Alcan: Whitehorse, Yukon Territory - June 16th to 17th, 2022

It’s about the journey, not the destination. We drove to Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory from Haines in Alaska. Heading north on the Haines Highway to get back to the Alaska Highway was one of the most scenic drives we’ve done. The sunshine along with the blue skies enhanced the experience.

Thursday was another beautiful, warm, sunny day. Since the pumps at the De Witts Express gas station were not working the night before, we tried stopping at the Haines Tesoro station Thursday morning. We did not have enough gas in our tank to make it to the next town, Haines Junction. The only pump working at the Tesoro station was diesel. Uh oh. The only other gas station listed between Haines and Haines Junction was the 33 Mile Roadhouse, which is, you guessed it, 33 miles north of Haines. Do we go ahead and risk it, hoping they are open and have gas? Before we pulled out of the Tesoro station, we asked a man standing outside the station if there was another gas station in town. He said right across the street. Sure enough, there were pumps right across the street. He also said he was working on getting the Tesoro pumps operational again. We’re guessing they were out of gas. We’re not sure what the station across the street is called, it was not listed on Google Maps. Perhaps they were part of the same station? We’re grateful we could get gas. Otherwise, we would have been stuck in Haines until more gas arrived.

The drive from Haines to Haines Junction was just gorgeous. The Haines Highway follows the Chilkat River (not to be confused with the Chilkoot River). The highway passes through the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve. There were several pull-outs along the highway. We stopped to take in the views, but we did not see any bald eagles.

We also stopped at Klukwan, a Chilkat Indian village to check out the Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center. When we pulled up, there was a tour guide speaking to a group of people. However, a woman approached us saying that the group was a cruise tour. If we wanted a guided tour, it would be $35 each. There were also self-guided tours which were cheaper, but they would not be offered until noon. Since we had a long drive ahead of us, we declined and went on our way.

Forty miles north of Haines, we crossed back into Canada. We had filled out our required forms in the ArrivCan app while we were still in Skagway. The border crossing took a little longer this time. Not only did they ask for our passports, like before, but they also wanted our vaccination records. They also asked a lot more questions about weapons and food items. Before they were done, they had us open up our van so they could see inside. They didn’t search anything, but just took a peak. We were wondering if they were just interested in checking out our van. After about 15 minutes or so, they let us enter the country.

We reached the Haines Highway Summit 59 miles form Haines, also known as Chilkat Pass. The terrain was tundra, with wide open, expansive views. Since it was such a lovely day, we stopped at the summit to have a picnic lunch. It was so nice out that we pulled out our camp chairs and comfortably sat there taking in the sights while eating our food. It was so peaceful. Even though we were sitting right next to the highway, there was not much traffic to disturb us. In the 45 minutes that we sat there, only about a half dozen vehicles drove by. The only drawback was there were no toilets. Usually we pick out lunch spots near restrooms, but we made an exception this time. Keith pulled out our camping toilet, but Ann thought she could wait until the next rest area.

Just a couple miles further down the highway was a rest area with a pit toilet. Perfect! In addition, there was a small warming shelter, called the Green Shack according to a posted sign. We unlatched the door and took a peak inside. It was quite interesting. The shelter was fully stocked with wood, a wood stove, food, clothing, boots, and sleeping bags. Everything you could possibly need to survive there for several days in the middle of winter.

Before we reached Haines Junction, we had another bear sighting. He was munching on flowers along the side of the road. The bear was brown, lighter in color than the previous bears we had seen during our trip so far, but we still think it was a black bear instead of a grizzly (or brown bear). From what we have learned, the color and size of the bear are not good indicators to identifying it as a black or brown bear. Instead, it is better to note the differences in their ears, whether or not they have a shoulder hump that is the highest point along their back, and the shape of their face profile (Grizzly vs Black Bear | Know the Difference).

When we reached Haines Junction, we filled up with gas again. We didn’t want to get stuck somewhere because we couldn’t find gas. We read that you shouldn’t depend on any particular gas station to be open or have working pumps. That reality was starting to sink in for us, so we were topping off our tank whenever we could.

Right across the street from the gas station was the Cozy Corner Motel & Restaurant. The sign indicated they had ice cream. We like ice cream! We stopped to check it out. They had waffle cones with a few flavors of hand-dipped ice cream. Ann had a dip of chocolate. Keith opted for the strawberry smoothie instead of ice cream. The cool treats hit the spot on such a warm day.

At Haines Junction, we turned east to follow the Alaska Highway to Whitehorse. Yes, that is heading away from Alaska instead of towards it, but the next leg of our journey will be going up the Klondike Highway to Dawson City. Along the way to Whitehorse, we spotted a few more animals along the side of the road. It was horses this time. Not ones fenced in a pasture, just ones along the side of the road. We believe they were wild horses. We had seen road signs warning us about horses several times, just like the signs warning us to watch out for bison, moose, or bear. We were wondering if those signs were for wild horses. So, horses on the way to Whitehorse; how appropriate!

Right after checking into the campground, Hi Country RV Park, we drove into town for dinner. Due to the border crossing, we were out of groceries to be able to cook anything nice. The restaurant we picked out, which had good reviews, was the Klondike Rib & Salmon restaurant. It did not disappoint.

Luckily we got there around 5:30 pm and were able to get seated at a table right away. However, they seated us at a table meant for six to share with another couple who was already there. We don’t know how common that is in Canada, but having customers share tables is quite common in Europe, at least it was about 30 years ago when we were there. The nice couple at our table were from Alberta. Not only did we share a table, but we shared our dinner conversation with them. It would have been a little easier to converse if the music wasn’t so loud, but we enjoyed their company just the same.

The food turned out to be fantastic as well. Keith had half a rack of ribs while Ann splurged and had the bison ribeye. Ann really liked all the vegetables that came with her meal. There was a small mixed green salad along with cooked carrots, beets, green beans, chunky mashed potatoes, baked beans, and cornbread. With all that food, she thought there would be leftovers for lunch the next day, but it tasted too good. She cleaned her plate.

The restaurant also had a lot of character and great atmosphere. Everyone else must like it as well, because when we left, there was a line of people along the street waiting to get in. We would definitely give the place two thumbs up.

Friday morning was chore time. Laundry, showers, and grocery shopping took the whole morning to complete. Then we headed over to the S.S. Klondike Historical Site. There was a lovely 20 minute video on the history of the steam paddle boats that used to be the main transportation between Whitehorse and Dawson City. The S.S. Klondike was the largest of the paddle boats running on the Yukon River. After the free video, we paid for the guided tour. It was only $4.25 (CAD) per person.

Unfortunately, the boat was undergoing some restoration, so we could not go inside. We could go onto the bow of the ship and peer into some of the windows. However, the stories told by the guides were worth the price of the tour. The one guide’s mother was a native of the area. When her mother was a child, she was rounded up every year, from age four to age sixteen, and taken aboard the paddle boats to a residential school, just like all the other children of the First Nations. It was very interesting to have a tour guide with such personal ties to the history.

After our tour, we walked around town, up and down Main Street and along the Yukon River. There was a live band playing near Whitehorse Landing along the waterfront. There is a train station for the White Pass & Yukon Route railroad, but, due to COVID and the hassle of crossing the country border, the train is not currently running to Whitehorse.

We ended the day by driving over to Miles Canyon. This is a narrow canyon in the river just south of Whitehorse. It must be one of the more scenic spots in the area, because there was a large group of young people taking prom pictures at the canyon and on the suspension bridge across the canyon. Ann snapped a few pictures of her own and we headed back to the campground.

Hi Country RV Park has a little more character than some of the other RV parks we’ve stayed at lately. On the side of the road leading into the RV Park, there are a few old vehicles, including an army medical truck. Ann went into the office and asked the staff if those vehicles were from the building of the Alaska Highway. They said that they purchased them from Alaska, and yes, they were from the American troops building the highway. How cool is that?

Whitehorse was enjoyable, but we enjoyed the drive to get there even better. Whitehorse is not a large city, but after driving for weeks with hardly any traffic at all, we found driving in the traffic of Whitehorse a little stressful. We didn’t have to put up with traffic for long as our next leg of our journey would take us up the North Klondike Highway to Dawson City.

Check out our related video: Alcan: Whitehorse, Yukon Territory

(Ann)