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.