Day 12 - Watson Lake, YT to Whitehorse, YT. An easy day in beautiful country!

Day 12– Monday, June 1, 2009
Start: Watson Lake, Yukon Territory, Canada
End: Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada
Trip Miles Today: 292
Total Trip Miles: 4357

For once I managed to sleep in a little later and didn’t actually get on the road until after 9. This following a nice breakfast at Bee Jays Truckstop, reputed to be the finest restaurant in all of Watson Lake.

When I rode out this morning it was already over 50 degrees (F) and it only got better from there. It was 75 (F) when I arrived in Whitehorse around 3:30PM, and sunny throughout. Following two days of difficulty with weather, there was nothing but a few construction zones to inhibit progress today. Thankfully. Incredibly, after all the wildlife observed yesterday, I saw nothing in the way of interesting critters this entire day.

The ride today was almost directly westward through area dominated by hills and wide river valleys. The road follows, in sequence, the Rancheria River, the Swift River the Teslin River, then immediately before Whitehorse it crosses the Yukon. White capped mountains are seldom out of sight on this part of the route. Tonight’s layover, Whitehorse, is both the largest city in the Yukon and it’s capital. Whitehorse, at the headwaters of the Yukon River, played an important role in the region’s 1890s Gold Rush History. It was a stopover point for Stampeders who came overland from the Alaska Ports of Skagway and Dyea, 100 miles to the Southwest. After drying out and repacking their stuff most continued by steamboat to the gold fields further down the Yukon River. The area’s rich Gold Rush History colors many of the tourist attractions but there is much to see also in the way of scenery and wildlife. I personally enjoy the vistas at nearby Miles Canyon on the Yukon River. I find the remoteness of this entire area to be very compelling. I stopped once, in the middle of nowhere, shut off the engine and just listened to the silence. Until an oncoming truck ruined it, of course.

I was surprised, and pleased to find a VERY nice new botique hotel, SKKY (www.skkyhotel.com), on the Alaska Highway just across from the Whitehorse Airport. A number of years ago, while on a flying adventure to Alaska, I had stayed at the old hotel on this site, the Airport Chalet or some such. The previous place was, to put it mildly, pretty dumpy. Not so this place, which only opened in February. It's VERY nice, and operated by VERY nice people. Rates are not out of line with the numerous lesser choices. I hope they make a go of it!

More pictures from today and from the entire ride to date can be seen at http://jackb1.smugmug.com/


The 2009 Ride to Alaska for The Austin Hatcher Foundation is supported by
RevZilla Motorsports at RevZilla.com and by Hermy's Cycles in Port Clinton, PA