We came back to Whitehorse and spent one day just doing 'boring' chores. Even as free spirited travelers, there are some necessities that have to be taken care of such as laundry, fixing with the car, taking a nap ;) etc. so we spent one day dealing with that.

Once again we stayed at La Bicicletta B&B where Anne and Ante took good care of us!

The second full day we decided to drive out to Haines Junction which is the gateway to the Kluane National Park. It's a junction because if you continue north on the Alaska highway it will eventually take you to Anchorage but if you go south at the junction you will end up in Haines, Alaska.

Haines Junction's airport

The drive out was absolutely stunning and the mountains got higher and more impressive the further we drove.

Taking off

Since the weather was perfect we decided to take an air tour over the glaciers. Sifton Air offers different kinds of tours so we were lucky and got space on the one that would give us a glimpse of the large ice fields.

The plane felt very small. Robert got to sit with the pilot up front. Victoria was sitting in the back.

Inside the plane

The flight was amazing! Photos can only give you an idea of what it was like. The weather was clear, mountains were high and the sky unlimited. In a small plane like that it also gave you a true sense of how large nature is and how little humans are. Every little bump could be felt but it gave you a perspective of the magitude and size of the mountains compared to five humans squeezed into a yellow tin can!

Glacier!

Amazing view from the plane.

Safely back on ground we both concluded that it was worth every penny and something we would strongly recommend to anybody wanting to experience something special.

Back on earth again...

Next morning we got in the car again and embarked on the last bit of the Alaska highway that would eventually take us to 'mile 0' of the highway which starts in Dawson Creek (not to be confused with Dawson city) in British Columbia.

The drive wasn't much to write about and we spent the night in Watson Lake which definitely wasn't much to report. There is a tourist attraction in form of a sign post forest where street, city and town signs are collected. That was kind of cool to see, but beside that, there was not much going on in this town!

Sign post forest in Watson Lake

We continued the next morning to see the bisons that we had heard rumours about. Our hopes to see anything weren't too high though since we haven't seen that much wildlife. So when we suddenly spotted a couple of bisons on a field next to the highway we were so excited!!! Robert got out of the car to get a better look.

Robert checking out the wood bison

We saw more bison (we learned that they are called 'wood bison') and were quite pleased with seeing so many when we turned the corner and... there was the whole herd! Not one or two but more like 40 or 50!!! strolling down the highway in a leisurely pace. Bulls, cows and calves all in one big group. Very amazing sight.

Wood bull herd

One HUGE bull was eating grass next to our car and he was so close we could have touched him if we had reached out.

BIG bison

A couple of minutes later we also saw some caribous that crossed the road. Suddenly the drive felt like a Canadian safari!

Caribou

The drive continued and at Liards Hotsprings we stopped to stretch our legs and to dip into the supposedly warm water. A boardwalk took us into the hotsprings which were beautiful and VERY HOT!

Beautiful water with slight hint of sulphur.

There were three pools were the top one was just too hot to get into. The second and the third pools were managable but still in the range of 45-50C. Natural hot tubs! Very relaxing and nice and a good break in the driving. The only thing that was a little bit of a turn off was the smell of sulphur from the water. We probably smelled like rotten eggs when we were done!

Hot springs!

Natural hot tub!

In the evening we reached Fort Nelson and set up camp for the first time in a couple of weeks. Being back in B.C. and more south, the weather has warmed up to be more suitable for outdoor life. We also think we are getting better at the 'setting up camp' part and the tent was standing in only 10 minutes. We are very proud!

Tomorrow we are off to Dawson Creek and the end of the journey on the Alaska highway!

written by  Victoria & Robert on September 22, 2009 from Haines Junction, Canada
from the travel blog: the Canadian Arctic
Send a Compliment

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We are really looking forwards to your reports.
Love
Maud and Gunnar

written by  Maud Naess on September 26, 2009

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wowee, you two,
wonderful to see you are flying high in the outter reaches.
I have my bag packed full of books and some undies.
i leave in 2 hrs time
did you find a way to send big files?
Looks like your adventure is really eye opening, amazing to be so humbled by nature, lovley to be a speck!

written by  sz on September 27, 2009

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Hi,

Just seems to get better and better, like a good book I can't wait for the next chapter!

Noticed you sat with the pilot, Robert - keeping an eye on him I suppose and the warm water looked very inviting.

Bye for now - love Mum

written by  Fay Ryan on September 28, 2009

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