Bear Country to The Klondike

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Dawson City, once the largest city west of Winnipeg, now 1,800 year-round residents.

We are at 64º N in September and the sun still sets past 10.

We Left Tyson and Opal's in the early afternoon with the goal of going as far north as we could in a day. About 30 miles into the ride we got to Moricetown. They told us we would know where we were when we saw the river turn sideways and go through a canyon. That is exactly what it looks like there. They also said there would be people fishing there too, and there were.

We went down to the canyon to watch them haul in the fish. They kept throwing the smaller pink salmon back, and keeping only the larger coho and chinook salmon. We asked a guy if we could get one somehow, and he said hold on a sec. He came up and told us he fishes for barter and would trade a salmon for some beer and cook up at his house. His name was Kenny. He told us to meet him at a house across the highway and there I could gut the fish; the guy who lived there liked to fry up the guts for his dogs.

After cleaning the fish, Kenny went to his friend's house to get the beer and told us how to drive there. We met up with him after hanging out with his friend's neighbors for a few minutes. We were met immediately by his three kids and wife, Erin. We showed the biles off to the kids and then went in to grill up the salmon.

We pitched the tent in their yard and woke up early the next morning. We got on the road and had one of the most scenic trips to date. We arrived in Hyder, Alaska around 2:30 and checked into a motel there after a cup of hot coffee. Dan passed out and I went up to the bear-look out and I saw a grizzly. I headed back, when I saw Dan on his way up. We went back to see a black bear wander by.

We got on the road pretty early the next morning and saw no fewer than eight black bears on the side of the road! We even saw a sow with her two cubs! They scared off easily and we could only get a coupe pics one time. We crossed into the Yukon in the late evening after holding up in Dease Lake in far north BC. It was near sunset when we pulled off near the lower Rancheria River. We rode down a dirt road for about a mile where we found a hunter shack. We camped out there in complete isolation; no train in the distance for the first time.

We got out and on our way to Whitehorse pretty early. The ride was nice and there were more and more trees with leaves turning color than eve before. We pulled into Whitehorse around two P. M. and had lunch at Rib and Salmon. We blew town after a stroll around. We camped out at a hot springs about 17 miles North of town. There we met a guy who had just come from Dawson City and said the ride there was amazing.

We had one of the most serene vistas during the ride today. It started off kind of rainy, but got to be mostly clear and the trees were green, yellow and some capped in amber.

We rolled into town on fumes, we were convinced that we could make it on one tank from Carmacks and we were driving a bit too fast to keep with the usual MPG. We found the cheapest place in town to stay, and its more stark than a seedy hostel.

We will ride the Top of the World Highway tomorrow.

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