Well, we are moving closer to our goal of reaching Alaska. Today brings us one day closer and leaves us with only another day and partial day before we stumble back into the USA. I can tell you that it has been an exciting but also tiring quest and I am starting to feel the fatigue. We have driven almost 4K miles, and the stress of not knowing what lies ahead whether it be weather or animals or road conditions has certainly added to the fatigue factor. Of these points, the road concerns keep one up at night, so to speak. You usually do get a warning that something is coming up, but you cant always be sure exactly what it is. The road has been very rough sounding when you drive over it and there are seemingly endless potholes and rough patches, but the one thing you cannot rally see until you go over it is the frost heaves. The road looks flat and "smooth" ahead as you barrel down at 50 KM/HR, but one you go over it,you experience a major dip and rise in the vehicle that tests the shocks. You are concerned of bottoming out. Every so often you hit one of this points and you just hold your breath. Construction is another concern, but you do see this coming. There have been repeated times where the road just disappears. The asphalt becomes dirt, or loose grave, and it rocks the RV with pebbles, dust and mud. Some times these points are a couple of miles long. It is scary to be driving along and see a sign saying pavement ends. Oh, that nice to know. This is what we have encountered here in Canada, but we experienced it in Yellowstone and Montana too.
As you have read, we have passed through Alberta, British Columbia and the Yukon Territory on this trip. The driver from Watson Lake, or actually Rancheria, takes us from the Yukon, back into BC and then back into the Yukon. Chiara is posing at one of the signs along the route. The remoteness of this land is particularly evident when we stop like this. There is no one around and no cars pass us in the short time we stop.
Today we were driving to Whitehorse. Along the way, you have the usual spectacular views. This is a view near Teslin, YK. The sky is so blue as is the water. It is so cold, that most lakes are still partially frozen. But the water looks a pure as driven snow. We have basically passed the Canadian Rockies, but there were still a few more mountains that we had to get by. These were drives through the passes so we did not climb to any great heights, but with the fact that they build the roads up higher than the surrounding land, the shoulders are rather narrow and the drop off is just that. You do not want to leave the road surface. There is chance you wont be coming back if you do.
We arrived in Whitehorse about 1:15 and drove to the Visitor Center. It is the visitor center for the Yukon, not just Whitehorse. The attendant was friendly and directed us to a few sites, mostly shops in town. So we decided to walk around the town. We walked a few blocks and went into a building that contained multiple small shops. Just browsing, although we went into one that had different food items. The proprietor was French, but spoke English with and accent. He started up a conversation with Chiara about some preserves. I believe Chiara was asking about the sugar content. The next thing you know, it turns out, although he is French, we spent time in Naples and loves it there. They were now like bosum buddies. He walked us through the store and talked about the various food stuffs, like pasta from Italy that is supposed to be the best you can eat, jams from France, candies and the like. He was very friendly. We found a couple of items and picked them up. We then went back outside. It was not cold in the sun, but the wind was strong and it created a cold feel. We headed back to the RV and took off to the grocery store and liquior shop. We came back to the visitor center so I could take a couple pictures of the Yukon River that the town i next to. See below.
After taking the pictures, we decided to head out of town to find the wildlife preserve that is maintained 25 miles out of town. It was on the way to the campground so stopped in to check it out. The animals are all indigenous to the area. So we paid the admission fee and started to walk. The whole walk took about 2 hours. It was tiring but we need the exercise what with all the sitting we have been doing the past 13 days. The pictures below are of the animals we saw. There were Buffalo, which we have seen plenty of. The one difference here was that there was an 18 hours old baby in the herd. It was so small and the group seemed to keep their distance from the fences so no close up. There is on picture where you can see the baby.
There was also Mule Deer, Moose (notice the close up), Mountain goats, Caribu, and Oxen (OK, not all indigenous to this area). But we needed the exercise and Chiara wanted to push herself. The walk was fairly hilly at times so there was a stain on her but we took our time and make the complete figure 8 trip. It was about 2 miles.
We then headed to the campsite, which was just 2 km down the road. This one is also a hostel and I think there was more people in the hostel than in the campground area,. Our campsite is fairly large. I would accommodate our unit and a towed vehicle, if we had one, very easily. It is also wide and separate from the the adjoining site so you have some privacy. Dinner was a seafood medly with pasta, salad and of course, wine. It was around 8 PM when we ate but it was good as usual.
Tomorrow we head to our last Canadian stop, Beaver Creek. It is just a dot on a map, but its 270 miles and a 5 hour drive. Not much there but an RV campsite and a place called Buckshot Bettys which is the local restaurant and gift shop. We might have to give it a go.
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