30 June. Arriving Denali, Moose and Beaver.

Shortly after arriving, we were on one of the trails close to the Visitor's Center. We got very lucky with the wildlife, both moose and beaver within an hour of arrival. Christopher's photos say it all.  

28 June, Fairbanks, Alaska

Today was a lazy day.  John and Pam took a local 40-mile walk before taking Dory to a grooming appointment.  Richard, Mary, Chris and Christopher took off looking for birds near Eielson Air Force Base to the SE of Fairbanks.  We didn't have a lot of luck.  Afterward it was a trip to the Commissary before meeting up at a local brew pub: Hoo Doo Brewery.  The place was jam-packed.  The beer was good. 

Blue bird day in Fairbanks. 81 degrees. What the heck is going on with climate change?  We expected something like 60 degrees.

No real luck with any significant birds.

Chris and Christopher at the Eielson AFB Air Park.  

"I could fly that Dad."

Hoo Doo had the best beer so far in 6500 miles of travel and about 20 brew pubs.

Interesting place.  Since they don't serve food, the place permitted us to bring in our own. We stopped by Subway along the way for a cheap date.

Afterwards we stopped by Hot Licks for some very excellent ice cream.

A comment about culture and litter

Mary and I crossed the border into Canada on the 4th of June.  We crossed back into Alaska on the 26th of June.  Let's call it three weeks in Canada.  During that period, and I am not kidding, we saw about a half dozen scraps of litter.  No joke, Canada is basically litter free.  At one spot in Alberta we noticed a sign that said the fine for littering was $2000.  But I think it's more than the potential for punishment that keeps Canada litter free.  They are better than us.  It's that simple.  Every rest stop has trash cans AND recycle cans. And there are quite a number of rest stops even on the most remote roads.  Mary and I were along the Dempster highway in northern Yukon on the 24th of June.  We were about 200 miles from north of the intersection with the Alaska Highway in one of the most remote areas on the North American continent.  There it was, a Yukon Territorial truck and a worker emptying the rest stop trash bins and serving the toilets.  It's more than budget. It's pride and the proper setting of priorities.  

On 26 June we crossed back into Alaska, the US.  One of the first things we noticed (and we are certain that foreign travelers notice as well) was litter--litter everywhere.  Mary and I stopped at a rest stop between Tok and Fairbanks to let Bean out.  There was no place to go to the bathroom. There were no trash bins. There were no recycle bins.  We noticed immediately.  But there was litter.  Over the edge of the rest stop, along what could be pristine woods, were mounds of litter.  And to spice the scene up, it was a berm of sorts, so travelers could hike with toilet paper and take a squat on the other side...which I estimate three dozen or so had recently done.  It was too filthy to let the dog step out of the car. And sadly, this scene is typical. 

It's culture folks.  Where are the parents telling their kids not to toss litter from their car windows?  'Nuff said.

27 June, Arrival in Fairbanks.

Not much to say today.  The trip from Tok to Fairbanks was uneventful.  We stopped at Eielson Air Force Base along the way to gas up, get a haircut, and do a little shopping.  I also stopped by the Civil Engineer Environmental Flight to inquire about the possibility of Great Gray Owl in the area.  We ran into John and Pam at the Base Exchange food court.  They were on base to get Pam a new military dependent ID card.  Success.  The highlight of the day was meeting up with brother Chris and nephew Christopher.  They had flown into Anchorage a couple of days ago. They drove 10 hours from south of Anchorage to Fairbanks today.  We had a great meal at The Silver Gulch restaurant. I borrowed the photo from the Gone With the Wynns blog. 

26 June. Top Of The World Highway to Alaska!!!

The top of the world highway is the "hard" way to get to Fairbanks. But since I wanted to drive to the Arctic Circle, that required visiting Dawson City then heading up the Dempster highway from there. The options for continuing north west are few. One is driving 170 miles over one of the sketchiest roads on earth, The Top Of The World Highway.  It's a mixture of dirt, asphalt, gravel, steep, flat, pot holes, whoop-dee-doos, drop offs. Look it up on the Web. You will get the idea.

The first step is crossing the Yukon River.  We were bright and early for a 7AM crossing. The would get us to the US border crossing (Poker, Alaska) at around 9AM. 

The weather held on the dirt portions, though we did have rain later in the day after crossing into Alaska.

You can just see the US/Canadian border on the hill top in the center of this photo.  It has to be the most beautiful crossing anywhere in the US.  We are still in The Yukon, looking into Alaska.  

The border crossing opens at 9AM.  We were there on the dot, 6th in line. It took us about 30 minutes to crawl forward while Customs and Border Patrol sorted out the terrorists ahead of us.

We stopped along the way at Chicken, Alaska.  This is quite a place.  Mary and I each had a piece of Susan's World Famous Pie.  It was pretty good, I must say.

Once we departed Chicken, we found ourselves on the "Taylor Highway."  Just 100 miles back to intersect the Alaska Highway. It was pavement. We were in the US!!  Yes.  Mary and I have around 6,500 miles on the car so far since departing Austin.  This 100 miles was hands-down the worst section of road we have driven on.  No comparison. John and Pam, who had driven it two days prior warned us. John broke the leaf springs on his trailer on this section of road.  The repair shop in Tok says they replace 3 or 4 sets per week from unsuspecting travelers who hit the pot holes, and whoop-dee-doos on this road.  Considering how good all the roads in Canada are, this is the first pavement some Canadians see.  I am embarrassed at the condition.  How apropos, the "Taylor" highway.  

25 June. The drive back from the Arctic Circle.

Believe it or not, there is a hotel just 25 miles south of the Arctic Circle at Eagle Plains, Yukon.  It has seen better days to be sure, but it was there.  It sports a restaurant, gasoline, a small store and a lot of friendly people.  Mary and I had agreed to haul a box of food to Eagle Plains for a cyclist from Belgium "Denis" who was riding the full 450 miles to Inuvik near the Arctic Ocean. He has started at Edmonton, Alberta. This guy was a stud.  After 4 months, he plans to have ridden about 30,000 miles across much of NW Canada, Alaska and back to Seattle through British Columbia.  Take a look on a map. It will make you tired just thinking about this feat.  On the way up we saw Denis 62 miles (100KM) from Eagle Plains.  We stopped and talked for a while. He was relieved to know someone had his back, and his food.  For this portion of the trip we took his heaviest pannier pack to Eagle Plains as well.  We offered him and energy bar and a Coke. He took the Coke.  I regret not taking a photo.  

You might imagine I was birding all the way up and on the way back. I had some target birds, but only found two of the half-dozen I wanted to see.  A Yukon birder had provided me some intelligence on where we might have luck seeing the rare Gyrfalcon at KM158 in a cliff face off the highway.  He said Gyrfalcons use this nest annually, though no one had eyes on in in 2016.  Armed with this information, Mary and I were able to easily spot the nest and, EUREKA!!! there were three chicks resident.  While only two are in this photo, one is hiding.  We had good looks on the way up the day prior, but I was not able to get my binoculars on one of the adults whom I could hear screaming from the other side of a ridgeline.  On the return trip I did see the adult. I missed a quick visit to the nest with my camera, but did get good looks with my scope.  

24 June. Drive to the Arctic Circle

We split off from John and Pam for a couple of days. They went ahead to Fairbanks, while Mary and I stayed back to make the 270-mile drive up The Dempster Highway to the Arctic Circle. The highway is one of the very few roads in North America that transits the Arctic Circle.  A second goes from Fairbanks to Prudoe Bay on the Arctic Ocean.  What is hard about this?  It's dirt and gravel the entire way.  The first gas stop is 230 miles in.  There is no more remote road in North America.  Yet, we (I) decided this was a bucket list item.  We drove it.  We made it.  
Along the way we saw some mammal life, but still not the grizzly we have been looking for:  Moose, Red Fox, Snowshoe Hare, Some other Bunny species, Porcupine, American Red Squirrel, Some sort of ground squirrel, 4 Dahl Sheep (2 adults, 2 lambs), Otter, and Wolverine. 

We got on the road by 6:30AM.  There was plenty of light, since sunrise was at 3AM or so.

The scenery was absolutely stunning as we drove across the Ogilvie Range and alongside the Richardson Mountains.

Here I am on the tundra with Bean trying to flush out a Willow Ptarmigan.  No luck.

Fortunately Mary saw this family of Willow Ptarmigan crossing the road in front of us.  They were all very cordial, with little fear of humans. They posed for photos with their new family members. This was a life-bird for me.

The road condition was generally very good. We were able to drive at 40 or 45 MPH for most of the route. We were very lucky that it wasn't raining (it was the day after we got back). 

The interpretive sign at the Arctic Circle is supposed to have a huge arch with a sunrise and such. Just our luck, it was "under construction."  That means some ugly 2x4s were holding it up against frequent gale-force winds.  

22 June. We made it to Dawson City!!!

We had some trepidation about the drive from Whitehorse, Yukon north to Dawson City.  The drive is along the Klondike Highway. We had read the road conditions were sketchy, but all-in-all we found the 327 miles to be an easy drive with typical stunning scenery.  The road was a little narrower and for most of the way there were no shoulders, but the pavement was good and, thankfully, the weather was excellent.  Once again we came to understand where the planet is getting a lot of its oxygen:  from Canadian trees which, for the entire trip were endless from horizon to horizon.  We continue to marvel at the number of lakes.  Most of this drive was along the Yukon River.  It extends from Whitehorse through Dawson, and eventually to the arctic ocean.     

Dawson City is laid out pretty much the same as it was in 1905 or so.  

Many of the buildings in town are original.  Some, in equivalent condition to this one, are in use.  Not much attention to condemning structures.

Jack London's house.  He may have written White Fang or part of Call of the Wild here. 

We had a good meal at "Klondike Kate's"

21 June. Hike along the Yukon River in Whitehorse.

As you may have read on 20 June, we were very impressed with the city of Whitehorse.  If you make this drive, you will want to plan a couple of extra days here.  We got out early to hike along the Yukon River at Miles Canyon.  Early prospectors (late 1800s) had difficulty crossing the Yukon.  For the most part it is deep and wide.  However, at Miles Canyon, just north of then-Canyon City, the river narrowed.  When early pioneers were there, the water rushed though the canyon forming rapids that looked like "white horses."  In more recent times the river was dammed.  The rapids are covered.

You can see the suspension bridge across the canyon.  Now in exceptional shape, it probably was not as sturdy in the 1800s. This bridge, however, was constructed in 1922.  The gold rush was still on.

Yukon River. Miles Canyon.

At just under 2 miles, we visited the remains of Canyon City. This was the original town when the Klondike Gold Rush occurred.  The car in the photo runs on rails made from cut logs.  There was a good supply of those puppies.

20 June. Enjoying Whitehorse, Yukon Territory

We were not prepared for how much we would like Whitehorse, Yukon.  It's the capital city of Yukon, with between 25 and 30 thousand people, about 80% of the total population of the entire territory.  It is a quaint town, clean as a whistle, and very modern.  There are well-kept parks all over the place.  The centerpiece of the city is the Yukon River. It's beautiful.  There are mountains to the west, but looming over the city is Grey Mountain a slab of granite rising to 5,000 feet, about 2,000 above the town itself. So we promptly decided to climb that puppy. And did.

The drive to the trailhead reminded me of any of a dozen drives we've made to mountains in Colorado.  4WD is required. The drop-offs are memorable, but at least the road is steep.  

It didn't take me long to figure out on this trail we would be above treeline.  Note, treeline this far north is at about 4,000 feet, quite different from the 12,000 foot treeline in Colorado.  The treeline gets closer and closer to sea level until somewhere around the Arctic Circle, where there are no trees.  This is potential habitat for two species of ptarmigan, Rock Ptarmigan and Willow Ptarmigan.  I was on the hunt.  It was spitting rain, so we were a little surprised to meet two women in their mid-20's on the trail. Both sported nice binoculars.  Turns out one was doing her PhD dissertation on Golden-Crowned Sparrow in the area. She said they were nesting, so it would be unlikely we'd see any.  I saw two beautiful birds, both males calling one of the prettiest songs in the genus.  I asked if they had any knowledge of ptarmigan in the area.  They said, "There is a Rock or Willow female with chicks that is pretty reliable over the ridge line."  I was off.  In short order Bean flushed a Rock Ptarmigan mom and one chick. The female flew to a rock about 20 yards from me. I was able to get some great photos.  Life Bird. Yeah!

2,000 feet above Whitehorse, the Yukon River looms in the background.  The trail reminded me so much of working to summit a 14er in Colorado.  Pam, John, and Mary were troopers.  Even against some exposure, they did very well.

The uphill sections were one thing, but we still had to make it back down. I am not sure how much longer any of our knees will be able to take the punishment.  Bean loved it as you might imagine.  Dory has a knee problem herself, but it did not seem to affect her excitement in the least.

Black Bear number 10 for us.  We saw this little guy while driving back from the trail head. John and I both carry bear spray at the ready. Truth is you don't really need to worry much about Black Bears.  However, I did see my first grizzly this morning while out birding on my own.  He ran across the road in front of my vehicle so I was not able to get a photo.

19 June. Drive to Whitehorse, Yukon

In our 225 mile drive from Watson Lake to Whitehorse, YT, We saw some more of the relative lower economic condition of the Yukon Territory in comparison to the other, richer provinces in Canada.  The Alaska highway suffers the further north one drives.  There are several sections of gravel with no apparent construction work to repair the road.  The roadsides are in dire need of mowing with some trees getting large near the roadside.  There were some high points. We drove past Lake Teslin which is 86 miles long, 2 miles wide, and 200 feet deep.  We wondered if an economic case could be made to pipe water to drought-stricken areas of the US, such as California.  Marsh Lake, just south of Whitehorse was nearly as large.  A treat was Rancheria Falls where we stopped to stretch our legs.

Rancheria Falls

On the lookout for birds.  Found none here.

18 June. Muncho Lake, BC to Watson Lake, YK

Today we made a relatively short drive of 160 miles from beautiful Muncho Lake to not-so-beautiful Watson Lake.  We made a few stops along the way chiefly to do laundry when arriving at Watson in what surely is the most advanced laundromat in the province.  And I am not kidding.  The proprieter at the local market/restaurant/gas station/laundromat had closed the laundromat because "Mushroom Pickers" were ruining the machines.  We thought he was joking, but evidently there are about 500 gypsy-like people who make a living in Canada jumping from burned-out forest to burned-out forest in search of valuable Morel Mushrooms.  I talked to one who appeared as though he had just exited a West Virginia coal mine. He was covered with soot from head to toe after spending a day crawling over burned out trees. "The year after the fire is best."  The pickers can make up to $2000 per day.  

We departed the Northern Rockies Lodge and RV park on a perfect morning.  60 degrees. Clear blue skies.

Muncho Lake with Mt. Peterson in the distance.

From the overlook as we drove north.

We were stopped on The Alaska Highway for about 20 minutes while crews were working a realignment of the highway north of Muncho.

At about the 60-mile point we stopped for a geocache which took us to the Whirlpool Rapids along the Liard River.  John takes in the beauty.

We saw a couple of more black bears (are still on the lookout for grizzlies) and these wild bison walking along the highway.  Note the calves.

Taken from the windshield, you can get an idea of what we experienced as a typical portion of asphalt as we traveled through northern British Columbia. The road quality was excellent with wide lanes and 8-foot shoulders.  Note the vegetation is trimmed well back from the road to reduce collisions with wildlife.  When we crossed the border in to the Yukon, the road quality suffered.

The Alaska Highway took us back and forth across the BC/Yukon border about a half dozen times. This was the first welcome sign we saw. It speaks a lot to the relative poverty of Yukon in comparison to other Canadian provinces.  We were told that Yukon has around 35,000 residents to share the tax burden of running a province.  30,000 live in White Horse (which we will see on 19 June).  

Later we came upon this more respectable version.