Bar and had a wonderful freshly made pizza.

     

    Keno City has very colourful people and we met a couple of them in the restaurant and we were told about the Art and Music festival that was in town and the campfire that was to take place that evening at Patrick’s private home.

    The town itself looks like a semi abandoned miner’s town with a bit of hippy culture and arts community. We had a really fun time talking to people and taking pictures.

  • Whitehorse, YT to Twin Lakes, YT

    Our morning began with housekeeping. A thorough tidying up was followed by a good cleaning. Everything got vacuumed, shaken out, wiped, etc. The dog got a good brushing and we both had a long shower. This was followed by a well deserved breakfast where we discussed our plans for the day. We filled up with water, dumped and said goodbye to Martin, our campground host, and his dog “Big Man” and set off for Whitehorse to visit some more museums.

    Our first museum was the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre. This museum concerns itself with the land bridge that existed between Siberia and Alaska at the time of the last ice age when the ocean levels were lower because of the amount of water that was frozen. The museum is modern, interactive and well worth visiting.

    The next stop was next door at the Yukon Transportation museum. Martin had to take a picture of the world’s largest weathervane – an iconic DC-3 airplane! This particular aircraft was built in 1942 and spent much of its working life in the Yukon.

    In the museum we listened to a talk by Michael Gates, the curator of a museum in Dawson City and a well known author who writes about Yukon history. In his talk and reading he focused on a hike on a historic trail.

    The museum included displays of three different canoes – sealskin, birch bark and dugout, typical for natives in various areas of the Yukon. We also saw various vintage vehicles, trains, a replica of the Queen of the Yukon aircraft and various photographs.

    The last museum before departing Whitehorse was the Copperbelt Railway and Mining Museum. This unfortunately was a bit of a disappointment as none of the staff seemed to have any idea of what the museum was even about. We did ride a small train for two kilometers, mostly in silence save for the diesel engine noise since the audio system did not work.

    We left the Alaska Highway and are now heading up the Klondike Highway towards Dawson City.

    Those of you who have been following will be aware that we stop at any and all cinnamon bun cafes. Today we stopped at the Braeburn Lodge which is one of the stops on the 1,000 mile Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race. They also have HUGE cinnamon buns that will feed 4 people! Well, we proved them wrong and split one between the two of us. It did mean no dinner tonight.

    Thirty Kilometers down the road we stopped at the Twin Lakes Yukon Government campground and chose a site and went for a swim in one of the twin lakes. The water was not quite as cold as the North Sea in Denmark had been. This was not enough, and we decided not to forgo the opportunity to take out kayak out for a ride. What a treat! Beautiful warm evening sunshine, calm clear waters and a gentle breeze.

  • Whitehorse, YT

    The scones from Johnston’s Crossing were great!

    We drove to Integra Tire to get our valve stem replaced again with one compatible with the tire pressure monitoring system. This was done quickly while we waited. We met a German couple who had rented a car in Vancouver and had driven it up the Dempster Highway with four kayaks on the roof. On the way they had shredded two tires and possibly wrecked a wheel bearing. We’re sure the rental car company is eager to get their car back before it gets trashed anymore. The nerve of some people.

    The rest of the day was spent touring Whitehorse. We started at the Visitor Reception Centre where we got our Yukon passports stamped and lots more information on the Dempster Highway trip and options to get to Tuktoyaktuk. An extension of the Dempster from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk is set to open in September but unfortunately won’t be done before we get there. There are options to fly and do a day trip. Hopefully this will work out for us.

    We visited the White Pass and Yukon Route Depot, the Whitehorse end of the former narrow gauge railway that ran to Skagway and dates back to the Gold Rush time. These days one can take a tour by bus to Fraser, BC and then the train to Skagway.

    After this we visited the MacBride Museum of Yukon History. Here we learned about some of the colourful characters that were part of the Yukon’s history, saw some more animals, beautiful native craftsmanship, and really enjoyed a special photographic exhibit on the the building of the Alaska Highway which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year.

    Tired from walking we enjoyed a rest at a local coffee shop, sitting outside in the warm sun.

    On our way back to our campground we briefly visited the S.S. Klondike, a stern wheeler that had transported goods and passengers along the Yukon River between 1937 and 1955. The S.S. Klondike was restored in 2005 and is now a museum.

  • Teslin, YT to Whitehorse, YT

    After breakfast we went to the Yukon Wildlife gallery adjacent our campground. They have a wonderful display of taxidermied animals in recreated natural habitat scenes.

    Next we wanted to visit the George Johnston Museum with its photo gallery of Tlingit life from the 1920s to 1940s. Unfortunately a power failure at the gallery meant it was closed.

    We returned to the Tlingit Heritage Centre and talked to a few of the workshop leaders about traditional crafts and smoking salmon.

    It was now time to continue our drive to Whitehorse but we had to stop at the Johnson’s Crossing Lodge and RV Park to taste their famous cinnamon buns made from the original 1949 recipe. Their scones also looked good so two of them joined us on our trip and will be breakfast tomorrow.

    We made it to the Caribou RV Park just outside of Whitehorse were we will be spending two nights. They have an outhouse with a with an interesting and amusing sign on the door.

    Right next door is the Wolf’s Den restaurant which has Swiss specialities. We couldn’t resist and enjoyed a delicious cheese fondue (although Martin’s homemade one is still much better).

  • Watson Lake, YT to Teslin, YT

    Our morning in Watson Lake ended up a bit different than expected. As planned, we visited the Sign Post Forest with around 85,000 signs. The sign forest began in 1942 when a U.S. Army soldier from Danville, Illinois named Carl K. Lindley was injured and was asked to repaint a sign that had been damaged by a bulldozer. He asked whether he could add a sign indicating the distance to his hometown and ever since people from all over the world have been adding their own signs.

    The nearby Alaska Highway Interpretive Centre was our next stop and we learned a great deal about how the 1523 mile highway was built in just 8 months and 12 days!

    We spoke to the tourist information agents and got a number of new brochures and information about our upcoming Dempster Highway trip. Now we were really excited about this segment of the trip.

    Our next destination was the Watson Lake Airport to learn about the U.S. – Russia Lend-Lease program where the U.S. lent aircraft and other machinery to Russia during the second world war. The information panels and images also showed the network of airports used to ferry the aircraft to Russia. A large, now seemingly empty, former military hanger can still be seen.

    When we were ready to leave we had a bit of a surprise – the information panel in the van’s dash showed that the right rear tire was low in pressure. We hurried back to Watson Lake to a tire repair shop and they discovered that the valve stem was leaking. Fortunately they were able to fix it, although they didn’t have any stems compatible with the tire pressure monitoring system. The owner told us that a shop in Whitehorse would be able to replace the valve again with one that was compatible.

    On our way to Teslin we stopped at the famous Rancheria Restaurant that was already mentioned in the 1949 edition of the Milepost. Here we had apple pie and talked in great length with the Kim, the daughter of the owner. Kim is a teacher and lives in BC now.

    A little further up the road we saw a wolf walking in the bushes by the side of the road.

    The rest of the drive to Teslin was uneventful and we crossed the Nisutlin Bay Bridge, the second longest water span on the Alaska Highway at 584 meters.

    We checked into the Yukon Model and Lakeshore RV Park right across the bridge and then hurried off to the Teslin Tlingit Heritage Centre for the Ha Kus Teyea Celebration. Here we enjoyed traditional dances and ate smoked and BBQ’d salmon for dinner. By the lake we saw the canoes that had participated in the traditional lake crossing.

    Dead tired we returned to our campsite and went straight to bed.

  • Test River, BC to Watson Lake, YT

    After a great sleep and a nice warm shower we went for the promised amazing cinnamon buns at the campground store/restaurant. Here we found hot coffee and tea, fresh baked bread, homemade sausages, books and a variety of native art, knives and clothes.

    We enjoyed our conversations with two gentlemen from the US and Al and Darlene from Manitoba.

    The campground itself was unique with a diesel generator running in the barn to supply power to the campground, and a trailer with freezer style door handles that contained the washrooms and laundry room.

    Gas was sold out, even at $1.59 a litre!

    It seemed we were out of battery power as well as our van refused to start. No dash lights, no click, no nothing!

    Martin began some troubleshooting, disconnected the vehicle battery, and borrowed a multi-meter from the campground. The battery read 0 volts. Strange. Maybe the meter was broken, so he tried measuring the coach batteries. They read 6V each as they should. A few more tests gave somewhat unexpected results. Time to ask whether they had another meter. The next meter showed 12V on the vehicle battery, so he reconnected it to the van again and all of a sudden everything worked! Phew…

    Now the most breathtaking portion of our trip so far could begin. Most of the time we drove along lakes and rivers through the mountain ranges of the Rocky Mountains. We learned about folded mountains and alluvial fans caused by water draining after summer downpours.

    Wildlife was abundant! We saw Stone Sheep, bears and bison.

    Part of the Alaska Highway follows the Liard River and it took us to the Liard River Hotsprings Provincial Park where we had lunch followed by a soak in the pools filled with naturally hot spring water.

    We made it to the Yukon!

    Our destination for today was Watson Lake and we stayed at the Downtown RV Park. Dinner was across the street at a Chinese restaurant with homemade food for a reasonable price. The program for the evening was a visit to the Northern Lights Centre, the only planetarium in North America featuring the myth and science of the Northern Lights.

  • Grande Prairie, AB to Tetsa River, BC

    As we left our campground we drove by a tractor trailer accident. Highway 44 up to just outside of our campground is a 4 lane divided highway but it ends and takes a left turn into Grande Prairie. This truck driver must have either missed his turn or fallen asleep and ended up running off the road. A great wake up call for us, especially because this was going to be a driving day for us.

    We stopped at the Costco to gas up the van and also pick up some bottled water. The water costs $3.39 plus a deposit of $4.00 and a $1.39 Enviro fee.

    We passed many oil and gas wells and associated businesses and a large number of Golf courses on our way to Dawson Creek where the Alaska highway begins.

    There is a turn off to Kiskatinaw Provincial Park about 27 kms in. Here one can drive a 10 km section of the old Alaska highway and can cross the historic Kiskatinaw Bridge, the only original timber bridge built along the Alaska highway that is still in use today.

    The beginning of the Alaska Highway still had lots of canola fields and oil and gas wells but soon it became more forested with hills and curvy roads, still with oil and gas wells although those eventually also ended.

    As of Fort Nelson we drove through mountainous areas with steep ascents and descents of up to 10% and tight curves. We enjoyed the stunning scenery and were warned to look out for animals by the many caution signs. Sure enough, we were very lucky to see a mother moose and her calf crossing the road ahead of us. What a sight!

    We were ready to call it a day and stayed at the Tetsa River Services and Campground. One of the allures was the promise of the best cinnamon buns ever for breakfast. After driving 720 kms, that sealed the deal!

  • Vegreville, AB to Grande Prairie, AB

    We had an early morning that started with brushing Pepsi and de-fluffing Martin and the van.

    As a treat, we went to the nearby Tim Hortons for breakfast and some planning and getting excited about our imminent arrival in the Yukon.

    Our first stop was a few kilometres down the highway in Mundare with its large sausage monument honouring the Stawnichy’s Meat Processing plant. SMP has been making sausages in the area since 1959 and we sampled and purchased several different items.

    By now it was 10AM, and the Ukrainian Heritage Village a few kilometres down the road was just opening. This reconstruction of what life was like for early Ukrainian settlers includes actual period houses from locations in the area and interpretive staff that interact with you as if you were actually in that time period. This was informative, a lot of fun, and a unique experience. We spent several hours there learning what the life of early Ukrainian settlers was like. We talked to a blacksmith, teachers, and a farmer and his wife.

    We saw some chickens, but the star of the farm animals was a very smart pig that used its snout to open and drop the lid of its feed box to rattle the food into its trough.

    Time for Ukrainian lunch under a big shady tree followed by a serious stretch of highway to make up our daily quota of kilometres.

    Our campground tonight is in Grande Prairie and features what looks like a number of oil and gas workers.

    Our restaurant at the campground was right next to a garage where honey was being harvested and we got to sample fresh honey straight from the comb. Yummy!

    Guess what? One more Ukrainian meal to finish the day prepared by Irina, who came to Canada from the Ukraine only three years ago.

  • Manitou Beach, SK to Vegreville, AB

    After a good planning session of our route to come, we departed towards Edmonton rather late in the morning. It was mostly a driving day and the canola fields gradually turned to bright yellow canola fields with scattered black oil and gas wells.

    Towards the end of the day we visited the Alberta Visitor Information Center in Lloydminster where Jonathan, our competent and very nice associate, hooked us on the Ukrainian history and food in the area.

    Our first stop was the “Cheesiry”, an artisan cheese making operation. Their boutique was now permanently closed, but they had an honour fridge in the barn where one could purchase cheese.

    Unfortunately, after deciding what we wanted, we looked into the fridge and found it void of cheese, save for one small piece. There was, however, a fairly substantial amount of cold, hard, cash.

    The next stop was Vegreville, the site of the world’s largest Ukrainian egg at 25.7 feet in length, constructed in 1975.

    We were looking forward to having dinner at a Ukrainian restaurant that had advertised in the regional tourist information brochures, only to find it was closed and for sale. The city campground office was also already closed for the evening and while it had a mail slot for self-registration, there weren’t any forms available to actually register on. Walmart parking lot to the rescue!