I Lied! Kluane now has WIFI.
Trip Start
Jun 01, 2009
1
14
30
Trip End
Sep 22, 2009
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Destruction Bay, Yukon, Canada
Saturday, July 11, 2009
July 11, 2009 (Saturday) - Destruction Bay, Yukon, Canada
We had a nice little thunderstorm last night (Nitchie says there's nothing nice about any storm) and hoped to see clear skies this morning, but not so. It's still smoky out there. Driving from Whitehorse to Lake Kluane was a breeze compared to our trip in 2007. All that construction we went through back then appears to have held and other than a few bumps and dips, the road was fine. For anyone traveling this route, always remember to pay attention to the orange cones and flags along the roadside. That's your signal to slow down, and if you don't, you might pay the price. In 2007, we met a couple in Dawson Creek pulling a 5th wheel and he admitted he failed to pay heed to the cautions. He torn up the king pin on his hitch. Thank goodness, we met him at the beginning of our journey. His advice probably saved us damage. We have found the traffic to be very light, and when someone got behind us, there was ample opportunity for them to pass.
We had only been on the road about an hour when we spotted a coyote in the road. Photo ops were not in the cards; Mr. Coyote started heading back into the woods before we could slow down. The amazing thing about him was that he was very pretty. I'm used to seeing the scrawny, mangy things we have in Texas but this one was filled out and very pretty. What's funny is that Nitchie never seems to know there's anything out there....even when she's looking right at them. Wendell commented that it was probably a good thing that she can't talk; otherwise, we would have to listen to her continuously asking, "Are we there yet?"
Between Whitehorse and Kluane Lake, we crossed two summits - Bear Creek and Boutilier - 3,294 feet and 3,293 feet respectively, and noted in Milepost as the two highest summits between Whitehorse and Fairbanks. The views would have been great except for all the smoke. There were also low-hanging clouds at the tops of the Kluane Range so the major ice fields were not visible. These are Canada's highest and the world's largest non-polar alpine ice fields.
Outside of Haines Junction, we found ourselves surrounded in forests of spruce trees. Or maybe I should say, lots of DEAD spruce trees. I'm talking thousands of acres of DEAD spruce trees. Damage to the tree begins when the spruce beetle bores through the bark and lays eggs in the tissue layer, on which the adult beetle feeds. When their path encircles the tree, death is a certainty. Although the tree dies within weeks of the initial attack, the needles may not fall off or turn the tell-tale reddish-brown color of a beetle-killed tree for a year or more. It then continues to serve as a host for the beetles. Interestingly, the spruce beetle does not attack any other species than spruce, and even then skips over the blue and black varieties in favor of the white and Sitka spruce. While small numbers of these beetles are generally present in spruce forests, certain conditions cause them to swell to epidemic proportions. Some scientists attribute this to the so-called "global warming".....Ummph. In looking at the density of these forest groves, my theory is God thinks there might be too many of them in too close a proximity to each other to thrive, so He allowed the spruce beetles to thin them out. Maybe the forest service should have done that earlier. But, no, they might cut down the home of the endangered "whatever". Okay, I'll shut up and get down from my soap box now. Two things you should never do: 1) get Wendell into a discussion on politics, and 2) get me started on "endangered" species.
With the rather pleasant drive, we arrived at our destination - Cottonwood RV Park - by early afternoon. Mary Anne and Glenn were expecting us and we had reserved a site for us on the water right behind their home/office. When we checked in, I was shocked to find a sign saying "Free WIFI". Mary Anne proudly says, "It's new and you'll be able to get it right from your site." And most of the time, she's right. The signal strength is great but sometimes the internet is not always available. I would say that has something to do with their provider and being very far away from everything, I'm not even sure how they get their service....phone, satellite, etc. Doesn't matter; it's nice to have it....even sporadically.
This park is one of our favorites from our 2007 journey. We clambered in after taking a beating on the roads and were thrilled to see such a beautiful spot. The problem was, as Mary Anne told us, they had a caravan coming in and would be full. The only site available was a back-in on the point without electricity. We had never tried dry camping but were so eager to stay, we accepted it. It was very private with no one camped around us and we felt we were here all by ourselves. Other than the wind blowing very hard and the waves crashing on the shore, it was perfect. The good news was the wind kept all bugs at bay. This time, when we checked in, Mary Anne told us "they hadn't seen a bear in 3 weeks." Even so, tent campers in the other areas of the park were cautioned to be "bear aware". By the way, Mary Anne told us the fires are in Alaska and there are several of them but the biggest is near Fairbanks.
Before dinner last night, Wendell decided to walk down into the water to wash his dusty sneakers, and took Nitchie with him. He "coaxed" her to walk into the water with him and was able to get her out far enough in the shallow water to start swimming. As far as we know, this is the first time Nitchie has ever been swimming...and she's almost 11 years old. Did she like it? Wendell and I disagree. He says, "did you see her out there having a good time?" and I said, "did you see her out there with a look of total panic and desperation in her eyes?" We settled the argument a few minutes later when he tried to get her to come back in the water and she planted her feet in the gravel and pretty much said, "You can break my neck with that dog leash if you want but I'm not getting back in." In her defense, the water was cold....not frigid, but still cold. If it had been warmer or earlier in the day when the weather was warmer, she might have enjoyed it. To tell the truth, I'm not sure if she was shivering from the cold or just scared.
And speaking of those tent campers, I bet last night they were wishing they were somewhere else and it wasn't because of the bears. Out of nowhere, the wind came up and was gusting hard enough to shake our trailer from side to side.....and then the rain came. Wendell had his shoes next to the fire pit to dry from his little romp in the water with Nitchie. He had also left the BBQ grill and his lawn chair sitting there. This morning there was a good-sized puddle in the middle of his chair. It's almost 10 AM as I'm writing this and the lake is still covered with clouds and you can see small wispy clouds against the mountains across the road. We've decided to stay another day to enjoy the beauty and serenity...even though it will delay our arrival in Anchorage a day or two. Maybe we'll throw a stick in the water and see if Nitchie wants to swim out after it. However, the main objective for the day is relaxation and enjoying this beautiful, scenic spot.
Comments
Love Your Blogs
Donna, thank you for all your travel reports. I have not read every one. I will during the next few days. The ones I have read ... I have enjoyed ... you are an excellent writer. The photos accent the paragraphs as well.
More later,
Gary Poss - Canyon Lake, Texas
24 100 degree+ days and counting ... :(