June 9 – 10 , 2016 Days 39 – 40 Whitehorse to Alaskan Border

Miles Canyon - Whitehorse, YT

“May your horse never stumble

 Your cinch never break

 Your stomach never grumble

 or your heart never break."

The Road

Goodbye Whitehorse…again…Hello Alaska Highway…West by Northwest to Beaver Creek, Yukon Territories where we will cross into Alaska.  After returning to Whitehorse from Dawson City we spent two days in order to secure groceries, wash clothes, bodies, and vehicles.  It was nice to rest up and have everything clean once more.  Moo, our RV, got a much needed oil change and Maggie, our poodle, got a much needed bath.  We no longer smell nor look like the “wild animals” that we have been viewing on our trip.

St. Elias Range - Kluane National Park

Kluane Lake - Yukon Territories

Before leaving Whitehorse we visited Miles Canyon where prior to construction of a dam (Yukon Energy Corp. Dam) on the Yukon River, this stretch of water was a navigation challenge for riverboats.  Beautiful as it is, many a boat met an ill fate on this stretch of water.  We would have loved to hike around but both bear and the need for an early morning start deterred us from this adventure.  Leaving early the next morning, the Alaska Highway offered beautiful scenery and pretty decent roads all the way to Haines Junction, past Kluane Lake and up to Destruction Bay.  Destruction Bay, during construction of the Alcan Highway, earned its name when a huge storm rolled in destroying buildings and materials at this outpost.  The scenery was stunning with a view of the Elias Mountain Range in Kluane National Park on our left and the Dawson Range on our right.  Once leaving Destruction Bay the highway was rich with frost heaves until it finally disintegrated into gravel washboards where 10 mph was all we could achieve if we wished to keep our fillings in place.  By the end of the day we were exhausted.  Climbing under the RV, I was pleased to find nothing broken and most bolts still in place.  We need to travel this road on the return home…a daunting thought.  Any other time we would have taken as much as three days to travel through this area but we were fortunate enough to secure reservations at Teklanika River Campground, 29 miles inside Denali National Park.  This is an opportunity of a lifetime but we must arrive there the morning of June 13 to avail ourselves of this adventure.

Grizzly Mama and her cub - Yukon Territories

Good Bear...you go your way and we will go our's...

The wildlife

We were treated to multiple sightings of fox…all just trotting along as if they didn’t have a care in the world.  Majestic swans could be seen feeding in the small ponds and mini-lakes as we passed along the way.  A quick glimpse of an elk was followed by the sighting of a mother grizzly and her cub.  We observed the pair for as long as they would tolerate our presence before they moved on.  What a treat to view them from our RV and NOT FROM MY BICYCLE…albeit we did pass several riders along the way…better them than me!

Tomorrow

It will be on to Alaska…no Canadian Beer to report at U.S. Customs…a fine tasting six pack has been nicely tucked into my belly over the last several days.

Alaska Highway - Terrible in places

One of a kind Rump Owl...White Creek, YT