Day 69 - Nugget City, YT

After two wonderful days in Carcross we are moving on. The decision not to go to Skagway was mutual, I have been there before and Susan said next time. And you know there will be a next time. So away we go on a beautiful morning.

Our one and only stop we made was for diesel at Teslin, a place we stayed on the way up to Alaska. It doesn't seem as busy. After fueling up we pulled to the side of the parking lot and had lunch with my friends (the ones with antlers). The Nusutlin Bay Bridge is in the background. The dogs were having a great time.

Continuing on down the road, we really didn't see much wildlife. By this time usually everything is in the bush out of the direct sun and heat. We did pass this unusual rock formation. If it had less trees and greenery I would have thought we were in Arizona.

We stopped for the night at Baby Nugget Campground which it right at the junction of the Alaska Highway and the Stewart-Cassier Highway. So that means it's about 25 km from Watson Lake. There's lots of wildfires around Watson Lake, not to bad here. We could smell the smoke but visibility was good.

After we set up camp I took the dogs for a much needed long walk around the entire park. We were gone for a good half hour. The park in the meantime started filling up with Caravan people. This caravan we had been seeing off and on throughout our travels.

After I got back Susan wanted to go for supper at the Wolf It Down Restaurant right in the campground. We both ordered the burger and fries with a side of gravy. It was the worst food and the most expensive on our entire trip so far. This park was highly rated in our books and on line that's why we stopped here. I would give it a two out of ten. The owners attitude as far as I'm concerned stunk. She complained that people were coming in early (1 o'clock) to camp for the night. I would think she would be happy about that. She also complained they had 70 units in the night before. Not something I would complain about. Maybe she's in the wrong business. If it hadn't been for the nice surroundings we would have left. But I did enjoy the grass and trees. Better than a dusty gravel parking lot any day.

We are on the Stewart-Cassier Highway tomorrow, hope to see some bears or moose. Who knows with nature, they show up at the most unusual times.

Day 68 - Downtown Carcross, YT

We were still trying to decide whether to head into Skagway by truck or visit downtown Carcross next. Carcross won the toss.  In 1899, the community was originally named Cariboo Crossing by miners. The name referred to the spot where the woodland caribou herds, twice a year would cross the narrows between Bennett Lake and Nares Lake. In 1904 the town was officially changed to Carcross. Before the completion of the railway (White Pass & Yukon Route) in 1900 the town consisted of a North West Mounted Police post and a few First Nation communities. After the railway was established the town grew quickly from a tent town to a community with hotels, a general store, and restaurants. A major fire in 1909 destroyed most of the town which included the railroad station, a hotel, and a store. It was all rebuilt within a year. 

We parked at Carcross Commons which is a unique place to shop. Open from May to September,  there are several artisan boutiques, each offering something a little different. The Commons also has Skookum Jim's house which currently is home for Parks Canada.

Parks Canada

Visitor Information Centre

Local artisans 

Local Artisans

After we looked in several of the shops, we walked to the historic part of town which is a block away. The Caribou Hotel is the oldest building in the region.The original building was moved in 1900 from Bennett City, a ghost town once known for it's mining. The original burnt to the ground on Christmas Eve, 1909. It was rebuilt within a year. Over the years, the hotel has provided accommodations for local, miners, tourists, and dignitaries. Currently the new owners have undertaken a major renovation.

Caribou Hotel

The White Pass & Yukon Route railroad depot was built in 1910, following the fire that destroyed the original. The WP&YR ran a passenger and freight railway from 1900 until 1982. The wharf behind the depot was used for the sternwheelers. In 2006, the line between Skagway, AK and Carcross, YT reopened as a scenic railway attraction.

WP&YR Depot

The Wharf has seen better days

The 125 meter railway bridge was built in 1900 and designed so that the 46 meter midsection could pivot on a central axis allowing large boats to pass on either side. As commercial navigation dwindled, and after the railway began operating, the swing span only opened a few times a year. It was permanently closed and in 1969, pilings were set under the bridge to increase its load tolerance.  

The sternwheeler SS Tutshi was built 1917 to accommodate the increasing numbers of tourists visiting Yukon's Southern Lakes region. When the Tutshi was not carrying tourists she was kept busy carrying mail and freight. The completion of the all-weather road in the 1940's ended the era of the sternwheeler. The Tutshi was decommissioned in 1955. She burned in 1990 and all that remains is a skeleton and some interpretative panels.

People were having fun at the beach (Nares Lake), swimming, wind surfing, building sand castles, and everything else you do at the beach. However, the water is glacier run off so it's really, really cold. 

Arnulf "Arne" Ormen was a woodcutter, of Scandinavian descent, lived out of town from 1940's to the 1960's. As he grew older he thought he should live in Carcross, so he built a little cabin and outhouse. His claim is that he could light a fire without getting out of bed. Now that's a small cabin. 

Arne Ormen's cabin and outhouse

Some of the houses across the river were in pretty rough shape. Most of them were moved to this location after mining towns closed down. They were built between the 1910's and the 1920's.

The little engine known as the Duchess was once part of a matched set. Both h and her partner, the Duke were built in 1878. For a time the two would haul coal. The Duchess was taken out of service in 1919 and moved to Carcross in the 1950's as a tourist attraction. The pink building in behind the Duchess is the Matthew Watson General Store. It's one of Yukon's longest operating businesses.

We had a great day wandering around town seeing all the sights. As we sat having supper a wildfire started just beyond Carcross on the other side of the hill. I have to admit it looked scary. What made it worse the wind was blowing towards us.

Day 67 - Carcross, YT

It was a late morning for all of us knowing that the driving distance was short, 48 miles to Carcross. We discussed staying another day in Whitehorse but decided against it. So down the road we go arriving at our next destination. Like always we got set up then started exploring.

Our first stop was  Emerald Lake. It was absolute beautiful with the sun shining on it. The limestone hills in this area were created 150 – 200 million years ago by reef-building corals that grew in a warm sea. Corals and lime-secreting algae cemented themselves together in 100 meters of water where there was sunshine and clear water. As the water rose the coral reef built upon itself, growing toward the light. The valley was covered by a glacier during the last ice age and shallow lakes were formed when the glaciers retreated 14,000 years ago. Retreating ice deposited limestone gravel which was eroded from the surrounding hills, onto the valley floor. The carbonate rich gravel affected the ground water and led eventually to the formation of marl in the lake. The beautiful blue-green colour of Emerald Lake is created by sunlight reflecting off a white layer of “marl” on the lake bed. Marl is a white calcium carbonate clay that forms in the water and then settles, often unevenly, on the lake bottom. The Marl forms when enough carbonate, from dissolving limestone, reacts with calcium in the water.

It looks like a desert but is it a desert…

If this were a real desert, it would have a hot, dry climate. The Carcross Dunes are a result of a glacial process. About 10,000 years ago, the great ice sheets that covered much of North America were melting. Ice dams created a series of glacial lakes that submerged some valleys under 300 meters of melt water. A layer of sand and silt, which had been trapped in the glaciers, settled to the bottom of these lakes in a thick layer. Glacial Watson Lake is long gone but rivers cut through the old lake bottom sediments bringing sand and silt into Bennett Lake. Today, the sand comes mainly from nearby Bennett Lake carried by wind.

The Cariboo Crossing Trading Post is located about 2 km north of Carcross. It’s basically a one stop shop which has everything you need for an afternoon of fun…or so we thought. The admission cost is $8.75 and that gets you into the Wildlife Museum (taxidermy animals), the Mountie Museum, the animal petting zoo, and the husky puppies. Now that is what I really wanted to see. Everything else, such as gold panning, dog cart rides, and lunch of course are all extras. I guess I was expecting something a little more exciting. It’s a been there, done it, won’t be doing it again place. If you know what I mean.

After a late lunch early supper I took a stroll across the street to the Carcross First Nations Community Center. It's brand new and beautiful.

Local Artist Suzanne Paleczny

 

Day 66 - Whitehorse, YT

We left Haines Junction enroute to Whitehorse which is about 150 km. It was a pretty easy drive, no major hills and the roads were not bad at all.

We made one stop along the way and that was at the old Canyon Creek Bridge. In 1903, a gold strike brought a stampede of miners to the area. A wagon road was built from Whitehorse and a bridge was constructed over Canyon Creek. During construction of the Alaska Highway in 1942, the old bridge was dismantled and a new one built in 18 days. This little bridge was left in place when a more permanent bridge was built downstream.

Old Canyon Creek Bridge

Canyon Creek

Canyon Creek and New Bridge

We got to Pioneer RV Park which is the same park we stayed in last time we were in Whitehorse. Again we set everything up then went into town for some much needed groceries. We lost most of our meat and refrigerator stuff a few days after the cooling unit went. Anyway it is all good.

After shopping we went back to the campground got caught up on laundry and spent some quality time with the dogs.   

Day 64 & 65 - Haines Junction, YT

After a fun night in Tok it was time to be on the road again. Our next destination is Haines Junction, Yukon. Yes, we will be back in Canada soon.

Just after we dieseled up we started noticing the smell of smoke in the air. I found out later it was a wildfire near Tok. The Taixtsalda Hill Fire southeast of Tok has grown significantly since it started. The fire is now estimated at 18,406 acres. The fire, which started July 23rd, is burning in a remote area approximately 14 miles southwest of the village of Northway and 38 miles southeast of Tok. It is approximately 20 miles west of the Alaska Highway. It is being investigated but human error is likely the cause. At one point the smoke got pretty thick. Anyone with a breathing issue would be in trouble.

We made a quick stop at the international border rest area for a photo op. The 141st meridian longitude marks the boundary between the Yukon and Alaska. This boundary extends from the Arctic Coast to Mount St Elais, a distance of 2,475 km. The border between Canada and the United States is the longest undefended boundary in the world.

The line that forms the border between the Yukon and Alaska was first described in an 1825 treaty between England and Russia. The two nations divided the northwest giving Britain the rights for inland fur and Russia rights to the Bering Sea. In 1867 the U.S. purchased Alaska (I mentioned this in another blog). When gold was discovered in the Klondike in 1896, a dispute erupted regarding the southeast boundary, with both Canada and the U.S. claiming the seaport at the head of Lynn Canal. In 1903 the arbitrators ruled that the canal was part of Alaska and not Canada.

Behind the middle spruce tree is a 20 foot or 6 meter swath of land that was cut by surveyors in 1904 to 1920 which marks the Alaska-Canada border. Portions of the swath is cleared periodically by the International Boundary Commission.

We reached Canada Customs and the young customs officers looks like he just came from a gold rush town. He was really nice, asked alot of questions I'd never been asked before. He also wanted to see the dogs vaccination papers. Again, something we had never been asked. Most of the time they don't know we have dogs in the back seat.

We made a quick stop or we thought it was going to be quick at Pickhandle Lake Rest Area. It was so beautiful and peaceful we stayed longer, just to admire the view and watch the ducks come and go. This lake is one of western North America’s most important bird migration corridors leading from South America, the Gulf of Mexico, the US Midwest, the west coast of the US and Canada into central Yukon and Alaska. This lake is a primary nesting area for trumpeter swan. Today we saw none. 

Between 300 and 400 years ago, Kaskawulsh Glacier advanced across the Slims River closing the drainage outlet of Klaune Lake. The water levels rose more than 10 meters or 30 feet reversing the lake's drainage pattern. Today, that drainage pattern has been permanently altered resulting in a beautiful blue lake.

Haines Junction is best known as the access point to Kluane National Park and Reserve, a beautiful wilderness park, with glaciers, mountains, and wildlife. Kluane National Park and Reserve, together with Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park in British Columbia, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Glacier Bay National Parks in Alaska, form the largest internationally protected area on earth. In 1980, Kluane National Park and Reserve was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The park encompasses a portion of the St. Elias Mountains, including Mount Logan, Canada's highest peak.


The village itself was established in 1942, during construction of the Alaska Highway. The area population of Haines Junction in approximately 850 people.

The view from our back window

The new Champagne and Aishihik First Nations' Da Ku Cultural Center is also the home of Parks Canada and Yukon Territorial Visitor Center. We had to explore. An elder died so the Da Ku Center part was closed. We watched a 25 minute film on the Kluane National Park. It was one of the best we have seen so far.

Our Lady of the Way Catholic Mission is quite a local attraction. It was built in 1954 by the first Catholic priest to preach in the area. Because resources were scarce the priest converted an old Quonset hut (lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated galvanized steel) used by the American Army during construction of the Alaska Highway.

Another unique and quaint church is the St. Christopher's Anglican Church which sits in the heart of Haines Junction. This church was constructed in  early 1990 by local volunteers and is used for Sunday services even today.

The most photographed spot in all Haines Junction is the Village Monument. The 24 foot high sculpture which locals have nicknamed "The Muffin" or "Animal Cupcake" is located at the junction of the Haines and Alaska highways. The sculpture depicts almost life size area wildlife on a snow capped mountain.