Day 12: Whitehorse

 Our drive today took us from Coal River farther north to the Yukon capital of Whitehorse.  After the first 30 minutes on the road we encountered a little black bear feeding, then a few miles later we saw another black bear munching away on some grass.  We pulled to the side so I could get some decent pictures and the little fella made Layne and I laugh. He wasn’t in one spot eating, he was literally walking and eating… we followed him about 20 feet as he did this! It was funny and he could’ve cared less that we were stalking him the whole time. =) 

Later on we saw another moose, and then another.  In all we saw 7 black bears, 1 grizzly, 6 massive bison and 3 moose! Unlike yesterday, our drive was pretty uneventful after the animals. The roads were rough and unpleasant to say the least...up and down, dips and bumps, swerving and curving, and constantly slowing down and speeding up. Phew!  The scenery, while still beautiful at times, had a bit less pizzazz to it.  We swerved in and out of the Yukon and British Columbia around 7 times today before we stayed in the Yukon for good.  We passed through a small town called Watson Lake where we saw the infamous Signpost Forest. It was started in the 40's by homesick US soldiers who were working on the Alaska Highway.  They posted tags or any sign from where they were from, and over the years that original post multiplied times ten! It was really cool to see the variety of people who have traveled through here on the Alaska Hwy! 

 

Once we reached Whitehorse we checked into our hotel (it wasn’t a Hilton, but also wasn’t a Sasquatch Crossing!) and unwound for a bit.  The town of Whitehorse is actual the capital of the entire Yukon territory! Then we checked the town map and started our walk.  Our hotel was right by the river and there was a paved path that took us all the way to the entrance of the main part of town and then out and around it, making one giant loop 4 kilometers long. We walked all the way around it gazing at nature and the signs written randomly about the history of Whitehorse.

 We were hoping to see the huge fish ladder that was

 there but sadly it wasn’t open. 

the river we walked around

 After our journey around the river, we ate dinner at a place called Klondike Rib and Salmon in town.  It was a tiny little place decorated with things you would likely find in an old cabin in the middle of nowhere.  The people were friendly and the food was delicious! We split a cup of homemade Halibut Chowder, Layne had 2 huge pieces of Halibut with fries (aka fish and chips!), and I had a spinach salad with smoked salmon chunks ( they had a beef jerky type texture.)  It was very good.  Nothing else major happened, besides our noticing that at 11:30 at night it was brighter outside than it had been at 2:00 that afternoon!! This daylight thing is screwy!

a bridge on our walk around town

Total Miles driven: 377

Total hours: 7 hours

Total overall miles: 4,576

Days left:2

Bye for now, 

Jenni