Storyline: Westward Ho!
Tue, Jul 5
And then we hit the road. Carcross, Tagish, Jakes Corner, Little Teslin Lake, Johnsons Crossing, Brooks Brook, Teslin, Morley River, dip into BC, Swift River, Rancheria… still north of 60, but not for long. Bears and bicycles on the road. And the occasional RV heading in the opposite direction – most of them probably Alaska bound. Spectacular views.
Saying goodbye to our generous hosts and knowing that we’d likely never drive again to this vast, stunning, pristine land surrounded by with towering mountains, full of unspoiled divine beauty wasn’t easy.
There are many places we chose not to visit. There were many places in my initial plan that we later missed. Driving all the way to Dawson City made no sense since it would be 8 hours each way and we could not cross the nearby US border. Just a reminder: we don’t travel to the US because of Alex’s health and the fact that he is not covered for cancer by our emergency travel medical insurance.
Tuktoyaktuk was in the scope of our westbound trip, but driving on gravel and mud for another few days (it’s about 1,400km from Whitehorse) and back just to say we’ve been there made no sense – and to be honest, Doranya wasn’t built for the conditions on the Dempster Highway as the ground clearance is only about 18cm / 7”. The Northwest Territories (NTW) were also in scope and even in the initial detailed plan. But then I “drove” the only road in and out by Google street view and decided against. If a wildfire were to catch us, there would be no easy escape.
And as I am writing this, almost the entire NWT has been evacuated due to wildfires. Enterprise, one of the stops on my list is 90% burned out, according to the news. The territorial evacuation may be over before I post this, but it hasn’t been an easy summer in the North.
And so, we said goodbye to our northern family, walked to the parking lot, hopped into Doranya and drove to the bakery. It was rather busy so we decided we’d stop in the Whitehorse bakery for our bread supply before continuing.
We did not have reserved sites or a planned itinerary, aside from the fact that we’d take the Stewart-Cassiar highway south from just west of Watson Lake. Our next reserved site was in Riding Mountains National Park close the end of July. Michael had a lot of suggestions on where to drive by and what to see. But we could not do it all.
However, we’ll definitely drive to the “smallest desert in the world” at Carcross. For those of you who are not familiar with the Canadian landscape, we have a few internal dunes areas, too. It can be very hot in certain parts of Canada. Our initial itinerary included The Great Sand Hills in Saskatchewan and the one north of Yorkton SK on our way back. There is also the Athabasca Sand Dunes desert accessible only by air or water.
But plans have changed so our remaining chance to visit a desert was at Carcross. We turned south of the Alaska Highway after Whitehorse and drove on the Klondike Hwy to the sand dunes and desert.
On our way we stopped by the stunningly beautiful Emerald Lake for a few photos and sights. After spending some time wandering around the dunes, we turned northeast on Tagish Rd. Google indicated a few campgrounds, but none of them seemed to actually be open. It was past 4pm and we hoped to find a spot to boondock if nothing else.
We found a campground adjacent to a restaurant in Tagish. There were spots and we parked there for the night. We sat at the restaurant patio for early dinner and drinks. There wasn’t much on the menu, but Alex’s favorite fish & chips were available. The owners, a couple our age or so, were the owners, chefs, servers and everything else. The campground was a side business to the restaurant the guy told us. They can’t hire help. No one wants to work in these places.
So, he is thinking of selling up and retiring. We’d hit these narratives many times on our way back. No staff, campgrounds for sale or simply closed.
For now, we enjoyed a lovely evening watching the waters of the Tagish River while sipping our drinks. We were still in the unspoiled beauty of the Yukon.
Wed, Jul 6
On our way to Haines Junction, I had noticed what looked like a nice campground called Continental Divide. Since Teslin was busy and buggy we would not overnight there. Today’s goal is to find this place as an overnight option. It was very close to our turning south point on BC 37 (Stewart-Cassiar hwy).
Around noon we stopped at Johnsons Crossing where there was a historical site plaque on a closed hut, a small shop and bakery and a few campsites. Alex of course had to taste their sweets. Next stop Teslin to feed Doranya with gas, which we knew from our first time was much cheaper than the regular prices seen on this highway.
Eventually we reached the Continental Divide Lodge. It too had a cheap(ish) gas station, a few rooms in their lodge and really nice big campsites with full service at the back. Far enough from the road and thus quiet. No bugs at all. Doranya was due for holding tank dump and fresh water refill.
So, it was a great place to stop for the night. We had no idea what was ahead of us for the next day. I haven’t mentioned before, but cellular service was unavailable on the entire Alaska Highway and prior to it all through the mountains in Alberta and BC. Except in the cities, like Dawson Creek, Forth Nelson, Whitehorse etc.
The service would disappear about 5 minutes after leaving the towns and reappear again five minutes before entering the next one. Most of the campgrounds didn’t have wifi. The Continental Divide campground was no exception.
No wifi here either. The owner was old and had not a clue what wifi was. Had some cellular service around the main building. Enough to check the weather and wildfires. All looked good for our next leg south. This would be our last stop before leaving the beautiful Yukon. It is not by chance that their motto reads “Yukon, Larger than life”.
Join the conversation around our e-Table