Leaving Alaska
After spending 2 nights in Tok, it is time to drive south. The road out of Tok is under construction. It was the worst road yet. It was mud, dust, and loose gravel for miles. We have experienced rough and unforgiving road and new construction throughout Alaska. The season is short and the work has to get done. It’s been rough on our equipment. We have mud caked on and underneath that will be there forever. We have tried to clean and keep up with the dirt and dust, however, we have simply given up. So, it’s the best we can do. The adventure of traveling around Alaska has been awesome. We have made a tour having included all we planned. Alaska is the Last Frontier. It is a trip we have been thinking and planning for almost a year. The future will most likely see us return with a smaller rig and a desire to explore the back country getting up to the northern slope and yes, pan for gold.
Now the road ahead is to get down to Whitehorse. We packed up and remembered a beautiful lake with an ample spot to boon-dock on the southern end of Klune Lake. We arrive there around 6 pm and got set up facing the lake. There appeared to be a haboob raining sand down into the lake. It lasted for about an hour and faded away. A haboob is a sand storm with swirling winds carrying sand into the air, like the dirt devils of the plains. The lake was clear and cold. There was very little traffic, just a couple of campers, on the beach, down from us. It was a picture perfect spot and we had a good night’s rest. The solar worked great. We were 100% charged since morning.
We arrived in Whitehorse at needed to get supplies and fuel. We decided to return to High Country RV Park to plug in. We did laundry and went into Whitehorse for some supplies. We meet a couple who were traveling in a Cedar Creek just like ours. They came by and asked how we were doing with our rig. They were having some issues and were looking to hear what our experience was. RVing is about moving vehicles getting shaken and banged around and always have maintenance issues of various degrees. We visited with these folks and were surprised by his advanced age of 90 years young. She is 84 years young. Just being around them one can tell they are in love and good friends. What role models. He does all his own maintenances. It was a pleasure to meet them both and we hope our paths will cross again. We have met many really nice people passing through, going both directions, on this trip. Hi Country RV Park is a busy place, so we would recommend that you make reservations.
Driving South getting close to the end of our drive time for the day, we started to look for our next overnight and came across a Provincial Park called Big Creek in the Yukon. After reading about it in the milepost, we turned in and found a great place to dry camp or boon-dock. We took site number 1. It was next to a bridge on the Alaska Highway so there was some noise, however, not too bad. We walked down to the river and enjoyed the water flowing very fast thinking about all the great places we have seen and experienced. We went back to our rig to make a drink then headed back to the river to enjoy our venue.
The next day we traveled on to Watson Lake. The visitor center has free Wi-Fi and we fueled up and checked our e-mail. Our furnace stopped working, so we decided to try purchasing a propane heater to get by until we can figure out what is wrong. I suspect the bad roads coming out of Tok caused the problem. We bought a Mr. Heater Little Buddy propane heater. Its small, but takes the chill off. So far it made a difference and we have started to look for a solution for the furnace. I believe we will find a way to fix it soon.
We continued on to Liard Hot Spring with the intention of a good hot soak. We camped in the overflow area and quickly made our way over to the spring. Whenever we go to the springs, any springs, we always meet interesting people and we think it is never a good idea to pass a hot spring without stopping. Camping at the springs is dry camping and we always see bison in this area. There is a large herd of wood bison traveling around Liard Hot Springs. We are always on watch, ready to stop to observe and take pictures. Never get out of your vehicle. They are unpredictable, especially with babies. This herd is large with a number of new calves. Along the way we also saw a number of large males grazing by themselves which is what they do until rut. These animals had lost all of last winter’s coat and were clean and gorgeous.
The next day out we really did not have a complete plan as to where we would overnight. The Milepost book had a description of an abandoned Provincial campground by a small airstrip used by fire fighters when there were forest fires in the area. It described it as having several pull-through with no amenities. Just up our alley. It was located just south of the town called Profit. It is unmarked and not easy to find. We stopped at the road where we thought it was and walked in a ways to make sure it was right. It was and the area was a terrific overnight spot. There were two other rigs camping on one side of the park, however, out of sight from us. The area was quiet and one of our best finds for boon-docking.
Our next destination was Dawson Creek for the next jump. We made a reservation at Norther Lights RV campground. Since we had come thru Dawson Creek on the way up to Alaska, we decided not to stay more than the overnight.
We had not planned any further particular destinations on our way South returning to the Lower 48. However, reviewing our driving route, we discovered we could head to Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada. Yeah!!!!! Except the drive would very likely take us 5-6 hours. We only like to drive 3-4. Well, those days are gone. We need to get a move on. So, on to Jasper National Park.
