TRAVEL DAYS
Monday through Wednesday, June 13 to 15, we drove from Watson Lake to
Skagway, with an intermediate stop at Teslin. Each day was an easy 160 to
170 mile drive. The weather has been very good, considering the effect
that mountains can have on it. We've had some cloudiness and a few rain
showers, but a lot of sunshine as well.
The highlight of our stay at Watson Lake was a visit to the Sign Forest,
where people have been "leaving their mark" by posting signs of all sorts.
This has been going on for at least a couple of decades, and there are now acres
of signs. We posted one for the caravan, and found a sign that had been
left there by friends of ours from Dayton several years ago.
Teslin is on the shore of a large lake and our campground was right on the
shore of the lake. This was just an overnight stop and the weather was
cloudy and rainy, so we didn't spend much time exploring the area.
One thing I haven't mentioned to this point is the daylight. It hasn't
really gotten dark since we were in Edmonton. At Teslin, we were relaxing
and reading in the evening and witnessed a beautiful "sunset" at around 11:30
PM! But even then, the sun just dips below the horizon. I think the
sun "rose" again around 4:00 AM, although we weren't awake to witness it.
The highlight of the Teslin stop was a blueberry pancake breakfast at Mukluck
Annies, a rather typical-looking Alaska Highway stop, but the food was great!
The drive from Teslin to Skagway was simply SPECTACULAR, with a mixture of
sun and clouds and views of snow-capped mountains, rivers and lakes.
Skagway's beauty is hard to describe. The pictures may help, but they
won't do it justice. It sits at the end of a narrow bay with high
mountains on all sides. The drive in from British Columbia drops from
around 4,500' to sea level in about 12 miles! The city itself is no more
than a mile wide at it's widest point and this includes an airport landing
strip, and a railroad. This is an out-of-the-way stop for a land traveler,
but is well worth the time to come visit.
We are here for four days and will be taking a rail tour of the White
Mountain Pass area, and a high-speed boat trip to Juneau to see the Mendenhall
Glacier. More to follow.
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Sign Forest |
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Acres of signs in Watson Lake contributed by Alaska Highway travelers. Our friend Jo Lynch in the center |
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Our Contribution |
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The sign contributed by our caravan. |
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Muckluck Annies |
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Our breakfast stop just outside of Teslin, Yukon Territory |
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Blueberry Pancakes |
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Just a part of the Muckluck Annies breakfast. |
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Gravel Road |
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We drove about 30 miles of freshly graded gravel road, just after turning off to go to Skagway. |
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A Typical View |
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On the road to Skagway near the Yukon/British Columbia border. |
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High Country |
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Well, not really. Only about 4,500 feet. |
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Descending into Skagway |
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The coastal weather brought low-hanging clouds. |
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US Re-entry |
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This lonely outpost was tacked onto the side of the mountains. |
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Downtown Skagway |
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Kinda touristy, but still interesting. |
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Cruise Ships |
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There were four in port while we were there. |
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Tight Quarters |
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It would have been fun to watch them "dock." |
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