Alaska Highway Part 2

Day 4 – June 16^th

We took a “rest” day today. We have traveled 5 days in row. In the 18 months we have owned the trailer, we have never traveled more than 2 days in a row and only that about half a dozen times. The caravan that we met up with in Dawson Creek, Liard Hot Springs and here in Watson Lake left early today for Whitehorse. The RV Park emptied out. For our rest day we went birding at a couple of the spots mentioned in the book A Bird-Finding Guide to Canada. The good news it was windy enough to keep the mosquitoes at bay, but a little too windy for good birding. We did get great looks at a Red-neck Grebe and an Alder Flycatcher, but didn’t add any birds to the year list. We did a little grocery shopping. Kathy did some laundry. I tightened some of the screws and bolts on the trailer that are getting loosened by all of the jolts along the highway. We also washed the very dirty back window of the trailer and cleaned some of the bugs off of the front of the trailer. Both of these are futile because they will be filthy again just few miles down the road.

Our neighbors here in the RV Park are fisher people from British Columbia on their way home from a visit to Alaska. They caught several big fish and gave us some of their catch already cleaned and filleted.

Our Internet access has been spotty here at the park. Sometimes we have it and sometimes you don’t. In reading the blogs of other RVers the quality of wifi service or lack of same is a frequent topic. How did people travel before wifi?

Day 5 – June 17^th

Today was a beautiful day! The daily rain shower didn’t arrive until after 4 PM. It was intense but short. The road quality was the best we have had on the Alaska Highway, mostly chip seal, but not very many pot holes and only real dusty in a few areas. If a semi passes you heading in the opposite direction in a dusty stretch you are completely blinded until the dust settles. The scenery remains indescribably beautiful.

We had thought of stopping at Teslin Lake and driving to Whitehorse in two days. but we got to Teslin about 1:30 PM. We decided it was too nice a day not to drive on. Apparently we are now out of sync with the caravans because traffic was very light today. There were a few RVs and occasional trucks, also long stretches without any other vehicles on the road.

Wildlife along the road today included a grizzly bear, red fox, mule deer, buffalo and two Bald Eagles. Unfortunately, the road is too narrow to pull over for pictures. The Yukon has more rest areas per mile than anywhere we have been in our travels. They pick the spot by how much room they have next to the road, not by how scenic the spot is so most of today’s pictures were taken through the truck’s dirty windshield.

Slide show: On the Road to Whitehorse