“Hi!” says Alice. “I will be giving today’s post.”

We have a few miles to cover here, like a thousand more or less! Mabel has what might be termed kindly as “tunnel vision.”  We are talking “view from the headlights only”; I, on the other hand, am on the passenger seat all the time, so I have a different perspective on this trip. I am not sure exactly where we are sometimes, but, the Navigation System is great and keeps us going in the right direction, except when Lisa doesn’t believe it. Always a bad sign when I hear, “You know, Alice, I don’t think this is the right way.” I wish she would hear me when I say, “Patience, it is coming, hang in there, the turn is almost here….”
Ah-h Northern British Columbia, so absolutely gorgeous. We drove the Cassier Hwy. 37 from BC to Whitehorse, Yukon. It is in big print here so everyone can focus! Follow the red line.

 

Hwy. 37 is an alternative to the Al-Can. Jade City Store, the outlet for Yukon jade in Cassier, was another high point on the camping list: a parking lot in front of the store with the melodic sound of trucks roaring past us at 2:00a.m. 

Continuing on, we entered the Yukon and began to head west.  I kept thinking Lisa would get tired of all this driving, but not the case. We listened to Faulkner’s Light in August, Stegner’s Angle of Repose and occasionally a non-thinking mystery novel; all interspersed with Willie Nelson, Gordon Lightfoot, Johnny Cash…..

A campground sign is spotted. The sudden left hand turn is made and off we go for 15 miles on a dirt road. Weaving up, down and around hills and down a canyon that opened up to the Tahini River encompassed by a mountain range. The campground was basic – level area, picnic table and fire ring. Since nobody else was there, we had a prime spot with a full view of the lake, made a roaring fire and settled in for the evening. Prior though, the evening walk took us along the lake, past some bicyclists who were on a Yukon tour and fishermen camped further down from us. The scene at this lake was like a Japanese print, calm and serene. I was told no barking so as not to disturb the peace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We left the next morning and stopped in Haines Junction, Yukon, because a tail light was out. Jeremy, who has an auto repair shop, fixed it and gave Mabel a power wash that about blew her over. It must be used to clean Arctic Cat snow plows or something because her body got pounded. I, on the other hand, got to have part of a egg, spinach and cheese stuffed croissant from a bakery, which apparently was AMA-A-ZING.

Before we go any further, I would like say, it is really quite comfortable riding in the van; I have three positions which suit me fine.

 

 

From these spots, I either stood or braced my front feet for the turns or gazed out the window or slept. Good bye.

We arrived in Whitehorse, Yukon without any incidents. It is a trendy little town. The Kwanlin Dun First Nation is home to over a thousand aboriginal people in the Whitehorse region. The original people are of Tagish Kwan ancestry however today Kwanlin Dün includes people from all over the Yukon and Canada. Because of this, Kwanlin Dün First Nation (KDFN) is the largest in the Yukon. In the Southern Tutchone language, Kwanlin Dün means people of the rapids. They have extensive social service networks and programs for their people.

Below is a map of the route we took through Alaska. It took us four weeks, averaging around 250 miles a day or sometimes only 70 miles and staying 1 or 4 days in places. I didn’t do any tours; love Alice but having a dog did limit things–I couldn’t leave her in the van for hours if I went someplace. Instead, we did quite a bit of hiking and visited parks and glaciers.

http://ouralaskahighway.com/?portfolio_item=soldiers-summit

KLUANE PARK is a World Heritage Site.(See web link above photos.) At this park, Alice took off after something, jumped over the bushes and I didn’t see her for 15 minutes. She had gotten swept down the hill by a small but super strong run off from the mountain, and somehow, pulled herself out and back up the hill.

The following photos were taken from Kluane Lake to Palmer, AK, just outside of Anchorage.

That’s about it for now, got as far as Anchorage. We’ll get caught up the rest of Alaska and No. Yukon soon! Currently, the three of us (I am feeling a bit schizophrenic with these other two alter-egos around me!) are at a RV spot in the Yukon doing laundry, shower etc. before we go on to the Campbell Hwy and through the Northwest Territories.

Take good care, Lisa–and the other two!