WANDERING WITH THE WRIGHTS

August 13, 2024 Week 10 1/2

Tuesday 8/6 we left Haines, Alaska, our last night in Alaska, and headed for the town of Whitehorse in the Yukon.  We had stayed in Whitehorse on the way up to Alaska but stayed at a different campground this time.  During the trip to Alaska there are only a few roads so there is a period of time in Canada and Alaska you travel the same roads both ways.

Wednesday 8/7 found us taking a day trip, in the jeep, to the town of Skagway, AK.  We had heard the trip to Skagway was very pretty and that it was.  We made several stops along the 110 mile trip.  It was interesting that we traveled from the Yukon, through British Columbia, into Alaska and then back again.  We needed our passports and the time changed.

                                                                        

The area we were heading into is pretty remote so there was this mail box center in the middle of a large gravel parking lot where people come to get their mail.  You can see the individual boxes along the row on the right and they went all the way around the center potion                                                      

And if you received a package there were larger boxes outside

Some of the views we saw as we traveled

And then suddenly we were in the desert!  It looks like a desert but it is actually the remains of an ancient lake.  The Carcross Dunes are the result of a glacial process.

There is a river nearby, full of sand, the current brings the sand into Lake Bennett.  In the spring, low water levels expose the sand deposits and the winds blows the sand onto the beach and into the dunes.

      

                                                 

We then stopped and visited the small town of Carcross.  The name Carcross is short for Caribou Crossing.  There are two lakes nearby and there is a natural crossing area for the herds of  Woodland Caribou during their seasonal crossings.

This is the touristy part - someone has put a lot of money into bringing in these small shops

 There are still original buildings in Carcross that were built back at the turn of the century

This was on the door of one of the shops - love it!

Cute little church in town

                                            

Entering back into Alaska after having traveled from the Yukon and British Columbia - all in a little over 100 miles

More pretty scenery - waterfall

                                                

 Several weeks before we were there, on July 25th, there was a rock slide on the the one and only highway leading to Skagway and it covered both lanes of the highway.  It only took a few days and the road was open again one way so there was and still is alternating traffic allowed through.  For a few days the town was totally cut off except by boat.  We were talking with some people and we decided if that had happened in the lower 48 there would have had to have been a million dollar environmental study and it would have taken years to complete the repairs

We did make it to the town of Skagway.  It was only 100 miles but there was a lot to stop and see on the way down.  There were 4 cruise ships and over 12,000 people in town.  Not Jerry's and my cup of tea but at least we can say we have been to Skagway and the drive down was beautiful.

Still maintain the wooden walkways

The old buildings are beautiful and well maintained - and full of items for the tourists

One way to advertise a show for visitors to enjoy

This building houses the Visitor Information Center - but was a hotel during the gold rush and is the oldest hotel in Alaska.  It is covered with driftwood.

A look from where the boats dock into the town of Skagway, AK

You can see one of the huge cruise ships anchored at the end of the street

We headed back to Whitehorse and of course had to go through Canadian customs

More pretty scenery

Bank into Yukon

We have occasionally noticed these poles over some of the roads.  They are there so plows can see the edge of the road no matter the height of the snow.  We can't imagine snow that high.

The next day,  August 8th, we just hung out in Whitehorse - we did a little grocery shopping and laundry

I said earlier that some roads and towns you go through twice exist and for us Watson Lake was one of those.  When we were on our way to Alaska we stopped in Watson Lake on June 22nd and hung the sign Jerry made for the Sign Post Forest 

So we stopped back on August 9th to make sure it was still there

That night we boon-docked right outside of Watson Lake.  In case we have given you the impression that this trip has been trouble free let me tell you about Friday night and Saturday.  First of all I accidentally gave Jerry regular Mac n Cheese instead of the gluten free!  About 11:00pm he woke up not feeling well and got sick.  Fortunately it wasn't bad - unfortunately when I figured out what I had done I felt terrible.  A good nights sleep and we headed out Saturday morning for our next stop.  We stopped for lunch at a road side pull-out and two of the jack's on the motorhome wouldn't retract (the really strange thing was we hadn't put them down - they came down on their own).  Took a little time but Jerry figured it out and got them working. 

As we traveled we came across a herd of bison on either side of the road - was fun to see but when some are on one side and others on the other we have learned someone is going to cross 

Momma and her babies

And we were right there goes Mr. Bison right in front of us

We saw a black bear but no time for a picture.  

We needed to clean the windshield so pulled off at a little gas station in the middle of nowhere.  There was a sweet older couple who ran the store.  Had it for over 30 years but said they didn't know how long they would be able to stay open as they run off of a generator in the winter and diesel costs are so high they can't afford it.  They said with President Biden cancelling the key permit for the Keystone pipeline (nothing political here just a statement) and their president Trudeau's tax on diesel the prices have shot up the last few years.   And when Biden cancelled the key permit, his first day in office, it put 100,000 Canadians out of work.

Just before arriving at Liard Hot Springs we encountered some smoke hanging between the mountains - the first time we have seen smoke and with all of the fires in Alaska and Canada that is amazing.

We spent Saturday and Sunday nights at a wonderful Provincial Park in British Columbia

Not the usual Local Hazard warnings we are used to

We are always on the lookout for wildlife and this little guy was right across from where we parked

We walked over to check out the springs shortly after we arrived and found this cute little camper that they use as an information area - an area information center on wheels.  Most of the centers here are large and modern and very nice so we got a kick out of this little guy.

The camping area in the park is completely surrounded by electric fencing because there are so many bear and moose around.  This is the door you walk through to enter the springs area, 

1/2 mile boardwalk that is not within the fenced in area.

What the 1/2 mile walk looks like - marshy - the kind of area moose love -

we looked and looked but no moose either time we walked it.

The hot springs - very nice and the water is so clear

We walked up a path to take this picture 

We followed the directions and went back the way we had come.

That afternoon was very warm and sunny - probably high 70's so getting into a hot spring didn't really appeal to either of us - so decided to go the next morning when it would be in the 50's.  Plus we had been told that earlier in the morning was a good time to see moose.  Didn't see any.

This was what the hot springs looked like the next morning when we went in - it was beyond beautiful and since it was chilly it really felt good.  The entire park kind of has a Jurassic Park feel to it.

We had heard a lot about another provincial park only 39 miles away - Muncho Lake and we were considering spending a few days there so decided to take a ride down in the Jeep to see what it was like and to help make a decision if we wanted to spend a night or two there.  We actually ended up driving about 80 miles each way as it was a beautiful drive. AND we found some moose!!!!

This one was on the side of the road - looked like it was eating gravel (who knows).

Jerry stopped the Jeep and we just sat and watched her.  After a few minutes she 

lifted her head

looked right at us, put her ears back and we said bye 

We have been warned that moose are potentially a bigger danger than bear.  Bear for the most part want nothing to do with humans and if you yell and wave your arms they will most likely just go away - we have not had to test that theory out which is fine with us.  Moose on the other hand get fed up and will charge you or the vehicle.  We didn't want to test that out either.  

There was construction which we are used to by now

 If you zoom in you can see some adult and baby Stone Sheep down in front of the first white truck.  To far away for a good picture but we could see them well enough for them to be entertainment until we could proceed.  They came down off the hill, crossed the road, went and had a drink of water, came back up and stood on the side of the road for awhile and then back over to the other side of the road.  One of the construction crew was keeping a careful eye to make sure none of the cars coming would hit them.

A lone bike rider, going up hill, long after all the cars have passed makes the wait even longer

When we could finally proceed, about 20 minutes later they were still down by the road

but as we drove closer they scurried up the hill

We spent our last night at Liard Hot Springs.  We were glad we had taken the time to drive down to Mucho Lake.  It was a beautiful drive and it was perfect weather with the sun glistening on the turquoise water.  We decided however not to spend time in the camper there - the next few days were to be cloudy with rain so decided to head on to our next stop - So we left Monday morning on a very rewarding albeit twisty turny drive to Fort Nelson, BC

This baby moose crossed in front of us to be by its mom

My girlfriend, Irene, said it looks like they have high heels on

Jerry stopped the motorhome so we could enjoy

Mama moose didn't seem to mind us being there but baby kept looking up at us

Jerry very slowly moved forward so as not to scare them and baby quickly scurried up the hill

Saw another black bear but no picture

The road through this part of the Canadian Rockies was beautiful but the road twisted and turned and no guard rails.  Our GPS kept saying over and over and over: blind curve ahead and S curve ahead.

And then we saw a family of deer or Caribou - we think they were Caribou better knows as reindeers

We arrived in Fort Nelson, BC on Tuesday 8/12.  We had spent 3 days with no phone or wifi but are once again connected to the rest of the world (kind of have mixed feelings about that).  Still no TV but we have had little TV over the past 2 1/2 months.  We have done very little in Fort Nelson: just relaxed and did laundry.  We head out in the morning.  Plans remain tentative but looks like we will be back in the lower 48 around the 19th.  It is hard to believe all we have done and that it is close to being over.

We will always be grateful that we got to do this trip in our motorhome - such an adventure!