Top of the World

Do you know what / where the Top of the World Highway is?  No?  Don’t blame you, I didn’t know about it either before starting our trip but am definitely glad that it made it onto our “To do” list. This seasonal highway goes from Dawson City to Chicken and then connects to the Alaska Highway near Tok, AK. Most highways follow the river valleys, but not this one. It goes along the mountain tops. Hence the name. 

What it really should be called is the OMG Holy #$%& Highway! Since it travels the tops of the mountains, all the views are down. And down and down. The tops of the mountains are relatively flat, so you get these amazing vistas. But sometimes, when you’re cutting across the edge of the mountain, with no guard rails, it’s a bit scary. We took plenty of pictures, but they really can’t do it justice. 

From Dawson to Chicken is 174 km. It took us about 4.5 hours. I drove, because my control freak, stress case tendencies would have had me completely frazzled if Bob had drove (yes, he is a good driver – on pavement; gravel is different). The road is mostly packed gravel, which is in pretty good condition on the Canadian side.

Crossing the border (yes, there is an official border crossing near the highest point of the highway), the Alaskan side is in noticeably poorer condition for the first 20 miles. To be fair, they were doing construction to improve the road, but a packed earth road, light rain and a 13000 lb. trailer are not my favorite driving conditions. I’m not sure if the large rock chunk road they like to use on the uphills are better (or worse) though.

The first thing we noticed after crossing the border were the people. On the Canadian side, there were only a few vehicles of tourists (like us), and some service vehicles. On the Alaska side, we were constantly meeting pick-up trucks and trailers. I guess this area is a big hunting area and it’s obviously hunting season. We even saw a set of hunters dragging a caribou behind their quad. 

We pulled into Chicken, a small mining town along the highway (called the Taylor Highway in Alaska) and found a spot for lunch. Chicken is an interesting place, and not one many people will see in their lifetimes (and I didn’t get ANY pictures to prove we were there. Bah!). Its population is 15 in the winter and 30-50 in the summer. There are only 3 businesses in town, but they have gas/diesel, cafes, campgrounds, and even wifi. This is a true fringe town, though, and solar panels & generators are strongly in evidence. There is no outside sourced electricity, no running water, no flush toilets. We ate at the Downtown Chicken café (very good food), and I got a sticker to put on the trailer at the gift shop. I wonder how a town of 15-50 manages to keep up with the tourist/ hunter traffic and demand for services.  (A Holland America tour bus, on its way over the Top stopped into the café just as we finished up lunch.)

Perhaps the gold that is still being mined in the area helps balance out the lopsided tourist season.  

Border Crossing

I wanted to stop, just plunk my butt down & relax for the rest of the day (and maybe gold pan a bit, or check out the Pedro dredge that is there), but Bob wanted to keep going on to Tok, 2 hours (only 124 km) further. He drove through the rain, but at least the road was now paved. The rain wasn't such a bad thing though as it washed off a fair bit of the road dust from the truck & trailer. Boy did we get grubby! We pulled into Tok, a small community on the Alaska Highway, around 5:30, visited the Info Centre (these things are gems when you’re travelling!), and learned about Mukluk’s - a bit of an entertainment/ activity spot that sounded just right for the kids. We played skee ball, and mini golf, and the kids got cotton candy.  It was getting late (even with the time change) so we checked into the Tundra Lodge RV Park and settled in for the night.  

Alaska side construction

Dawson City part 2

Lily -note gravel streets, wooden sidewalks

The playground

We spent Tuesday exploring the town of Dawson, starting out by touring the SS. Keno, the smallest of the sternwheelers that plied the Klondike rivers.  It is considerably smaller than the SS Klondike (in Whitehorse), and, while it could carry passengers, it was obviously built for work and cargo rather than transporting people. We used our Canada Parks pass to get in free, which made me rather happy. I hadn't realized our pass would be good for Interpretive programs and Historic sites as well as entry into the National Parks. (I used it for the walking tour too). We went for lunch at Sourdough Joe's (yummy chowder), and checked out some of the shops. Lily was fascinated watching the goldsmith creating a ring in one of the many gold/ jewelry stores in Dawson. The kids returned to the same playground they were at the day before (sadly the swimming pool was closed due to boiler issues – it will take 3 weeks to get the parts!) and we got some groceries. Food is noticeably more expensive here, although not as bad as we thought it might be. It’s a long way from anything here, so I'm sure shipping costs are considerable. It makes the area rather interesting in its own right, though. The residents are quite proud of their tenacity and the town’s history but I can imagine that the cost of living here is quite high. There certainly is something magical about it though (maybe it’s that spell of the Yukon that Robert Service writes about that’s creeping in).

Ferry ride on the George Black

At the Dawson YGC

View across the river from the campground

The day flew by and after mailing a letter at the local post-office (the real one, not the historical one) we got in the truck and did one last thing. We went on the ferry across the river to the Yukon Gov’t campground. Now, I’m pretty sure this was, by far, the kid’s favorite activity of the day – the 5 minute ferry ride on the George Black across the Yukon River. They've been on one other, much larger, ferry when we went to the Olympic Peninsula last summer, but were just as spell-bound by this trip. The ferry is large enough to hold two lines of vehicles, but we’re big, and after two pick-ups, we barely fit on.  The trailer tires were right at the edge of the ramp. It was all good, and we completed our crossing, drove less than a minute up the hill to the campground. We checked out all the sites, practiced our yelling, hair-pulling & backing up skills and settled into a nice pull-through for the night. We made supper over the fire and planned our next day. Top of the World baby!  (look it up)

Dawson City part 1

On the walk at Discovery Claim

Dredge #4 -look at stairs for size perspective

After visiting the Visitor Info Center on Sun afternoon, we planned our Monday activities; a drive up Bonanza Creek Road to see Dredge #4, check out Discovery Claim (the place where the Gold Rush began), and to try our hand at gold panning at KVA Free Claim #6. (I actually found a bit!) The kids had picked up Xplorer booklets from Parks Canada which encouraged them to pay attention by completing activities in the booklet. That worked - kind of. Their attention span is pretty short, and so we bypassed the hour long tour of the dredge.We did check out all the information outside though.  Funny thing, a couple hours later Morgan's interest in the dredge returned. By that point though everyone else was tired and hungry and we settled for heading back to the trailer for an early supper.
After supper we cleaned up and I got everyone interested in taking drive up to the Midnight Dome. This road takes you to the top of a mountain that overlooks the town and gives spectacular views in every direction. Wow.  There's a bench at the highest spot & Morgan sat down and started telling the people there about Bonanza Creek Road and what's up there (well, I guess he did pay attention!). Part way through he got distracted by the etching on the bench itself and asked the people, oh so politely "Excuse me. Could you get up please?" They obliged happily and even helped him decipher the writing.  (now why can't he be this polite to his parents??!!)
We enjoyed the views and scrambling around the rocks and then headed into town so the kids could

Okay, I might be just a little obsessed

collect their prizes for doing the activities in the Explorer booklets (special dog tags). They were both pretty excited and told the Parks Canada attendant all about their activities. (Yeesh! From the way they acted like wild hooligans I would have thought they retained nothing! They certainly proved me wrong and their enthusiasm in the telling showed me that they actually enjoyed the trip.) Bob took the kids to the park and I joined a walking tour describing the lives of some of the more colorful characters and events in the town's history. Quite interesting. Thanks Bob!

View from Midnight Dome (towards Dawson)

Looking north, away from Dawson

Once the tour was done, we headed home, put the kids in bed and did a bit of laundry at the campground. I got a bit of a surprise as I was folding the clothes when a fox trotted in front of the open door. I looked at him, he looked at me. I front think either of us knew quite what to do. It was a very cool encounter though.  The day done, the plan was to hitch up the next morning and go explore the town before crossing the river & staying the night at the Yukon Gov't campground. (sometimes a fully serviced site is nice and sometimes a more wooded setting and the option to make a fire is nice; it's good to mix it up a bit)

My foxy friend (he was a lot closer)

Weekend in review

We were without cell service again, so I am doing the whole weekend in review.

I returned to Whitehorse via Air North on Friday (totally recommend them, if you have any need to fly to Whitehorse) where the family picked me up. Bob wanted to see the SS. Klondike before we left Whitehorse, so we did. We only had 15 minutes before it closed. Yikes! Not quite enough time to see it all, but enough to get a good idea of it. The self-guided tour sheet helped make the most of the short time we had available. 

In the dining room

With evening coming on,  and the kids hungry & tired we decided to park ourselves in the Wal-Mart parking lot, along with a whole bunch of other trailers – some of which I’m pretty sure had been there the whole 8 days we’d been in the city. Now that’s taking it to extremes. As black top boondocking goes though, this was pretty sweet. Free WiFi from Macdonald’s, Starbucks, Coles and a bunch of other stores within walking distance, and it was actually pretty quiet. Well, except for the ravens who decided at 5 in the morning to go tapping on the roof of the trailer and then try to call me outside. Not sure what they were looking for, but when I peeked out the window they were all staring at me. Kinda creepy actually (the birds! the birds!).

The next morning we headed out of Whitehorse on the Alaska Highway and a short ways up the Klondike Highway to Takhini Hot Springs. The pools are obviously a well-known local attraction, since there were many locals, and even a kid’s birthday party going on. It probably helps that there is also a big climbing wall and zip-line there. They looked fun, but were fully booked. The pools were nice & warm, with the main one being warm bathish and the hotter one being pleasantly warm. We spent quite a bit of time there before finally getting out for a late lunch. It was now after 3 and we finally started our drive (what is it with us and these late afternoon starts!). Next stop… um, I don’t know. But we did pick a direction – north, towards Dawson City. 

Big cinnamon bun

Five Finger Rapids (the closest channel was the safe one)

We stopped at Braeburn Lodge to get treats and a gigantic cinnamon bun (very tasty). We stopped at Five Finger Rapids to read the panels about how the Klondikers had trouble negotiating this section of river and the sternwheers had to which themselves upstream. We stopped to fuel up, since we need to do that a lot (24.7L/100km baby!).  We drove until the kids were whining they were hungry and tired and so when the sign for the Tatchun Creek Yukon Gov’t campground appeared, we pulled in. I’m really starting to like these gov’t campgrounds. They’re inexpensive with well-maintained, treed sites and free firewood. They feel more like what campground camping should be, and at this time of year, are pretty quiet.  This one has… a creek (could you guess from the name?) running beside it, which Bob & the kids checked out this morning.

Tatchun Creek

Throwing rocks in the Yukon River

Tintina Trench

Today we drove the highway the rest of the way to Dawson. This stretch has a whole lot of empty highway, punctuated by some interesting stops and information boards, and amazing views. Pelly Crossing has a beautiful lookout from the hill just north of the village. One turnout had information about the continent of Beringia and how the area was tundra plains a long long time ago (and I got to hear more about what the kids learnt about at the Beringia Centre in Whitehorse). Another turnout was beside the Yukon River where the kids took time out from their busy schedule to throw rocks in the river. Our last drive-time stop for the day gave us an excellent view of the Tintina Trench, a fault line that runs through the Yukon. This was interesting to me, as I didn't realize we actually had fault lines running through Canada. We arrived in Dawson late afternoon, picked a campground (which took a ridiculous amount of time), backed in (which also took a ridiculous amount of time), and then fought with the hitch, which refused to open until we babied it just so (first time we've had to fight with it since we were in Blackfalds). By that time it was getting late, the kids were wild and we still needed to make supper.  Oh well, there went my intentions of checking out the town today. I did some laundry instead, because, you know, kids get clothes really messy, without trying very hard - especially when there are creeks & rivers to check out. At least that’s pretty much caught up. Until tomorrow…

Surreality

Here I sit in Airdrie, while the rest of the family is in Whitehorse. And let me tell you, it feels very weird. Very surreal. I was fine on the plane until we began our descent into Calgary and then, looking out at the green fields, bright sunny sky, and signs of civilization everywhere I was struck with this feeling of wrongness. Like: “I’m not supposed to be here. I’m supposed to be in Whitehorse!” Until that moment I hadn't realized how much my thinking had changed in the weeks we've been travelling, and how much I had made the trailer my home. 

For the rest of the day I felt lost/ out of step/ off balance, like my whole self couldn't quite figure out what I was doing here. I apologize to my Mom, who came down to see me and I just couldn't wrap my head around the abrupt change in location enough to really appreciate her visit (sorry mom).  

I am enjoying the change in many ways (seeing people, being in a totally familiar environment, and such). But it’s a bit like I splintered into two when I hopped on that airplane. The greater part of me is here in Airdrie, working through my list of errands and appointments. A part of me is still in Whitehorse, though, with Bob & the kids. Internet/phone/texts only accentuate that. While I was here (and on my way here) they went to the Beringia Centre (I need a report when I get back!) and later were out for supper at Klondike Rib & Salmon (no fair!), and visiting the Fishway again for their appreciation night (double no fair!!  (I think I have a soft spot for migrating salmon now)).

At the Fishway Wed pm -way more Salmon there this time

Today is better as I found my groove, and had Things to do. Things that kept me firmly grounded here. (Who else does better with set times and deadlines?) I now have Morgan’s school work for the year. Looks like I have some homework to do before I can assign any to Morgan! Morgan & Lily sounded in high spirits when I talked briefly to them today when they were at Long Lake. (I’m pretty sure any day at the beach is a good day to my two.)

Tomorrow I head back to Whitehorse, and we head out of Whitehorse. We’re still not sure where we’re going, but that’s okay. It’s just one of those perks (?) in the new life we’re still easing into.

This side trip has reaffirmed though that it’s definitely where I want to be. It’s easy to lose track of the bigger picture when you’re still working to find your happy place in it. So, besides getting a myriad of tasks completed, I get to go back to my family refreshed and reminded of just how cool what we’re doing is. (Or as the clerk at the one store said to me “how are you so freakin’ awesome!” Lol)

(P.S. A great big, Huge! Thank you to my friend Michelle who opened her house to me & loaned me her car to drive all over the place with. Thank you J )

Gold!

After a very lazy morning (can we say jammies at 11:30!) we finally got our butts in gear and headed into downtown Whitehorse. First stop – Raven Recycling, the local bottle and recycling depot, a busy little hub of activity. It’s really nice be able to recycle while on the road. It was pretty important to us when in our house, and we recycled and composted as much as we could. Bob and I were both unhappy with the thought of having to throw everything in the trash, but we've had reasonably good success finding places to recycle.

Then we headed over to the MacBride Museum to check out all things Klondike. As luck would have it they had just started their interactive gold panning demonstration/ workshop. We paid $5 each to join in and got us some tiny little gold flakes to hunt for in a pan full of Yukon River gravel.  Let me tell you, knowing that there’s real gold in the pan is powerful incentive to Find It!  At first I didn't realize we actually got to keep the gold we were hunting for, so extra bonus score. J Panning is both easy and difficult. The gold is heavier than the rocks and will stay on the bottom of the pan while the water swirls and carries away the rocks and sand. But you have to get the movement of the pan & water just so to be really effective. Those little flakes are really tiny, though, so you don’t want to be too aggressive. My arms were getting tired before I managed to spot them (and that was only one pan! Think of the prospectors doing it all day.) The kids got bored with it pretty quickly, but were more than happy to steal away the little vials of shine from their hard laboring parents!  (typical)

Bob panned these little flakes of placer gold

Inside the museum, there are lots of displays providing information about the gold rush and the characters from it (Klondike Kate, Sam McGee, and many others). One section was devoted to the different methods people used to extract gold from the area, another detailed the life of Sam McGee, of Yukon fame, immortalized in the well-known Robert Service poem The Cremation of Sam McGee (which I admit I have never read in full and actually only uses the fellow’s name – he was a friend of Mr. Service, and actually died in Bieseker, AB). The exhibit that proved most interesting to the kids was the display of local animals. Caribou, muskox, moose, ermine, eagles, bison, wolves, bears and more were in the small room. To keep the kids attention, which was flagging a bit, I asked them each to pick three animals they found interesting and tell me something about them. Morgan chose a caribou, an ermine, and the beaver (where he decided that the little one looked like a beaver-hedgehog; not sure where that came from!). Lily also picked a caribou, plus a muskox, and I think she liked the lynx for her third.  At least she liked stroking the soft pelt of the one in the interactive session that followed, where a variety of animal pelts could be touched and examined. My verdict- beaver pelts really are soft, I can see why the fur trade set them as their currency; the arctic fox is the softest of all; Dall sheep fur is actually quite rough and nothing like any sheep (or goat) I have felt. We left the museum after this, grabbed a snack and then walked by the old log church and log skyscrapers that were leftover from the Klondike days. 

Home for a quiet evening and then packing for me. I’m off to Calgary in the morning for appointments on Thursday while the rest of the family stays here. How surreal. I've just spent the last month and a half steadily further away from Airdrie only to hop a 2.5 hour flight and go back.   

Whee's and zzzz's

This morning we booked ourselves seats on the 4 pm jet boat tour with Wild Wonders River Safaris on the Yukon River. After a relatively lazy day we packed ourselves into the truck & headed to the hotel meeting point where we joined with the rest of the participants. Our boat mates were on a tour from New Jersey and seemed to be absolutely thrilled to be going on a jet boat ride. I had to laugh a bit because we almost seemed the opposite (not saying we weren't excited, but definitely not to the same degree). Well, except Morgan who was craving speed. A short bus ride later we boarded the boat along the shore of the river – exactly where we had seen it on Thursday. We were at the front of the boat, which was probably a good thing for the kids, since we were protected from the wind & spray. 

The tour took us downriver from Whitehorse (upriver being blocked by the dam!) and in a short time we were in the wilderness. The boat driver provided some thrills & waves for everyone by laying on the horsepower and some quick turns. Woohoo! (as said by Morgan)  It wasn’t all speed though. A short time later we paused at a clay/silt cliff upon which sat a multitude of juvenile bald eagles, along with several in the air being pestered by ravens. Our tour guide provided a variety of interesting information about the eagles (did you know it takes 5 years before they develop their distinctive white head/dark body coloring?), and passed around an eagle flight feather (did you also know that it’s illegal for someone in the U.S. to possess eagle feathers unless they are First Nations members?  This isn’t a law in Canada.).  

We zipped downstream to Whistle bend, a fast, narrow, and winding spot in the river, where the sternwheelers of the Klondike had to pause and whistle to ensure that vessels heading upstream & downstream did not collide. With the engine off, we floated downriver for a while and asked any questions that came to mind before blasting our way through the choppy river to check out a beaver condo. Most beaver lodges are a single mound, but this family wasn't having any of that. They had a front section, currently all underwater (although when the river is low, several feet  of this is above water), and a back section built into the riverbank – no beavers were seen, but the size of their accommodations was impressive. Our tour nearly completed, we then cruised our way back towards Whitehorse with a couple quick stops along the way to see the last remnant of telegraph wire from the Klondike days, an eagle’s nest and a river view of the SS. Klondike. Lily missed this last bit because the hum & motion of the jet boat put her soundly to sleep.  (and that's the zzz's of the title)  After she woke up (outside the boat & back at the truck!) she informed me that her favorite part of the tour was her nap.  Really, kid!? It's grand to know our excursion of the day provided her some quality sleep time.
 

The awe and excitement of our fellow passengers helped confirm a sneaking suspicion I have had for a while. We (as a family) have been spoiled, especially where nature is concerned. Alberta has an abundance of nature and living near the mountains has meant that we have bears, moose, deer, eagles and a variety of other animals within a reasonable driving distance of our former home. We have grand vistas, beautiful auroras, and lots of open spaces. Don’t get me wrong. I am enjoying seeing new places and  learning things I might otherwise never have learned (and sharing them on the blog), and certainly appreciate that we have the opportunity to experience all these things and more (and really hope that my children are getting something positive from what we have seen & done so far!). But, for me at least, the most exciting things on our trip so far have been those that are different from home, or that I never experienced before. The bison walking alongside the road, salmon swimming up the fishway, and the First Nations stories & histories are what stick in my mind so far. I wonder what sights we will see next and what will make a grand impression?