Yukon Archives - Iron Roamer

Liard River Hot Springs

I thought I could get to the Laird River Hot Springs the day before and then go back to the Air Force Lodge. But it was 160 km away. Too far to go there and come back. Today, going to the Liard River Hot Springs was my main objective on the way to Fort Nelson from Watson Lake.

I got to the hot springs just after it opened at 8 am. There is a very cool wooden boardwalk leading down to the springs.

The springs are not situated in a cement pool like Takhini Hot Springs, but rather dug out in the ground. Pretty amazing. I first went to the right and took a step into the pool. Way too hot. I then tried the stairs down to the centre. This was just right.

The bottom of the springs is covered in rock that doesn’t bring up dirt as you walk on it or kick it. The spring goes around a corner a bit where the water gets cooler but is still warm.

As more and more people arrived, I decided it was time to make my exit. Just as I was leaving I met a fellow motorcyclist who was going to attempt to get to Prudhoe Bay on his road tires. Possible if it doesn’t rain. But good luck if it does.

Toad River

The woman at the Watson Lake information booth suggested I stop at Toad River for something to eat on my way to Fort Nelson. It is kind of a cool road stop. The ceiling was covered in hats.

The staff were nice and the food was good too. At least the potato and bacon soup certainly hit the spot after another cool ride.

Fort Nelson

When I got to Fort Nelson the weather was nice enough to camp. The woman who checked me into the Triple G Hideaway was quite the character and had no problem teasing me. We had fun going back and forth.

The campsite was also licensed! Bonus!

After setting up, and doing laundry, I decided to hit their restaurant rather than finding the A&W in town. The beer was good. The Newfie Fries I should have avoided. But they were so tempting. Newfie fries consist of fries, gravy, onions, ground beef, mozzarella cheese, and turkey dressing! No way I was getting through it all as it was a big serving and very rich.

The one disappointing thing during the day is that I saw lots of Bison on and beside the road. Ok …. That wasn’t disappointing, but what was is that I thought I caught them on my GoPro. When I went to down load the picture they weren’t there. OH Well , sorry, no pictures.

Route for July 29, 2016

Watson Lake Sign Forrest

The highlight for today’s ride was the Watson Lake Sign Forrest.

I had ridden between Whitehorse and Watson Lake on the way up. I generally don’t like riding the same route twice if I don’t have to. But this is about the only way between the two towns to start heading south and hopefully into warm and sunny temperatures.

It is funny that the hottest part of the trip so far was at the Arctic Circle!

Anyways, I woke up when I woke up, from the Caribou Campground at shortly after 6 am. There was suppose to be “strictly” no shower before 7 am. I am a rebel so I had a shower ha ha.

There wasn’t too much of interest along the road. Just the usual great scenery.

I got to Watson Lake early and got to the famous Watson Lake Sign Forrest. I had read about it lots from fellow adventure travelers who left a sign or sticker there. When I started to walk through it I was surprised at how big it was.

I looked everywhere for a sticker that I recognized. The goal was to place my sticker near one of those of people I had read about in blogs. As much as I looked I couldn’t find a sticker I recognized. I guess I should have done more research before I arrived.

Eventually I decided on a place for my sticker, right down the path from the information booth. It was time to find my lodging for the night.

Air Force Lodge

I had read about the Air Force Lodge and besides being unique, it was one of the more inexpensive places in town. Inexpensive being a relative term. Still way over my budget.

I arrived at 1:30 pm and there was a sign on the door saying they would be back at 3. After a few minutes Mike popped his head out the door. He said they were busy cleaning the whole lodge but would let me in as soon as they could. No problem. I took a beer and some left over Doritos and sat on the picnic table and relaxed. Shortly after 2 Mike yelled and said I could come in.

The first thing I was made aware of is that this is a “no shoe” lodge. Shoes have to be taken off at the front door.

The second thing I was made aware of was the history of the lodge. Originally built at the Watson Lake Airport 1942 as a barracks for the pilots flying during Second World War, it was later moved to the town where it stood empty for many years. Then in 1999 the present owner completely and thoroughly refurbished the interior while leaving the exterior structure in its original form. Over the period of two and a half years of pains taking and meticulous craftsmanship the interior became a visitor’s lodge still very true to its wartime functional purpose of barracks, but with many modern features that surpass the highest building standards.

The first thing I noticed though was that this place was immaculate. There wasn’t a spot of dirt anywhere. The room was simple but had everything I needed. What an excellent place to spend the night.

Route for July 28, 2016

Cinnamon Bun

The goal today was to leave Dawson City to go back to Whitehorse with a stop for a cinnamon bun.

It looked like it was going to be a nice ride. Mostly cloudy, but a little sun poking out from time to time. As I rode I passed lots of “mom and pop” gold mining claims. Each one sifting through river rock for gold.

Braeburn Lodge

As I got closer to Whitehorse I came up to Braeburn Lodge. Now I had heard from several people that I needed to stop there for a cinnamon bun.

On the counter of the restaurant and there were these massive cinnamon buns!!! I love cinnamon buns. I even like to eat the raw ones before they are cooked. They should sell cinnamon bun dough too! Maybe on a stick. The best cinnamon buns were made by Grandma Klassen.

Now these cinnamon buns aren’t cheap. Twelve dollars for a cinnamon bun!

I dug into eat but didn’t get too far before I was full. I had it wrapped. This cinnamon bun lasted for 2 more meals after this one! So perhaps the price wasn’t too bad after all. It was good, but no Grandma Klassen 🙂

Caribou RV

As I got closer to Whitehorse the weather turned cloud to drizzle to rain. My options were to camp or go to the Talhini Hostel I enjoyed the last time I was here. The only problem with going to the hostel was that it was 20 km back from where I came. I also had to go through a construction zone with a pilot car. Naturally I went to Starbucks to contemplate my next move.

The rain eventually stopped but the clouds still looked ominous. After checking the weather forecasts at various sites, I made the executive decision to camp at Caribou RV. You may remember I camped there when I was heading north.

On my last stop I had run into a guy from Montreal who had had enough of the rain, mud and dirt. He was headed home as fast as he could. As I pulled in this time I was reminded of him. I understood how he felt. I was feeling pretty exhausted from the same things. The one difference? I made it to Prudhoe Bay and dipped my toe in the Arctic Ocean. I did it! I may be exhausted, but I achieved what I set out to do and persevered through the various hardships.

After pitching my tent, I went to dinner at the adjacent Wolf’s Den restaurant. Just for a salad. The cinnamon bun was still sitting in my stomach.

Route for July 27, 2016

Dawson City

The day started out pretty awesome in Dawson City. It was sunny, was chatting with the housekeeper as I sat out on The Bunkhouse veranda doing my daily journals, and had plans to tour Dawson City and in the evening see Diamond Tooth Gerties. Then it happened.

Website Crash

I finished the Top of the World daily journal and noticed that not all of it was posting to my website. I actually still have that problem. It appeared that there wasn’t enough upload room to get it to my website. The internet did not give me advice I was comfortable with to rectify the problem. So I contacted my former website instructor. He gave me the coding for a php.ini file to rectify the problem. As I was tinkering with that, somehow, still don’t know how, I deleted the wp-content file. This crashed my website.

As I recognized what happened a sinking feeling descended on me. With the help of my instructor I worked with Go Daddy to get it back. Go Daddy has excellent service. Of course this was going to cost me. At the same time I got them to do automatic backups. On the road it just isn’t possible to find reliable internet to do a complete backup, including the wp-content folder.

In any case, getting the backup wp-content was going to take a while.

Dawson City History

I had been told that a must see was Diamond Tooth Gerties and the Snake Pit bar at the Westminster Hotel.

What I really like though was touring the city and reading the plaques on buildings describing the history of them. A really cool display is put on by Parks Canada detailing the history of Dawson City. Love the old photos and then seeing the actual building right in front of you!

Snake Pit

The Snake Pit bar is an ecclectic place built in 1898 that I was told is where the locals hang out. The decor consists of old kitchen tables, local memorabilia, jokes tacked to the wall, a big canoe, paintings of local legends, and stuffed wild animals. The Snake Pit basically serves beer. although you can order chips and hot dogs.

I was there at dinner time and wasn’t many people there. The bartender had lived in Mexico though. So I got some tips from her.

From there I went to Diamond Tooth Gerties.

Diamond Tooth Gerties

Diamond Tooth Gerties is a casino with a stage show. They have three shows each night with each show becoming more “risque,” at least that is what they advertise. I planned on going to the later show but ended up at the first show. The first show amounted to a cutesy show for white haired people on bus tours. To be honest I was bored by it. But then again, I was still discouraged from crashing my website. Perhaps if I was with someone I would have enjoyed it more. The later show might have been more entertaining. Having said that, a lot of people seemed to enjoy it. So probably just me.

The casino was understandably quite small and something that doesn’t interest me much.

With that I walked back to The Bunkhouse hoping tomorrow my website would be back up.

Route for July 26, 2016 – Dawson City

Top of the World

I was looking forward to riding the Top of the World Highway today to Dawson City, Yukon.

After a day of thinking yesterday in Tok, one of my resolutions was to take more photos and video. It is hard for me to do since I enjoy riding so much. It is just hard to stop. And to get really good photos I would need to set things up, taking even more time. Anyways, I envisioned stopping at various points along the Top of the World Highway and setting things up with me riding etc.

Chicken

The first stop was the town of Chicken at the start of the Highway. I had read a lot about this little town. It was a regularly stop for people to get stickers, “I got laid in Chicken,” and to take cheesy photos behind wooden chicken cut outs.

Perhaps because it was early in the morning and dreary out that I just didn’t see the attraction. But that is me. I did get a photo though.

Fog, Cloud, Freezing Rain

As I climbed up the Top of the World Highway I entered cloud and rarely left it. Sometimes I vcould barely see in front of me. Other times I encountered freezing rain pellets. My plans for great pictures were dashed. I did get these though during the cloud breaks.

The road itself wasn’t very good. The rain made it muddy. And there were a lot of potholes.

Dawson City

Eventually I descended out of the cloud and Dawson City appeared. Very cool. To get to the city I had to get on a small ferry to cross the Yukon River. The river was running fast and I was fascinated to see how the ferry was going to navigate it. The river carried it downstream and then it had to turn around and power its way upstream to the earthen dock.

I rode on and the ferry powered its way upstream to the other side.

I was in Dawson City.The first thing I needed to do is get some coffee. I was freezing. I found Riverwest Bistro.

After I warmed up I went to the hotel I booked.

The Bunkhouse

The Bunkhouse is the cheapest place in Dawson City that I could find. At $85 Can, you get a small, but clean, room with a bed. There are shared toilets and showers. The building itself is really cool, just like a lot of the buildings in Dawson City. I love the veranda!

Walking Around Dawson City

I had arrived early in Dawson City. After I had warmed up and checked in to The Bunkhouse, I decided to get something to eat. Trip Advisor said Klondike Kates was the place to eat. So off I went.

North to Alaska

I was actually debating staying at the Takhini Hostel and hot springs. It was so relaxing. Perhaps I should have. But I have to come back that way so maybe then.

Gem in Haines

I love finding gems in my travels. The Takhini Hot Springs was one of them.

After leaving for Alaska I got to Haines. I like to ride for a hour and then stop for coffee. Haines was the place. I rode up and down the main street and didn’t see much. However, I did see a sign saying “Village Bakery and Deli.” I turned down the street and pulled up to a cool little building with a big deck. When I walked inside it was packed! The baking looked awesome. One of my favorites is cinnamon rolls. Perhaps because Grandma Klassen made the best 🙂 These looked close though.

I guess I had to leave. But another place I could stay a lot longer at. Perhaps I should be doing that. I am working on slowing down.

Scenery and Roads

The one thing about Yukon and Alaska so far is the huge expanses you see.

Mile 1202

By mile 1202 it was time to stop for gas and grab another snack. The gas station had a nice old fashion wooden patio. I relaxed on a chair watching travelers fill up with gas. As well as an ingenious crow who knew exactly how to get food from the garbage can.

Alaska

Finally made it to Alaska! YAY! I was planning on staying at the Thompson Eagle’s Claw Motorcycle Park. But when I looked on the website they didn’t have showers. Huuuuummmmm me and my shower fetish. As I got into town I saw a RV Campground that had showers and camp spots for tents. I was sold. Even if the attendant was less than friendly. I almost said screw it. But the showers made the decision for me. It turned out those showers were extra clean.

For dinner I went to Fast Eddies next door. It was hot and sunny. I wore my sunglasses there. More on that in a later post.

My Route for July 10, 2016

Relaxing in Whitehorse

Weather in Whitehorse

When I woke up in the morning it was raining.

I checked the forecast and it called for rain the next 2 days. I would have loved to stayed at the Caribou campground. But decided I should book a room at Canada Best Value in Whitehorse to wait out the rain in a little more comfort. It wasn’t cheap. Then again, nothing is up north.

As I left the campground, the guy from Montreal was crawling out of his tent. He waved at me and yelled, “see, raining!” I waved back and laughed.

Starbucks

Wherever I have traveled in the world, Starbucks has been my home away from home. Even when working in Macedonia I would take off on weekends to go to Greece for some Starbucks atmosphere.

It was so awesome to see Whitehorse had a Starbucks! I know. Make fun of me 🙂 I spent the day there to relax, connect with people, and write some journal entries.

It wasn’t long before a woman sat next to me and started working on her computer as well. She struck up a conversation and asked where I was from. It turned out she was Salt Spring Island and use to live in Victoria! And is a motorcyclist too! Right now though she was traveling up north in her camper van. She had been traveling since she turned 50 and shared amazing experiences from India, Nepal, Laos, and Thailand. A fascinating person and I enjoyed our conversation over the next couple of hours.

When travelling alone, these conversations are priceless. Thanks Lynn!

Takhini Hot Springs

After a night at Canada Best Value, valued at $93 for a run down hotel, I set off to have my first hostel experience at Takhini Campground and Hostel at Takhini Hot Springs just outside of Whitehorse. I really wasn’t sure what to expect.

Wow! What an amazing place, both the hostel, hot springs and the restaurant attached to the hot springs.

The hostel.

Lunch at Cafe Balzam.

Then a dip in the hot spring.

Back to Cafe Balzam for dinner.

God Laughs at our Plans

There were 3 others at the hostel. Carrie and Rusty are Americans who now live in San Miguel de Allende in Mexico. Carrie sold me that I have to go there. But she warned I may never leave. Sounds like an amazing place. Great meeting you Carrie and Rusty.

The other was David from Houston Texas. A few years ago he got in a bad motorcycle accident that put him in the hospital for a couple of months. He now rides a Cam-Am Sypder.

He was in the Yukon riding with 2 friends. His friends were planning on riding up to Prudhoe Bay. However, in one of the gravel sections I rode through coming into Whitehorse, one of his friends hit some deep gravel and was thrown over his windshield and totaled his BMW GS. “God laughs at our plans,” David told me several times as he recounted the story.

When I told him I was planning to go to Prudhoe Bay David repeated it again, “God laughs at our plans.” He also didn’t think it was wise of me to go there by myself. “There is nothing out there,” he said, “if something happens to you no one will find you.”

Loving Living Adventuring

After talking to David I received a message from Brent Carroll. I have been communicating with him ever since I learned he was going to Prudhoe Bay at the same time I was. Anyways, exchanged email back and forth and arranged to meet up in Fairbanks and do the route to Prudhoe Bay together.

David was happy. So was I. Thanks for the conversation and concern David.

Check out Brent’s website at http://www.lovinglivingadventuring.com/

July 8 – Whitehorse. Route on July 9

Onto the Capital of Yukon – Whitehorse

The target for today was the capital of Yukon – Whitehorse. After a nutritious breakfast of a Wonderbar and Coke Zero, I was set to Leave Nugget City. The ride is quite beautiful with lots of lakes and huge valleys. I should have taken some pictures. I got to learn that. But my happy place is riding and I hate to stop.

Whitehorse Accommodation

It was a short ride to Whitehorse. The blogs I read recommended staying at the Beez Kneez hostel or the Wolf Creek campground. Obviously the Beez Kneez hostel is popular, it was booked solid. I rode out to the Wolf Creek Campground to check it out. As I rode through it, I saw nothing but outhouses, and no showers! Not the place for me ha ha ha. I remembered as I was riding into town I saw another campsite and decided to check that out.

Caribou RV Park

As I entered the Caribou RV Park I saw showers. This was my kind of place. I booked the night. Those showers? They were immaculate! They were self contained units with a toilet, sink, and shower. You weren’t even allowed to wear shoes into them. I asked about a car wash. The attendant said they had one on site. Bonus. I washed off all the dust from my motorcycle and riding cloths. This place was perfect.

In the evening a guy from Montreal pulled in on his BMW motorcycle. It was covered in dirt. He was extremely discouraged and I was actually concerned about him. He said he was tired of the rain, dirt and mud and just wanted to go home. When I told him I planned on going to Prudhoe Bay, he said not to do it. I talked to him more as he pulled out his wet, muddy tent and set it up.

I have to admit our conversation caused me some anxiety. Being a city guy, the further north I go the more out of my comfort zone I am getting. And hearing this didn’t help. Getting to Prudhoe Bay could be a greater challenge than I expected.

Toad River

Fort Nelson

Route for July 29, 2016

Route for July 28, 2016

Braeburn Lodge

Caribou RV

Route for July 27, 2016

Website Crash

Dawson City History

Snake Pit

Diamond Tooth Gerties

Route for July 26, 2016 – Dawson City

Chicken

Fog, Cloud, Freezing Rain

Dawson City

The Bunkhouse

Walking Around Dawson City

Gem in Haines

Scenery and Roads

Mile 1202

Alaska

My Route for July 10, 2016

Weather in Whitehorse

Starbucks

Takhini Hot Springs

God Laughs at our Plans

July 8 – Whitehorse. Route on July 9

Whitehorse Accommodation

Caribou RV Park

The route for July 7, 2016