Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Dawson City to Stewart via Cassiar Highway
[Be sure to click on the photos for larger versions.]
This installment covers Thursday (July 31) through Wednesday (August 6).
On Thursday we drove from Dawson City to Carmacks. Except for a stretch of construction shortly after we left Dawson City, the road was in pretty good shape. We had lunch in the RV alongside the road. En route, we passed the Alaska #2 Caravan, which was headed from Whitehorse to Minto. We were the last of our group to arrive at the RV park in Carmacks. Six of us had dinner together in the town’s one restaurant.
After leveling the RV this evening, I heard a hiss of leaking air from the front driver side. We will get up early in the morning to get it to the Freightliner dealer in Whitehorse to see if they can diagnose the problem.
Carol and I left Carmacks at 6:00 a.m. on Friday so that we could get to the Freightliner dealer in Whitehorse as close as possible to his 8:00 a.m. opening time. With a stop for diesel fuel on the outskirts of town, we made it to the dealership at about 8:30.
We left the coach for repair, washed the car, ate breakfast, did laundry, shopped, ate lunch, and got my haircut. While I was in the barber chair at 2:15, the dealer called to say that the problem was fixed. There was an air connection that apparently had not been fully inserted into the leveling valve when the latter was replaced in Billings. The repair simply involved pushing the connection in about 1/16”.
Since we ran all of our errands yesterday, Carol and I went sightseeing in Whitehorse on Saturday. We drove the CRV up Grant Mountain road to an advertised viewpoint on the top of one of the nearby peaks. The first 4 miles of road was maintained gravel, the last 3.2 miles was an increasingly narrow, unmaintained gravel road with big potholes, some rocks, some switchbacks, some steep stretches, big drop-offs and no guardrails. We got a good view of the surrounding area from a helicopter pad on the top of the peak. The trip down was a little more spine-chilling, because we were looking down at the drop-offs. I’m glad we made the trip, but it’s not one that we are ever likely to repeat.
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After lunch, Carol and I walked the suspension bridge across the Yukon River, then up and down hill to the site of Canyon City, the riverside town built at the height of the gold rush as a staging point for gold rushers preparing to travel through the large rapids just outside present-day Whitehorse. There is nothing to see there except a sign showing the location of former buildings, and a couple of tin can middens (garbage piles).
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The round trip took us about an hour and 20 minutes – the longest walk we have taken in many days. This evening our 11-member group went to dinner downtown at the Klondike Korner.
Sunday was a sunny driving day from Whitehorse to Watson Lake, backtracking over some of our trip up the Alaska Highway. The driving day was uneventful, and we spent the night at the Baby Nugget RV Park where we had stopped on the way north. Kathy Brown made spaghetti with sausages and meatballs for the group this evening, and with the pleasant weather we had a nice social hour and dinner in the park.
Monday was another sunny day, this time from Watson Lake, down the Cassiar Highway, to Iskut. As we travelled south, we saw both barren rock and snow capped mountains in the distance. We also passed a number of pretty lakes. Except for some gravel patches, more so on the first part of the trip, the highway was in good condition. En route we stopped at Jade City and purchased a few souvenirs.
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For the second day, we had lunch in the RV and saw no wildlife, despite signs yesterday warning of elk crossings and today warning of moose.
Tuesday was a nice driving day from Iskut to Stewart BC / Hyder Alaska. The road was well maintained, and the drive into Stewart was scenic, with Bear Glacier to the north of the road. We did not stop for photos, but plan to do so on the way out.
This afternoon, Carol and I drove to Fish Creek, where grizzlies and black bears fish for salmon during the runs that usually take place from mid-July to mid-September. Unfortunately, the salmon are late here as well, so the bears are few and far between. After spending an unsuccessful hour watching for bears, we drove an additional 20 miles to view Salmon Glacier. This is the only glacier we have seen on this trip where you can drive to a viewpoint above the bulk of the glacier.
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On our way back down, we stopped again at Fish Creek and over the space of a couple of hours saw 3 black bear and one distant cub.
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Carol and I got up at 5:15 this morning, so that we could be at Fish Creek shortly after its opening at 6:00 a.m. We stayed until about 10:00 a.m. and saw a couple of salmon in the river, but only one black bear. On our way back through Hyder, we bought a couple of souvenir T-shirts.
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We napped upon our return to the RV. Later in the afternoon we drove downtown to have a late lunch / early dinner and pick up a few groceries.
This installment covers Thursday (July 31) through Wednesday (August 6).
On Thursday we drove from Dawson City to Carmacks. Except for a stretch of construction shortly after we left Dawson City, the road was in pretty good shape. We had lunch in the RV alongside the road. En route, we passed the Alaska #2 Caravan, which was headed from Whitehorse to Minto. We were the last of our group to arrive at the RV park in Carmacks. Six of us had dinner together in the town’s one restaurant.
After leveling the RV this evening, I heard a hiss of leaking air from the front driver side. We will get up early in the morning to get it to the Freightliner dealer in Whitehorse to see if they can diagnose the problem.
Carol and I left Carmacks at 6:00 a.m. on Friday so that we could get to the Freightliner dealer in Whitehorse as close as possible to his 8:00 a.m. opening time. With a stop for diesel fuel on the outskirts of town, we made it to the dealership at about 8:30.
We left the coach for repair, washed the car, ate breakfast, did laundry, shopped, ate lunch, and got my haircut. While I was in the barber chair at 2:15, the dealer called to say that the problem was fixed. There was an air connection that apparently had not been fully inserted into the leveling valve when the latter was replaced in Billings. The repair simply involved pushing the connection in about 1/16”.
Since we ran all of our errands yesterday, Carol and I went sightseeing in Whitehorse on Saturday. We drove the CRV up Grant Mountain road to an advertised viewpoint on the top of one of the nearby peaks. The first 4 miles of road was maintained gravel, the last 3.2 miles was an increasingly narrow, unmaintained gravel road with big potholes, some rocks, some switchbacks, some steep stretches, big drop-offs and no guardrails. We got a good view of the surrounding area from a helicopter pad on the top of the peak. The trip down was a little more spine-chilling, because we were looking down at the drop-offs. I’m glad we made the trip, but it’s not one that we are ever likely to repeat.
.JPG)
After lunch, Carol and I walked the suspension bridge across the Yukon River, then up and down hill to the site of Canyon City, the riverside town built at the height of the gold rush as a staging point for gold rushers preparing to travel through the large rapids just outside present-day Whitehorse. There is nothing to see there except a sign showing the location of former buildings, and a couple of tin can middens (garbage piles).
.JPG)
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The round trip took us about an hour and 20 minutes – the longest walk we have taken in many days. This evening our 11-member group went to dinner downtown at the Klondike Korner.
Sunday was a sunny driving day from Whitehorse to Watson Lake, backtracking over some of our trip up the Alaska Highway. The driving day was uneventful, and we spent the night at the Baby Nugget RV Park where we had stopped on the way north. Kathy Brown made spaghetti with sausages and meatballs for the group this evening, and with the pleasant weather we had a nice social hour and dinner in the park.
Monday was another sunny day, this time from Watson Lake, down the Cassiar Highway, to Iskut. As we travelled south, we saw both barren rock and snow capped mountains in the distance. We also passed a number of pretty lakes. Except for some gravel patches, more so on the first part of the trip, the highway was in good condition. En route we stopped at Jade City and purchased a few souvenirs.
.JPG)
For the second day, we had lunch in the RV and saw no wildlife, despite signs yesterday warning of elk crossings and today warning of moose.
Tuesday was a nice driving day from Iskut to Stewart BC / Hyder Alaska. The road was well maintained, and the drive into Stewart was scenic, with Bear Glacier to the north of the road. We did not stop for photos, but plan to do so on the way out.
This afternoon, Carol and I drove to Fish Creek, where grizzlies and black bears fish for salmon during the runs that usually take place from mid-July to mid-September. Unfortunately, the salmon are late here as well, so the bears are few and far between. After spending an unsuccessful hour watching for bears, we drove an additional 20 miles to view Salmon Glacier. This is the only glacier we have seen on this trip where you can drive to a viewpoint above the bulk of the glacier.
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On our way back down, we stopped again at Fish Creek and over the space of a couple of hours saw 3 black bear and one distant cub.
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Carol and I got up at 5:15 this morning, so that we could be at Fish Creek shortly after its opening at 6:00 a.m. We stayed until about 10:00 a.m. and saw a couple of salmon in the river, but only one black bear. On our way back through Hyder, we bought a couple of souvenir T-shirts.
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We napped upon our return to the RV. Later in the afternoon we drove downtown to have a late lunch / early dinner and pick up a few groceries.
