From Watson Lake to Tok, Alaska

---

We took two days to drive from Watson Lake to Whitehorse. The trip is beautiful, it dips in and out of British Columbia and we had hoped to get some cell phone connections but had no luck. We stopped in Teslin because Betty wanted to buy a book by an author whose home is there; and because the rhubarb pie is reportedly world renown. I’ll leave her to comment on the book but I can say that the rhubarb pie was very good! Teslin is home to the Tlingit Indians (pronounced Klingit.) Teslin Lake is HUGE and we skirted it for a long time, staying overnight in the Yukon Territory Park called “Teslin Lake.”
On our way from Teslin Lake to Whitehorse we passed the turn off for Atlin, and were sad that the side-trip that had been planned was not to be. We did salute at the turn off at Jake’s Corner though Dottie.
The trip into Whitehorse was short so we were parked by 11 a.m. That gave us the entire afternoon to visit the Information Center and plan our next two days. We took a trolley car ride to get ourselves orientated and made a mandatory visit to Wal-Mart. We decided that a tour of the S.S. Klondike was a “must.” The Klondike National Historic Site is a Parks Canada heritage place and represents an era of riverboat transportation. The Klondike was the sternwheeler that brought the world to the Yukon.
The Yukon Brewing Company sounded appealing. This small brewery has a large portion of the market in The Yukon as well as in parts of Alberta. A very interesting tour of the facility and plenty of samples! Not sure I wasn’t above 0.8 when we left there. That evening we ate supper at the famous Yukon Rib and Salmon Restaurant. I had the ribs and they were GREAT! Then it was off to the Frantic Follies. Such fun!
We have been playing “leap frog” with at least one large caravan and when we arrived in Dawson City there was a four or five hour line up to cross the Yukon River to the start the Top of the World Highway. Being the group of Solos we are we weren’t about to wait four or five hours because we knew the drive would take several hours to complete. We were up at the crack of dawn (which occurs this far north about 30 minutes after sunset!), and were first in line at 5:45 a.m.
The Top of the World Highway --- Hmmm! Let me first dispatch the road conditions. Is the road surface poor in some places? Yes, especially on the Alaska side of the border. BUT the fact that there is a road a miracle! It was started as a trail that gold miners used, but to think that someone went out to survey and plot the route, and crews of workers were out there cutting away at some of the most difficult terrain in the world so that we could all enjoy the vista is amazing. We were above the tree line for a lot of the drive. The scenery is magnificent! All in all, when we got to Chicken, Alaska for lunch we all agreed that the patches of rough road were well worth the experience and, truth be told it was a privilege to be able to complete it.
FYI: Throughout the Yukon section of our trip Northwestern Bell, (Canada’s version of Ma Bell) blocked our Verizon cell phones, with the exception of Whitehorse. They have complete monopoly of the market, even my Canadian calling card didn’t work. Makes you realize how dependent we have become on instant communication, and how much simpler life was before we got cell phones and the Internet!!
Everyone in our group has been more than accommodating of my schedule for leaving for three weeks. Gotta go do Nanny Duties and wait to for the arrival of a new grandchild. Quite a change for my little dog and I from 60-65 degrees in Alaska to 100-105 degrees in Texas

---

Photos

Teslin Lake
This was a beautiful spot and good campground as far as space was concerned. We paid $12/night in the Yukon campgounds.

Tlingit Museum
This stop was quite interesting. The museum is still in the process of being organized We loved the totem poles.

Whitehorse
There is a lot to see and do in this Capital city of The Yukon. We completely filled our two days there

The Famous Whitehorse Restaurant
We had about an hours wait to get a table but the food was well worth the wait.

History
Allan held up the menu with the history printed on the back of it.

Wildlife Sanctuary
Allan, Ted and I enjoyed a morning visiting the wildlife that is native and abundant in The Yukon. This Arctic Fox was quite shy and I was lucky to get a snap of him.

Doll Sheep
They had a pen with two different kinds of sheep neither of which I had heard of. This is a Doll Sheep the other was a Stone Sheep. They are so closely related that they will cross breed.

Fireweed
The road along the Alaska Highway throughout The Yukon has been lined with fireweed.

Fireweed
Such an attractive weed.

Moose Creek Campground
Just a sample of one of the Yukon Territory campgrounds where we stayed @ $12/night.

Dawson City
The ride into Dawson City was pretty uneventful, and we were parked by 1 p.m. We spent the afternoon visiting the Dome Rock and looking around Dawson.

Klondike Kate's Place
Dawson City is a very interesting place. A lot of effort has been taken to restore the historic buildings. Klondike Kate's is now a lovely restaurant.

Masonic Lodge
I as very impressed with this Masonic Lodge. It looked to still be operated by the Masons too.

Unusual Menu
I thought this was pretty typical of the laid back atmosphere here.

Happy Hour
It was hot and dusty so of course we had to stop to quench our thirst. This picture was taken at Bombay Peggy's which used to be a brothel.

Diamond Tooth Gerties
Everyone who visits Dawson City maks a trip to Diamond Tooth Gerties. Te casino isn't up to much but the entertainment is good.

Keno
The Keno was the Klondike's baby brother. It was used to ferry ore from Carcross to the Yukon River where it was transferred to the Klondike on it's south bound trip back to Whitehorse.

Author's Row
We took a morning visiting the Jack London Musuem, Robert Service's cabin and Pierre Berton's home. What is interesting about the Berton home is that it has been converted into an author's retreat.

Klondike Kate's Place
We ate a very enjoyale lunch at Klondike Kate's I imagine it has been cleaned up quite a bit from the day's when it was a brothel.

Crossing
We were on the banks of the Yukon River early morning in line for the free crossing on the George Black ferry. Class A motor homes come across one at a time but here are Gary and Ted coming across.

Quite a bench
The trip across the Yukon takes 7 minutes each way. I was first over so knew I had at least 28 minutes + loading time. I thought this bench was quite unique

Amazing Views
The Top of the World Highway offers fntastic views. We all agreed that it would be good to be a co-pilot on the trip so that we could've taken all the photos we wanted.

Chicken, Alaska
Make no mistake we were all glad to arrive in Chicken, which consisits of a General Store, a saloon, a liquor store and a restaurant. It was still early enough for breakfast because we picked up an hour. The guys just look like they are going into the Saloon.

Comments

[John Ramares]

From Solos in lower 48
Lyn, Beautiful article as is your normal. It looks like the watering holes are not to far apart. I am in Aspen,CO til October. The temperature is 60-65F here also. Lovely area here also. Safe and pleasant travels to you all. John Ramares Newbe Solos