Contributors

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Whitehorse, YT to Destruction Bay, YT–Milepost 1083

For those of you who have been riding this trail with us, you know the Alaska Highway officially started in Dawson Creek, BC (Historical Mile 0) Canada. The first 613 miles are in British Columbia (BC HWY 97 N), and heads northerly to the Yukon (YT) border near Watson Lake, YT (Historical Mile 635). From there the  it continues as Yukon Hwy 1, crossing 577 miles of Yukon to Port Alcan at the Alaska border. The Alaska Highway crosses into Alaska at Historical Mile 1221.8 where it becomes Alaska Route 2. From this border, it is 200 miles to Delta Junction, AK. (Historical Mile 1523).


I say all that to keep my head straight & hope it helps you as you ride along.


Although the Canadian portions are measured in kilometers, the Historical Miles are calculated as specific “Mileposts” (kind of like riding down to the Keys watching the mile markers).  So, the main travel guide we have is called The Milepost. It gives a lot of info about the route & everything to watch for along the way.


Today we left Whitehorse, YT (Milepost 887 from Dawson Creek, but Historical Milepost 918) to Destruction Bay, YT (Milepost 1050, but Historical Milepost 1083).


It sounds a little confusing, but with modernization of the highway, some of the old highway loops have been bypassed, so if I say Milepost # vs Historical Mile, it could be a few off from previous posts. (I know, I know….)


And, tomorrow we’ll drive in to Tok, AK. Milepost 1279, Historical Mile 1314! We’ll finally be in Alaska (even though we took a side route to Skagway, it doesn't really count).


The weather is nice, partly cloudy/sunny mid to upper 50’s driving. The road is long, winding and mostly 2 lanes. In some places, long,   gravel & dusty. And, cell service is on/off as we go. When the Sirius satellite loses signal, then I know we have no cell. I give koodos to Verizon though, since there’s a few places we have a cell signal,  but no radio.  
Enough of that, let’s get to the pics!


Last sunrise out of Whitehorse, YT
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Not a lot of wildlife, but check out this sign!
(we did see snowshoe rabbit, female elk & ground squirrels but no pics)
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For once the signs were right! Look what we saw!
Yep, that's horses!

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Takhini Valley overlooks the Takhini River
Takhini derives from the Tagish Indian tahk, meaning mosquito and heena, meaning river.
(Would be sure I had my Thermacell close by if we stayed here!)

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Love these signs!
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This is (lousy shot) pic in the Milepost following the Alaska Hwy to Haines Junction
(must’ve been taken in the fall)
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This is what it looks like today as we ride
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This is the ride after we passed through Haines Junction
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I don’t know what’s prettier the clouds & sky or the mountains and water
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Kluane Lake & Slims River
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The road keeps winding around the lake & some  creeks
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Until we finally landed at Destruction Bay. We’re parked right across from the lake, surrounded by mountains. No water hookups (ground is still frozen), but we have electric, satellite TV & cell phones; so all is good. The wind is whipping hard, so other than walk the girls, we may not venture too far. If you get a chance, Google Destruction Bay to learn the story of it’s name.

That's it for today. Have a good one everybody!


RV Riding is never knowing what’s around the corner


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