Sunday, May 22, 2016

Road Trip Alaska: Whitehorse to Skagway


It is a short 113 miles from Whitehorse Yukon to Skagway Alaska, 66 of which have to be one of the most spectacular and scenic roads we have ever been on containing some very unique landscapes.
The drive from Whitehorse to Carcross was somewhat uneventful, there is one nice scenic pullout overlooking Emerald Lake.
Emerald Lake just north of Carcross

The town of Carcross is cute and a nice place to stop and explore on your way through the area. We stopped at got a scone at the bakery. A scone the size of a small child that Barb and I split and then her and Daisy split the next morning. I swear the thing weighed 5#’s!
 
 
But it was the drive between Carcross and Skagway that left us absolutely speechless. The South Klondike Highway follows a water system for many miles with a backdrop of snowcapped mountains. You could actually sense the history here as you pass some of the abandoned mines.
Which one do you like better......color....
 
....or B&W?
 


 
 
Along the way we saw a black bear with a brown coat as well as some mountain goats. The bear was feeding along the road and when I pulled up and started giving it my imitation black bear noises it actually walked up to the truck and put his front paws on our rear bumper sniffing around! We tried to get a picture of it but the angle was wrong.
You talk'in to me?

Here I come!

 
These mountain goats were wayyyyy up the mountain
As you reach higher elevations that landscape becomes very rocky with hundreds if not thousands of pools of water surrounded by snow and stunted windblown pines. It is really hard to describe but it is like nothing we have ever seen before. I don’t know if it was the time of the year with the snow mottled landscape or if it is just as beautiful in the summer or fall when the snow has melted.



 
Crossing over the U.S. border was very smooth with the usual questions. He did ask to see Daisy’s rabies papers stating that Alaska is rabies free and they are pretty strict about that. After crossing the border you start a long decent down the mountain with several waterfalls along the roadway.


 
The landscape is vast and goes on forever.....see that tiny waterfall in the bottom left?
 
It is not really that tiny....
 
But it gets lost in the vast landscape
 


Arriving in Skagway we took a quick drive around town before heading to our campsite at Klondike Gold Rush Dyea Campground. We intentionally arrived on Friday hoping to avoid what might be a busy weekend given it was Victoria Day in Canada (like our Memorial Day). The campground was only about 1/3 full and we found a spot quickly. The unexpected bonus was that it was free! They don’t start charging until May 27th.
Immediately upon parking I hadn’t taken two steps out of the truck when I was approached by a woman who said she was from Whitehorse and was here for the long weekend. She said we were lucky to get a site as everyone from Whitehorse comes to this area on the long weekend. Over the course of the next 20 minutes she proceeded to tell me about the history of the area, the Chilkoot trail, Carcross, Whitehorse and the town of Dyea which used to be right in this area. Barb finally came and rescued me and we got the campsite all set up.
After dinner that evening we went for a drive to explore some of the surrounding area. There is nothing really to see of the old town site, it has been over 100 years and the trees have pretty much taken over the area.


We would have never fit our big rig under this bridge
Or across this one

 
The following morning a Skagway police car pulled up to us and informed us that there was a burning ban until further notice; no wood or propane fires. Our plan for the day was to go explore the town and maybe do a little hiking. Today, Skagway is pretty much a tourist town depicting the times of the gold rush era. Cruise ships stop by almost daily. In fact you need to watch the cruise ship schedule, as many as 4-5 cruise ships could be in port at one time filling the town with up to 20,000 tourists. Today there was only 2 and it was not too bad. We did a little geocaching in the hills surrounding the city, then we went down into the city itself and walked many of the shops.
 

Only two cruise ships in today
 
This guy was posing to well for us to pass up
We toured the town, looked at all the old shops, the trains, had a couple of pints at the Skagway Brewing Company and had lunch at the Red Onion, the location of a former brothel that is entertaining and offers a tour for $10.

 

The nose of this train was used to get through snow up to 12' deep




They brew it right above the bar, they only sell it in their bar
 

 

 
We did not get any fishing in or any serious hikes other than finding a few geocaches. We are saving our fishing time for our next stop which starts tomorrow when we take the ferry over to Haines!
 

16 comments:

  1. Looking at you bridge photos...how much does your rig weigh, Jim?

    Fabulous landscape!

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    1. You know I don't know exactly but the bridge had a 14 ton limit so I knew we were good.

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  2. Looking forward to getting up there, beautiful photos.

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    1. You will love it! We still struggle to capture on camera what we are seeing with our eyes but they still turn out beautiful.

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  3. I am just so enjoying your trip and you have me seriously thinking we need to figure out how we are going visit Alaska. We won't be taking our MH. I love all the snow covered mountains. They do so much to the photos. I must say I do like the color photo better, but the B&W seems appropriate for the old mine. The lakes are spectacular:) Oh, and that bear is so cool. Those paws are huge!! Great close up!

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    1. You should definitely start planning it now, you will not regret it. There is plenty of hiking, so far we have not hiked a lot opting to go fishing instead.

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  4. You probably already know this by now - but you will love Haines! We stayed at the Oceanview - pricey - but the views! Wow! The ride in/out is amazing! Probably similar to Skagway (actually want to hear if/how different it is!). Let us know when you are arriving in Seward and/or if you need a place to stay - we know a place right on a lake!

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    1. We are leaving Haines today and heading to Haines Junction. We ended up staying at a state park right next to the area we were fishing so it worked out well. You are right though, spectacular views everywhere!

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  5. A $10.00 brothel? That sounds like a great deal. Things look too cold for Lisa. I will never get her up there. Love the pictures though.

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    1. You did not see what your $10 got you however.... but if you did spend the $10, you got to keep the garter!

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  6. Loving your trip. I really, really want to go now! I like the color photo best.

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  7. I agree with Pam, kinda like the color shot better. Sounds like so much fun so far. So would you say you've boondocked more or stayed at payed campgrounds more? We haven't had much luck fishing in SW Colorado yet. Steve caught a couple small rainbows.

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    1. We have definitely boondocked more, I think we have only spent 6 or so days in campgrounds that have been charging and maybe 2 of those were full hook up sites.

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  8. That train nose was really cool. Can't wait to see you guys !!

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  9. Jim ... we are arriving in Skagway on a cruise ship at 7:oo am, and departing at 9:00 pm. We have rented a car will drive to Whitehorse and back that day. In Whitehorse having lunch with my brother - am I pushing the timeline too much.
    Love your blog!!!

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