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Published: August 2nd 2012
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Whitehorse, Yukon... The Caribou RV Park and a quick trip to Toronto
We finally covert some miles and were just a few mile before Whitehorse the capital of Canada’s Yukon Territory. The town was founded in 1900 with the arrival of the White Pass & Yukon Railway from tidewater at Skagway, the tent-and-cabin city became the terminal for freight being transferred from railway to riverboat for shipment to Dawson City. Before the railway was pushed through to provide an easier mode of transportation, the bulk of the early-day stampeders came by ocean steamer to Skagway or Dyea and toiled over the White Pass (the route presently paralleled by the railroad) or Chilkoot Pass to the head of Lake Bennett. Here they whipsawed native lumber and built crude boats and scows to travel the 550-mile Yukon River water route to the gold fields. Just a few miles before town we found what we were looking for. In the milepost, a must have travel guide for the Alaska Highway we had noticed an add about a Swiss owned restaurant and RV park. We had to stop and at least go for a drink and check it out. The Wolf's Den restaurant was
just like out of a Swiss picture book and after talking to the owner Harryn and Yvonne Ochsner, we wanted to get to know the other Swiss couple that was running the RV park. We instantly got along with Martin and Franziska and after talking for a few hours we decided to spend the night. We were not the only Swiss folks around here The tourist season was in full swing and lots of Europeans were choosing the Caribou RV park for their first night in Canada, or they just returned from their loop over the top of the world Highway to Alaska and were getting ready to return their RV and fly home. So we met lots of people from all over Europe and America and had a fun evening. Since we lived on a budget that was fairly tight, which means the less we spent the longer it last, we prepared to take off the next day. Water had to be filled. We said goodbye which only took a few hours and finally stopped to empty the Portapotti on the way out at the dump station. Ready to roll martin noticed that I was leaking coolant. Well this
Martin
Owner of Caribou RV park.
Great Guy and best RV park...
was as far as we would get today. So we turned around and drove back to our spot. Everyone was grinning and smiling while they expressed there concern. They where happy we had to spend some more time with them. I went right ahead and pulled the radiator out of Büssli and Martin gave me a ride to the mechanic in Whitehorse. There I was informed that it would take about a week to get the right core and replace it. We were stranded again. Certainly, the weekend was just around the corner and that did not speed the process up either. Back on the RV park we discussed our options and Martin was very generous and made us a special price to stay. I was helping him with some projects and took the opportunity to fix some other little problems Büssli was complaining about. My rear break cylinders were leaking and I had pushed the repairs off. But since we were forced to wait around here anyway I ordered the parts from Switzerland and had them send by my father to me. Martin informed me that evening about a guy on the park that had suffered from a heart
The Fifth Wheel
Transported this rig across Canada from Whitehorse to Toronto in 4 1/2 Days attack and his wife and the group of friends were trying to find someone to drive his fifth wheel back to Toronto. After talking with them we came to an understanding that would help all of us and the next morning I took off with their Pickup and fifth wheel cross country to Toronto. They were paying for all the costs and my flight back to Whitehorse and gave me some extra cash for my time. This would cover my expenses to fix my motor home and everyone was happy. From Whitehorse to Toronto was about 5400km at an average speed of 75 km/h that would be 72 driving hours. So if I drove 16 h per day I would make it in four and a half days if everything went smooth. But on a drive across the whole continent I guessed some unexpected situations could occur. We gave it a little extra time and planed with and extra day. The first part of the trip to Watson Lake was familiar since we just came from there but the rest of the route over Ford Nelson, Dawson Creek, Grand Prairie, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay and Sudbury was new to
Grizzly
On the drive to Toronto just after Watson Lake me. So it was a great opportunity to see the grand prairie and the east coast of Canada. The drive to Watson Lake was nice and uneventful and I had to get gas again since this truck had a 30gallon and got barely 10 miles to the gallon. So I stopped at the gas station and as I was filling up the tank something just did not smell right. I was cursing slightly as I realized that I was filling up with gas instead of diesel. Oh no !!!. This had happened to my younger brother once up in San Francisco when he was exploring California in my Motor home. I was laughing then but not now. I had to get this mixture out or it would damage the engine. First I tried to siphon it out with a hose but only dot a little bit out. It just did not want to work. Across the street I found a workshop that had a pump and hoses. He had to fix the pump before it was finally working and he charged me Sunday rates for letting me wait for hours. Oh well I did not pay attention and realized that
Grizzly
On the drive to Toronto just after Watson Lake I could not rely on the handle color of the pumps... green black whats the difference...a nozzle is a nozzle right?? Well at least at this gas station. Now I had to go back and fill up again. Just out of town I saw a grizzly mother and her two cubs grazing on the hillside just a hundred yards of the road. I stopped and took some pictures. I quickly was back in my driving routine and just stopped for gas, pottybraks and photo opportunity. I was making good time and spent my first night just passed the Liard River Hot springs about 600 km. I woke up early and was back on the road stopping basically at every gestation I found. It was a long drive but I made it in just four and a half days. So I had some extras time before I met up with relatives of the owner and handed over the Truck. They gave me the rest of the cash and a ride to the airport.
Back In Whitehorse, Laura Koya and Franzi were picking me up from the Airport and I was installing the Radiator the next day. Soon after I received the
Bison
On the drive to Toronto somewhere after Watson Lake rest of my parts and Büssli was back together and ready to roll. Well that sounded easier than it actually was since I had to run around an try to find some extra parts that I needed but After rolling out of the Campground and a quick shopping tour in Whitehorse everybody was laughing when we showed back up at the park. I had a leak on the roof and needed to take down my Solar panel and fix the leak. Martin and Franzi and some other friends we had made, were suggesting to stay an extra night so we could celebrate my birthday together. How could I say now to a Swiss fondue and so we had a great party all night long. One of the friends we had made, had left a couple of days earlier and we had plans to meet up in a few days in Dawson City. Although we did not have plans to stop at this little town we agreed to let him show us some funky bar and go for a drink with him. So we had to finally leave the Caribou RV Park and our friends behind us and were back on
Bison
On the drive to Toronto somewhere after Watson Lake the road. It was always great to break down with Büssli because it always choose the perfect spot.
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