Yukon and Alaska Bound, Part 44. Whitehorse to Watson Lake, Yukon.

Whitehorse to Nugget City to Watson Lake

Leaving Whitehorse, Yukon. Heading South East on the Alaska Highway

Marsh Lake, Yukon, Canada.

After seeing our Swiss family off on the 10th of August, we stayed one more day in Whitehorse.


We did some more shopping and visited some galleries.



On the 12th of August we broke camp in a leisurely fashion and cruised south east on the Alaska Highway.

Teslin Tlingit Heritage Centre

The Teslin Tlingit Heritage Centre

Totem poles at The Teslin Tlingit Heritage Centre

We first arrived in Teslin and stopped at the "Teslin Tlingit Heritage Centre". There is a small fee to enter this center, but it is well worth it.



They had one of the best gift shops we had encountered, unfortunately we already had our souvenirs.

We watched a video produced by a local man. It is the story of survival, when one year, spring and summer never came.

It is a very interesting story about an ash plume from a volcanic eruption in the south pacific that blocked out the sun here in the north. It you have time to spend half an hour, see the video, it is well worth it.



They also offered free Bannock and smoked/dried salmon.... so yummy and good!






Down at the lake they were still smoking/drying salmon the old fashion way. The man in charge told me I could pick a piece of salmon and take it along. So nice of him.

Camping at Baby Nugget City

On the road again, we decided to camp at Baby Nugget RV Park in Nugget City just west of Watson Lake.

More pictures here.

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Yukon and Alaska Bound, Part 43. The Swiss Team's last days in Whitehorse, Yukon

Exploring Whitehorse, Yukon.

8th, 9th and 10th August 2014 in Whitehorse

The last few days in Whitehorse with Lisbeth, Annemarie, Hansuli and Christian. On the 10th of August they will all fly back to Switzerland.

Lisbeth and Hansuli in Whitehorse

For the last few days we all were together here in Whitehorse, we were enjoying this comfortable city by doing touristy things.

One afternoon we visited the Whitehorse Fishway. It has one of the longest wooden fish ladders in the world. When we visited, unfortunately there were very few salmon coming through. The salmon come from over 3,000 kilometers away to come and spawn in the Yukon River and its tributaries.

Miles Canyon, Whitehorse

One day we hiked along the Yukon River by Miles Canyon. The Miles Canyon was a huge problem to navigate through during the goldrush. Sometimes, over 1000 boats were jammed above the canyon, waiting to go through. Many lost their lives and outfits. 

Christian, Lisbeth and Hansuli hiking along the Yukon

To avoid further accidents, Sam Steele of the Northwest Mounted Police at that time decided that inexperienced boaters were not allowed anymore to take their own boats through the rapids. They had to hire an experienced captain for a fee. The supplies were unloaded and transported around the canyon by a quickly constructed horse-drawn tramway.

Miles Canyon

Today the rapids through Miles Canyon are tamed by the construction of the dam and the creation of Schwatka Lake.

Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre

Our visit to the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre was again very interesting. Anders and I visited here before, but each time we found out more interesting facts about the Ice Age.

Beringia Museum

Somehow for me, having seen mammoth tusks being uncovered by the miners of today, make the mammoth and other ice age animal exhibits more real.

Beringia Museum

One evening we went dining at the Klondike Rib and Salmon BBQ restaurant on 2nd and Steele Street. Go there early, the line-ups are long, but the wait is well worth it. They specialise in Northern Foods. It is a very funky place. The portions are humongous and the food is good.

Anders, Hansuli and Christian at the Klondike Rib and Salmon BBQ

Man-size portions!

All too soon it was time for the Swiss Team to return the two rented campers and trucks to CanaDream by the airport. They were all very happy with the units they had rented. The trucks were almost new and very comfortable. The camper tops were also fine, but they remarked that they were small. If they would not have travelled with us, and had to cook every day in there, it would have been very tight.

Exploring Whitehorse in our truck

Looking back to their Three - Week camping trip through the Yukon and Alaska, they all had a good time. For the distance we travelled together, four weeks would probably have been better. We could have stayed more often 2-3 nights in the same campground. They also would have loved to see more wild animals, but they realised that the Yukon and Alaska has huge areas where its wildlife can hide.

On the 10th of August we met at the "Baked" coffee shop for a late lunch and coffee. Then it was time to go to the airport. We all said good-bye. We all had a great time exploring the north together. 

Whitehorse Airport - Saying good-bye to Hansuli, Christian, Annemarie and Lisbeth

It was also nice to spend more time with my brother Hansuli, my sister-in-law Lisbeth, my cousin Christian and his wife Annemarie. When I left Switzerland almost 50 years ago, we were young, now more mature, it was nice to get to know them better. Big hugs.

At 7pm, back at our campground , we heard the rumblings overhead of the Condor plane leaving for Europe.

Anders and I had a quiet supper together at the Hi-Country RV park. For more pictures see our web album.

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Yukon and Alaska Bound, Part 42. Mayo to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory.

Drive from Mayo to Whitehorse.

Dramatic sky early morning leaving 5 mile lake, Mayo, Yukon.

It is the 7th of August 2014 and we break camp at 5 Mile Lake in pouring rain. It sure can rain in the Yukon when it wants to.



There was a lot of construction just outside Mayo, so we had to wait quite a bit, but the trade-off will be better roads.



Eventually we arrived at Stewart Crossing and made a quick pit-stop. Further down the road at Pelly Crossing we stopped and got another Yukon Stamp by visiting the great Johnathan Native House. Here some wonderful large painting are on exhibit.

Anders, Liz, Christian, Annemarie, Lisbeth and Hansuli at Five Finger Rapids, Yukon Canada.

At 5 Finger Rapids we stopped and had our packed lunch and enjoyed the views.

Once we were back on the road again, it was not long  before we arrived in Carmacks. It was still raining a bit. We fueled up, had an afternoon nap, bought an ice cream, then we were set for a few more hours on the road.

Wonderful landscape

Wonderful landscape

Arriving in Whitehorse

The road south is fairly good from here on to Whitehorse. We made one more pits-top at Braeburn Lodge, they have some gigantic cinnamon buns...... so good.



Once in Whitehorse we set up camp at Hi Country RV Park. It is a great park with full hook-ups. Some sites are a bit tight, but all are in good shape.



Left overs and pasta for supper. Tomorrow we will re-group and the Swiss will prepare for their trip home.



For more pictures from this part of the trip check out our album.

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Yukon and Alaska Bound, Part 41. Visiting Keno City and Keno Hill Again

Keno City

On the road to Keno

August 6th we all piled into our truck and headed on the 70 km gravel road toward Keno City, Yukon Territory. The road is good and well grated. There are a few narrow spots, but no problems. In dry weather one could take the RV all the way to Keno. There is a no service campground in town.

Walking around Keno City

Like the time before when we visited, we enjoyed just walking around the old mining town. The museum is very interesting.

Visiting the Museum can be stressful

We drove on all the way to Keno Hill. 

Signpost on Keno Hill with Christian, Lisbeth, Hansuli, Annemarie and Liz

We were so exited to show the Swiss team the beautiful flowers on the hill. Well, the spring was over and most of the flowers were gone. Up here the frost comes early.

Keno Hill with old mining scars

The views from Keno Hill with its sign post are amazing Here on Keno Hill or "Sheep Mountain" as it was first called Louis Bouvette in 1919 found a rich silver ore deposit. Some of the old mining sheds are still visible up there.

So this area is famous for its silver mines, even though there were gold prospectors combing this Stewart River area already in the 1898s when the big Yukon gold rush came through.

Even today, there are active mines for silver and gold in this area. When we look carefully into the beautiful hills, we can spot mining going on all over the place. 

Views from Keno Hill

Alexco Resources opened the Bellekeno Mine a little more than a year ago, but mining in the hills surrounding Keno City has occurred for almost a century. And the landscape has the scars to prove it.
But the hay days of Keno City as a mining town are over. 

Keno is a sleepy little town. But the few people living here are genuine Yukoners. We had lunch at Mike's Snack Bar. His pizzas were again super yummy.

Waiting for Mike's Pizza at his Snack Bar in Keno City

On the way back we visited the Binet House in Mayo. This is well worth a stop. It shows the history of the area on nice old photographs. There is also an interesting hospital museum with the first Iron Lung on display

Back at the campground on 5 Mile Lake we had a great outdoor supper and had good stories to tell from our trip to Keno Hill.

Liz and I visited Keno City 4 week prior to this visit. It was then more spring colours. Have a look at post number 24 and 25.

Here are some more pictures from this trip.

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Yukon and Alaska Bound, Part 40. Dawson City to 5 Mile Lake in Mayo

Heading south from Dawson City.

August 5th we left Dawson City, Yukon Territory. I was sad, I like this little frontier town, even-though on the outskirts it looks quite ugly with all the gravel left behind from the placier mining.

Leaving Dawson City

The weather was cloudy, but the sky was bright ahead. We stopped at the Tintina Trench rest area. 

Tintina Trench Valley

The views from here are beautiful. The Tintina Trench extends hundreds of Kilometres across Canada and Alaska, and is the largest fault in North America. Thousands of birds migrate along this trench and valley.

We stopped for an early lunch at the Moose Creek Lodge and restaurant. Moose Creek also has cabins for rent and has a RV park. 

An old miner's cabin with Lisbeth and Hansuli 

Christian and Annemarie talking to the Swiss owner

The Swiss owners were very busy. Four busloads of tourists were coming through that day. I am not surprised, the food and coffee is great, so is the service. The washrooms are welcome after the long drives without any facilities.

Today the fruit tarts were wonderful and the smells filled the old historic log cabin. We stayed for lunch.

In Stewart Crossing we turn left onto The Silver Trail highway

Tired , but happy we arrived at 5 Mile Lake. Unfortunately we did not check carefully enough the little yellow tab on the post of our campsite. Once we were all set up, we realized that it is reserved until tomorrow. Pooo. So we moved to another site, and could then finally relax.

Hansuli, Lisbeth, Christian, Annemarie and Anders camping on 5 Mile Lake

 We all sat together and enjoyed the campfire. Christian and Anders were grilling some sausages on the fire. We all had a few good laughs.

Party in the middle of 5 Mile Lake

 We made it an early night. For tomorrow we are planning to drive up to Keno City and Keno Hill.

For more pictures of this part of the trip, check out our web album.

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