Teslin, Yukon

It’s raining.  It has been most of the night.  At least we slept well.  Darlie covered our bedroom windows with thick heavy blankets to keep the light out.  We were in bed at eight.  We were both worn out from lack of sleep.  I slept right through until seven.  How sweet it is.

The weather up here is very fickle.  As you travel along, you run through cold showers where the temperature drops dramatically.   Then in a few minutes you are in bright sunshine with temperatures in the 70s.  You can get sprinkles anytime.

The Sign Forest at Watson Lake

This RV park is supposed to have wifi but the signal is very weak.  It would probably work if I went up to the office.  I am not going to do that in the rain.  So far, the parks we have stopped at have had very good wifi.  This is the first where it has been unsatisfactory.  

We are in Teslin, Yukon.  The RV park is right on a lakeshore.  They have full service such as fuel, propane, laundry, restaurant, motel and even a museum on local history.  The campsites are nothing to write home about but they are adequate.

We were so exhausted when we got here yesterday, I decided to take Darlie out to dinner to avoid the chore of cooking and cleanup.  There wasn’t much on the menu other than an assortment of sandwiches and a variety of huge hamburgers ranging in price from $9.99 to $16.99.  On check in, the young woman told me they had a chicken dinner special beginning at five o’clock.  We opted for the chicken dinner special.  It came with one side; French fries, potato salad, garden salad or broccoli cheese soup.  Darlie took the soup and I took the fries.  

Our dinner arrived in short order.  I had a huge plate of home cut fries with three pieces of fried chicken perched on top.    The chicken was a scrawny little thing.  He was probably doing all he could to survive on the tundra when they came along and removed his head to feed a Yankee tourist.  I felt sorry for the little guy but gobbled him down with little guilt.

Darlie said the soup was delicious.  The chicken was a bit greasy but it sure tasted good after being on the road all day.  Besides, were we tired and this was not time to complain about the food.  You have to consider where you are in the world.  There are no supermarkets or big restaurant supply companies.  This is Mom and Pop country where they try to feed you and treat you with down home hospitality.  They were very gracious and friendly.  Though I may jest about the meal, I don’t mean to demean these people.  They offered us the best they have in this remote part of the world and we enjoyed it immensely.

It is time to get Darlie up.  We need to get on the road for Whitehorse and beyond today.  We have been five days since arriving in Canada and it looks like we have the better part of two more to make it to Alaska.  Some of the worst road is just ahead of us.  I don’t expect to make very good time once we hit the area of frost heaves and broken pavement.  The reports we are getting say it is very bad and we have to go very slowly.

The Teslin area is beautiful.  The Teslin River is very large passing right through town.  The surrounding landscape is dotted with lakes of various sizes.  All are reported to have a large variety of fish for the catching.

I was visiting with a local Tlingit native this morning.  He said the best time of year to see wildlife near the highway is in May.  Last month the caribou were standing in the road like cattle.  This time of year they have moved on up into the mountains where they will birth their young.  We visited for sometime about his youth and various jobs he has held up here.  He told me of running his trap lines in the winter months and how game seems to be scare this year.  As we were parting ways, he turned to me and wished me a happy father’s day.  I had forgotten what day it was let alone that it was father’s day.

We are in Whitehorse right now.  Darlie is in the drugstore looking for something.  Whitehorse is a historic village and capital of the Yukon.  Dawson City had held that honor until so many people moved away from there.  Whitehorse is home to the SS Klondike, one of the old riverboats used in the gold rush days.  You also can be entertained by the Frantic Follies.  Both of which we have done when we were here in 2003.  If you are traveling up this way, be sure to put Whitehorse on your list of places to stop.  The Alaska Highway bypasses downtown so be sure to go through town.  

SS Klondike