North to Alaska and Back
Today’s drive of 336 miles was the longest of the trip. Three words describe the road conditions: shake, rattle, and roll!
We had driven a few miles north, near the Takhini turn off, when we came across some wild /feral horses by the side of the road. At first, I thought the horses might have just escaped from their owners, but I learned later that there were a few herds of wild horses in the Takhini River Valley. The only other wildlife we saw on the drive were gophers that scurried across the road, similar to the squirrels at home.
jkfrese
43 chapters
15 Apr 2020
Day 20: Klondike Hwy to Dawson City
July 09, 2017
Today’s drive of 336 miles was the longest of the trip. Three words describe the road conditions: shake, rattle, and roll!
We had driven a few miles north, near the Takhini turn off, when we came across some wild /feral horses by the side of the road. At first, I thought the horses might have just escaped from their owners, but I learned later that there were a few herds of wild horses in the Takhini River Valley. The only other wildlife we saw on the drive were gophers that scurried across the road, similar to the squirrels at home.
Shortly after seeing the horses, we turned off of the Alaska Highway onto the Klondike Highway. Our destination was Dawson City, where the Klondike Gold Rush began.
As we drove along the Klondike Highway, we noticed that much of the forests were in varying stages of re-growth from forest fires. This stretch of the North Klondike highway runs through what is known as the fire belt. We saw signs along the way identifying four of the six major fires that have occurred in the area: 1958, 1969, 1995, and 1998. During the Fox Lake Burn of 1998 a total of over 111,000 acres burned.
We pulled into Gold Rush Campground RV Park about 5pm. The upside: it’s located in downtown Dawson so you can walk to everything; the downside: it’s not much more than a gravel parking lot with full hook-up (water, electric and sewer). Talk about getting to know your neighbors!
1.
Day 1: Harrisburg, PA to West Branch SP, Ohio
2.
Day 2: On to Pokagon SP, Indiana
3.
Days 3 and 4 On to Illinois and Wisconsin
4.
Days 5, 6 & 7: On to Maple Grove, Mn and Fargo and Minot, North Dakota
5.
Days 8 & 9 - On to Saskatchewan,
6.
Day 10 - On to Alberta
7.
Day 11 - Elk Island National Park
8.
Days 12 and 13 - On to Dawson Creek, British Columbia
9.
Day 14 - Alaska Highway to Fort Nelson, BC
10.
Day 15 - On to Muncho Lake, BC
11.
Day 16 - On to Watson Lake, Yukon
12.
Day 17 - On to Whitehorse, Yukon
13.
Day 18 - Whitehorse, Yukon
14.
Day 19 - Whitehorse, Yukon
15.
Day 20: Klondike Hwy to Dawson City
16.
Day 21: Dawson City
17.
Day 22: Dawson City
18.
Day 23: On to Chicken, Alaska!
19.
Day 24 - On to Kenny Lake
20.
Day 25: Wrangell-St. Elias NP
21.
Day 26: Kenny Lake Area
22.
Day 27: Richardson Hwy to Valdez AK
23.
Days 28 & 29:Valdez
24.
Days 30 & 31: On to Anchorage
25.
Day 32: Katmai National Park
26.
Day 33: Lake Clark National Park
27.
Day 34: On to Talkeetna
28.
Days 35 - 38 Denali National Park
29.
Days 39, 40 and 41 - Fairbanks AK
30.
Days 42, 43 & 44 - Bettles, AK
31.
Days 45 & 46 - Tok to Kluane Lake
32.
Days 47, 48, 49 - Kluane Lake to Boya Lake
33.
Day 50 - Boya Lake to Iskut, BC
34.
Days 51 & 52 - Stewart British Columbia and Hyder Alaska
35.
Days 53, 54, 55 - Smithers to Jasper Park
36.
Day 58 - The Icefields Parkway
37.
Days 56 & 57 - Jasper National Park
38.
Days 59 and 60 - Banff NP
39.
Days 61, 62 63 - Banff, Alberta to Minot, North Dakota
40.
Days 64, 65, 66 - North Dakota to Minnesota
41.
Day 67 - Duluth, Minnesota
42.
Days 68, 69,& 70 - To Mackinac Island
43.
Days 71 thru 78, The Last Chapter!
Share your travel adventures like this!
Create your own travel blog in one step
Share with friends and family to follow your journey
Easy set up, no technical knowledge needed and unlimited storage!
