Holey Road We're in Canada Again

A great country drive in summer only

Heading east and higher along the newly paved highway we were greeted by a lovely Canadian Border Officer at the furthest outreach border crossing in the country. She passed us through without a problem and once again we were back in Canada.

The fog set in and was aided by the wildfires

The new pavement finished 50m past the gate and so did our progress as a very thick fog came in and reduced vision to no more than 20m ahead. It was way too dangerous to continue without toppling over a cliff so we inched forward till we found a turnout and pulled over. The fog was being generated from the previous day’s rain evaporating and mixing with smoke from a large wildfire further north in the Northwest Territories.

Our overnight campsite perched high up on the ridge

 

Rolling hills and deep valleys hidden by smoke haze

The Top of the World Hwy was gravel again and remained such for a further 106km till we reached the Yukon River the following day. The highway weaved its way along the ridgeline and it seriously felt like we were travelling on top of the world as we looked at the rolling hills and valleys below.

Early morning with fog filled valleys

It both feels and looks like your on top of the world

 To continue on to Dawson City and further east we had to cross the Mighty Yukon River which was flowing at an incredible rate and since a bridge has not yet been built the only way is by vehicle ferry and WOW what a ride, not for the faint hearted to be sure. The trip is quick but the wait is long, 2hrs for us but much shorter than backtracking to Tok.

 

The Yukon River ferry was a ride to remember

Dawson City is situated on the junction of the Klondike River and famous as the northern city of gold. It is where the Klondike gold rush of the 1890’s occurred and even today the town still has the feel of a very isolated boom town. It was the largest city west of Winnipeg (central Canada) and only slightly smaller than San Francisco. These days instead people searching for a fortune the town is flooded with summer tourists.

Dawson City had the charm and appearance of an 1800's wild west town

The result of permafrost where the ground buckles and bends, during winter it gets down to -60 Celsius here

Gold is still found here but not in the quantities the wealthy New York miners stripped out when they took over all the leaseholds in the early 1900’s. The small holders were pushed out by the likes of the Rothchild family who set up huge dredge rigs along the Klondike and adjoining rivers.



Dredge No 4 is under going a refurbishment, while operating it was disassembled and reassembled in its entirety several times to relocate from one area to another, a mammoth feat, but well worth the effort as it removed a lot of gold from this region 

The dredge was huge and operated 24/7 until forced to stop operation only when ice clogged the system. The noise was horrendous and most onboard workers lost their hearing permanently, but this was considered collateral damage without any compensation

 

The town was serviced from the south approx. 600km by steam driven stern wheelers which left Whitehorse and travelled backwards and forwards whenever the river was unfrozen about 9 months of the year. The ships were shallow drafted to avoid the many hazards along the way as the river although wide and long (3,000km) and navigable all the way required great skill from all hands aboard to avoid running aground.

SS Keno is a stern wheeler located in Dawson City but used to operate further south on the Stewart River and the passenger boarding is a real woman

SS Klondike operated between Whitehorse and Dawson City, it took 1.5 days and 4.5 days to return

SS Klondike was a mighty ship despite sinking several times

We enjoyed the hospitality of Dawson City at the friendly visitor’s centre and then the Downtown Hotel and several other hotels which we can’t recall the names but think one was bright pink on the outside, we did make it home before dark which was good just a tad after 11:30pm.

One of Dawson's friendly watering holes

Just like a wild west saloon

 

Up early to avoid being moved on by the town authority we headed up to The Dome which is a lookout above the town and as we approached the top we spotted what we believe was a wolverine sitting on the roadway sunning itself. It was too fast and we were too slow for a photo unfortunately as it raced into the scrub.

Dawson City from The Dome, the smaller Klondike River enters the Yukon from the centre left and brings its own water discolouration

Looking North the Yukon continues for another 2,200km before entering the Bearing Sea west of Alaska

Moving on and 40km east of Dawson City we headed north up the Dempster Hwy for the Tombstone Mountains campground, again another gravel road but this one was badly corrugated and shook the RV almost to pieces. It didn’t matter how fast or slow we went nothing would prevent the inevitable destruction. We made a hasty retreat the 10km to regain the pavement and found that the side of the RV was coming adrift.

Amazing colours of the carpet like tundra ground cover, part of the Beringia landscape

Beringia existed when sea levels were 500ft below current levels creating the land bridge between Asia and America allowing both animals and humans to cross over

Animals like this mammoth were living in the Beringia until hunted to extinction by the early human inhabitants

Slow and steady we went for the next 600km to Whitehorse where we could expect to find the materials to repair the side. All 4 screws holding the side of the RV to the fibreglass internal step module had shaken out or loose and the jointing compound had given way allowing a gap to develop and the side to move freely. A tube of Sikaflex and some larger gauge screws helped along with a newly purchased G clamp solved the problem. All good and ready to roll.

The Yukon River winds its way through the country side collecting water from a huge catchment area

 

Halfway between Whitehorse and Dawson City the Five Finger Rapids were the most dangerous hazard, on the return trip the crew had to attach the ship to cables anchored to the shore and winch it through upstream

 

We decided to continue down the Klondike Hwy back across the US border to Skagway where all the gold prospectors arrived by steamship ready to head up the Yukon to Dawson City. The border is located on the ridge of the Coastal Range which proved to be the most challenging part of the prospector’s expedition taking up to a month to travel just 100km. There was 2 trails across the range from Skagway and it was said that whichever was taken the travellers wished they had taken the other. 



This guy has determination written all over his face, just like the struggling prospectors of yester year and he'll prove it

He certainly enjoys a challenge

WOW is he determined or what??

Once over the range the lakes all join and the Yukon starts its journey northwards. There they could ride the stern wheeler providing they had the finance to pay the fare. Many tried with their own makeshift water craft only to fall foul upon the rapids near Whitehorse.

Challenging the Yukon, many tried in much worse craft than this one

Eagles are the essence of focus without a doubt

 

Not sure how focused this Loon is

 The landscape just north of the range is alpine and very unique with small interconnecting lakes, moss covered rocks and stunted pine forest vegetation. It makes you feel as if you have gone back a 100 million years to the dinosaur era, very eerie but also intensely serene. 

An amazing place, unique in many aspects

 

The Coastal Range separating SE Alaska and Canada, this area in winter is covered with snow and ice and temps around -50 Celsius

We sat there waiting for a dinosaur to poke its head up from the lake

Coming here is like travelling through a time tunnel

Skagway is at the end of the Inside Passage which runs northward along the Pacific Coast and is now a popular cruise ship destination offering spectacular, mountain and glacier views coming up into the fiord harbour.

Here at Carcross (caribou crossing) the local First Nation had an affinity with the sea 150km away on the other side of the Coastal Range well before white man arrived

Tourists instead of prospectors arrive in droves looking for excitement and other treasures, T-shirts and diamond rings

 

The buildings still maintain their rustic charm

 

This facade was built using driftwood found in the harbour

 

Old time buildings selling modern day wares

 Back across the Canadian border we backtracked along the Alaska Hwy till we reached Fort Nelson and began another northward track along yet another gravel road to the Northwest Territories.

Masses of Fireweed growing along the Alaska Hwy, not consumed by bears as it burns them on the way out

 

An unusual cairn built along the river bank, most aren't so artistic

 

The Alaska Hwy provides us with more critters than some of the National Parks

 

Looking for something other than flowers, the berries still have a couple weeks to ripen up then the bears will vanish into the woods

 

Several herd of bison live along the Alaska Hwy migrating along the route throughout the year

 

This sly fox managed to catch a squirrel for lunch

 The Liard Trail heads due north along the Liard River where it joins the Mackenzie Hwy and the Mackenzie River. The road is almost 500km of gravel and a real tester for the repair work to the side of the RV. Sikaflex is a phenomenal product and again proving its worth as the van remained totally intact for the entire journey.

The Liard Trail was rough and very isolated, not a place for mishaps



The Trout River winds through the silt rock which lies on top of limestone bedrock which was once an ancient coral reef that covered the whole of NE Canada

Along the way we were inundated with vampire like mosquitoes the size of jet fighters and iridescent coloured dragonflies resembling kamikaze helicopters as they crashed head on with the windscreen creating a great thud and thump. Bodies splattered all over!! We have been very successful avoiding the chicken playing squirrels but can’t avoid the mass of these insects.



Colourful Kamikaze Dragonflies sadly become common roadkill in the far north



 

The Northwest Territories covers a huge area but only a tiny portion is accessible to vehicles, in summer it is quite warm with thousands of small lakes dotted around the flat landscape, in winter the locals venture further afield using snow mobiles when all the lakes and rivers are frozen solid.

Lady Evelyn Falls, these falls are slowly retreating upstream along the valley as they erode the upper sedimentary rock strata

Alexandra Falls on the Hay River which runs into Great Slave Lake proved a hazard in summer for local Indians when returning from the south, 2 people have gone over in kayaks and survived

Louisa Falls on the Hay River a further 2km down stream

Steady as she goes walking the plank, even in thongs

 

An isolated waterfall and pond along the Mackenzie Hwy

The First Nation people lived a very subsistent lifestyle and would migrate south in winter to hunting grounds and then return in summer, how they tolerated the summer insect invasion we have no idea, perhaps some secret herbs and spices for protection. They hunted deer, caribou, moose, bison, beaver and rabbits using the meat for food and skins for clothing, all of which were in great abundance until guess who arrived.

The Mackenzie River Bridge was built to replace the ferry and provide all year access to Yellowknife the capital of NW Territories

 

The main supports were designed to resemble Tipi and provide clearance for large craft navigating the river and lake

 

Totem poles play an important role in First Nation traditions

Each pole displays different bizarre features intended to scare away bad spirits and any other unwanted guests

 A couple of days was enough for us to be fed up with hunting mosquitoes half the short night while trying to sleep, the spray we had was of little use in killing these monsters, they had to be splattered against the wall while we used our kindles as light attractants.

Little House on the Prairie, in a field of Canola

 

It's Hay bales!! not Hey Bears!! across the Prairie

 

Heading south and east again we kept as far north as possible to keep away from the traffic areas and experience the wide expanse of the prairies as we crossed into Alberta, then Saskatchewan and finally Manitoba with stops at Prince Albert NP and Riding Mountain NP. The critters were few and far between but not the pot holes, more gravel roads than we expected and more damage to repair. In these provinces farming rules and all else has to live with the consequences.

Our camp enroute beside the river, few and far between in Central Canada and this one was free

 

A pair of loons tending to baby

 

We arrived at Donn’s (a buddy from T/ville) now living in Selkirk, Manitoba just before the long weekend and her 5 day work break, so the timing was perfect. The neighbour’s house is currently for sale and vacant so we parked up in their driveway and began the hours and hours of catch up. Like any camp other RV's will be attracted and want to build the circle even if uninvited.



Uninvited this bus joins the foray and declares he is entitled to stay 24hrs because he has more than 4 wheels. New one to us but apparently he can. Perhaps a totem pole might help

Bye For Now

 

 Beers and Cheers from Dawson City drinking pints of a very pleasant locally brewed Bonanza Brown

J&J