It was a long day of driving (Dan) and riding (Karen). Really, it was only about seven hours, but it
felt like more, going along the Klondike Highway.
Shortly after pulling out of Dawson City, we stopped at an
RV wash to get some of the caked-on mud off the Navion. There’s only so much you can do with 6
minutes of cold water (cost: 2 loonies) and no soap, but it looked considerably
better. For maybe an hour, at which time
the pavement ended and we were back on gravel and dirt road. (Why do they call
these “highways”????)
Along the road from Dawson City, the road was lined with big
piles of rocks and gravel, the tailings from all the gold mining. They managed to make what was, I’m sure, at
one time a lovely valley into a mess.
The road then followed the Klondike River which is a clear, pretty
river, compared to the Yukon. A stop in
Pelly Crossing for diesel was extended, with the one building in town (gas
station, grocery store, post office, phone, café) being busy with locals, so
that it took a good twenty minute to fill the tank and stand in line to
pay.
We crossed the Yukon River several times, and in the
afternoon we traveled through an area with middle-sized mountains and many
lakes and streams, but no towns and almost no sign of civilization. Road signs and the guide indicated that we
should be on the lookout for both bears and elk, but all we saw were many
magpies along the road. In late
afternoon we passed two large lakes, Fox Lake and Lake Laberge (famous for its
mention in the Robert Service poem “The Cremation of Sam McGee”) and finally
turned in to arrive at Takhini Hot Springs campground.
The campground is wooded, with electric but no water
hookups. After unwinding for a bit,
sitting outside in the sun, we had an easy dinner of leftovers and then went to
the hot springs. Yes, both of us---Dan
went in this time! This was a very
different hot springs experience from the earlier Liard Hot Springs. This one is more like a swimming pool, with
patio, chairs, and plants around it. It
had two areas, one considered the “family pool”, kept at about 95 degrees and
the other the “hot pool” kept about 110.
We alternated between them, and it sure felt good after that long day of
travel!
The campground manager warned us of both a fox that has been
visiting campsites and three bears sighted just down the road, but we have not
seen either.
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