Posts for April, 2009

I was cold during the night and had to crank up the propane furnace. When I got out of the vehicle in the morning I understood why. The thermometer showed 25°F and the ground which was muddy the previous evening was frozen solid. The puddles of water had ice 3/8 inch thick on top. So I estimated the temperature was something like 20°F during the night.

Last night seemed like a warm night so we were surprised to see about 4 inches of fresh snow in the morning.

Today we traveled west on highway 16 towards Prince Rupert. The day was clear and sunny, although cold with temps around 28°F, until late in the afternoon. Last night was cold as the muddy roads in the camp ground were as hard as concrete this morning.

The clear sky of last night pushed temperatures down to 16-17°F, but by the morning the sky was overcast signaling a, slightly, warmer day.

Some how I lost this entry. I cannot recreate the text, but I can put the images back.

After a late start we drove back to the town of Terrace and again headed for the Safeways cafe and their free wifi service. Terrace is now very familiar and I was beginning to feel like I was having a 3 week vacation in this town. However Terrace just happens to be at the junction of some interesting side trips and we keep coming back to Safeways because we like/need to have internet access.

From our overnight spot beside the highway we drove back up the Naas valley in low cloud and mist to the junction with the Nisga'a highway and into the town of new Aiynash. There was not a lot to see on the way because of the weather but the sea birds could be heard squawking away.

At Meziadin Junction we confirmed that the gas station was closed and discovered that everything was covered in several feet of snow. It was a good thing that we had not planned on staying there last night, as we had at one point discussed, as there was no where to park.

Driving back up highway 37A today from Stewart to Meziadin Junction the same caterpillar loader was still clearing snow debris from the roadway. It must be a big and costly job keeping that road open during winter.

Back on the treadmill this morning. The forests of small and sparse spruce trees is even more evident this morning and there is definitely less snow on the ground emphasizing the colder winters and lower precipitation of this area.

Again the ground that was muddy last night is as hard as a rock. As we soon discovered this also meant the gravel road back to Dease Lake was frozen hard making for good driving.

The campground manager told us this morning that it had been 18°F minimum overnight, and again the ground was frozen this morning. But the day dawned clear, blue sky and bright sunshine.

Today we had our longest driving leg of the trip so far, from Whiethorse to Dempster Junction. As indicated in yesterdays entry the reason for this is to start the Dempster Hwy while the ice bridges to Inuvik are open.

We were somewhat excited and apprehensive this morning. We have heard and read so many stories about the Dempster highway and its challenges and magnificent scenery.

Overnight it snowed a few inches so this morning the world looks clean in the bright sunshine and blue sky. Unfortunately the water system froze up overnight and the pump is leaking again. So until we get to Fairbanks we will be using water from a 5 gallon plastic container.

We stayed in the Capital motel in Inuvik again last night; and it is amazing just how much stuff we managed to take out of the motor home and into our room in just one night. It felt like repacking was a major project.

This morning it was still snowing, and now the road north was closed for sure as the big yellow boom gate was across the road and locked. Some had clearly not been as lucky as us as there were at least two trucks and one SUV parked just the wrong side of the gate.

This morning before leaving Dawson City we drove up to a local lookout called Dome Hill which afforded a wonderful 360° panorama of the area and of the town sitting at the junction of the Klondike and Yukon rivers. From this vantage point the effect of mining for gold is evident, with numerous long winding mounds of river gravel and rock that are apparently the spoils of major dredging in the Klondike River.

As luck would have it there was an RV parts and repair place almost immediately across the road from the RV park we stayed in last night. So just after 9:00am this morning we were in that establishment seeking parts.

We are parked on a disused section of the Alaskan Highway at the northern end of Kluane Lake. To our west and south are the Kluane Mountains providing a wonderful view from this, otherwise ordinary, camp site. The day is sunny and clear with a chill breeze blowing.

We camped at the Tok River Campground - Tok is pronounced to sound like Coke. This is the first public campground that we have found open since central Washington. There is still some snow around the grounds and over parts of the river but the roadways are all clear.

We called into the township of Tok this morning for fuel. It seems like there is only one street maybe that's why it has been designated Mainstreet Alaska.

This morning in our motel room was a time to catch up with emails, journal entries and talk to Rick and Brendon, consequently we got a late start from Fairbanks.

I am sitting in our Tiger in the parking lot of the Caribou Inn, a motel, in Deadhorse Alaska and behind me a guy in a huge CAT front end loader, is clearing snow from the car park as if he is in a race, and while he is doing this workers in pickup trucks are entering and leaving the lot as if an earth moving machine is just another normal vehicle on the roadway; which come to think of it in this part of the world, it is. This seems like an entirely appropriate way to end what has been another exciting and some what surreal day.

At midnight last night even though the sun had set the twilight was bright enough to take photos. I guess we are in the land of the midnight sun.

We woke to another blue sky and bright sun day, but with that same strong wind of last night.

Today is an R & R day. A chance to clean the vehicle both inside and out and to put our heavy winter clothes into the carrier on top of the Tiger - we anticipate that they will not be needed again. The temperature in Fairbanks today was 75, and this looks like it will persist for most of the next week.