We were treated to great scenery all morning. Mt. Logan, at 19,671 feet, the 2nd highest peak in North America, and other peaks in the St. Elias Range presented themselves to us in full splendor.
There were also wonderful peaks in the Coast and Cassair mountain ranges.
We also saw our first cotote.
We stopped at Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, and ate in a deli where a lot of Russians were working. We have noticed a lot of Russians working in Alaska. I suppose that’s to be expected since Sarah Palin said she could see it. Jim had a specialty hotdog and Ardith had a bagel with ham, pineapple and cheese baked on it.
The SS Klondike in Whitehorse is a paddle wheel boat that was used to transport people and supplies up and down the Yukon River. It was moved to a site on land and restored to its 1937-40 appearance.
We watched a movie in a tent on a barge. It featured lots of old movie clips that showed how the paddle wheel boats were used.
We then took a self guided tour of the boat. On the lowest deck, we saw things ranging from the boiler and distribution system to the arms that drove the paddle wheel to crew quarters and to lots of containers representing various types of cargo they might carry.
On the next deck up, was largely devoted to 1st class passengers and food preparation.
The top deck was where 2nd class passengers slept and ate. It also housed the Master’s quarters and the wheelhouse.
We took a 4pm boat ride on the MV Schwatka, going on a portion of the Yukon River. The river here has even more float planes than we saw in Fairbanks.
The boat passed through a very tight, rocky cliff lined channel, and through an area filled with whirlpools.
Jim got pictures of several bald eagles. One was perched on a cliff instead of the expected tree.
The water was a deep turquoise blue color, a beautiful contrast to the dark green pine trees.
There were perhaps a few thousand swallows’ nests in one section of cliffs. We could see the birds going in and out, but they were much too fast for the camera. We also enjoyed wildflowers clinging tightly to cliff faces. It is amazing that they survive the periodic flooding.
On board, Jim chatted with a couple about our age who had driven from New Mexico. They said they have had rain nearly every day on their trip. We have had the good fortune of having almost none. About a third of the way through our trip, it started to rain - the first we had seen since Denali National Park, although we had seen and heard predictions of showers most days. A lot of the people on board headed down to the lower deck to join Ardith who sat there from the start, sure there would be rain. It poured for about half of our hour and twenty minute drive to Teslin. Ardith was not comfortable with the limited visibility due to the rain. When Jim was driving earlier in the day, Ardith was concerned that Jim couldn’t see due to the dust from the freshly-graveled road, quite a contrast in reasons for blindness.
We passed the 7,000 mile mark for this trip on our car today. The tire pressure sensor light went off soon after we arrived in Whitehorse. Jim bought a portable tire pump that plugs into the car’s lighter socket before we embarked on our adventure. He added about 1 or 2 psi to one tire and the others were exactly where they should be. The blinking light on the dash is driving Ardith nuts. Jim just ignores it.
As we were leaving Whitehorse, we passed a cut-out of a police car. It is the only police car waiting for speeders that we have seen since we left the Victoria area about 4 weeks ago. We have added a lot of miles since.
We stayed and ate at the Yukon Motel in Teslin. Our room was clean and comfortable; we had a nice view, but bad Wi-Fi. Last night, coverage came and went with nothing in the morning. The motel had a restaurant and gift shop associated with it. If you passed through the gift shop, there was a gallery featuring stuffed animals in the dioramas that Jim enjoys, but which have been phased out of a lot of museums.
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