Blogs from Yukon, Canada, North America - page 4

Dawson City September There is a chill in the air and the nights grow colder, the colours of fall are starting to peak out in patches of amber, copper and orange on the mountains. The town is slowly shutting down stores starting to close up for the winter and yet the locals are coming to life soon there friends and family will be done working at the mining camps and the tourists will disappear they'll have there town back the real parties will begin the town will come together and the new locals will meet the lifers. what was just a tourist town in the summer will become a community of neighbors and friends, with stories of life at camp and everything they did over the summer. Its a place that lives and dies in the ... read more

I arrived in Dawson City in April 2016. The First thing I noticed was the ghost town feeling this place seemed to give off. The buildings reminded me something out of an old western movie, probably because most of them are from the early 1900's and are historical, eerie and/or deserted and yet as i walked through the empty streets taking in the silence of a town, I started to fall in love with the place for what it was... Gold Rush History and a New adventure. Being as I got here in April with nothing more then 100 dollars and my giant backpack I wondered the place alone noticing not much was open, and it was literally a ghost town. The streets had barely any cars on the roads and there was this overwhelming stillness ... read more

We are now in Whitehorse, Canada, in the Yukon Territory. Yes, we are headed home and I am catching up with our last week in Alaska but before I do you have to indulge me for a few minutes……. from Tok to the Canadian border is 90 miles, our last 90 miles of Alaska, and from the moment we made the turn on to the Alaska Highway, poured some fresh coffee from the thermos and began to roll east, it was a very quiet in the truck cab. Neither of us were talking much as we internalized our personal feelings about leaving. A sadness overtook us as we rolled farther east, we both could have stayed longer but the tug of our home and our family is very strong so this was not an easy time ... read more

28 Jul 2016: Today's drive up to Whitehorse, YT was not as interesting as the drive to Waton Lake but it was not without its moments. First, we saw a Black Bear early in the morning looking for it's breakfast. I didn't have enough time to pull over and get a picture. Next, we encountered rock messages alongside the hjghway just past Nugget City. According to our Milepost guide, rock messages were first started in 1990 by a Ft Nelson swim team. One may also see inukshuks, rock cairns build by the natives as landmarks. We crossed several rivers and the Continental Divide, which we have crossed and recrossed on our travels. There were a few old lodges which have been closed for many years. Crossing the Nisutlin Bay Bridge, the longest span on the highway ... read more

27 Jul 2016: The gentleman at the adjoining campsite in Ft Nelson was returning from his third trip to Alaska. He advised us to stay at the Downtown RV Park in Watson Lake. Reviewing my itinerary, I found I had tentatively selected that during the planning stage so I felt my good judgement had been confirmed. Driving North out of Ft Nelson we encountered a sign reading something like, "No services next 152 km. Check your gas. I Checked my gas. One quarter full. Whoops, better turn around and fill up. We drove 17 miles before we could find a place to turn around. Seventeen up, back and back up or 51 miles was about an hour's worth of driving, not to mention seven gallons of gas. From now on, we will drive BACK to the ... read more