<– Day 18: Aug 7, Long Drives | Day 20: Aug 9, Whitehorse to Lake Deese (On our own) –>
On Tuesday August 8th, the last remaining Alaska Or Rust folks decided to gather for breakfast at Tim Hortons in Whitehorse, Yukon, before everyone left for home (Except Ann and I … we planned to stay one more day).
Left to right: Merlin, Brittany, Diana, Don, Marty, Rob, David, Ann.
After breakfast, Ann and I returned to our room at the Town & Mountain hotel. Even though I slept well Monday night, I went back to sleep for two hours (and that was after drinking some espresso), woke up, then slept an additional hour! I am finally feeling like I’m feeling more normal.
With two successive naps out of the way, we decided to walk around Whitehorse and visit the MacBride Museum of Yukon History. We spotted this neat statue on the way.
When we reached the museum, we discovered there was a bunch of construction underway, so not everything could be seen. But the museum did have a great set of photos and explanations of the Alaska Highway construction (with lots of jeeps) and the Klondike and the effects of the stampede for gold.
Upstairs in the museum was an extensive look at Yukon’s wildlife:
Downstairs was a great ALCAN exhibit:
Ann suggested I work on the jeep …
This explains how the sign forest in Watson Lake started:
The Klondike exhibit and evolution of Whitehorse was interesting:
This was in the museum’s lobby. It’s made of colored plastic thumbtacks!
Once done with the museum, we walked along the river. It was beautiful! (and I took a third nap of an hour after the museum!).
While at the museum, I received a call from Marty. He informed me that a tanker truck had overturned, closing the Alaska Highway. The tanks were full and had they ignited, it could have set off the surrounding forest afire. Oh my, that could have been disastrous!
The accident forced Rob, Diana, Marty, Don, Merlin, Brittany, Fernando and Hugo (who’d stayed just south of Whitehorse on Monday night) to hunker down in the small town of Teslin. Some, but not all, got rooms, so a few are sleeping under a gazebo. Kudos to Don who pleaded for a room for Hugo and Fernando at the local hotel. I believe there were tears and promises of a first child or something drastic like that. The remainder of the crew slept outside … at least they had each other (and beer)!
On Wednesday morning, assuming the ALCAN is cleared, Ann and I head for Dease Lake, BC, where we will reunite with Hugo and Fernando.
<– Day 18: Aug 7, Long Drives | Day 20: Aug 9, Whitehorse to Lake Deese (On our own) –>