Whitehorse to Destruction Bay

The weather improved a little today for our drive from Whitehorse to Destruction Bay but the road got a little worse. Temps were in the 50s most of the day but a brisk wind made it feel much colder. We started out with sunshine but it gradually got cloudier as the day progressed. We followed the Takhini river valley to Haines Junction. The road was pretty straight and level with lots of bumps and a few gravel patches.

All along the roadsides are all kinds of wildflowers, mainly Fireweed.

We had low lying mountains on both sides as rode through more spruce, pine and aspen forests with little sign of human habitation.

When you see these red flags you better slow down because there is a bump ahead.





This is one of the original (refurbished) wooden bridges built by the army in 1942.

At Haines Junction we went to the Kluane (Klu-Ah-nee) National Park visitor center. The Kluane Mountains contain the highest mountains in Canada and one of the largest ice fields. There are no roads into the mountains but the highway goes around the base of them. The highest peaks are 50% higher than the peaks visible from the highway.

Several large lakes border the park, this is lake Kathleen.

We also saw this unusual little quanset hut church.

At the end of the Kluane range we came to Kluane Lake, the largest lake in the Yukon.

We are spending the night in Destruction Bay by Lake Kluane, population 40, and I think all 40 of them must own RV parks.

Our park owner cooked a delicious meal for us of roast beef, potato salad, tossed salad and fruit cobbler.
After dinner the owner and some friends entertained us with some music.

Gas today was $1.09/liter in Whitehorse,$1.17 in Haines Junction and $1.21 ($4.59/gal) in Destruction Bay.

Our wildlife sighting today was a porcupine. Tomorrow we go back into Alaska and hopefully prices will drop back below $4/gal.