We woke up to a beautiful morning in Whitehorse, we had stayed there two days. It was nice to have had an extra day w/out traveling….we had been busy but we still had a little more time to relax and be a little fresher for our travel to Minto. We would be leaving the Alaskan Highway within about 15 miles to pick up the Klondike Highway – we will loop back around to the Alaskan Highway at a later date. We will be traveling the whole Alcan Highway but take some “side” trips along the way.
We hadn’t traveled very far when the “Milepost” book let us know that Fox Lake was up ahead and was a nice photo op --- they have what they call “gravel turnouts” which means there is enough room to pull in a few motorhomes/vehicles to get a better view and photo stop. Sometimes it’s ok and sometimes it’s great. We were glad we stopped at Fox Lake --- it is beautiful. Amazing how much clearer and more vibrant the pictures are that are taken while standing still!! LOL. Bill is steadier than I am also.
Again we weren’t on the road for long before the “Milepost” spoke of the “World Famous Cinnamon Buns”. This is the one Bill remembered from their trip here in 2006. Now mind you, the price for one is $8.50, but they are huge!! It seemed everyone from our group had stopped and was enjoying this culinary delight. The lady at the counter was helping us pick out the very best. She was turning them all over to see how moist they were. (They were already packaged in plastic wrap). So she picked us out a good one and Bill and I ran back to the motorhome where the coffee had already been brewed awaiting us. We cut off part of it (saved the rest for another day) and shared that very quickly. Now I have to say it was very, very good. Not sure it was as good as the small ones we had previously but there were a lot less raisins to pick out! The one I am holding is not really ours --- we had already eaten part of ours by the time we thought of the picture, so we borrowed one from another lady in our group who had stopped right after us. LOL If you ever make it up here don’t forget to stop at Braeburn Lodge for your Cinnamon Bun fix!
ENOUGH TO FEED A FAMILY OF FOUR FOR A WEEK??
Next stop, Conglomerate Mountain. Interesting rock formations consisting of pebbles welded into solid masses of varying size, by a natural cement (possibly volcanic mud flows some 185 million years ago---early Jurassic). These are also called “Puddingstone” because of their appearance. Bill had me stand by this large one so you could see how big it was. They were all shapes and sizes.
One of the neatest and most exhausting stops we made was to “Five Finger Rapids Recreation Site. Five Fingers was named by early miners for the 5 channels, or fingers, formed by rock pillars. They are a navigational hazard with the safest route is through the nearest passage. I thought the largest rock formation looked like a turtle or dinosaur?? Anyway there are 219 stairs that lead you down to a path that is a decent hike to a beautiful lookout to the rapids. BEAUTIFUL!! Okay, I have to admit I was reminded of something my great nephew, Wyatt, said one day when we were out hiking through Starved Rock State Park in Illinois…..”these stairs are ruining my life!!” He was about 8 or 9 then and there were actually more than 219 stairs that day. Seriously though it was definitely worth the effort, that’s not saying I didn’t pay for that pleasure!! LOL Hope you enjoy the view also.
SEE THAT WHITE LINE & THE TINY MOTORHOME AT THE TOP OF THIS PICTURE -- THAT'S JUST PART OF THE STAIRS WE HAD TO CLIMB (AFTER WE GOT TO THEM OF COURSE)..EXHAUSTING FUN!
I’m sure we made another stop or two on the way…had to prepare lunch and let Bill take a break from driving. (Now you know why we are always the last to arrive??) We do have fun on the way --- after all the best part of this trip is seeing God’s glory all around us … It is everywhere in the mountains, the meadows, the forests, the skies, the flowers and the wildlife!!! All of it --- His blessing to us!
FIREWEED -- THE OFFICIAL FLOWER OF THE YUKON. THIS IS FOUND EVERYWHERE ALONG THE HIGHWAYS BUT IS PREVALENT WHERE FOREST FIRES HAVE BEEN. WE PASSED SEVERAL AREAS THAT HAD SUFFERED HUGE TREE LOSS DUE TO FIRE AND THE FIREWEED WAS TOTALLY COVERING THE GROUND AROUND IT. LARGE SPLASHES OF COLOR AMONGST THE BLACKENED TREES AND GRASSES.
After arriving at the Minto RV Park it didn’t take long to set up as we had no amenities there. That was ok with us because the view and setting were beautiful. We were in the woods with the river and mountains right beside us. There was a potluck scheduled for 5PM and we did not arrive until 4:30 – that didn’t give us much time to prepare our dish --- Bill threw a couple cans of corn together with a block of Philadelphia Cream Cheese – a few minutes in the microwave and presto we had our side dish (with a tip of the hat to Norma Ruth Blake for teaching Bill that one). The wagon masters grilled the hotdogs and everyone brought a side dish or dessert. Pretty good feast. Then there was a white elephant gift exchange --- and Sheila Ockerman, the pink snuggie got stolen twice, everyone was looking for something to keep them warm!! It gets cold up here at night. Then we all sat around a campfire and the river. Some played “golf” and I called it an early night --- fell asleep while Bill watched 24.
BILL WAS IN HIS ELEMENT RELAXING BY THE RIVER AN POSING WITH HIS "ANTLERS"! THEY WERE VERY HEAVY...A LOT OF THE GUYS HAD TROUBLE GETTING THEM HIGH ENOUGH TO BALANCE FOR THEIR PICTURE!
The next day we were off to Dawson City, 176 miles that was to take us almost 6 hours. The roads aren’t as smooth here on out. We will be staying two nights in Dawson City, guess there’s a lot to do there. Maybe internet & phones???
God Bless!!
those antlers would be great at the durand MOOSE lodge
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