3000 miles

Three Thousand Miles

Day 17, 18, 19, & 20

Hit the 3,500 mile mark! Living on the road is becoming less of a novelty and more of regular routine. Beginning to remember where we put things; who is responsible for what … bedding, meals, repairs, driving, and activities. Dan’s the chauffeur, mechanic, handyman and the chef (evening meals). Vicki is the short order cook, maid, excursion planner, relief driver and map specialist. We stay to about 300-350 miles a day and stop along the way frequently ...  whatever pops up along the way or is touted in the Milepost. Sometimes we stay 2 nights.

     Three weeks heading to Alaska and given that was (and still is) the original goal, we’re discovering Canada has much to offer. British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon Territory … long drives, expansive vistas, friendly people. First Nation museums everywhere … even on rest stops and next to gas stations. The picture is a canoe at the Teslin Tlingit Heritage Center.

     Water is everywhere, rivers, lakes, creeks … the roads follow the rivers. Watson Lake is 76 miles long and two miles wide and we traveled the entire length of it. The Yukon River and its tributaries follow us everywhere we go. As we journey north the roads are less kindly … still paved for the most part, but rough with frost heaves that have been patched in a potholed, irregular kind of way; and stretches of gravel.

Gold Rush

 We left the Alaska Highway in Whitehorse and headed due north to Dawson City (still in Canada). This was the goal of the 40,000 crazed gold rush stampeders in 1896. Michener’s ‘Alaska’ told wild tales of the Chilkoot trail and the Yukon River adventures of these daring but totally unprepared travelers. We walked in their footsteps, exploring those trails and visiting the buildings still standing. We took a walking tour of Dawson City and heard the tales of survival and craziness in that captivating time of American History.

Midnight Sun

What is interesting about this picture of Dan by the Yukon is not the river and not the great scenery, but the fact that it is 10:00 p.m. and the sun will not set for two more hours. But no worries ... it will return in four hours.

Gratitude Expressed

We attended Mass in Whitehorse just before we left and the comforting familiarity offered a contrast to all the new and unusual experiences. The banner hanging beside the altar is remarkable. The symbolism reveals the salmon swimming upstream through the canyons, the Yukon River, the gold, the snow, the church, the mountains and of course, the midnight sun … superb artwork.

Critter Count

     The critter count stands at 7 bears, 2 moose, 6 mosquitoes (intimately met), a flock of Geese heading north and 1 wooly mammoth (discovered at the Beringia Museum). Beringia is the name of the land bridge between Asia and Alaska thousands of years ago during the Ice Age.

Next ... Driving the Top of the World Road to Chicken and then Alaska!