BEAVER CREEK, YUKON TERRITORY, CANADA

BEAVER CREEK, YUKON TERRITORY, CANADA

Another beautiful day welcomed us as we woke up in Tok, Alaska.  Bill let me sleep in and I heard a knock on our door a little after 8:30 – one of the ladies had come to ask us to join them and another couple for breakfast at Fast Eddys.  I jumped out of bed, (no, I really did!!) hit the shower, we packed up and headed over for breakfast.  A great way to start the day! There are about 5 or 6 couples from our trip (us included) that have plans to go to Jasper National Park & Banf National Park in Canada after we leave the group.  Plans are being made and routes and time frames being checked with a possibility of all of us traveling that way together.  So we did a little brain storming during breakfast.

Back to the RV Park to attach the tow car and head out of town.  We had only 110 miles to travel that day but the roads we were told were horrendous.  It was not an exaggeration.  We kept comparing them to the “Top of the World” Highway on our way to Chicken, Alaska.  They weren’t quite that bad, we were able to travel between 20 and 40 mph most of the way.  And there wasn’t the fear that we were headed over the cliff at any moment to our untimely deaths!  So better than Chicken!

With the condition of the roads we didn’t make too many stops … we had to be at the park and set up before 6:30 that night.  We did stop at the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center.  Each visitor center has it’s own history and unique stories, wildlife and scenery.  They all are similar (oh yeah, they all have a gift shop!!) but make a nice break. We get to stretch our legs, take little hikes, take some pictures with the vehicle not moving and learn a little about the area.  Most usually have a video of some sort.  This one had a video of the grizzly bears and the way they feed on the salmon swimming upstream to spawn.  They actually have guides that will take you to the bears to watch them catch and eat the salmon.  When they start to get full, they only eat the eggs and leave the rest of the fish for the sea gulls.  I guess humans aren’t the only ones that like caviar.  Bill decided he had seen enough when they got close up on the “eat the live fish” scene!

The visitor center actually had a sod/grass roof as did the early pioneers of Alaska/Yukon.

This "cache" is the building they used to store their meats, grain, anything that needed protected from the bears, wolves and other wildlife.  This of course is a replica.

Planter on the back deck of the visitor center.  They do like their "Moose" and I have to say we got rather attached to them also.  We liked the moose and the pretty flowers.

The views from the back deck of the visitor center --

We arrived at camp (last again) in time to set up camp and walk over to the Beaver Creek Visitor Center and the Gift Shop.  Beaver Creek’s claim to fame … it is one of two sites where Alaska Highway construction crews working from opposite directions connecting the highway.  In October, 1942, Alaska Highway construction operations were being rushed to conclusion as winter set in.  Eastern and western sector construction crews (the 97^th & 18^th Engineers) pushed through to meet at a junction on Beaver Creek on Oct. 28^th, thus making it possible for the first time for vehicles to travel the entire length of the highway.  East-west crews had connected at Contact Creek on Sept. 15^th o 24^th (depending on your source), 1942.  Beaver Creek, population 112, well in the summer anyway!

I left Bill at the camp store trying to get on the internet and went back to freshen up for dinner and a show.  We did not have internet or cell phone service, but the RV Park had a computer you could use (if no one else was using it) or you could try to hook up your laptop to their connection.  Not great, but contact!

The group had reservations for a dinner theater in Beaver Creek, a family style dinner of salad, bread, chicken, rice and beef stew with Baked Alaska for dessert.  The show was a comedy musical about Beaver Creek and the history of the Yukon.  It was rather entertaining but the best thing was the center of the building (built with logs) had a fire pit and all the fixings for S’mores.  I had my dessert before dinner.  Did you know that Baked Alaska has no chocolate in it??  What’s up with that?  I’m glad I had my S’more – gave Bill my share of the Baked Alaska.  There was a large opening in the ceiling above the fire pit which would have been totally cool but the mosquitoes were a real pain.

We roasted our marshmallows over the fire pit in the center of the dinner theater.  I actually had my dessert before dinner....LOL.  Love S'mores!

The main character actually came through this hole in the roof (which is over the fire pit -- no fire at the time!!) pretty entertaining!

Signs at the dinner theater showing distances to other cities -- Note -- the one to Chicken, Alaska says "Don't go there!!"  Okay just once!

Dinner and show over and we headed back for a little relaxation and DVD of Gettysburg.  Next day we were promised possibly worse roads for our 180 miles to Haines Junction, Kluane, Yukon Territory, Alaska.