Day 5 & 6

 Didn't get far today. Cal went to call the only place in Watson Lake that might have the water pump and was told it would take 3 weeks to get it in. "No such thing as FedEx up here" he was told. The guy told him we should just "go for it" and not turn the truck off even when we stopped for gas. Cal said he had a bad feeling about doing that as it was a little over 300 miles to the next place and if that thing went out on the way, we would be literally stuck in the middle of nowhere. I didn't like the idea of hanging out in Watson Lake for 3 weeks, but I don't argue with Cal's bad feelings. Got on the phone again when we got to Watson Lake (only 20 min) and found out that Napa in Whitehorse had a water pump, and they offered to put it on the Greyhound bus that was leaving in 2 hours...headed towards and going through Watson Lake. (sheesh, weren't we just there the day before looking for something to do??) It arrived at 7pm that night, Cal changed it, and we left the next morning. So much for the wacky guy's 3 weeks!  Thank you Jesus!! Greyhound did charge us $30. Thirty dollars for a water pump to ride the bus. I thought that was kind of funny.

We had all day there and only took pictures of the signs. Didn't even get out of the truck to walk through them. I have no idea why not. It's not as if we had anything better to do. Here's what Wikipedia says about the Signpost Forest: "The Signpost Forest was started in 1942 by a homesick U.S. Army G.I. working on the Alaska Highway, who put up a sign with the name of his home town and the distance. Others followed suit and the tradition continues to this day. Today there are more than 76,000 (aug 2010) signs of various types depicting locations across the world."

I don't know why I didn't think to get a picture of Cal changing the water pump. I really wish I had a picture of he and Thomas coming over the little hill back into the campground after going to meet the bus. I opened the door to sweep out my dirt pile and heard my name. Looked up and Cal was standing on top of a hill holding a box up in victory. It was a relief. I was paranoid all day that the Napa guy wasn't going to get the box to the bus before it left.  

Start of day 6- Warning....

...and they aren't kidding. These guys are everywhere. At least this time we didn't see any roadkill. On the way up in April '09, we saw several on the side of the road. I'd hate to hit one of them. I bet it would be worse than a moose.

Animals are always sticking their tongues out at us



Since we missed the hot springs in Whitehorse, we decided to stop at Liard Hot Springs. We'd been told that they were better anyway, because it is kept natural. Takhini is pumped into a cemented pool. It was wonderful! The water really was hot. Enough to have a little steam coming off the top in some areas. Cal and Thomas, who both love super duper hot showers, thought it was too hot. Myself, who is more of a warm showerer, thought it was perfect. Go figure. There was a couple there from the area, and the woman said they've been out there when it's -40. I'm not so sure about that. It's not a short walk from the parking lot, and the changing area is not heated! I'd get in the water and they would have to knock me out and drag me back to the parking lot.



So Matthew...



Those eyelashes should be against the law



Walk back.. it was about 1/4 of a mile. I was hobbling as fast as I could with the boot. Although we had bear spray, Cal was happy to inform me of who would be left behind if a bear showed up. Thanks dear.

Bigfoot call. Cal told him that Bigfoot takes his baths in the hot springs.

They found prints. We should've casted. Could've made lots of money, but we didn't want to give Bigfoot up to science. He deserves a better life and to be free to bathe in the hot springs.

First look at Stone sheep. Ignore Cal's arm in the bottom right corner. He won't stop for me to get out, and I don't how many times during the 14 day drive he'd throw his arm up just as I snapped the picture.

Yeah, so glad we didn't "go for it" the day before.

Saw these two and only had time to throw the camera up and push the button. I guess given it's through the windshield going 60mph it's not too bad? Could've been a really good picture though...

The end of a stressful two days for this daddy and husband.

Day 3 & 4



S.S Klondike, Whitehorse

The S.S Klondike in Whitehorse was a main mode of transportation back in the day. We didn't get to tour it, because it wasn't open yet. This was the sole picture from day 3. We only had about a 3 hour drive into Whitehorse, because we had planned to set up camp then head over to spend the afternoon at Takhini Hot Springs. According to the website when I was planning the trip, they are open year round. We were all very excited about going. Turns out they are open year round except for the one week they are closed for renovations, and guess which week was this year?

We were disappointed, but figured we'd make the most of it and do a little sightseeing in Whitehorse. HA! None of the sightseeing places were open yet. There was a museum featuring a large statue of a mammoth outside it's doors and boasting dinosaur remains inside that was opened during the off season, however, they were closed on Wednesdays. Guess what day it was? So we did laundry then drove around. Saw the first coffee place that was open since leaving and stopped for a latte. It was Starbucks, so we figured it would be something familiar. It was my first latte that tasted like water.

We drove around for something to do and found that the Yukon Brewing Company was open. The last tour of the day was 10 minutes from the time we stopped in. Might as well. We had nothing else to do. That proved to be interesting too, but not for what you would think. Our tour girl was in a dress that showed much more cleavage than necessary along with fish net stockings and hot pink stilletos. Before heading into the brewery, she put on a bomber jacket and zipped it halfway up...it looked like she didn't have a top on underneath. I looked at Cal and asked if he was sure we needed to do this. A quick glance at Thomas showed that he didn't seem to be paying much attention to the girl. Unfortunately, I thought to myself, he's probably seen worse at school. In the beginning, Matthew seemed quite intent on what the girl was saying. I told myself there couldn't be any possible way he understood what he was looking at, and that he was just really interested in knowing how "beard" is brewed. I hobbled along behind the group, but I can not tell you anything about the brewery or how beer is brewed. By the time I would catch to the group, she would be finished talking and moving on to the next stop. Cal picked up a 6 pack of something that he bragged about all night, and our admission fee went to a local charity, so I guess it wasn't a total loss. OH!! I almost forgot the best part. At one point during the tour, the girl actually stepped in front of a floor fan while talking. It looked like something out of a bad 80's music video.

The whole day was just really weird. I kept thinking there must be a reason why it turned out like that, and I would accept it and make the most of it. When we came out of the laundromat, there was a heavy snowfall and wind coming from the direction in which we would have been driving into had we not stopped for the day. We said a prayer of thanks and loaded the laundry into the truck.

The start of day 4. If only we could rely on hindsight, we would've actually chose to STAY in Whitehorse!

The head of the Yukon River

Funky bridge over Yukon River

Overlooking the longest bridge span on the Alaska Highway. I usually take pictures of the signs, so that I can remember what the big deal was about. Didn't this time. I think it was mostly about the bridge and something about the tiny community just below us.

This stop is where the water pump problems started. When Cal turned the truck off, antifreeze went everywhere. He was thinking it had something to do with being on a hill and not letting the truck idle before turning it off. A diesel thing??? I never undertstood what he was talking about. He wasn't totally convinced, but not worried enough at that point to go back to Whitehorse which was closer than our stop for the day.



The bridge

People and dog who went over the bridge

Yay!! A moose. I thought the one from yesterday was the last moose. :-)

It was a good day for caribou

On a walk when we got to the campground. Hope I don't have to use this later as proof they used to like each other. I think I'm going to frame it.

 
By the time we got to our stop for the day, Cal had figured out that the water pump was going bad. (His original theory was basically denial.) He spent an hour on the phone between the warranty people and Chrysler. They wanted to tow Cal and the truck back to Whitehorse 5 hours away leaving the kids and I in the middle of nowhere. Not an option. We were in Nugget City, but I don't know why it's called "city." It was only a campground and restaurant. Both were closed, but the owner had us parked on the side of the restaurant where he had several plug-ins for off season travelers.

Afer the phone calls, we drove into Watson Lake 20 min away to see if we could find a water pump. According to the phone book, there was a Napa there. Of course, the number was disconnected, but we really needed a water pump! We had just turned out of the driveway of where we were staying when we saw this bear. He was so scared and ran so fast that by the time I lifted the camera he was already across the road. Hmmm...he seems to have disappeared. I must've accidentally deleted the picture. It's ok though, because a couple of minutes later we saw this one.

There is a piece of grass coming up his face. I bet my editing software can fix that, but I don't know how to do it. It would help me immensely if the camera and accompanying software had come with a real manual rather than cd.

Day 2



Our second day started out a little dreary. There was moderate snow fall during the first hour, but it didn't stick to the road.

It soon cleared and this was our last moose sighting. Bye-bye Moose...we're going to miss you!



And bye-bye Alaska 



It was a frost heave kind of day

Jake waiting for his turn to go potty during a quick rest stop

The lone rider. Ok, so if I were in much better shape, I might consider biking the ALCAN in the middle of summer, but in early spring when snow showers are still common? Matthew borrowed a phrase from his teacher and told us, "that guy has lost his marbles!"



Dall Sheep on side of mountain at Kluane Lake. I saw the sign that said "Watch for sheep on the road" and thought about Turnagain Arm. You know they are there, and you hear people talk about seeing them on the road, but I've never seen one on the road. I've considered myself lucky to see one way up at the top of the cliffs that looks like a white speck until I get the binoculars. So, read the sign and thought, yeah right. Few seconds later we saw these guys all over the hill. Not on the road of course.

Our view at Kluane Kampgroud that night. The sun came out!

Burning energy after stopping for the day

Giving me the evil eye, because we won't let her out. She managed to push the screen open a couple of times.

That would be an "it's only the second day of driving" smile.



His leg comes straight out when he hits the birdie! LOL



"WHAT? I have to ride again tomorrow?!"

The rocks and dirt lasted the entire trip. I guess some things never get boring.

Our Lady of the Way Catholic Church, Haines Jct, Yukon
This was built in 1954 by Father E. Morriset, the first Catholic priest in the area. Resources were scarce, so he used an old Quanset Hut that had been used by the army during construction of the Alaska Highway. (I admit...I had no idea what I Quanset Hut was and googled it. Wikipedia has a good description and familiar pictures.)