We ended last week in Fort Nelson as we had just got started on the Alaska Highway. This week we are finishing the week by crossing into Alaska. The amazing views of the mountains from many different angles has been a highlight of this trip. We continue to see many wild animals as we drive along and have been pestered with mosquitoes in many places.
With our travels we have seen several spectacular views of mountains and where you can see for many miles.
As we started out of Fort Nelson we had heard about a great cinnamon roll at one of the wayside in the travels. So we had to commit the sacrifice and find out for ourselves!
We couldn't resist stopping to get the big cinnamon roll. It was the size of a 5 inch plate. The owner even warmed it up for us. We sat down at a table and devoured it in just a few minutes. She guarantee me that it was the low calorie model.
There were several bridges on the highway with the steel super structure. Only a couple of the bridges are from the original construction of the road.
As we traveled many of the mountains had snow on them at the summit.
Dall sheep were at the side of the road as drove by. They were just waiting to get their picture taken. They come to the side of the road for the minerals that are there is the story.
We had to stop at TOAD RIVER. It was a cute little stop with a store.
The ceilings and walls were covered with ball caps from all over the world that people had gave them to put up.
Snow covered mountains sides were everywhere. The northern Rockies are a great place to visit and tour.
We camped at Laird Hot Springs. It was a beautiful area that had a hot spring where you could enjoy the water & relax.
Traveling on we ran into a heard of buffalo. There was near 100 of them on the road and along side the road.
We also saw brown bears along the road.
Grizzley bears were almost up to the truck.
On Monday we reached the border of the Yukon.
Watson Lake was filled with several places to visit.
The sign forest is huge! There were signs from everywhere. Some were wooden & some metal. People had made signs to put up from whatever they had handy. They told us that wood signs do not last in the weather up here.
We crossed the continental divide.
The bridge over Nisutlin Bay was a work of art. It was one of the longest bridges in the area.
We went to the George Johnson Museum.
Whitehorse was the next destination.
We toured the Klondike Riverboat
Whitehorse is famous for its part in the Klondike gold rush in 1898. The train was a part of bringing people into the Yukon. This old White Pass & Yukon Train was on display in town.
As we continued on the Klondike Highway north following the Yukon river, we found even bigger cinnamon rolls. They were about the size of Dennis' ball cap. But after one sugar high we decided to pass on this one.
The roads were a mixture of frost heaves, gravel, & actual pavement. Going around the corners you never knew what the road would be like. You can see in this picture what a roller coaster ride you could have.
The town of Carmacks has a ceramic tile mosaic welcome sign.
Bridges were plentiful along the way, but there are only a few bridges that cross the Yukon river. This one on the Klondike Hwy is one of them.
We stopped at Five Finger Rapids. Dennis walked the 235 stair steps each way to get to the rapids.
The rapids were pretty. They were one of the bad areas for the riverboats and those who took smaller boats through them in the gold rush.
We arrived in Dawson City, it became a city of over 30,000 people during the gold rush with very little facilities. The story is the merchants made more money than the miners in this town. It is now a town of less than 2000 residents.
We went to The Dawson City Museum. This is a picture of how the miners lived at the time.
We went to Diamond Tooth Gerties. It has a small casino that has a show 3 times a night with cancan girls. The show was packed and we had a good time.
We drove to the midnight dome above Dawson. It is the highest point where people come to party on the longest Sunlight day of the year.We were told that if the sky is clear on June 21st you can see the sun all night.
We had our picture taken with the Yukon River in the distance.
There were old abandoned gold dredges all over the area. They were used to mine for gold in the area, you can still tell today the area that they dug up.
To continue our journey we had to get on a ferry to cross the river for the Top of the World Highway. There were several motorcycles on the ferry with us.
The scenery included the folded mountains.
We traveled the Top of The World Highway. The road was an adventure with gravel, pavement, potholes, dirt, & spectacular views.
The customs at the border is in Poker Creek Alaska. This is the Most Northerly Land Border in the USA.
The Welcome to Alaska sign was laying in the grass as we changed roads to the Taylor Highway, which takes us back to the Alaska Highway.
We stopped for the night in Chicken, Alaska . It is a very small town & has chicken displays everywhere.
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