Up to the Yukon.....

I forgot to put this You Tube into a previous blog, so here it is.....Quote from Stu "This is my last run of the season at Loveland.  It involved 3 chair lifts, a snow cat, and hike to terrain.  A drop of over 2000ft (600m) over 6 km.  that's 2 Empire State buildings.  Jakeb, Morgan and Joshuah and I did this run lots last season" Last run at Loveland

  and check out this YouTube of Week 1 from BC, Canada... Week 1, North to Alaska

After leaving Stewart we headed back out on to Hwy 37A.  It is a narrow road, there are plenty of log trucks and it's hard to pull over if necessary....especially as there are a few avalanche areas.  We stopped to check out Bear Glacier again as it's so beautiful...

then couldn't believe our luck when we saw a bear, right on the side of the road, next to the only and only pull off area!!! Indulge us our bear moments....they are truly spectacular creatures and to see one in the wild, totally oblivious to us, from the comforts of the RV is pretty fortunate.

I say the comforts of the RV.  Stuart told me to get out and take a photo of the RV and the bear to give it perspective, and bloody hell, I did!! Why???  He had the bear spray in the car...I was exposed to the elements and I never do what he tells me to!

 We actually ended up seeing 7 bears on this day...some running off into the forest,

some eating grass near the side of the road.  Walmart Frank had said we'd see wildlife and he delivered! It was exhilarating.

We also saw a moose, but he disappeared before I was quick enough to get the camera out.  We stopped in a Lake Meziadin for a quick look.  Iconic Canada...shame about the rain, but still beautiful.

The rest of the drive was just as scenic, but there was constant drizzle.  We could only imagine what this place would look like with blue skies and sunshine. 

Once we got past Dease Lake the road deteriorated a bit.

Walmart Frank had warned us about this....there were lots of work vehicles where they were erecting power lines....and the road had plenty of potholes and small gravel sections. So it was slow going.
I read about a place called Boya Lake...a campsite...so we decided to make that our destination for the night. One thing we tend to do is spend a lots of time deciding on where to park the RV for the night...even in Walmart carparks.  This goes back to the days of our trip around Australia...our biggest decision...where to park up!!  So this was our first campsite on Boya Lake

 until the young folk next door decided to have a swim!!! Most of the lake was still frozen, so their screams could be heard all the way to Alaska!  So we moved....to this site....

and enjoyed amazing views and serenity...

 

 We were pretty happy as we thought we had a free night's accommodation, until a lady came to collect our night's fee.  The sign said $16, however she informed us that if we had turned up the day before it would have been free, and as of today it had gone up $2 to $18!  We were a bit annoyed as the only facility we were using was the pit toilet and there was no toilet paper.  She said it was the first day of the season so she was still getting organised and would put toilet paper in the toilets the next day.  That's fine, but don't charge us $18 for nothing but the view!
We were pretty excited about the next big "event"....crossing over into the Yukon...a Canadian Province we hadn't been to and one we weren't terribly familiar with.

There had been big bushfires along this stretch of road about 12 years ago and the damage was still very evident.

The first Yukon town you reach, coming from this road

is Watson Lake

and our ongoing saga with internet continued as the Library said there was no internet that day!! Grrr!!! BUT, we did drive past the Sign Post Forest...a lovely story that you can read about yourselves if you really want!

and was number plate/sign heaven!! Over 75000 signs erected over a huge park....people obviously knew about it before they arrived in Watson Lake as there were some pretty impressive signs.

We eventually found the Visitors Centre...maybe the huge blue "?" should have been enough for this navigator, but sadly it took me more time than it should, in the size of a town like Watson Lake to actually find it and we were so glad we did.  The friendliest lady supplied us with fantastic information and brochures on the areas we were travelling to and they have been invaluable.  She made us want to live in the Yukon!!! (just joking Mum!) and she also directed us to the Rec Centre where we picked up 30 mins of free internet....and were able to download one photo!!!
It was still raining when we stopped for the night at another free campsite, where we chatted with a guy (Colin) who was on his pushbike, heading up to Anchorage!  Crazy people.  He told us of his encounter with a grizzly, on a forest road.  He carries bear spray with him, but was too paralysed to do anything with it.  He and the grizzly eyed each other off before the grizzly wandered off, but he said it was taller than me when on all fours and would have been about 11 feet if it got up on its hind legs!!  Maybe Colin should have watched this informative video from Bear Drylls....
Bear Drylls.....

So this was our campsite,

right next to Big Creek, where it rained all night,

the mozzies were massive and the squirrels cute!!

Check out this YouTube video of a bit of our time on the Alaska Hwy
 Alaska Hwy
We got to see our first caribou as well which was exciting....strange looking creatures!

The next morning we took advantage of one of the printouts we got from Watson Lake Visitors Centre, where it pointed out interesting landmarks and sights along the Alaska Hwy.

On one of the walks we saw a couple of chooks...with the male doing his best to impress the female.  She seemed contrary to it all and basically walked off, leaving him to fan his feathers alone! (They probably weren't chooks, but we had no idea what they were!)

Then we couldn't believe our luck when Stu spotted a Mama bear and her two cubs on the side of the road.  He did a uie in the middle of the Alaska Hwy and I managed to get a couple of photos before she ran off into the forest.  She was very protective and quick to get away from us, unlike the other bears we saw.

That was fantastic!  We crossed the bridge over into Teslin...a very small town where we fuelled up...

and had a quick look at their wildlife display.  It is so interesting seeing all the North American wildlife that you read about...and probably never thought we'd would see. We stopped at some beautiful lakes which are all along the highway....

and watched this bald eagle swooping down on some fish in one of them...

We had decided to go to a town called Atlin...until we spoke to someone who said the road was gravel and corrugated and without any equipment to change a tyre, we weren't prepared to risk it.   So instead we camped at a campsite off the Atlin road, but not before passing this lake

...again $12 a night, and we got it for free!  It all adds up when you are on the road for 5 weeks!  Stu climbed White Mountain, looking for goats...but unfortunately didn't see any...just this view.

But this was our campsite...right on the semi frozen lake.

and when we went for a walk, we were treated to this...

and these animals....

but the most entertaining part was watching this guy in his canoe trying to get across the semi frozen lake...hard work and persistence paid off, but it took him a long time...

When we were in Manitoba with Monique and Dwight, we remembered Dwight telling us how when the lakes starts to melt, it creaks and groans.  Well that's what we were hearing on this lake. It's a great sound and fascinating to watch.

The previous day Stu spotted a porcupine crossing the road in front of us, heading into the forest.  He slammed the brakes on and told me to get out and chase it.  I of course refused, instead opting for this photo.

Can you see the porcupine?  No, nor can I...so I was relieved when the next day we saw another one crossing the road...this time I had the camera prepared.....

We arrived at Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon.

The Yukon has approx 34 000 people and 28 000 of those live in the Whitehorse area.

We stayed our first night in a caravan park where there were no showers or laundry and supposedly wifi, which didn't work, for a grand total of $28. At least we had power!  The Visitor's Centre here was great and we spent a day exploring the Whitehorse area.

checked out an old paddle boat...

 

and basically enjoyed spending the day looking around and not travelling.

Bike wheels put to good use!

 It gets so cold here, that the cars have power plugs so they can start them during winter....there are power points scattered throughout the town and not only do most of the cars have cracked windscreens, they also have these plugs at the front of the car....

We decided to buy tea for the first time...Chinese, which turned out to be crap...and sat by the Yukon River at 9pm to eat it, which was lovely  Check out how light it still is at 9pm!

That night we had another lovely campsite at Walmart, along with about 30 other RV's. 

Here is a youtube link to a video of the Whitehorse area...
Whitehorse area, Yukon

Today we made contact with a family who Andrea spent Christmas with last year....just out of Whitehorse.  We met MJ and her daughter Sarah at a riding arena,

had a cuppa, then we went back to MJ's house.  We have had use of their washing machine...such a blessing when you are travelling and their power and internet.  This is where I have been able to do this HUGE blog, which has been a big effort.
You will all be pleased to know language is still a problem for us...when I asked for a water at Macca's I had 3 different people come up and ask me to repeat it.  I actually got a bit pissed off...seriously?  WATER!!  And when we were looking for a jack and wheel brace at the tyre shop...they had no idea what a wheel brace was, said they didn't have any and we actually left the shop empty handed only to return the next day, look for it ourselves and realise they don't call it a wheel brace, but a tyre (tire) iron.  I think that's right!
Tomorrow we head down into Skagway, Alaska to catch a ferry to Haines, Alaska before driving back up into the Yukon and eventually into Alaska. We both love the Yukon and wish we could come back again and drive some of the highways we missed out on this time.
So a very long blog...thanks for getting this far!