Friday July 14 - Wednesday July 19th, 2017
"It's the beauty that thrills me with wonder!" Robert Service - Spell of the Yukon
 |
| Slims River Near Kluane Lake |
 |
| Kluane Mountains |
 |
| Whitehorse Kwanlin Dun Cultural Center Insignia |
On Friday, July 14th, it was time to pack up and start heading back through the Yukon toward British Columbia. The trek back through TOK, Kluane Lake, Whitehorse and Teslin was a bit rough - road-wise and somewhat short on dramatic scenery (as compared to what we had been seeing throughout Alaska), but we found some wonderful surprises - several small, beautifully curated museums and surprising beauty, at unexpected times during the day and evening when storms rumbled through. Here are some descriptions of the places we visited.
TOK -Friday, July 14th - We loved the spectacular scenery when we were leaving Valdez - driving over the Thompson Pass and through the Keystone Canyon.
 |
| Bridelveil Falls - Keystone Canyon |
 |
| Copper River Valley |
The road from Glenallen along the TOK cutoff was dreadful, with tire-shredding holes, frost heaves and soft shoulders compounded by dramatic drop-offs at the road shoulder (with the unfortunate remains of big rigs that had flown over the edge which were an effective reminder to slow down). We found that driving dirt roads was actually more predictable and relaxing than driving on blacktop, since the crews appear to be able to maintain them more easily (they can scrape down the bumps quickly). We soon learned to carefully watch the lane stripes on the edge of the road as a warning for undulations, so that we could anticipate a hazard before we hit it (hard). Also black spots on the road often hid infuriating potholes. We were driving slowly and it was still very rough on both us and the vehicles. To top it off, in the construction zones, they watered down the top layer of sand/gravel to reduce the dust. It made sense, but this resulted in a wonderful brownish-black paste that coated our vehicles - from top to toe. Yuck! Definitely an added adventure we won't forget. From that point on, we had an amended opinion on rough roads and construction.
 |
| Ernie's Favorites - Mud, boys and their big Tonka toys |
 |
Ankle deep in mud to wash off the mud -
is it worth it... cause it may rain soon! |
Friday night, July 14 - Saturday, July 15th - In TOK, we stayed in a small RV park, showered, did our laundry and scrubbed our vehicles. We also had a nice dinner out (basic salad and chicken sandwiches) at Fast Freddie's, a popular local eatery.
 |
| A good read confirming our observations |
While there, we picked up a photo essay book "
Beyond Mile Zero - the Vanishing Alaska Hwy Lodge Community" about the disappearing roadhouses and lodges on the Alaska Hwy. On our whole journey throughout the interior of Alaska, and the Yukon, we had noticed a surprising percentage of lodges, restaurants and motels that were now closed or abandoned and a number of RV parks that were clearly struggling. Some of these were newer lodges/parks built in the early 2000's's and some were older, originating from the 1980's.
As we questioned the proprietors, they all told a similar story about a significant change in the way people travel. They stressed that many people now fly or cruise, rather than drive (it's cheaper and quicker) and tourists now tend to visit coastal, rather than interior destinations for short vacations. The current attraction is a cruise or a single-destination for "adventure travel (rafting, ice climbing, kayaking)." Many of the smaller, more obscure destinations of the interior Yukon and Alaska, that previously relied heavily on drive-by tourism, are now suffering from lack of interest. (The obvious exceptions to this are Denali, Fairbanks, Dawson City, Whitehorse, the Kenai Peninsula or cities where people live and work e.g. Palmer and Wasilla). Clearly, quite a few of these Alaska Hwy type RV parks, lodges and roadhouses will be closing down. It's tough to make a living when 24 hour service is needed, but there is only a 3 months of marginal summer revenue compounded by maintenance on buildings that must withstand the abuse of -60 degree winter weather and snow. We wish them all well.
Kluane Lake - Sunday July 16 - Monday July 17 - The pock-marked road from TOK to Kluane Lake was also rough and we were relieved to finally arrive at the lake. The popular Cottonwood RV park was dressed up with flowers and green grass and the day was sunny, so it was a delight to pull in and put out our lawn chairs to enjoy the evening and sunset overlooking that beautiful sight. Simple old-fashioned hospitality - a pleasure to enjoy.
 |
| Oops - a hijacker - Ernie's personal friend |
 |
| Kluane beach |
 |
| Bird-watching - after dinner relaxation |
 |
| Dusk at 10:00 pm |
 |
| On the deck - Local evening entertainment - lonesome cowboy style |
We took a day off to relax and explore the area. In the tiny town nearby, Burwash Landing, we found a charming local museum (Kluane Museum of Natural History) complete with excellent diorama displays on Yukon wildlife combined with First Nation Southern Tutchone artifacts, clothing and tools. It was beautifully curated. What a surprise and delight to find this gem!
 |
| Kluane museum treasure trove of animal taxidermy |
 |
| Largest gold pan in the Yukon! |
 |
| Ernie's favorite |
 |
| Lynx feet spread out wide to act as snowshoes during the winter |
 |
| Southern Tutchone artistry in clothing |
 |
Tent campers at Kluane's Congdon Yukon Park must sleep inside an
electrified bear enclosure for protection. Please don't sleepwalk!
|
Whitehorse - Tuesday July 18th
- One of 7 towns in the Yukon)
, Whitehorse, which has a population of 25,000, (out of the 36,000 total Yukon inhabitants) is growing rapidly and is charming and thriving. We decided to stop for one day, so that we could visit the Berengia museum. Our impressions: it was clean, with fun little shops, nice downtown, a younger population and it had an excellent museum and visitor center. Whitehorse is a very popular visitor destination and is quite crowded with tourists (but we are not sure what the draw is). Hi Country RV park where we camped, near town, was uncomfortably packed - with row upon row of RV's.
The Beringia museum was worth the visit. There we learned that the Beringia land mass or continental shelf was exposed when the huge inland glaciers from the ice age absorbed substantial quantities of water from the ocean, thereby lowering the shoreline to expose the area below in green. People and animals crossed this land mass. (They didn't cross on ice, they crossed on land, which was a change from what we had previously understood.) Currently, more and more ancient fossils (some up to 14,000 years old) are being discovered in the north Yukon area causing speculation about how long ago our continent was populated.
 |
Beringia is the land mass shelf that was exposed (during the ice age)
that enabled humans and wildlife to cross on land back and forth between Alaska and Asia/Russia (horses, woolly mammoths, mastodons, camels, lions, flat faced bears, etc.).
|
 |
| First Nation art |
 |
| Giant ice age beaver - he could be a great help during construction! |
 |
Woolly mammoth pal. Ancient tusks are currently being
unearthed by hydraulic mining in Dawson City.
Hydraulic mining...Really? |
Teslin - Wednesday July 19th - Our last stop on the Alaska Hwy - was a surprise. It is a clean little town located next to the Teslin River bridge, with little to distinguish it other than two wonderful First Nation museums. The Canadian government does an incredible job of supporting First Nation culture and heritage sites and these museums are a perfect example of their support...and these museums are located in the middle of what seems like nowhere!
At the Tlingit Heritage Center, we talked with a young man who was sewing his (rotten moose-brain cured) moose hide for his home-made Quyaq (kayak). After the moose hide is used for awhile on the boat, it can be removed to be used for clothing. Immersion in water softens the hide to make it ideal to use for clothes. Recycle and reuse perfection!
At the George Johnston museum, another First Nation museum in honor of a First Nation town founder, we saw an antique 500 Lynx paw robe - made from the paws of 125 lynx. Hunting and trapping have definitely been alive and well here for a long time and furs are currently readily available for sale. It's shocking to us (as Californians), but it remains the indigenous people's lifestyle here.
 |
| Teslin lake next to our campground |
 |
| Our campsite - not so crowded tonight, but still a parking lot |
 |
| Finally - we can email the family! |
 |
| Welcoming committee - Teslin Tlingit Heritage Center |
We camped for one night at the Yukon Motel and RV park and particularly enjoyed eating lunch and then breakfast at their little homestyle restaurant. Homemade split pea soup, hot sandwiches and hot apple pie were our choices. Yum!
Our next destination over the next two weeks - Beautiful British Columbia - BC and the lovely provincial parks there!
 |
| Farewell Yukon! |
