Day 13 July 4, 2024 Whitehorse Yukon to Discovery Yukon RV Park Yukon 245 miles
Connie let the hot water for the shower run for at least five minutes with no luck. A call to the office brought the response that others had reported the same and they were checking on it. The sink has no stopper and the bathtub stopper doesn’t fit. Next best solution is heat water with the coffee pot, put that on a wash cloth and add cold water for a sponge bath. And she was going to wash her hair. Needless to say there was no hot water this morning either.
We left the hotel about 9:00 am but had to stop for fuel. We soon started going through small stretches of gravel road similar to before. Still no sign they plan to pave it any time soon. This continued all day. In fact later in the day we looked forward to the gravel because it was smoother.
We came to one much longer section where the highway is being rerouted. We could see the old road off to the right side. All the signs were there as well.
We are driving through a large valley that includes some ranch land. Wow actually space with fewer trees. The valley is surrounded by mountains but not real tall ones. A sign indicates this is open range and to watch for horses. My oh my they got it correct. A small group were grazing in the right-of-way. A little further down the road a group of three were right on the road. We slowed and they moved. Those and the ravens were the extent of the wildlife sightings for today.
The Milepost says the mountain to the right looks like a man’s face. Well that could be if we could get a good view through the trees. Connie thought she saw it or was it the other set of crags? Mountains, mountains everywhere.
The mountains on the other side still have snow. But after reading in the book it is actually ice. They have alpine ice fields. The only such ice below the arctic circle. We followed along them for quite a while.
The wind has been terrible so far. The skies are mostly cloudy but no rain. It did rain during the night because puddles are everywhere.
We filled with gas in Haines Junction along with most other vehicles. This is one of the larger communities in the area. They are a very active group with festivals and events all summer.
We pulled out for lunch beside a pretty little creek. A young couple came and tried fly and cast fishing but soon gave up. If you could get out of the wind the temperature was very pleasant.
Well there is a first. A tandem bicycle pulling a trailer. We haven’t seen as many bicycles today. The Model A is definitely better.
We went over both the highest and second highest summits between Whitehorse and Fairbanks. They weren’t all that high at 3294 and 3293 feet respectively.
The highest mountain range in the Yukon comes into view. It includes the highest peak in Canada which is Mount Logan at 19,545 feet. Some glaciers on these. In fact you can get airplane rides near Burwash for a closer view.
Lake Kluane is the next significant sight. This is the largest lake in the Yukon covering approximately 154 square miles. At one end of the lake it looks like steam is coming off the water. Turns out it is sand blowing off land on the opposite side of the road. Everything is covered in dust after that. We eventually had to drive through that blowing sand with very poor visibility.
Then the highway surface conditions get horrible. The patches of gravel are some of the smoothest. The asphalt portions have dips, rises and numerous potholes. Everything is rattling. If this is the good road I don’t want to see the bad road. Glad I had a seat belt or I might have bounced out.
We were both counting down the kilometers to the RV park. We will be sleeping in the trailer tonight because their cabins were all booked. Showers cost one Canadian dollar for 2 minutes. Time to get some change.
Spoffords Travel 