After completing the drive from the stunning Cassiar Highway, we started our journey to the great Alaskan Highway.

The first stop was Dease Lake where we dry camped at Waters Edge RV Camp.

Does a bear cross the road in the woods?

It rained all night and we prayed we could get up the dirt hill in the morning.   Next stop Watson Lake.  The Baby Nugget RV Park called our name, and we got an early start setting up.  (Allowing Lennard to clean the RV and car) We were lucky enough to see a bear crossing the road as a big wheel truck honked it’s horn along the way.

A short stop at Jade City was mandatory.  They actually export their jade to China and have it imported back after it has been designed into jewelry or art.  Who knew a lot of China’s jade comes from the Yukon?

Can you believe this?

The next day we arrived in Whitehorse in the Yukon.  Our site was the narrowest we have ever seen at the Hy Country RV Park.  Lennard did a great job backing in… with my help of course. 

Dinner was at the famous Klondike Restaurant serving ribs and salmon. It is an eclectic place with crazy décor and smiling waitresses.  Along with the dinner fare they serve the largest deserts we have ever seen.  Did we share one?  YES!

The next day we started sightseeing at Miles Canyon, which was a beautiful canyon with a river running through it and a bridge to the other side.  I stayed behind with the dogs and was lucky enough to have a chat with the world renown travel writer, Rosemary McClure.  She was there working on an article for the Los Angeles Times.  Her photographer had the largest lens I have ever seen. I’m looking forward to reading the piece and seeing the photos. She did ask me a few questions.  Will our story get in her article? I hope so. Never the less, it was a real pleasure talking with her.

An old paddle wheel ship is located downtown.  The SS Klondike was used to transport goods and people in the  late 1800’s.  You can take a tour, but we just viewed it from the outside.

After seeing the historic downtown, we ended the day with a trip to Walmart where the parking lot was crowded with RVs.  There must have been 50 of them  of all shapes and sizes, taking advantage of the free parking.  There was hardly room for cars to navigate.

The Yukon Wildlife Preserve is about 20 minutes out of town.  We opted for their 6 kilometer walk through the preserve the next day.  Our first stop was next to the bison area, where a mama bison was protecting her calf near the fence.  She rolled in the dust and  roared and grunted as we passed by.  After we passed, they did not let anyone down that pathway.  What? It was scary.  The rest of the park was calm and it was a great day.

Mad Mama Bison and baby.

Moose in field

Elk

A last, but mandatory stop was made at the Yukon Brewery where we missed the last tour but bought the beer! Their newest creation was called Special Agent and was 8.1% alcohol.

We were surprised to find that the Alaskan Highway was really a pretty good road without any pot holes, gravel or problems all the way to Whitehorse.  We were thinking about all the stories we had heard about it and wondering where the bad parts were.

Ha! we would soon find out the real truth next day on our trip from Whitehorse to Tok, Alaska.  But, that’s a story for another day.