Final Scenic Views

 Heading back down the Alaskan Highway taking in the views and storing them in my mind for days to come.

The foliage is telling me it is in fact time to go home before the snows start to fly. The fireweed is on the last of its blooms.

And the Aspen are turning a beautiful yellow

This is my idea of the perfect camp site. Why would I pay $40.00 per night for an RV Park site when this is free and priceless? That is one of the glories of the Alaskan Highway. You can just pull off and indulge in the beauty :)

The wash out from the flooding is still a temporary single dirt lane above Watson Lake where some of my sister RVers got stranded earlier in the season.

I said my final farewell to the Alaskan Highway and headed down the Cassier. Yet another gorgeous drive, but it was raining and foggy the whole way down and unfortunately was not conducive to photos.

I made my way down through Jasper and Banff National Parks in the Colorado Rockies. I did stop in the little town of Jasper. It was Saturday and very crowded. I tried to top off my tank, but tried 3 different stations, of which none of them had diesel. So I continued on to Lake Louise. There were about a half dozen parking lots all filled to the brim, so in disappointment, I did not get to see it. However, there is yet more beauty to behold :) 

Majestic mountains...

Some still snow covered at the end of August!

Do you think this will all melt before the next snows fly?

Me either ;)

Pristine mountain lakes with water as blue as can be :)

Coming out of Banff are these cross ways for wildlife. The roads are fenced off high so the animals are basically forced to use them. However, they have a long way to walk across the road for a drink on the other side because they are few and far between. I love the concept though.

Sunday, Aug 26th I crossed the border at Sweetgrass, Montana back onto American soil again :) This has been an amazing journey for me. I'll post some final notes when I get back home to Texas and have time to digest it all. Thanks for coming along with me :)

Problems in Paradise

I left Dawson City on August 6th and was traveling right along enjoying life going back down through Whitehorse to Watson Lake on the Alaskan Highway to the junction with the Cassier Highway to head south. At the junction, I stopped for diesel and noticed smoke coming from my engine and smelled very strong diesel fumes before I even started pumping fuel. I looked underneath and sure enough, I had a leak :(

Luckily it happened here before I got on the very remote Cassier Highway with very few services and there was a mechanic just up the road a quarter mile. He confirmed my diagnosis, but stated neither he nor anyone else in Watson Lake could work on a German diesel engine. 

So, I placed a call to my emergency roadside service and they arranged for me to be towed back to Whitehorse (from whence I just came) to a shop there. But, it wouldn't be until tomorrow (Friday) and he would be coming from Whitehorse so it wouldn't be until around 11:00 am. Sure enough, he arrived on time and got me all loaded up to go back the 250 miles to the tune of $2100. Thank God and Coachnet for unlimited towing!

We arrived in Whitehorse around 5:00 pm and my new buddy John got me all unloaded. However, it was quitting time at the Freightliner shop Coachnet set me up with. So I had to hang around until Monday for them to look at it. But they hooked me up with electric and wifi for the weekend so I could stay in my rig.

Come Monday, the diesel mechanic there looked at it and said he was not used to working on the Sprinter engine and I would need to go to the Dodge dealer. Fair enough. He said I could drive it a short distance, but don't let the engine get too hot or it could catch on fire! I drove it over there and they looked at it right away and determined I needed a new fuel injector pump. I had chosen to pay the extra to have it shipped from British Columbia via air instead of truck so it would be here in the Yukon in 3 days. 

Well, 3 days came and went and no part :( It was now Friday and still the part had not arrived and we were heading into a long holiday weekend here. It turns out, the folks who shipped it sent it by truck in error instead of by air which takes 7 -10 business days! 

So here I sat for yet another weekend. I checked myself into a nice quiet RV Park. I did my best to occupy myself while I waited until Tuesday for any further news on the part.

Sunday was a nice day, so I took my day pack and walked to town about 3 miles away. There are paved walking paths along both sides of the Yukon River heading into town. 

I did a little geocaching and hiked up to what's known as "The World's Largest Fish Ladder". They had to put this in for the salmon because they can't get over the damn that was built to produce the town's electricity.

The salmon swim upstream through this to get back to their native waters to spawn.

Then, I had to walk back, which was mostly all up hill. So needless to say, my legs were a tad sore the next day ;) But the view of Whitehorse was worth it and it took up a good part of my day. At least it was a beautiful place to be stranded :)

Come Tuesday, I was really praying for that part to be there so I could be on my way. My new best friend Colin in the service department was awesome. He put up with me asking him everyday if it was in yet and he felt as bad as I did when he had to tell me no, not yet. He also kept a pending appointment with a mechanic every day in the event that it did so he could get me right in and back on the road again.

Finally, Weds Aug 22nd it arrived! Colin had my rig in within seconds and three hours later it was fixed, tested and ready to go! So after being stranded for a total of 13 days and almost $3000.00  lighter, off I went back down the Alaskan Highway! :) Still time to get home before I have to be back to work on Sep 3rd. 

Dawson City, YT

Today, August 5th is a bitter sweet day leaving Alaska. I had such an amazing time here! It's time to head over the Top of the World Highway into Dawson City, Yukon. This highway is not for the faint of heart, which is why I decided against going to Eagle, AK to the north of Chicken. That road is even worse.

It's a gorgeous drive, the first 43 miles from Chicken to the Canadian border is all dusty dirt road, steep, windey, narrow hairpin turns and guard rails are unheard of.

The shoulders are soft, especially on a rainy day. Many rigs have gone over steep enbankments. The latest being Friday. A Class A towing a car pulled over a bit too far and went over the edge. By the grace of God, it was stopped by a tree. It had been raining that day as evidenced by the mud halfway up the side of the fifth wheel of the man telling me about it at the Chicken Creek Cafe. He had just come from Dawson City and passed it.

The second half, 108 miles from the border crossing to Dawson City was supposedly "paved". However, I found it in worse condition than the dirt road. It just meant the pot holes were deeper and hit harder and the washboard sections on both sides of the road rattled my teeth and rig apart. At one point, I was so exasperated I just stopped my rig in the middle of the road and took this picture. (Not to worry, not many cars were traveling it ;) I was beginning to ask myself why I was!

But then, when I could take my eyes off the potholes and enjoy all the beauty I was reminded why I did :) I was above the tree line several times.

There was a pull off on the Canadian side telling about the highway. I was glad for a break. I also lost an hour at the border. The Yukon is on Pacific time.

I finally got to the end. But before you reach Dawson City, you have to take the George Black Ferry across the Yukon River.

Here we go! :)

Dawson City is a quaint little town all about the Gold Rush Era too.

Paddlewheel boats are plentiful here.

I missed the show and casino at Diamond Tooth Gerties. It is only open in the evenings. But looks like a fun place to visit :)

I ran into my friends Nan & Tina again. We were staying at the same park in town within walking distance to tour the town. They had came over yesterday and witnessed the final results of the retrieval of the Class A and toad. Both windshields were cracked and no doubt other damage. Can't imagine how they even pulled it back up onto the road. Just hope nobody was hurt.

Now, I'll gradually make my way back down the Alaskan and Cassier Highways to the Canadian Rockies to visit Jasper and Banff National Parks before heading back into Texas.

Chicken, AK

On August 3rd, I topped off my diesel and propane in preparation to head to our last Alaskan town to visit. Chicken, AK. Chicken was and still is a gold mining town. You can only get to it in the summer, the road from Tok, AK or Dawson City, YT aren't plowed in the winter. The population according to the Milepost mag is 23 in the summer and 7 in the winter. The locals tell me that the winter population is now down to 4. There are only 3 businesses here.

Chicken Creek RV Park and the Goldpanner Cafe

The Chicken Gold Camp which also has a cafe, which is where I stayed.

And they have this old restored gold dredge on display

And then there is Downtown Chicken! LOL Complete with a merchantile, saloon, cafe and RV parking.

I met up with my friends Tina and Nan. We had breakfast at The Chicken Creek Cafe, which has HUGE blueberry pancakes! They serve them in a gold panning dish! LOL We could each only eat half. This was the leftover ;) I forgot to take a picture before we ate.

We were checking out the saloon after breakfast and laughing because it was a little early in the morning for making such a visit ;) LOL

Inside all over the ceiling and walls are autographed hats of those who have visited in the past. Kinda like the dollar bills at the Salty Dawg :)

Tina and Nan headed for Dawson City and I stayed behind to take the walking tour of the Old Town Chicken. It is private property now, so that was the only way to see it. The town is well documented in a book entitled "Tisha". It tells the story of the trials of a young school teacher who lives there year round and the conflict between the natives over 100 years ago.

Road to the Old town.

The old schoolhouse, where she also lived.

The inside walls remain intact according ot the description in the book. Right down to the color of the paint.

Mr. Strong was the Postal carrier and supplier for all of Chicken and Eagle, AK to the north. He made trips with horses and sled in the winter. His Merchantile for supplies still stands.

As well as his horse barn.

There was even a roadhouse here, where the community would get together for dances. And was available for anyone passing through. It also still stands.

Delta Junction, AK

En-route from the North Pole to Delta Junction, the official end of the Alaskan Highway, I stopped off to visit a couple interesting places.

The first stop was the Knotty Shop in Salcha, AK where everything is made from wood with burls in it.

Animals crafted and displayed in the front yard.

You can even get your attitude ajusted while here ;)

Or, tame your husband or wife ;)

And get a really beautiful walking stick to go.

A very unique and fun place to visit and the smiles were free :)

The next stop was Rika's Roadhouse, a 10 acre historical park located on the Tenana River. A great place to stretch your legs and take yourself back in time.

Rika was an amazingly hardy woman. She not only ran a roadhouse for miners and trappers enroute north, but she raised all the livestock and did all the gardening to boot! She ran it year round through the brutal winters.

Some of the buildings still stand today.

The roadhouse, where you could get a good meal and bed for the night.

The barn where she tended her livestock.

She carried all her water from a spring, until one of the gentleman passing through built her this windmill.

One of the sod roofed outbuildings. Sod was placed on roofs for better insulation during the fridgid winters.

Lastly, I arrived in Delta Junction having come full circle! The end of the Alaska Highway.

I stopped in the Visitor's Center to get my certificate for completing the trials and tribulations of the Alaska Highway :)

It's an awesome state to visit in the summer, but sure wouldn't want to be here in the winter! Check out how cold it can get here!