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September 24, 2009
Day Five
Friday September 18, 2009
The morning was a lazy one in Haines Junction. We got up late...cause we could (on vacation after all). We headed into 'the Junction' to an RV park and had showers and enjoyed the warmth of the laundromat while we did a load to briefly rid our clothes of the 'eau de campfire'. The weather was much nicer on this day and we eventually got back on the road and headed deeper into the majesty of Kluane National Park.
This was a beautiful drive. The mountains seemed much more isolated and worn compared to Jasper and the range of colours was a completely different palette. The intense greens of the conifers in Jasper was replaced with fiery reds and oranges of of the brush as well as golden browns of dying grasses.
The first stop along the way was at the Tachal Dhal (Sheep Mountain) interp center...which was closed. It sits at the foot of a series of mountains/hills that are a form a preservation zone for a large herd of Dall's sheep. They even have a spotting scope mounted there permanently to help view the sheep high up on the hillside. The center is bordered by a flood plain that has formed where the Slim River flows in Kluane Lake.
The highway follows the edge of Kluane Lake westward and passes through Destruction Bay, a small settlement built around one of the encampments created when the highway was being built. The next spot we stopped at was Burwash Landing. It's hard not to stop there as there is a giant goldpan located beside the museum. Giant landmarks are something that Canadians seem to be good at creating; they also seem to work well as I distinctly remember being at Burwash Landing 15 years ago when I was last touring the Yukon.
The weather was perfect for this drive and with blue skies and a bright sun we were able to see some of the taller mountaintops that form the northeast boundary of the St.Elias Mountains. These would have to suffice as Canada's tallest mountain, Mt. Logan (5959m), can only be seen from the air or from a day or two's hike inland.
Canada's most westerly community, Beaver Creek, was another stop and also another great spot to get cinnamon buns. Just head to the tiny little place on the north side of the street. It's got self-serve coffee, a slanted floor (so the drunks can walk as well) and of course, tasty buns.
We spent a few minutes at the border, mostly hopping back and forth between Alaska and the Yukon, before moving on and passing through US customs....always a pleasure (anyone remember the HTML code for sarcasm?).
It had been a long day of travelling (cross the border and get an extra hour to travel) and it was drizzling down by the time we reached Tok, Alaska, so we skipped out on camping and stayed at the Burnt Paw Cabins. Great decision as it was warm, quaint, had a northern theme (our cabin's was Bushpilot) and came with a complimentary breakfast of Belgian waffles with homemade jam.
End of day five
Posted by Dr.Unk at September 24, 2009 11:08 PM
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