August 2 - Day 28 Part 1 - Carcross

Hello Everyone

Well, today is the end of our fourth week on the road - the half-way mark of our trip. We have traveled over 9,000 miles and are headed toward home, with lots of stops still on our casual itinerary.

You will see from the little map above that we started out today in Carmacks, Yukon Territory, traveled to Whitehorse, then took the South Klondike Highway (SKH) to Skagway, Alaska. We returned to Whitehorse, then headed east on the Alaska Highway, stopping for the night at a camp ground at Johnson's Crossing.

(By the way, speaking of maps, some followers of this blog have asked what happened to the Google Earth maps -- well, my son has been too busy with work to keep up with them, so I will try to substitute a simpler map from time to time.)

The drive from Carmacks to Whitehorse was pretty uneventful. The weather was cloudy and I didn't get any decent photos. However, as we crossed the Alcan and started down the SKH, the sun came out.

The first town on the SKH is Carcross, originally called Caribou Crossing, named for the huge herds of caribou that once passed through this area.

Today Carmacks is a small town (pop. 399) with a rich history, that thrives on tourism. It has many restored buildings and is involved in more historical preservation, including re-building a paddlewheeler that burned long ago. The historic White Pass & Yukon Route railway (see short history below) carries passengers between Carcross and Skagway.

A bit of history, courtesy of Milepost magazine:

The White Pass & Yukon Route (WP&YR) is a narrow-gauge privately owned railroad built during the Klondike Gold Rush. Construction of the WP&YR began in May 1898. The railroad reached White Pass in February 1899 and Whitehorse in July 1900. It was the first railroad in Alaska and at the time the most northern of any railroad in North America.

The WP&YR has one of the steepest railroad grades in North America. From sea level at Skagway the railroad climbs to 2,865 feet at White Pass in only 20 miles of track. In 1994 it was declared an International Historic Civil Engineering Lankmark, one of only 34 in the world today.

Before reaching Carcross, we stopped at Robinson's Roadhouse, and fabulous Emerald Lake that is famous for the colors of its water - the photo doesn't begin to do it justice! (Actually, the panoramic above is a composite made from seven separate shots I took while standing on the roof of the camper!)

Carcross Desert is also an interesting place. This unusual desert area of sand dunes is the world's smallest desert and an International Biophysical Programme site for ecological studies. Strong winds off a nearby lake make it difficult for vegetation to take hold, yet it has a enormous variety of plants.

Read on to Part 2 - South Klondike Highway for the continuation of Day 28.

Cheryl & Don