Haines Junction, Yukon Territory

Good morning, my friends. Alaska beckons. In just a few days we'll be there. For now, we find ourselves near Haines Junction, still in Yukon Territory. It doesn't seem possible that the mountains could be any more stunning, but yesterday's drive proved it to be so.

Here's the blow-by-blow of yesterday's drive. We crossed this bridge over the Takhini River.

Here's what our Milepost told us about the river. 

And since we're told mosquitos are the state bird of Alaska, it all makes sense. So far, we've not been bothered by mosquitos. On the other hand, it's been windy and cold many days, and that might have kept them at bay. Just past the bridge, we caught a glimpse of the Takhini Salt Flats off to the side.

Here's what the Milepost tells us about that.

And yes...noted...we are going to see some elk today.

We passed by this burned area. It was mentioned in the Milepost. This fire occurred in 1958, burning over 1.5 million acres. Yikes. The char is gone, but after so many years, it remains barren in contrast to other areas we've driven through.

Oh lookie there! Wild horses! There was a foal standing behind the middle horse. I wish I'd taken the shot just a few moments later. You can see the extra legs.

There they are...elk! We saw two groupings of elk, and we saw one run across the road.

These are members of the Tahkini Elk Herd.

Here's what The Google tells us about this particular herd:

The Takhini elk herd, located in the Takhini Valley in Yukon, Canada, is a significant wildlife population managed by the Yukon government. It currently consists of over 200 elk. The herd's presence has led to conflicts with agricultural landowners due to grazing and damage to crops. To address these conflicts, the Yukon government implements various management strategies, including conflict hunts and working groups with stakeholders. 

Moving on...my, oh my. We started seeing the mountain ranges we imagined we'd see as we near the border with Alaska.

A little farther on, we came to a rest area where we could see this bridge. 

It was a good time for a break, and so we got out and roamed around here a bit.

  

Getting closer so you can see the construction.

Here's what the Milepost tells us about the history of this bridge. 

Looking to the right, gave us a look at the river.

Looking left, there's the new modern bridge. We would drive over that one in a few minutes. 

Here's what we learned about the mountains before us.   

Yep...that's a wow. 

Allow me to demonstrate my current hatred of selfies. Nevertheless, sometimes one must document one's presence in the world.  

Here's a little more information about the mountains.

This was our view just before turning off at the campground where we would spend the night. 

It seems most Yukon Government campgrounds are first come, first serve. But we had a reservation for this park. 

And...wow. Sorry for being so repetitive. 

We got ourselves set up, had some lunch, took naps, and then set out to discover the "lake" of Pine Lake campground.  We walked down this short trail... 

From there, we turned right. You can see the lake off to the left. And this looks like moose territory to me, but we didn't see any. On the other hand, we did see a large pile of, um, "droppings" that we surmise came from a moose. 

At the end of the walkway was a boat launch and some slips. We walked out on the floating dock.

Looking to the left, we saw this:

Looking straight ahead, we saw this:

Looking to the right, we saw this:

From there, we walked back in the other direction. There was another viewing platform in the distance.

Standing there, we could see some geese. I believe these are Snow Geese.

And there was some kind of duck. I can't see enough of him to be certain of his identification.

Looking through the trees to the right...

See how this barrier is made? They've used thin aspen branches for the uprights.

There is a playground and a nice swimming beach here. Instead of swings, they had a zipline for the kids. These two were having a blast.

Here's where we spent the night.

Smitty was able to get out for a walk. He did pretty well on his little stroll. We were out about 20 minutes before monsters chased him up onto the steps of the camper. Smitty is able to see and hear monsters that no one else can see or hear. The same thing happens to me when I go into a dark basement.

So, we'll move one day's drive closer to Alaska today. We expect to cross the border tomorrow. Originally, we were headed for Beaver Creek. So far the road has been good. There have been a few rough patches, but nothing too unsettling. The drive for today would have been twice as long and taken us nearly to the border. In the interest of bad road worries, I have us stopping a little before Beaver Creek. We're hoping to get another spot at the first come, first serve Lake Creek Yukon Government campground for tonight. If we're able to get a spot there, it will split the driving distance to Tok just about evenly over the next two days.

If all goes as planned, we'll cross into Alaska tomorrow. I've intentionally kept our refrigerator sparsely stocked for the border crossing. I really hate having stuff confiscated, and so there isn't much food left. Among our first tasks when we reach Tok will be to stock up on groceries. Also, a restaurant in Tok comes highly recommended: Fast Eddy's. I read about Fast Eddy's in the Alaska Facebook groups. Then, coincidentally, my friend, Kristin, mentioned it in her comment yesterday. We'll have at least one meal there. We expect to be in Alaska for approximately the next six weeks. 

Okay, so our drive today is around 150 miles. If we're going to get one of those first come, first serve sites, we'll be on our way early. Buckle up, my friends. There's much more to see from here. We're just barely getting started.