Friday, June 27, 2008
The Alaska Highway Trip Begins
[Be sure to click on the photos for larger versions.]
This installment covers Saturday (June 21) through Monday (June 23).
Saturday was a nice, sunny driving day from Fort Nelson to Muncho Lake. We saw quite a bit of wildlife en route: three small groups of caribou on or beside the road; several small groups of stone sheep on or beside the road; a moose cow entering the woods; and a black bear. We got photos of caribou, stone sheep and the moose; the bear was too fast for us. We also saw two smashed car carcasses; apparently the losing end of previous car vs. wildlife encounters.
We made a stop at a restaurant whose ceiling is covered by thousands of caps that people have donated. We left an I-State Freightliner cap (the dealer gave us two after we spent 4-1/2 days having our coach serviced) and got a card identifying it as hat number 7494. The high point (literally) of today’s trip, indeed of the whole Alaska Highway, was a 4,500 foot pass through the Rocky Mountains.
Our campground tonight overlooked the blue-green Muncho Lake. We had a social hour outside the Lapinski’s coach, and drank some of Joe’s homemade Merlot. Dinner was a buffet in the adjacent lodge. After supper we watched as a couple of float planes took off on flightseeing tours.
Last night was a rainy night and today (Sunday) was a rainy driving day from Muncho Lake to Watson Lake. We started the morning thinking that our water pump had failed, and wondering where we would be able to get it repaired – it turned out that I had just left the water tank fill valve in the wrong position.
One of the first recommended stops was Laird Hot Springs; however, we are not hot spring type people, so we skipped this one. It turns out that over half of the caravan decided not to make the stop. Part of the morning drive followed a river which was really raging as a result of last night’s rain. The wildlife today consisted of two groups of buffalo and a lone fox; we got photos of the former. At one point we traversed a bridge that was built out of steel salvaged from the “galloping Gertie” bridge collapse in New York. Today we also crossed from British Columbia into the Yukon.
We had planned to have pizza at a place in Watson Lake that we remember fondly from our 2002 Alaska trip – unfortunately it was closed for remodeling. We did see the Sign Forest, which now claims over 60,000 signs, including one that our caravan host hung this morning.
This evening our group had a spaghetti dinner at the restaurant operated by the RV park / lodge / gift store owners. After dinner we had guitar and fiddle entertainment by a couple of local musicians. The female half of the park owners also told us a little about life in the Yukon – cold winters (as low as 60 below Centigrade); astronomical electricity prices for diesel generated power; ordering expensive foodstuffs for the restaurant a week in advance and hoping the shipment contains most of what was ordered; moose hunting in the winter; etc.
On Monday, we drove from Watson Lake to Whitehorse, where we will spend three nights. It was in the 40s and rained until about 2:00 p.m., when it turned overcast. Surprisingly we saw only one fox today.
We (and many others) had lunch at a restaurant famed for its rhubarb pie, which indeed was delicious. We then spent a couple of hours sightseeing in Teslin, where we visited the Wildlife Museum and the Tsinglet Heritage Center. The latter was a little disappointing. It has five totem poles outside a fabulous, modern building. Unfortunately, the display area inside is very small.
We are tightly packed in the campground this evening; with the past couple of days of rain, there is a lot of mud and standing water. Actually, it is very reminiscent of our stay at the same park in 2002. The group dinner this evening was another buffet in the RV park’s recreation hall.
We have good cable TV here – the first time we have seen U.S. channels since leaving Montana – so I am watching The Bachelorette this evening. The park supposedly has WIFI, but so far I haven’t been able to connect, so I don’t know when this part of the blog will get posted.
This installment covers Saturday (June 21) through Monday (June 23).
Saturday was a nice, sunny driving day from Fort Nelson to Muncho Lake. We saw quite a bit of wildlife en route: three small groups of caribou on or beside the road; several small groups of stone sheep on or beside the road; a moose cow entering the woods; and a black bear. We got photos of caribou, stone sheep and the moose; the bear was too fast for us. We also saw two smashed car carcasses; apparently the losing end of previous car vs. wildlife encounters.
We made a stop at a restaurant whose ceiling is covered by thousands of caps that people have donated. We left an I-State Freightliner cap (the dealer gave us two after we spent 4-1/2 days having our coach serviced) and got a card identifying it as hat number 7494. The high point (literally) of today’s trip, indeed of the whole Alaska Highway, was a 4,500 foot pass through the Rocky Mountains.
Our campground tonight overlooked the blue-green Muncho Lake. We had a social hour outside the Lapinski’s coach, and drank some of Joe’s homemade Merlot. Dinner was a buffet in the adjacent lodge. After supper we watched as a couple of float planes took off on flightseeing tours.
Last night was a rainy night and today (Sunday) was a rainy driving day from Muncho Lake to Watson Lake. We started the morning thinking that our water pump had failed, and wondering where we would be able to get it repaired – it turned out that I had just left the water tank fill valve in the wrong position.
One of the first recommended stops was Laird Hot Springs; however, we are not hot spring type people, so we skipped this one. It turns out that over half of the caravan decided not to make the stop. Part of the morning drive followed a river which was really raging as a result of last night’s rain. The wildlife today consisted of two groups of buffalo and a lone fox; we got photos of the former. At one point we traversed a bridge that was built out of steel salvaged from the “galloping Gertie” bridge collapse in New York. Today we also crossed from British Columbia into the Yukon.
We had planned to have pizza at a place in Watson Lake that we remember fondly from our 2002 Alaska trip – unfortunately it was closed for remodeling. We did see the Sign Forest, which now claims over 60,000 signs, including one that our caravan host hung this morning.
This evening our group had a spaghetti dinner at the restaurant operated by the RV park / lodge / gift store owners. After dinner we had guitar and fiddle entertainment by a couple of local musicians. The female half of the park owners also told us a little about life in the Yukon – cold winters (as low as 60 below Centigrade); astronomical electricity prices for diesel generated power; ordering expensive foodstuffs for the restaurant a week in advance and hoping the shipment contains most of what was ordered; moose hunting in the winter; etc.
On Monday, we drove from Watson Lake to Whitehorse, where we will spend three nights. It was in the 40s and rained until about 2:00 p.m., when it turned overcast. Surprisingly we saw only one fox today.
We (and many others) had lunch at a restaurant famed for its rhubarb pie, which indeed was delicious. We then spent a couple of hours sightseeing in Teslin, where we visited the Wildlife Museum and the Tsinglet Heritage Center. The latter was a little disappointing. It has five totem poles outside a fabulous, modern building. Unfortunately, the display area inside is very small.
We are tightly packed in the campground this evening; with the past couple of days of rain, there is a lot of mud and standing water. Actually, it is very reminiscent of our stay at the same park in 2002. The group dinner this evening was another buffet in the RV park’s recreation hall.
We have good cable TV here – the first time we have seen U.S. channels since leaving Montana – so I am watching The Bachelorette this evening. The park supposedly has WIFI, but so far I haven’t been able to connect, so I don’t know when this part of the blog will get posted.
