Headed to the Yukon

The locals keep telling me this weather is unusual and the snow is usually gone by March.  Leave it to me to pick this year to come.  There is no way I thought it would still be this bad in mid-April.  I’m going with the “I’m not too early, Spring is late” defense.

Another 8 hour drive today.  Finally found some sunshine, blue sky and dry road half way to Watson Lake. Although it was still 29 degrees, it was a nice drive for a few hours, and Alaska became more manageable.  Now that the weather is better I’m starting to see the “pretty.”  I’m thankful for the long daylight hours.  Since it takes me so long to get from one place to another, I’m glad I don’t have to travel or arrive in the dark.

Unfortunately, I had the opportunity to prove I was paying attention when my wonderful son showed me how to jump start my car.  The work-around Jeep came up with for the power steering issue now drains the battery, so I have to jump start it.  I can’t pull it with a dead battery because the power steering issue resurfaces.  Most annoying.  And it is not just stopping and running the car every so often.  I have to “undo” all the towing procedure before I can start the car, then redo it again …. And it doesn’t really run long enough to give the battery much charge.  When I get home I’m going to have a power supply to the battery set up and avoid all this nonsense.

The bison here aren’t as well trained as the deer I previously mentioned.  They actually sleep on the road (I assume for the added heat).  All the ones I saw (tons of them, literally) were awake, but still standing in the road.  A bison herd lives year round on the Alaska Highway right-of-way and about 20 bison are killed by collision with vehicles every year.  You see them all along the highway, either in a group or alone.  It was so odd to drive 30 miles and there would be one bison alone just eating grass. 

The frost heaves in the road are a little bit fun and a little bit scary, but they definitely keep you on your toes.

Since I got a late start from Fort Nelson, and wanted to make it to Watson Lake before dark, I didn’t get a chance to stop at the Toad River Lodge.  They have a collection of 3,600 billed caps nailed to the ceiling.  Also, the view of Summit Lake was a no-go due to weather.

My first week and first 1500 miles completed.  I made it to the Yukon!  I crossed the border between BC and Yukon about 4 or 5 times before I arrived in Watson Lake due to the winding highway.  And I see I’ll cross it a few more times on the way to Whitehorse.

Of course, the sun is gone and it is snowing and frozen snow to walk and drive on again ……

Internet is a rare commodity so the blogs won’t be posted with any regularity …. But I’ll try to keep you updated on my fun as much as possible.