June 14, 2009 by Rae

Good Thing I Didn’t Come For the Gold

Gold was the theme of the day.

Claim No. 6

The mosquitoes at Discovery Claim sure hit the jackpot with me today! 😀

It was the discovery of gold at this claim on Bonanza Creek that launched the Gold Rush of 1898. Today, you can park at the claim site and stroll down to the water to try your hand at panning for gold. I borrowed a pan and shovel from work and had fun spending about a half hour playing in the mud before the mosquitoes and frozen ground chased me away. I’m pretty sure I struck iron pyrite based on the number of gold-coloured flakes lying at the bottom of my pan. There is no way I am going to even think that they might have been real gold. 🙂

Dredge No. 4

Dredge No. 4 was one of several barges (set in man-made lakes) used to mine for gold from the 1930’s to the 1960’s. How they work is a bit complicated to explain without actually being on site, but I’ll try. I’d say the nearest comparison is a mechanical shovel:

The dredge works on a similar pivot-system and has a thingamabob sticking out of it like the shovel of the digger. This thingamabob gobbles up all the gravel and dirt in front of it in a wide radius and sends it into the bowels of the dredge to be processed for gold. When all the gravel and dirt has been eaten, the dredge moves ahead. It spits out its back the unusable rock forming the Klondike’s famous rock piles called ‘tailings.’ I was surprised to learn that only four men where needed to operate these behemouths. That figure is misleading, however, since a ‘dredge camp’ had more than 100 employees.

The method for mining gold in the Klondike appears to be quite different than in Val d’Or, but this might be because of the permafrost here. There seems to be a lot of tourmaline and quartz in the tailings, so I think we can assume that Klondike miners are looking for the same thing as Val d’Or miners, but have a different way of getting at it.

Dredge no. 4 sank into muck in the sixties and in the eighties the decision was made to salvage it. Work on that project did not start until the early nineties. The lower level had been stuck in silt and ice for almost thirty years by this point, but the structure still came out mostly intact! They were even able to salvage the old floors. What impressed me the most, thought, was that the mechanical parts that had been buried for so long still worked perfectly.

Parks Canada now manages the site and gives a very good hour and fifteen minute tour ending with a ten minute video presentation of the raising of the barge. Well worth a visit!

The statistic I remember best from the tour is something I haven’t been able to confirm or deny. Apparently, Dawson City was the third city in North America to get electrical power after Chicago and Montreal. If that’s the case, I am very impressed!

tools of the trade

Bonanza Creek, cold as hell, yellow as gold

at one point, I realised that my toes were turning blue, the ground and water were so cold!

Dredge No. 4 (this is a BARGE!)

thick cables!

clutches

view of the manmade lake from the winch room (highest level of the dredge we can visit)

emergency stop button (and my feet, again)

sluice boxes

these were buried in silt under ice for almost forty years and STILL WORK!

planks from 1939/1940, buried in silt and covered by ice for almost 40 years! (and, of course, my feet)

this shot really shows that the dredge is a big boat

driving home along Bonanza Creek Road

June 4, 2009 by Rae

Five Finger Rapids

The Five Finger Rapids are quite possibly the best known landmark on the Yukon River and were quite an obstacle for ships to pass on their way north. They are called such because of four islands in the river creating five channels, of which only one, the most easterly, is navigable. The hike down to the rapids is easy, but not the one back as it is an incredibly steep climb up a long staircase.

Five Finger Rapids as seen from the observation deck off the Klondike Highway

Just a small portion of the stairs that needed to be climbed back up!

About halfway down to the Rapids

At level with the rapids

spot Miranda 😉

the Rapids as seen from the observation deck at the bottom of the trail

May 17, 2009 by Rae

Sign Post Forest and Wye Lake

I drove into Watson Lake this afternoon to take a gander at the town, especially the famed Sign Post Forest:

A tiny sample of the more than 65,000 signs in Sign Post Forest

The Sign Post Forest was started by a homesick GI building the Alaska highway in ’42:

The original sign post

What struck me as I walked through the forest was from how far some of these signs had been hauled, including all over Europe and the Americas:

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In case that’s not clear, these folks drove from Guatemala (C.A.=Central America) to Alaska. WOW!

Or not hauled, but the people still came from across the sea (and were quite creative):

A Sterilite container lid marked up by a family from Holland

I was also surprised to discover that I couldn’t stare at one section without seeing a sign that reminded me of a place I’ve lived or visited:

Mt. Baldy is the ski hill near Oliver and the first time I set foot in Virginia was to visit Arlington.

Fond memories of camping at Lake George (upstate New York) with my family

I lived near Bobcaygeon for nine months and enjoyed showing my dad the sights in this quaint village.

Menomonee Falls was one of my many stops on the Great Road Trip of ’05

Nepean (green sign, bottom right above the yellow) is home of the Ottawa Municipal Campground, from whence I set off my RVing journey

Trying to remember what brought me to Wiarton all those years ago

I stopped in Black Diamond when I was touring Kanaskis Country in September ’08

There were several more that stuck out at me, and this was just from random browsing without doing any in depth scanning. Visiting Sign Post Forest was a real trip down memory lane!

The Watson Lake Visitor Info Centre is located in the heart of the Forest. Staff is very friendly and helpful. I was surprised that they were open so late on a Sunday! There is a small gallery there about the building of the Alaska highway as well as a movie. Unlike the similar exhibits in Dawson Creek, these were Canadian-centric. I was surprised to learn that the U.S. did not wait for Canadian approval to start work on the highway. So, the Americans really did literally invade Canada! Thankfully, we’re pretty laid back… or Prime Minster Mackenzie King knew we couldn’t afford to go to war against the U.S., again, for invading us, again (even though we kicked their butts last time, but that’s another story altogether–Google the War of 1812).

I took a picture of this sign because find the sentiment to be so true:

You don’t miss comforts if you’re long enough without them.

It was getting on dinner time by this point and I had a twenty minute drive back home, so I just stopped quickly to check out Wye Lake. It’s time to point out here that you don’t actually see Watson Lake from the town, only Wye Lake! As for Wye Lake it was named because it occurs in the centre of the ‘Y’ in the roads around it.

Wye Lake

The other main tourist attraction in Watson Lake is a planetarium called the Northern Lights Centre, but it won’t be open until at least Tuesday, so I’m not sure I’ll get to see it this time around. The rest of what’s to be done in the area involves being out in nature: hiking, hunting, boating, fishing, that sort of thing. Watson Lake is a full service community with a few restaurants, a bank (CIBC, yay!), a grocery store, a few gas stations, ample choice in accomodation, a good hospital, an RCMP station, etc.

While at the Visitor’s Centre, I met some gals on a long weekend road trip. When I got home, I decided to have dinner at the lodge and as I was eating the gals traipsed in in search of good grub. They asked me to join them and we had a blast talking about my travels. That’s one nice thing about being a solo traveler; you get to meet so many wonderful people!

With dinner, I continued to discover the local brews, finding the most perfect beer ever: Midnight Sun Espresso Ale by the Yukon Brewing Company. Beer and coffee together in one beverage. Perfection. 😀

Thankfully, it’s getting warmer!

May 15, 2009 by Rae

Liard Hot Springs to Watson Lake, Yukon :)

I was up surprisingly early this morning, before seven, and decided to take a closer look at my genset problem. I had initially thought that the problem was that my house battery was too depleted to start it, but the generator wouldn’t fire up with the truck battery running either. This, and the fact that my house battery hasn’t been charging while driving, lead me to conclude that the installation of the new truck battery could have something to do with my problem. I spent about a half hour under the hood with a flashlight trying to see if the techs had missed a wire, but could not see anything loose. My RV manual pointed me in direction of a solenoid switch, but I couldn’t find anything that looked like the picture in the book, so that was a dead end for me, but could be a starting point for whomever will be lucky enough to take a look at my dead generator. 🙂 At the very least, I know that my house battery and converter are working fine. I’ve also relearned that my true battery voltage is a couple of points higher than the inverter says it is.

I pulled out by, oh, eightish at the very latest, and drove the 9km that separated me from the fabled Liard Hot Springs. I had serious misgivings about stopping here, expecting a tourist trap, but nope! There is a lodge with a restaurant across from the park, but that’s the extent of the commercialism. I parked in the day use lot, across from the campground entrance, and hoofed it the rest of the way (about 1km total to the springs). I paid my 5$ day use fee and received instructions on how to get to the springs.

You have to follow a long wooden boardwalk through muskeg:

Liard Hot Springs boardwalk

The first stop is Alpha Pool, which you smell before you see:

Alpha Pool

This is a shallow pool with a wading area for children.

I pushed on and passed the hanging gardens:

‘hanging gardens’

I then came to Beta Pool, which is deeper and slightly hotter:

Beta Pool

I had this pool all to myself for the time being, so I changed into my bathing suit and waded in.

Have you ever had a moment when you feel completely at peace and as one with the world? That’s how I felt as I took my first strokes in Beta Pool, looking at the last patches of snow as steam rose around me. The water was hot and rich with mineral, making me even more buoyant than I normally am. I have no idea how long I floated in that hot blue-green water staring at the bluest sky I have ever seen.

Eventually, I heard voices coming up the boardwalk and the mood was broken. I climbed out, wrapped myself in my towel, grabbed my things, and headed barefoot back down to Alpha pool. It wasn’t nearly as cold as I would have expected (just… chilly 😀 ). One lady stopped to say that I was ‘very brave’ to be walking down in my bathing suit, there was no way she was going swimming ‘in this weather.’ To my horror, I heard myself reply “Oh, it’s not so bad, really, to be walking here with no clothes on.” *dies*

Alpha Pool wasn’t quite as satisfactory, being rather crowded and noticeably cooler. I didn’t stay long. I changed and headed back to the rig, enjoying the peaceful stroll.

boardwalk heading back towards the parking area

There were buffalo a short ways south of the day use area when I got back to Miranda!

I pulled out around 9:30 and soon thereafter saw this little guy:

black bear

I had a pleasant drive, passing through thick spruce forest. I was eager to reach the Yukon, but knew that the arrival would not be dramatic. The Alaska highway takes a serpentine route through BC and Yukon for a stretch, to the point that it is not officially decided if a segment of route is one side of the border or the other. So, I take this to be my first official glimpse of the Yukon since I was coming up to what was obviously a ‘welcome to BC’ sign in the opposing direction:

the Yukon, at last!!!

And, then:

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And then:

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*big grin*

I wasn’t too set on where I would stay for a least two nights in Watson Lake. I had been warned that there was a lot of theft going on at the Downtown RV Park and that the RCMP was recommending people stay at the parks west of town. I stopped in a the eastmost ‘Campground Services’, but it was just opening up and didn’t feel very secure, so I pushed on to 20 minutes(ish) west of Watson Lake to the RCMP recommended ‘Baby Nugget’ RV park. I believe I’m the first customer of the season, although there are three of us here now! The park doesn’t have running water at the moment (frozen underground pipes), but I have 30A power and excellent internet for 21$ per night, including taxes. I won’t get too comfortable since I will need to move out and get water (and dump too, at some point!), but I’m happy with the cost vs. service ratio.

So, a lifetime’s yearning has come to fruition. I am in the Yukon. Now, comes the challenge: finding work. *wry grin* I really hope to find a week or two’s worth of work then push on to a new location, all the way to Inuvik in August, but I have learned to stop making plans. Tonight, I am taking the time to breathe. Tomorrow, I will explore Watson Lake and get the word out that I want work. It will all sort itself out in time and I will savour every moment of this summer, no matter where it takes me.

May 5, 2009 by Rae

The Chasm to Lake McLeese

This day was like the one from Thunder Bay, starting off great, with no warning of the disaster to come.

I hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in about a month, so imagine my shock on Monday morning when I discovered I’d slept ten hours straight! The chasm turned out to be a great spot for a good night’s sleep, being pitch dark and blessedly quiet.

This was my first time ever waking up somewhere that did not require me to be out by a certain time, not counting Revelstoke that required me to leave because of my non-existent battery issues. I took my time, savouring the crisp, cold morning. I had fretted about how to get out of the site without unhooking, finding the turn to be very sharp for an RV, but the The Milepost, my bible for this journey, kindly informed me that Chasm Road loops back to the 97 highway.

I stopped just 30km from the Chasm to climb up to Begbie Summit, where there is a fire watch station. This was a 10 minute hike that told me that I really need to do more of these if I want to be ready for the Chilkoot. 🙂

My next stop was for lunch at the 108 Mile Ranch site. I’d topped up the groceries at the Save-On-Foods at 100 Mile House, so I had a very nice picnic.

My water levels were getting low, my tanks were getting full, my house battery was ready for a bit of juice, and I had a mountain of laundry to do. So, I decided that a night on full hookups was in order.

Using the Milepost, I determined that the McLeese Lake Resort, between Williams Lake and Quesnel, would be a good place to stop as it boasted full hook-up sites, easy RV access, and wi-fi.

Williams Lake

Williams Lake

Well…

This was a beautiful resort, but really not made for RVs over the size of a class B. I took a turn too sharply to get into my site and clipped the post holding the water outlet, then drove straight over it with the toad. Miranda has a nice scrape down the side of the battery compartment door and one of its closures is dented.

Damage at the site looked really bad and the owners thought they would need to call in for a backhoe to get to the underground leak. I was told that I was looking at a 500$+ repair bill. They were very nice about the whole thing, but I was beyond mortified and freaking out. My trip was over if the bill came to fruition; I’d have to dash straight to Whitehorse to get work.

Several hours passed as I did laundry, puttered around the house, and otherwise tried to keep myself occupied as I waited for the final verdict.

Finally, the groundskeeper came around to announced that he got to the leak with just a couple of spadefuls. As it turned out, the water hose was just that, a flexible hose, not a pipe, and all I’d done was rip a connection apart. It was a two minute repair. As for the post, it seemed pretty rotten and did not factor into the equation when they came up with a bill for me–50$ for the inconvenience and labour. Fair enough. *relieved*

The people at the resort were just so nice about the whole thing. I paid them in cash last night, but still went into the office this morning to make sure that everything was okay. The manager took me around the outside of the office and showed me where someone had just about taken the roof off the porch with their rig! I could tell that she was trying to make me feel better and it worked somewhat. She told me I’m welcome back anytime, but I’m not going back there!

The resort is absolutely gorgeous. I had a nice spot by the water, something that enchanted the kitties. But the ‘pull through’ site was barely so and their wi-fi is WEP encrypted so I couldn’t get on. So, while my night there wasn’t a complete and utter disaster, it won’t bring back pleasant memories. 🙂