Filled up with diesel at cheap US prices before heading
into Canada, and then went out of town via a few local sight’s we hadn’t yet
visited. First of all to Robert
Service’s cabin - Robert Service is a Yukon bush poet in a similar vein to
Banjo Paterson in Australia, and very well known up here. Andrew was the Parks Canada guide at the
little cabin, and was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable – He even knew of
Banjo Paterson and was thrilled when I was able to show him my book of his
poetry which I always keep in my car !!
I shall have to investigate more into Robert Service’s work.
Then it was down the road to Jack London’s cabin – London
wrote White Fang and Call of the Wild, which most of us probably read at
school. But they are all about this area
and this Gold Rush time of 1898, and are so much more enjoyable when you know
the area. We found a copy of both books
under one cover for Janet who hasn’t read them since school, so she wanted a photo
at Jack London’s cabin. Next to the
cabin is Jack’s food larder – High up in the air, with tin around the legs to
prevent bears and other varmints from helping themselves to his food !! After that we had a quick drive to the top of
the dome / hill overlooking the mighty Yukon River and Dawson City – And from which
you can still clearly see the odd worm like trails left by the old gold dredges
of the 1930’s where the river gravel is dumped from the dredges in a very
distinctive wavy pattern. These dredges
are of course no longer used, but are the same as the one I photographed in
Chicken – If you remember, dear reader ??? !!
We left Dawson City and set off down the Alaska Highway for 20 miles,
before turning left onto the Dempster Highway to the Arctic Circle and then
Inuvik – Only 735 kms to Inuvik – And it is ALL dirt, and it started within 100
yards of turning onto the highway and crossing the bridge across the river
!!! Even 370 kms to next services.
We had black and threatening skies, but a spectacular
view over the snow capped Ogilvie mountains to the west, and obviously a new
overnight dusting of snow on the lower hills near the road. The road quickly
became very wet and muddy, and like last week on the Dalton Highway to Prudhoe,
the car quickly became covered in very sticky mud. The calcium chloride they add to the roads to
supress dust and help form a harder surface when dry make everything very
messy, slippery, and corrosive when it is wet ! And hard to clean off too as it just crusts
onto your car and into every nook and cranny !!
About half an hour up the road we turned into the Parks Canada
interpretive centre and it was FREEZING when we got out ! Turned out they had about 2 inches of snow
overnight, which had already melted, but which explained the wet roads ! Their information centre was warm, and they
had hot herbal tea from local plants on the stove – And though I am not
normally a herbal tea kind of person, I have to admit it was pretty tasty and
did a good job warming us up !!
After learning yet more about the area and what we could
expect on the highway to Inuvik, we set off again, splashing our wash north
through the mud. But the scenery was
just stunning, and more than made up for the poor road conditions – Just an
amazing drive. Slowly the sky cleared a
bit, and then a motorbike came round the corner towards us, and it was Klaus –
Our Perth friend on a motorcycle who we had last met on the Dalton highway in
Coldfoot last time we went to the Arctic 2 weeks ago !! We were looking for an excuse to stop and
make a sandwich in the cold, and Klaus gave us that excuse – He was far colder
than us anyway !! So we shared a quick
sandwich with him, heard that he had had a great drive in sunshine to Inuvik,
and then it suddenly started raining so we jumped back in the car and headed
north, and Klaus put his gear back on and jumped on his bike and headed
south. We hadn’t got 5 minutes up the
road and there is a Troopie with German number plates coming towards us !! Much flashing of headlights and we pulled up
beside each other for a chat – Claudia driving, and John (he is from the US !). By now it was raining hard, so after a quick
chat we swapped blog addresses and continued on our way !! So that is the Dutchies in their Troopie, and
now Claudia – And we know there is a Swiss one running around somewhere, as
well as maybe another German one !!
Common as dirt – 5 of us Troopies in N America at the same time !!
Driving through a pass through the Ogilvie's is really just stunning - No way pics or words can describe it. Still lots of oil and gas exploration up here, although it is seasonal sue to the inability to drive off road except during the winter when the ground is frozen. We passed a couple of rigs beside the road, and the entire area has to be set up on wooden decking to protect the ground. Finally we arrived at Eagle Plains - In the middle of nowhere ! Hotel, bar, restaurant, garage, and camping on a
hill top overlooking ....... for ever !! One drawback - Our first REAL taste of Alaskan Skeeters !! They are enormous - more like flying daddy long legs, but they are not really aggressive - They will bite but not really like the little ones. The problem is the quantity - they are EVERYWHERE, so if you even breathe in, you get a mouthful !! Bit of wind, and they disappear, but if the wind drops, they are back in seconds. We know understand why those insect proof mesh head covers are required !!
A great camp spot, just 20 kms south of the Arctic Circle again, and with a view to die for. The midnight sun was amazing.
Only down side was that when putting up the pop top it didn't seem right, and was a bit floppy, and also I found a loose washer in the roof gutter - Where had that come from ? Investigation needed in morning, because something was obviously wrong.
Pics here :- https://picasaweb.google.com/117739775480775657932/0041DawsonCityToEaglePlains?authkey=Gv1sRgCNaP76Kh7rKzLA#
After that, the weather slowly improved, and the scenery
was just unbelievable – If you haven’t ever seen this kind of Arctic country,
it is almost impossible to describe it – It goes on for ever, is totally unlike
anything you have ever seen, and you are literally on the edge of your seat as
you go round each corner, or crest each rise, wondering what incredible sight
you are going to see next. Not better
than the Dalton or the Denali Highways – Just different.
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