TRAVELING THE SOUTH KLONDIKE HIGHWAY

I must say "thank you" to Terry and Sharon who told us we must not miss Skagway.  It was only 108 miles from the Walmart in Whitehorse to Skagway but it took us all day because of all the jaw dropping, breath-taking, incredible sights along the way.

THE most beautiful lake we've ever seen has to be Emerald Lake also called Rainbow Lake by the Yukoners.  The water was so calm it was like a mirror and we could see the reflection in the water. The rainbow-like colors are indescribable and are the result of blue-green light waves reflecting off the white sediment, called marl.  Marl consists of fragments of decomposed shell mixed with clay.  I brought out a chair and just sat there marveling at the beauty and listening to the quiet. Truly, this is God's country.

That's the reflection and the blue-green light waves - Beautiful!

Did I or did I not say it was breath-taking?

Another beautiful stop along the South Klondike Highway

We almost didn't stop at Caribou Crossing Trading Post and that would have been a BIG mistake. The Milepost described it as offering several activities under one roof including a wildlife museum (we've seen those before, ho-hum), scenic dog cart rides and cozy cafe.  What they failed to mention that this is THE BEST mounted wildlife museum we've yet to see.  It had the world's largest polar bear, a life-size woolly mammoth and other now extinct wildlife.  They forgot to say that we would meet one of the "dirty girls" and have a chance to talk to her about her all-girls Iditarod team, meet her friendly dogs and see newborn husky pups.  I almost felt guilty asking about the 50-percent off admission for mentioning Milepost.  We saw pigs, ponies, goats and on the mountain we saw Dall sheep the closest we've seen so far (I'm wondering if they were real or mounted).  And, the cozy cafe, had home-made goodies that were difficult to resist.  As a matter of fact, I didn't resist and bought a flaky pastry stuffed with feta, spinach and onions with a side of freshly baked oatmeal, raisin and walnut cookie.

Entrance - we were told that on weekends they have 200 or more people visiting - we had the place to ourselves

World's largest mounted polar bear

Look at how small I look next to the Woolly Mammoth

These husky puppies were born in July - I know I need a haircut

Mom and her new-born pups

One of the "dirty girls" Maren - so called because of all the dirty jobs in keeping the team dogs

Now would you drive by the world's smallest desert?  Carcross Desert is an unusual desert area of sand dunes and an International Biophysical Program site for ecological studies.  The desert is composed of sandy lake-bottom material left behind by a large glacial lake.  Amazing.

Thinking Carcross with a population of 399 was just another one of those old mining towns, we thought we'd just drive through.  Nope, had to get out of the coach and check it out.  We learned about the little locomotives, the Duchess and the Duke, which operated on the 2.5-mile portage between Taku Landing and Scotia Bay until 1921.  In the early days, passengers and freight transferred from rail to stern-wheelers at Carcross.  One of those stern-wheelers was the SS Tutshi which was burned down in July 1990 but the hull remains.

I love this colorful painting done by a local artist

This is what remains of the SS Tutshi (pronounced Too-Shy)

I guess the Duke didn't survive

Someone from town is sinking in a bunch of money to renovate the old Caribou Hotel established in 1906.  Because it is a Yukon Heritage Site, the owner must work closely with the government in renovating and use as much of the original structure as possible.

Caribou Hotel - not much to look at but after the renovations, I bet the interior will be beautiful

We descended about 2,600 feet to finally arrive in Skagway, the roads were excellent and the views were beautiful. We drove into the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park Visitor Center parking lot and talked with the Ranger.  He gave us information about the campgrounds in the area. The three in town started at $40 per night and the Municipal Campgrounds don't allow RV's over 26 feet, which rules us out.  From the visitor's center parking lot Denis saw a parking lot and starting thinking, why can't we park there.  He went over and talked to a bus driver there and was told the lot belongs to the hotel.  Denis went and talked to the hotel manager and they gave us permission to stay there for a few nights because the buses don't run during the week.  We have a great, private spot right in town and they wouldn't take any money.  Fantastic!

We made it!

That's all folks!  Thanks for stopping in.