Completing the Alaska Highway in Delta Junction then the Richardson Highway to Fairbanks
June 16, 2023
On Wednesday, June 12, we woke to a lovely view at our campsite.
We drove through more Yukon beauty to the Carcross Desert, the world’s smallest desert (what is left of an ancient glacial lake, kept active by winds from nearby Bennett Lake.)
At the Miles Canyon Suspension bridge on the outskirts of Whitehorse, we crossed the footbridge, amazed to think that the gold rush prospectors navigated down this narrow canyon in flimsy rafts! Whitehorse was named because the whitewater waves on this stretch of the Yukon River reminded early pioneers of white waving horse manes and tails, though it is much less wild now with dams controlling its flow.
Our first stop in Whitehorse was at the SS Klondike Sternwheeler where we took a Parks Canada tour. The SS Klondike is one of the few preserved steam-powered paddlewheelers that traveled the Yukon for almost 100 years.
While we were the only two people on the tour with our guide Lauriene, she said this fellow had been showing up regularly on tours lately.
We walked around downtown Whitehorse, including the Kwanlin Dun Cultural Centre and the Whitehorse Visitor Centre. Lunch, diesel fuel, a hardware store, Walmart, Canadian Tire, and a Canadian Superstore were all shopping stops, and we spent the night comfortably in the Canadian Superstore parking lot with a few other rigs.
On Thursday we were off to find the metal horse statue celebrating how Whitehorse was named.
We parked at the SS Klondike again to walk the trail up and down both banks of the Yukon River. Many of the aspen trees had this interesting pattern on their leaves, and we learned later this was the result of leaf miner larvae.
The rest of the morning and early afternoon were spent exploring the MacBride Museum, whose extensive collections record area history.
Oooh, can our future cabin have a bear rug like this?
Looking good in a uniform!
First Nation designs are so beautiful!
We returned later that night for their celebration of 125 years of the Klondike Gold Rush where Larry did some more gold panning!
The cake was delicious and a group called the Ruby Sisters entertained us for the evening.
On Friday, June 14, we left Whitehorse for Long Ago People’s Place near Champagne Landing for a living cultural demonstration.
A porcupine greeted us before the gate opened and Meta (pronounced Meeta) came to welcome us.
Meta is a Southern Tutchone First Nation who has returned with her partner Harold to create a space that preserves their heritage and passes the knowledge on to the next generation. Meta commented that woodpeckers “wake the forest up for spring” because the young are very insistent and that the elders called her and Harold “the woodpeckers reawakening their community.” To illustrate her point, this woodpecker family was nesting nearby and the chicks were definitely hard to ignore!
Meta’s respect for the elders was evident when she stopped everything to make them tea when they arrived. She then took us on a tour of the cabins and their contents, weaving stories into her demonstration of various tools.
We have learned that First Nation stories belong to a clan, and if you are not of that clan you cannot borrow the story to tell. So, you’ll have to come listen to Meta to hear the stories of her clan!
She cautioned me to watch my step as we moved about the tree roots and rocks in the woods because “feet sometimes forget the feel of the earth.” That was an interesting thought and it has stuck with me to remember to pay attention to the feel of the earth as I walk. She explained that in Winter the spruce trees store energy below the ground in their roots and for a brief moment in Spring this life energy rises to come out at the spruce tips. She took the cap off a tiny new spruce tip and gave it to me to try. It was as if Christmas exploded in my mouth, sweet and rich, full of anticipation and hope that season brings yet so appropriate for the promise of spring. At the end of our wonderful tour, Meta made us tea and bread called bannock to enjoy.
The drive from Long Ago People’s Place into Kluane (pronounced clue on knee) National Park was full of fun sights. If you’ve lost a hubcap on your journey this place in Champagne Landing can hit you up! Is it a hubcap forest or modern version of totems?
The Canyon Creek Bridge was built in 1903 for the gold rush. Famous Sam McGee and a partner ran a roadhouse nearby. The bridge was rebuilt for the Alaska Highway in 1942, and restored in 1987 and 2005.
And then, just spectacular!
Photos cannot do justice—with its grandeur and majesty if Kluane was in the lower 48 it would be one of our national parks (and mobbed with visitors). Seventeen of Canada’s twenty tallest mountains are found in the park, as well as lakes and trails inviting exploration. Since it is here, so far away and so little known, its wild beauty remains, well, wild. Shhhhh, don’t tell.
We camped at Kathleen Lake which is such a beautiful spot that the beach is adorned with the signature red Parks Canada chairs.
The next morning we saw a grizzly ahead by the side of the road. The sound of our exhaust brake as we slowed down to take a picture caused the bear to stand up (on the left, just below the white sign) and see what we were before running off.
We then hiked to the Soldiers Summit, where the Alaskan Highway officially opened in 1942. It was a beautiful overlook, complete with red Parks Canada chairs.
We stopped at a cute little lake to have lunch, which included anything vegetable, fruit, or meat that needed cooking because—we were going to cross the border into ALASKA!
But first, we needed to pay our dues to get to Alaska because the drive on the last part of the Alaska Highway to the Canadian border was the worst. Road work created long stretches of gravel roads with one-way-only traffic. Sections not under construction were plagued with frost heaves, potholes, and ruts. Even the workers got tortured!
Alaska at last! We are here again!
The road only got a little better until Tok so it was late when we arrived. No worries, we’ll be back to explore in the fall! Our boondocking spot for the night was by a peaceful little lake where only the mosquitos bothered us, although there was a water pump for the crews to use wetting down the dusty gravel roads.
Sunday, June 16, was our last long driving day for awhile once we get to Fairbanks. From Tok, we drove to Delta Junction where the Alaska Highway ends.
Larry posed with the Alaska State Bird and we toured the Sullivan Roadhouse Museum.
This 120 year old log structure has survived being moved twice, abandoned for a long time, and used as part of a bombing range! Originally one of many roadhouses where travelers by stagecoach from Valdez to Fairbanks could pay to rest on their journey, it is the only to have survived—probably because it had a metal roof and a community who wouldn’t let it be destroyed.
Of course, no drive to Fairbanks from this route is complete without a stop at the North Pole! In 2017 we spent a half day touring the North Pole and shopping for Christmas ornaments in the expansive gift shop. This time we settled for photo opportunities and fond memories.
The day ended in Fairbanks where we will stay for about ten days!
About the Alaska Flag (our favorite state flag!)
