20.-26.08.2007: Atlin - Tutshi Lake - Carcross - Whitehorse - Kluane National Park We drove along a gravel road south into British Columbia to a little village called Atlin. The gravel road was slow going and quite steep in places so we didn't get there until late afternoon. But we passed a lot of scenic views on the way. We wandered around the little village and the lakefront in the sun. It was very peaceful. Everything was closed for the day and most places were up for sale which was quite surprising seeing as it's quite idyllic down here. We drove further south past a viewpoint of Llewellyn Glacier which looked majestic. We found a wonderful free camping spot on a lake. The next day we continued along the road for a short distance to see a "Grotto" which was just some water flowing from under a rock - not that impressive! (Kirsten didn't even bother with a photo which says a lot!) We drove back north and into the Yukon again and took the road towards Skagway in Alaska. We found a lovely spot on Tutshi Lake for the night but we were woken up early the next morning by 8 large coaches and two busses bringing the tourists from the boats travelling the Inside Passage along the Canadian and Alaskan coasts. This road is called the South Klondike Highway and ends in Skagway. We stopped at the Yukon Suspension Bridge but the entrance fee was $18-50 per person!! Just to see a suspension bridge. There are plenty of others that you can see for free but this is on the main tourist route so there are plenty of people who will pay! (But not us!!) We stopped at the Canadian customs to ask whether we could drive up to the border without going into the US and then return. They are obviously used to people doing this so there was no problem. The actual border was only 8 miles further but we hit fog and low cloud which made the scenery very eerie on the way up to White Pass. There were several rocky outcrops and small lakes and we were glad that we had made the effort. We turned around at the official border and then drove back to the Canadian customs. We only had to show them our passports and we were on our way again. We drove back the same way we had come and saw all the tourist coaches on their way back. They had only 4 hours for their whirlwind day trip, the highlight of which was the "Welcome to Yukon" sign!! We wandered around the small town of Carcross and watched the locals fishing for herring and trout off the bridge. Just after Carcross we stopped at the "smallest desert in the world" - everything is either the smallest or largest in the world here!! We headed towards Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon, and did a short 2 mile walk across a suspension bridge (no fee!!) to Canyon City, the remains of an old Klondike village. There were no buildings left from the Gold Rush time back in 1896 but we saw two foxes. Our next stop was the fish hatchery to see the Chinook Salmon. It is the world's largest wooden fish ladder but there weren't many fish this year. There were only 7 that day!! At the visitor centre in Whitehorse we saw a message from Brigitte and John who we met up with in Calgary. They had already been and gone and we must have missed them. We went to the "Klondike Rib and Salmon" restaurant but there was a huge queue so we knew the food must be good. So we ordered a take out of fish and chips which we devoured in Winnie. Scrumptious!! We parked up at the Wal-Mart campground along with a large number of other campers. We were surprised to see so many as the season is almost ended. The next day we went for a shower at one of the campgrounds for $1 and then spent an hour at the "Beringia Interpretive Centre". Beringia is the name for a large area of land which includes what is now the Bering sea between Russia and Alaska. There was once a land "bridge" and there is evidence of prehistoric animals that were dug up by the Gold Diggers of the Klondike. Some of the bones have been dated as being over 30,000 years old. We also got the chance to try out ancient hunting spears which pre-date bow and arrows which was good fun! Then it was back to Wal-Mart for the night where we stocked up with food. The next day we drove up to Haines Junction and spent 1.5 hours at the visitor centre finding out about Kluane National Park which is the largest non-polar ice field in the world. The film was very good and we picked up lots of info. Unfortunately the flights over the ice field and to Mount Logan (Canada's highest at 19,545 ft or 5,959 m) were too expensive for us - about $170 Canadian per person. When we got out of the visitor centre it was pouring with rain and we had to make a dash to Winnie and then drove a few miles just outside of Haines Junction to find a spot to park up for the night. We drove along Haines Highway and stopped at Klukshu village to watch the salmon in the river. The locals catch 1,500 salmon per family to last them over the winter season. They filet the fish within seconds!!! They also have their own smoke "shacks". Further along the highway we stopped at a viewpoint and saw husky dogs being given a breather. We drove down to Chilkat Pass but the weather wasn't the best - low clouds and rain. The US border wasn't far away so we turned around and drove back through now heavy rain. We stopped at Million Dollar campground where we loaned our axe to some cyclists who needed to chop up the huge logs provided by the campground for fires. We went off and did a short walk to the falls and rapids and then collected our axe on the way out. We drove back to the same spot as last night.