Alaska Highway – Whitehorse

(2018 Alaska Ep 29)

We arrived in Whitehorse (RabbiTRAILS Alaska Map, pt #33) on June 18 and stayed for three days.

We biked and hiked along the Yukon River, and enjoyed the excellent trails that extend throughout the town.  We rode past the SS Klondike, a sternwheeler that ran freight between Whitehorse and Dawson City from 1929 to 1950.  The ship is now a national historic site.

The Yukon is dammed upriver from Whitehorse.  Besides hydro power and the trails mentioned above, there are various other recreational opportunities, such as kayaking (downriver) and boating (upriver).

We visited the Yukon Wildlife Preserve where a number of animals native to the north can be seen in their natural habitat.   The animals include mule deer, wood bison, elk, musk ox, thin horn sheep, caribou (also known as reindeer), mountain goats, arctic and red fox, lynx and moose.

We also restocked our groceries at a smaller-than-normal Wal-Mart, the first we’d seen since Dawson Creek more than 900 miles back.  We counted more than 50 RVs in the parking lot, who were enjoying a free night stay and convenient shopping.

Finally, we celebrated Pat’s birthday with dinner at the Klondike Rib and Salmon BBQ.  We ended a great meal with birthday-sized bread pudding!