Alaska/Canada 2022-1: California to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, via Washington & British Columbia

Doug & Grandson, Diego

    At some point during planning for our Canada-Alaska road trip, Doug suggested and I agreed that it'd be better for my partially fused spine if I flew into Whitehorse and met him there. Doug left home June 8, with our neighbor's mother riding shotgun. After a 17-hour/943-mile run, he dropped her at home in Long Beach, WA, spent the night in their driveway, and the next day drove on to Seattle.

Doug's route from home to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory.

    Unfortunately, our son-in-law, Javier, had contracted Hepatitis A, so rather than several days with daughter, Katie, Javier, and grandson, Diego, Doug made the most of an afternoon walk with Katie and Diego and a wave to Javier.

Katie & Diego check out the roses.

    Further north in Bellingham, he enjoyed several days with son, Andrew, and daughter-in-law, Devon.

You might say Drew and Devon love to read. Drew of course also loves to be the mover and hanger while doing a major living room rearrangement under Devon's direction.

Drew & Devon's cat Auggie decided Doug's down vest was the perfect bed. 

Guen peaked around the corner briefly.

    Doug also got in visits with a couple of friends. June 15, with ArriveCan paperwork in hand, he headed to the Peace Arch border crossing at Blaine WA.

Crossing the border from Washington into British Columbia.

    Just across the border, in White Rock, British Columbia, he stopped for breakfast with friends Gail and Alan.

Alan & Doug

Gail & Doug, friends since San Diego days in the '70s.

    Then Doug drove a bit and found spots near Whistler for the next two nights.

Cal-Cheak Recreation Site, Whistler, BC.

Gott Creek Recreation Site near Whistler.

TRX Straps attach to back door hinge for daily workouts.

Near Gott Creek.

Cayoosh CreekCampground

Near Cayoosh Creek, BC.

Near Seton Lake south of Lilloet.

Driving Hwy 99 from border to near Cache Creek, BC.

North of 99/97, aka Caribou Highway, junction.

Dawson Creek, BC, Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway (AlCan), 1,350 miles from Bellingham, WA.

    In Dawson Creek Doug stocked up on food and found the perfect used book store, Faking Sanity, which also made an amazing latte. Small pleasures.

Dawson Creek, BC, Alaska Highway Mile 0.

As in the US, wildfires have taken a toll in Canada. Trees not killed by fire have been weakened by bark beetle.

Boondocking for the night northwest of Dawson Creek along the Tetsa River in Northern Rocky Mountains Provincial Park 

Following the Tetsa River.

Muncho Lake. We stopped here in 2019 to dry everything out. We boondocked just up the road, which Marilyn remembers well, as Happy Birthday was spray painted on the concrete barriers & it was her younger son's birthday.

With our longer twin at Watson Lake.

Near Teslin, Yukon Territory.

Flooded Teslin Lake Campground. We camped here previously. 

    Doug arrived in Whitehorse June 21 and checked in with Pioneer Campground south of town to make sure they had the last-minute reservation Marilyn had made. As they couldn't fit him in that night, he did what he liked most of all, boondocking, north of town.  

Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, east end of the Klondike Loop.

    Meanwhile, back at base camp in Visalia, CA, I worked on a few projects. I machine-hemmed cotton-linen fabric I’d ordered to make dish towels:

Cat name ABCs for Drew & Devon.

Herb ABCs for my son Stephen & wife, Jessie.

An AlphaCactus for us.

Seattle ABCs for Katie & Javi.

And a soft book for the one who will actually be learning his ABCs.

I hung the new shades over the new living room windows, & loved the shadows,

cleaned my work room (!), 

& did some of this at friends'.

    June 23, a friend drove me the 45 minutes to the Fresno airport. I grew nostalgic as we flew into SFO (San Francisco Airport), remembering my childhood years in San Jose, post-college years in Palo Alto, and visiting Stephen and Jessie during their San Francisco years. It’s been too long since we've spent time in the Bay Area.
    I walked 2 miles to the international terminal. I think the shuttle was outside, but the exercise was good, and I had a 5-hour layover. Eventually, I boarded Air Canada for Vancouver, British Columbia. 

Descent into Vancouver, BC, in bright blue skies with mountains as backdrop. 

Landing in Vancouver, BC.

    I walked another mile through the Vancouver terminal to customs. By the time I finished telling the customs agent about our trip, I think he wanted to come with me. I was so tired by the time I reached the last agent that when she asked where I was coming from I told her Vancouver.…

View from Vancouver Terminal, where I enjoyed an authentic baguette sandwich.

    Two hours later, we boarded AirCan for Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. Descending into Whitehorse was breathtaking. It was hard to get a good picture, especially from an aisle seat (always my choice). 

The Yukon has had a lot of snow this year. Oh, that it could send some to California! 

Yukon River is the light gray T at bottom. Even from several thousand feet it is huge!

    By the time I exited baggage, found Doug in the van, and we arrived at Pioneer Campground, it was 1:00 AM. But who would know? It was still light out. Our usual spot, Robert Service Campground, was closed for construction, but Doug had assured me we had a great site.

Our site, in the trees, no one around.

The rest of the campground: wall-to-wall RVs.

    There was a group of Germans traveling by bus and sleeping in a unique trailered bunkhouse, which was referred to as the Chicken Coop.

Each window of the 3-tiered bunkhouse opened. 

    The only problem with our campsite was the mosquitoes. Thank goodness for our side and rear door screens from Rolef Solutions in Montreal! And we hadn't even got to the helicopter-size mosquitoes of Alaska yet!

Side door with mosquito screen down.

Rear door mosquito screen.    

    The next day, we walked the town and the Yukon River 

Doug at a wonderful cafe.

Across from the cafe was a small park where music groups played. Daycare kids, each school in a different color tee, made a colorful audience.

Whitehorse mural.

     

    As in the the US, for decades, Indian children in Canada were removed from their homes and sent to mission or boarding schools, where they were forbidden to speak their native languages or practice any of their customs. On the banks of the Yukon, 9 burls represent the 9 First Nations languages of students at the Whitehorse Mission School. Commissioned by the Whitehorse Aboriginal Women's Circle, the momument's purpose is to encourage communication, healing, and awareness. 

Monument to Indian children removed from their homes and sent to mission schools.

The nearby  Healing Totem, carved by Tlingit Master Carver Wayne Price, represents the reunion of families separated by the residential school system. In 2019 in Carcross, Yukon, we'd watched Mr Price and apprentices carving a canoe from a log.

Healing Totem.

    By the time we returned to the campground, pourinr rain had flooded our campsite. Doug manoeuvered the van onto the narrow dry spot, which allowed us access via the passenger side.Then he noticed the folks at a neighboring site, which was above water, were packing up. They had paid for the night, so we moved to the dry site. Soon a truck approached our old site, with a choice of it or the one next to it. When we told them we'd just vacated it, they asked if we had any life jackets.

    In the morning, we'd head northwest to Dawson City.