Goodbye to Whitehorse

Sometimes it seems that if we did not have bad luck, we would have no luck at all -- or something like that.  We planned to leave Whitehorse Thursday after a three day visit.  We had finished all our storage duties and I was in the final stage of bringing in the three slides of our RV.  When I started to bring in the dining room slide, it stuck and would not come in.  I had noticed when we arrived that one of the cables looked slack.  I pointed it out to Jim but he did not think it was of any consequence.  That same cable was now hanging outside one end limp as a noodle.  Dear me.

The only ladder we have is too short for Jim to be able to see the cables near the ceiling so we had to make a run to buy a six foot ladder.  Once he had the ladder, Jim took a look and was able to see what appeared to be the issue.  He worked on it for a bit and was able to get all the cables back in place but when I tried to move the slide, it sounded as if it were crushing rocks.  Not good.  It was apparent that we would not be leaving any time soon.  So, I visited the office and extended our stay another day.  Meanwhile, Jim started calling the three RV service companies to see if someone could come out and help us.  The first two were less than helpful.  The third guy kept telling us it would be a $100 service charge to come out.  Okay, can you come?  To our surprise, he arrive in less than 30 minutes!  Now that is service!

The fellow was very nice.  He took a look and at first said, hmmmm sounds like a gear problem.  All I could think was $$$.  But, he started adjusting and having Jim move the slide a bit and adjust some more until it sounded good as new.  It is a miracle!  In the end, he only (notice I said only) charged us the $100 service call charge which we happily paid I must say.  By the time he finished, it was early afternoon and way too late to think of leaving.  So, we relaxed and puttered around.  It was raining a bit anyway so perhaps tomorrow would be sunny.

Alas, today did not dawn sunny.  We pulled away from the RV resort with rain and heavy clouds.  I took the first turn at driving even though I did not want to drive in the rain.  It turned out to be a good decision as the road conditions were pretty good and I zipped along at 50 to 53 mph, woohoo!  Oh, there were a couple of stretches of gravel road but they were pretty smooth.  Later when Jim took over, the road conditions went to heck.  We had been told that the worst stretch of the Alaska Highway was just before the border crossing.  Well, we are only about 20 miles from the border and the last stretch has been really a challenge.  If the scenery was not so spectacular, it would have been quite a chore.

At Haines Junction, we turned northwest into some of the most beautiful scenery we have enjoyed to date.  We stopped many times to take in the sights and read the history and information that is posted.  I hope you enjoy the pictures.  We really enjoyed seeing and taking them.

Our first sight of the Kluane Range.  The Alaska Highway parallels this range from Haines Junction to Koidern.  This mostly unbroken chain of mountains rise to 8,000 feet interrupted by a only few large valleys that were created by glacier-fed rivers and streams.  Beyond them on a clear day you can see the major peaks of the St. Elias range but not today.

Here in the Kluane National Park and Reserve, the mountains rise to the highest of any in Canada.  These immense ice fields are the largest non-polar fields in the world.  There are a number of glaciers to be seen.  Glaciers through thousands of years have created a beautiful landscape that is still being molded today by these same forces.  It would be a shame is the warming of our world melts these wonders of nature.

The forest itself gives testament to the creation and destruction of nature.  Millions of acres of forest are home to the northern spruce.  These trees are especially suited to this cold environment.  Spruce beetles are common but sometimes they become epidemic and as a result, there are many dead trees visible.  The beetles bore holes into the heart of the tree and lay eggs that hatch and feed on the tree.  Some experts believe the infestation of beetles is due to global warming.

Our first glimpse of Kluane Lake.  This lake is the largest in the Yukon covering approximately 154 sq. miles.  The Kluane Range and the Ruby Range flank the lake on either side.  Because it is so large, there are many features about the lake that make it amazing.

The play of light on the mountains and the water were surreal to me.  It looks un-natural, but it certainly is not touched.

The highway travels around the lake so we got a good look at all its faces.  At one end, the lake shallows and looked like salt marshes or bog.  In this picture, you can see the impact of the wind.  The signs warn of dangerous cross winds; they were not kidding.

As we approached where the highway goes over the lake, we could see the dust clouds billowing upward.  Creepy.

 As we entered the dust, visibility dropped as if we were in the fog.

Further along, there are islands in the lake.  Interestingly enough, we did not see a single boat on the lake.  After seeing the effect of the winds on the water, I was not too surprised.

At the far end of the lake, there were beaches and waves driven by the winds.  It reminded me of Hawaii with the mountains in the background.  Certainly a lovely place.