Friday, September 28, 2001

Hello from Whitehorse, Yukon Territory!

Start time: 0945

Start odometer: 14884

Weather: A beautiful morning with a mostly clear blue sky, temperature 31F

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Highlights:

Slow start this morning; First, I was up a bit late last night getting caught up on my web pages, and second, I brought my tent into the room to dry it out, and packed it back up this morning. Also called my Mail Box Etc. location in Westbrook to get my mail forwarded. I will be heading to South Dakota soon! Finally, I did laundry last night, and finished organizing it this morning.
The drive was good today, with the exception of several construction areas requiring pilot cars. There is major road work being done in the Yukon, and it was interesting to see the huge vehicles used for the projects.
The road travels along the shore of Lake Kluane (pronounced clue-ON-ee) and was fun to drive the twists and turns as it circumvented the south shore.
Did a couple of hikes today. First was up Soldier Mountain, where in November of 1942, the dedication ceremonies for the opening of the Alaskan Highway were held. Rededication ceremonies war also held here in November of 1992 for the fiftieth anniversary. I also hiked up the Spruce Beetle Trail, which had interpretive signs describing the spruce beetles, and how they affect the forest. The second trail led to a nice overlook to view the Kluane mountain range. -

The Alaska Highway dedication site.

The Alaska Highway, looking northward.

The Kluane Mountains

Lake Kluane provided for many beautiful scenes -

One of many spectacular views of Lake Kluane.

Looking towards the northwest of the previous picture.

One more shot of the lake.

In the same area, the is a visitor center for Kluane Park that was unfortunately closed. However, it was in front of Sheep Mountain, and there were at least 70 Dall Sheep visible from the road! - The small white specks are the sheep. They looked much better in my binoculars!
Arrived in Haines Junction and took a few pictures of interesting or unusual things around town. -
My next visit was to the Kluane National Park Visitor Center in town. They had a nineteen minute audio-video presentation on the park, and it was extremely well done. This park, which I had not heard of before this trip, is incredible. With the mountains, ice fields, glaciers, and even desert area, it has very much to offer. Another visit will be made when I return here.
At the visitor center, I was able to meet more interesting people! I have been very fortunate this whole journey, and today was no exception. First, a gentleman approached me and asked if the Maine car was mine! He is from Ludlow Vermont, and had been traveling in the Northwest and Alaska this late summer and fall. I learned that he and I had been to several of the same places on this trip. It was interesting to compare notes of our visits, and he mentioned a few more places for me to go when I get back up here. And I expect the sight of two cars parked in Haines Junction side by side, one from Vermont and the other from Maine, was interesting to see! Ed has a place in Lake Tahoe, and may be there when I get to that area. Hopefully we can talk again, as he has some good ideas for travel locations.
As I was leaving the visitor center, I noticed a car with North Carolina plates! The couple that owned the car were walking behind, so I began conversing with them. They were from Charlotte, and the Eastland Mall area, and had left to drive to Alaska twenty eight days ago. They were also headed back home. They also knew approximately where my house was in Charlotte, and of course, knew the airlines I worked for! Tonight, Charles and Nell were heading towards Haines, and they may take the ferry to Skagway. I may end up seeing them again along the way!
I continued my drive towards Whitehorse. It was getting late in the day, so I decided to stop here, at the same hotel I stopped a month ago!
Now I will head to the Log Cabin where I rented the fast internet connection during my last visit and try to publish these pages. Afterwards, I may meet up with Ed, as he is staying in Whitehorse also. Tomorrow I go to Skagway, then back on the Alaska Highway. Thank you for visiting. Hope to hear from you soon!

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The Kluane River

Information about the Kluane River

A straight stretch of the Alcan.

Stopped by the historic Destruction Bay mile marker.

Destruction Bay had information about the area and Kluane Lake. This panel describes geographic and climate statistics.

"The History of Destruction Bay"

Lake Kluane behind Destruction Bay.

Sign marking Soldier's Summit

This panel shows a picture of the dedication ceremony for the Alaska Highway.

Another panel found at the dedication area.

A view of Kluane lake from the summit.

This was the area of the dedication.

The trail sign for Soldier's Summit.

Another view of Sheep Mountain.

Road crews preparing the road side.

Never-ending beautiful scenes of Kluane.

Back to a construction zone on the Alcan.

Many times I had the road to myself.

Historical marker for Haines Junction.

Information about the road to Haines, Alaska.

These plaques were just outside of the Kluane National Park Visitor Center.

Just west of Whitehorse, this is a view of the Alcan, looking northwest.

Also west of Whitehorse is the historic Canyon Creek Bridge.

An old road bridge that was part of the original Alaska Highway.

The Aishihik River.

An interesting bridge to walk.

The historic Champagne mile marker. Champagne was a trading post for many years prior to the construction of the highway. A First Nations burial ground is neat the west side of the highway.

A building in Champagne had interesting siding!

Information about Takhini Crossing.

The historic marker for Takhini Crossing.

Another pretty scene, just west of Whitehorse.

Routes traveled today: YT 1

Hotel: Stratford Motel -

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