Alaska and Back Again

The road out of Alaska and back in again, would take me from Stewart, British Columbia (Hyder, Alaska) to Watson Lake, a long ten hour ride.  The road is paved all the way except for a few minor stretches of gravel road along the way (the longest run of gravel is less than 5 miles long).

The gas stops are few and far between; it's no problem, one just needs to be sure to leave with a full tank of gas and not pass up any gas stations in-between.  It's a nice drive, but only moderately scenic (remember, - everything is relative).

My choice (and my recommendation for a campground) in Watson Lake is the Downtown RV Park.  It is conveniently located (as the name suggests) "downtown" and is within walking distance of most everything there is in Watson Lake.  

There is not a lot to see or do in Watson Lake, when we passed through there in March on the snowmobile trip (see the older blog dated March 4, 2010) I failed to get a picture to the famous Watson Lake Sign Forest; therefore I was intent on correcting that error and also looking through the "forest" in effort if there was a sign from close to home.  The "winner" was Jonesville, Michigan (see photo).

The Northern Lights Centre is another Watson Lake attraction that is quite interesting and in my opinion well worth the minimal cost.  Even if one chooses not to see the movie, it cost nothing to tour the small but interesting facility. 

Originally my thought was to go from Watson Lake west to Whitehorse and then north to Dawson City; but, once again, that was the same route I had traveled in March - Why repeat it? 

As it turned out it was a not moot question; torrential rains in Alaska (on a scale that had not been seen in this area in decades) caused flooding which washed out vast sections of highway throughout a purported 100 miles.  The highway is closed until repairs can be completed (an estimated 6 weeks working around the clock - providing that the weather cooperates).

With that one option eliminated another one was interjected - by missing the turn to Whitehorse and continuing straight to Carcross, I could turn south and go to Skagway (the second most, after Hyder, southerly point of entry into Alaska).

 It was an intriguing option, traveling (for me) an uncharted path, even though it would necessitate backtracking back to Carcross in order to continue north through Alaska.  There are no Alaskan roads leading north out of Skagway, the only option was to return via Carcross; unless, it was possible to take my motorcycle by ferry to Haines, Alaska (an even more intriguing option!)

It was a plan I could (and did) get excited about, the decision was made - off to Skagway.

Skagway was the starting point for the White Pass route to the Klondike during the gold rush; a historic town that was bound to be loaded with things of interest.

The only problem getting to Skagway before dark; with so much spectacular beauty to contend with, it all seemed magnificent to ride by with my camera packed away in my saddle bag (I couldn't do it!)  In the end, it was only darkness that made me pack the camera back in the saddlebag. 

Skagway (according to the 2000 census) has a year around population of 862 residents, but it's a volatile population that doubles over the summer tourist season in order to cope with boat loads of tourists that unload from 2-3 huge cruise ships almost daily, the White Pass Railway and a number of tour busses.

In appearance Skagway reminds me of Dawson City, Yukon Territory; but, despite the fact that Dawson City has more than half again the year around population, Skagway appears much larger.  The reason, Skagway has 900,000 annual tourists (15 times more than that of Dawson City's mere 60,000) that encourage more support services.  

With the volume of tourists flocking downtown, the streets are a swarm of activity up until 8:00 PM when the cruise ships depart and all of the numerous tour buses have long since departed; after the 8:00 o'clock hour, one could "drive a dragster" down main street without fear of striking a single sole!