July 16 – So yesterday we drove 200 miles to the Liard Hot Springs (still NE BC) where the provincial park has a huge natural pool of hot spring water. The park was full so we stayed across the street at a private park – same place we stayed here in 2014.
Many people complain about lack of wildlife on the Alcan. I think most people are going so fast they blow right past most of it. Yesterday was not the case. We saw a family of 3 caribou (got a great video of them) plus 4-5 other individual caribou, a marmot, a female moose with a calf that had to be at least a year old, and many buffalo/bison. There are several buffalo bedded down about 100 ft from where we are set up.
So, today, we should end up in the Yukon. Every drive day has been really enjoyable, especially the last week or so. Traffic, for the Alcan has been very light. That may well change as other routes feed onto it after Watson Lake (Yukon border).
July 18 – Last night we stayed in Watson Lake home of the Signpost Jungle – thousands of city limit signs, license plates, etc (pic).
Murder On the Alcan: yesterday we were stopped at a road construction area for about 30 minutes, which is somewhat common. We were first in line and started talking to the woman traffic controller. Susan asked her if she knew anything about a vehicle we noticed off the road with window broken out and several RCMP officers She knew a lot. Two young people, a recent college graduate from NC and her Australian boyfriend, were shot and killed a day earlier. Even several days later it remains a mystery. (Update July 20 – yet another person was found dead last night on a remote northern BC highway with a pickup nearby engulfed in flames). The mystery continues.
Then on to Whitehorse today where we are staying at the same place as in the past. This is a beautiful place, capital of the Yukon, right on the Yukon River, with lots of parks, museums, salmon ladder, and so on. We are now less than 1,000 miles to Anchorage. I just went to the office for a bag of ice and, at 630 pm they have only 2 dry sites left (out of 70-80 total).
July 20 – Last night we stayed along Lake Kluane at a pretty much abandoned park which had electric/water sites. There were only 3 of us overnighters, and all were from Oregon.
Earlier, we had a flat tire on the trailer. Everything was going smoothly until 2 lug nuts would not fit the tire iron. The cosmetic silver cap for each had come off which made the lug nut go from a 7/8 inch to 19 mm and I had no metric tools. Very fortunately, a recently retired guy and his wife from Illinois stopped and he had it all. In fact it even required a break over bar – which he had. I will have all that too once we get to Anchorage. Then, in Destruction Bay, we found a guy who fixed the spare. He was an unforgettable character with a shop next to his house all overlooking Kluane Lake, who had retired in 1994, and was a month away from turning 80. He knew what he was doing but took his time and did it right. The bill was $40 but I gave him $50. Well worth it.
Today we drove to Beaver Creek, last community in northern Yukon. Tomorrow we will cross into Alaska early. At that point we will have less than 400 miles to go (a minimum of 2 days more likely 3).
EVEREST UPDATE
These ravens are about to drive him (more) nuts.
Beaver Creek, Yukon, just south of the US border.
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