Tuesday, September 19, 2017 Whitehorse to Watson Lake, Yukon

Just south of Whitehorse a mile off the main road is Miles Canyon.  The Yukon River is a wide river, that is even a braided river at places, but here at Miles Canyon, rocks constrict the flow, so that the river rushes through a narrow deep canyon.

We are going south on the Alcan highway, hoping to get to Watson Lake by tonight.  However, we took a detour, and drove half way to Atlin, BC. It is a total of 60 miles one way, and after driving approximately half the length of Atlin Lake we turned around.  It was a nice drive but not fabulous. 

Within the first few miles of turning onto the Atlin Highway, we saw mountain goats on high bare rocky slopes of nearby mountains. They were so high it was hard to get a good photo in focus, but we will post our best. We saw at least 12 at different locations.  Usually two were nearby each other, but at least 4 were in one group.  Some were lying down, resting, others were moving around, up or down on the rocks.  You wonder what they eat at these levels in the mountains that seem bare of anything - they eat any plant life, even lichens that grow out of cracks in the rocks.  In the winter, they do come to lower elevations, when the mountains are covered with snow.  But at the lower elevations, there are more predators, and the predators can get to them easier.

The Yukon River near Whitehorse

Mountain Goats

We continued to drive toward Watson Lake, stopping at pull-outs to see the view, and continually watching for wildlife - all we saw was a roadkill porcupine. We did see a Beaver Lodge near the road.  We have seen them at a distance, but this one was nearby.  Along the way we have seen Beaver working on chewing down trees for their lodges, or food.  They will sink certain types of trees lower than the ice, for them to use for food during the winter months.  

TERFU - Things Are Really Fouled Up

SNAFU - System Normal All Fouled Up

There are many rivers and lakes that were reflecting the fall colors. There are no snowcapped mountains in this area, but we will see more when we get to the Rocky Mountains.  Our scenery photos are similar, but every corner you go around there is another lovely view!! That is what Alaska, and northern Canada are all about!!  

Watson Lake is a busy junction town.  It is like “base camp” for people working in the area – highway workers, utility workers, etc. Talked to 4 guys at dinner who are building an underground water reservoir for the town.

Teslin Catholic Church

Large Beaver Lodge