RV ALASKA - The S.S. Klondike National Historic Site (& Other Adventures in Whitehorse, YT)

Alan and I had been steadily on the move, covering the distance from Jasper, Alberta, to Watson Lake, Yukon, over the course of three days.  We usually try to drive no more than two full days before taking an R&R day, but traffic was light and we had been unusually lucky in finding three campsites in a row that didn’t require us to unhitch.  Not that unhitching is difficult, but not having to do it saves a little bit of time and makes for a quick and easy getaway in the morning.  We had been looking ahead to a two-night layover in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, that would allow us a break from the road, time to reprovision and the opportunity to visit the S.S. Klondike – one of the last remaining steam-powered paddle wheelers that transported goods and passengers up and down the Yukon River between the 1860’s and 1950.  The Klondike exceeded our expectations by a longshot.

Date(s) – June 25^th – June 26th

Total Miles Traveled to Date – 7,886

Wildlife Sightings to Date – One grizzly sow with two cubs on the side of the road; one very fast rabbit that just managed to cross the road safely, several small herds of bison with at least 2 dozen young calves;1 dead cow moose on the side of the road (just a placeholder until we see a live one!); one back end of a grizzly bear, 1 more black bear, bringing our total to 5; 9 deer (2 of them bucks with their racks covered in velvet); 9 mountain goats (including 3 tiny and adorable kids); 23 bighorn sheep; 62 elk (including 7 calves that hadn’t yet lost their spots and a number of bull elk with full racks covered in velvet); several small herds of pronghorn antelope (including 2 mamas with 3 newborn fawns between them); 7 eagles (including 2 fledglings); 3 great blue herons; dozens of American white pelicans; at least a half dozen families of adult geese with goslings; and several dozen ducks (with lots of little ducklings).

Highlight(s) – Alan deemed the entire trip a success as soon as he saw the sow and her two cubs.  Seeing a grizzly in the wild had been on the top of his “Alaska Scavenger Hunt” list since we started trip planning.  I can assure you, I’m traveling with a very happy camper.

The S.S. Klondike National Historic Site was both a highlight and a lowlight.  A lowlight because the paddle wheeler is currently undergoing a four to five year restoration project, and tours aboard the ship are not allowed.  SO disappointing!  Although we would have loved to tour the Klondike, we understood completely.  My brother, Michael, has worked on a number of ship restorations, and we know what a painstaking, but necessary, process it is.  Here’s hoping we make it back to the Yukon after the restoration process is complete because I would LOVE to board that paddle wheeler!

So, you’re probably wondering what it was that made our S.S. Klondike experience exceptional.   A couple of things.  One was the 18 minute compilation of very old film clips of the Klondike and its travels up and down the Yukon River.  That film, “In the Days of the Riverboats,” is a treasure, and the Canadian government is incredibly fortunate to have such evidence of life on the river dating back that far.  We were able to witness how skids were greased and the ship was slid into the river each spring (and hauled back up those skids with real live horsepower at the end of the season), the amount of firewood that was needed to keep the paddle wheeler running (and what hard work it was to replenish the wood supply) and the way the deckhands had to winch the Klondike through the rock formations at the Five Fingers rapids.

The second thing that made our experience exceptional was Greg’s performance.  Greg is a staff member at the National Historic Site.  He was in the lobby when we arrived, chatting with another staff member who was manning the reception desk.  With the option of touring the ship eliminated due to the restoration project, our choices were watching the 18 minute film only or watching the film and meeting with an interpretive guide in period dress for a tour.  Option B, please!  Greg walked us over to the small, comfortable theater, started the film and told us he’d be back in 18 minutes.  As I said, the film was amazing, and that alone would have been worth the visit.  By the time it was over, Greg had reappeared, only he wasn’t Greg any longer – he was “Will,” the master of the paddle wheeler in full dress uniform, and he proceeded with a scripted performance that educated us on how he had come to captain the ship and what life aboard the paddle wheeler was like on the Yukon River in the early 1900’s.  With only Alan and me on the “tour,” we were free to ask “Will” all kinds of questions, and he proved to be a wealth of information – both on script and then off script later as Greg.  We paid just $10.25 per person for our S.S. Klondike “tour,” and received an exceptional experience in return.

One more highlight – the MacBride Museum of Yukon History.  That’s another gem!  The price of admission was $12.00 for adults and $11.00 for seniors.  Again, well worth the money!  From the blown glass icicle art in the lobby (the amazingly creative result of a fundraising effort) to the exhibits on natural history, the life of indigenous people, the gold rush and more, everything we saw was educational, fascinating and/or eye-opening.  The display of gold taken from creeks in the Yukon was pretty impressive, as was the old Telegraph Office built in 1900.  It’s the oldest building in Whitehorse that has remained in its original location – and it looks like the MacBride Museum was built right around it.  (You can actually access the interior of the old Telegraph Office from inside the Museum.)  For fans of Robert Service, you can even visit Sam McGee’s original cabin right there at the Museum.  This stop wasn’t on our original itinerary, but we added it when I read about it in a local tourism publication.  A lucky find, for sure! 

Lowlight(s) – In addition to missing out on an onboard tour of the Klondike, we have two, no three, more.  Nothing major, but just wanting to share.  1) We’re having a difficult time finding restaurants to try, either due to the menu selections or the prices of those menu selections.  (And sometimes just due to the fact that there are no restaurants!  2) In Whitehorse, “The Deli” sounded appealing because they made their own wild game sausages.  Alan ordered a combination platter with bison and elk sausage.  I’m not that brave and ordered a warm chicken sandwich, but I did take a taste of both of his sausages.  The verdict?  Both of us decided that Jimmy Dean’s ground sausage with sage still held the #1 sausage spot in our family.  Neither one was bad, but neither was “oh wow” either.  3) Lastly, it has been tough finding good ice cream – and you know how much we love good ice cream!  Going through ice cream withdrawal, we finally settled for a Blizzard at the local Dairy Queen in Whitehorse.  Not. Doing. That. Again.  Sorry, Cliff.  The Ice Cream Report is a dud.

Campground(s) – We were hoping to snag a campsite at the Wolf Creek Campground, a Yukon government campground just east of Whitehorse.  That didn’t pan out for us.  This is one of only a handful of public campgrounds in the Yukon that allow reservations, so half the sites had already been reserved and we didn’t arrive early enough in the day to capture one of the walk-in sites.  On to Plan B which was a private RV park in the Whitehorse area.  (At least I had cell service at this point.)  The Hi Country RV Park looked like it would meet our needs, if not our want for well-spaced campsites.  I do like and appreciate the RV parks that offer online reservations, which Hi Country does.  With only three sites available (two of which we wouldn’t fit in), we picked site 26 next to the Recreation Center and arrived 15 minutes after I booked the site.  I will tell you that Alan has been trailering all kinds of things for decades and is an excellent driver.  This man can put a trailer almost anywhere, and if you saw the maneuvering he has to do at home to back ours up the driveway across the lawn, around some trees, up the hill and past the boat garage, you would, indeed, agree that he shouldn’t have a problem getting into a site that is (allegedly) big enough for our rig to fit.  We checked in at the Hi Country office and made our way to site 26.  I jumped out to guide him in and immediately had my doubts.  It was an extremely narrow site, a good-size tree at each corner (both with lots of low hanging branches) and extremely limited swing room.  Well, if anyone could get it in, Alan could.  Alan couldn’t.  I stopped him before he made his second attempt.  If he managed to avoid hitting a tree (which, as his experienced spotter, I didn’t think was likely), our trailer would be damaged from a large number of tree branches scraping the sides.  No way.  Not on my watch.  Back to the office we went to find out if they had anything else we would fit in.  (There was no Plan C at this point.)  Nope, completely full for the night.  I do have to compliment the staff on working hard to do right by us.  (There is no way the park’s reservation system should have allowed a 32’ trailer to book site 26.  And I wonder how many other sites are misrepresented.)  They finally put us in an “emergency site” next to the RV wash that isn’t even on the reservation system.  Fine by us.  There were no sites immediately adjacent to us so, not only did we have a place to stay for the two nights we’d be in Whitehorse, we also had more breathing room than any other rig in the campground.  Besides, you know how little it takes to amuse us – we had a grand ol’ time watching other campers wash their rigs.  While we both appreciated the efforts of the staff to accommodate us, there is no way we’d stay at Hi Country again.  To add insult to injury, we had paid an additional fee of $10 or $15 to lock site 26. (I truly despise that policy which seems to be getting more popular among private RV parks.)  Even the dump station was set up weirdly, as in right in the middle of one of the main access roads.  I can’t even imagine the traffic jam that would occur if you had one RV at the dump station and just one more waiting to dump.  Nope, never again. 

Shout Out – A big round of applause to Integra Tire & Gas Station on Industrial Road in Whitehorse.  We refilled our propane tanks at a very reasonable price, and we used their (easily accessible!) dump station for free with a gas fill up.  Friendly, helpful staff added to our positive experience here, too.  Integra is definitely on our “A” list!

Unique Experience of the Day – I wasn’t sure where to put this, so I just made up a new category.  (I’m really liking this new blog post format!)  When we were dumping our tanks at Integra, another truck pulled up near the dump station, and a young man offloaded four round metal containers near the dump.  He asked where we were from and we all got to chatting.  Turns out he’s a rafting guide, and he was just returning from a rafting trip in Kluane National Park and Reserve.  Those four metal containers?  Portable waste tanks from the trip that needed to be emptied and cleaned.  Now, dumping our own tanks doesn’t bother me.  Heck, we have two kids and I’ve changed plenty of diapers.  But dumping and cleaning those tanks from a rafting trip?  Eeeww!  Not for me!  I am NEVER going to be a rafting guide when I grow up!

Pic(s) of the Day

The Yukon River and the S.S. Klondike (that small white blur) are to the right of the sign.

The S.S. Klondike National Historic Site - Whitehorse, Yukon Territory

Fenced off from the public during her restoration

The exterior of the old Telegraph Office at the MacBride Museum of Yukon History

The blown glass icicles reminded us of Chihuly glass.

Sam McGee's original cabin (Yes, I AM a fan of Robert Service.)

Mounted examples of Yukon Territory wildlife - ALL of the exhibits were exceptionally well-done!

Up Next – A major change in plans, plus thoughts about what kind of temperament you need to travel the Alaska Highway.