Alaska - a trip to remember

[okie]

Thank you guys
Lisbeth - hmmmmm okie-dokie would certainly appreciate that remark . Of course almost 10 years ago
Duke - yeah , good idea . You should go , you will really enjoy it
Flutterby - on selfdrive holidays you do find so much more than on conducted tours , and especially so when you do it the way we do , just follow the road to wherever it takes us

Stay with me , much more to come .

[Lisbeth]

If it is going to snow, I'll disappear

[okie]

Not to worry Lisbeth . As you will see , we had great weather all the time .



The next day , we continued our trip to Whitehorse , the largest city in Yukon . Not a very big place as you can imagine . Not very exciting either , so we stayed the night and moved on the next day .

First , another map so that I do not lose you .




Leaving Whitehorse , stunning scenery , white topped mountains in the distance .






There are many lakes like this . So much water . Wow .





Then we divert from the Alaska Highway , onto Highway 2 – The Klondike Highway .




The Klondike was where gold was discovered in the 1880’s , and caused one of those huge goldrushes we’ve all heard about , with one big difference . It is in Northern Yukon , and the place freezes up for 8 months of the year . So , those old miners had to brave the cold first getting there , before trying their luck – most of them went away again broke .

And the heart of the Klondike was Dawson City .

And here we are – Dawson City , still looking like it did more than 100 years ago , boardwalks and all .





In its time , it teemed with 1000’s of miners , saloons , and of course saloon girls , of which probably the most famous was a female called Klondike Kate . Sorry , no photograph .
And the saloons are gone too , so , hope its OK to show the hardware store .




Today , Dawson is still the centre for the Yukon’s gold industry , and you go out to do some gold-panning at $5.00 a go , and you are allowed to keep any gold you find . Hmm , gold from a worked out old mine ?????

Here’s the guest house where we stayed . The buildings in this place are either built from timber , or corrugated sheetmetal .




Those roads are gravel , sprayed with coarse salt , and you can imagine the slush during winter and when it is wet . That’s why the board walks







Down by the riverside – the Yukon river , is the SS Keno , an old , restored stern-wheel paddle steamer . This old paddle steamer is permanently in dry-dock and is a museum today .




Well , we could not go for a trip on the paddlesteamer , so , after a couple of days , we left Dawson , taking the little ferry across the river , onto Highway 9 – also called Top of the world Highway –





Tomorrow , we enter Alaska

[nan]

nice color of the blue/green water
thank to post a map I love maps
the village seems to be a decors for cinema

superb old stern-wheel paddle steamer

and then in the ferry

[Lisbeth]

Whitehorse town........must be one of these "one horse" towns with only one white horse

Nice scenery with lots of water

Better timber than sheetmetal

Immagine one of those places when then snow starts melting .......but it is still freezing during the night. It must be a ball I wonder how anybody can live in places like that .......In summer it must be nice though....without the mosqitos

Nice little ferry. I suppose that there is a way round that mountain I am having lots of fun on this trip
Sorry that we missed the saloon

[pooky]

Very interesting okie - thank you for sharing

Is the time on your photos correct. It certainly stays light very late if so

Dawson must have been quite THE town in its hey day with all those glorious old buildings

Beautiful scenery

[okie]

Thank you Nan
Lisbeth , Whitehorse actually has two or three horses . Quite a pleasant place
Pooky - the time shown is correct End of May , close to the Arctic circle , sunset was around 12.30 in the middle of the night . Sunrise was an hour later , and it never became completely dark . We stayed in a place called “ Klondike Kate’s Cabins “ and luckily it had thick , dark curtains , which we closed tightly so that we could sleep .
To give you an indication , have a look at the following two pics which I took a week or so later at another place where we stayed . The one pic was taken right in the middle of the night , and the second one was early the following morning .

[Flutterby]

Great pics!! Really looks something out of one of those good old spaghetti westerns!!

[Lisbeth]

They didn't have service stations

[okie]

Well , onto the little ferry ( it can take two vehicles at a time , and it costs nothing ) , over the Yukon river , up the hill , and a last glance at Dawson City . Or , Daaaawsn , as the locals pronounce it .
Pretty , is’nt it ?




Its now Highway 9 , or better known as “ The Top of the World Highway “ . This road would take us back to the Alaska Highway , at Tetlin Junction , distance about 280 kilometers .
It was only opened for traffic a couple days ago , and therefore by driving this way , it saved us going all the way back to Whitehorse ( 700 kilometers – and a long days drive ) , PLUS another 600 km from Whitehorse to Tetlin junction .





And this is what it looks like , winding , winding , into the distance .