RV ALASKA - Battling Frost Heaves on the Alaska Highway

When planning our route to Alaksa, I had discounted the Top of the World Highway – even though I would have loved to visit Dawson City, Yukon, with its fascinating Gold Rush history.  I had read that the Highway wasn’t in the best of condition, and Alan and I were both concerned about damage to the truck and trailer.  Having already had two windshields replaced back home within the past year, we weren’t too anxious to go through that again.  Comments made by our friend, Bernie, convinced us to give the Top of the World a go.  He thought the road wasn’t that bad and better than some.  I shook off my reservations, and we decided we’d head north from Whitehorse on the Klondike Highway, travel through Dawson City and follow the Top of the World Highway on to Tok, Alaska.  If we did that on the way out, we could take the Alaska Highway on the way back, allowing us to cover new and different territory.  On the morning of our departure from Whitehorse, news that a wildfire burning to the north had closed the North Klondike Highway between Pelly and Stewart Crossing stopped us in our tracks.  The fire had effectively blocked our way to Dawson City.

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.