Sunrise 5:53 a.m., Sunset 9:44 p.m.
Crossing the border from British Columbia into the Yukon takes forever as it winds back and forth until crossing the Morley River. Our first stop in the Yukon was for fuel at Contact Creek. This is a small hut-like building that has been around for many years. The owners moved from Florida and they are a bit ‘strange’ probably because they spend the winters in the middle of nowhere. The owner told my husband that the temperatures got to -63 degrees this past winter so they probably have had years of cabin fever. They have a gift shop that they never stock new items and everything is dusty, but that’s part of the charm of the surviving businesses on the Alcan. They do have a book exchange which I used. And, for those who care, their price of diesel was CHEAPER than anywhere else.
Why Contact Creek? When the Alaska Highway was being built, the construction was to be completed quickly. Workers began from both ends: Fort Nelson and Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon. The point at which they converged was named Contact Creek.
Backstory on the sign. I really do not like the movie “Forrest Gump”. I find it tedious and I don’t like it. My son, for one of my birthdays, gave me the movie in a ‘box of chocolates’ along with a ‘Run Forrest Run’ license plate. I have had the plate hanging in our trailer above our door and decided it would be perfect for hanging in the sign forest. I put our names on it and the year 2018 and now it hangs at Watson Lake.
Between Watson Lake and Teslin, the views of the Cassiar Mountains become spectacular. As there was a harsher winter and more snow than last year, these mountains are covered in snow. We stopped at a rest stop for lunch with amazing views surrounding us.
A couple of hours later, we arrived in Teslin, Yukon. This is the heart of Tlingit country, a native tribe found in the Yukon and Alaska. The Tlingits have a heritage center here, but it opens in June and closes in September before we pass through again. Many of the natives still work at the same trades and crafts and it would be quite interesting to visit the center. Last year when we stayed in Teslin we experienced a 6.4 and 6.2 earthquake that shook our trailer pretty hard. Today, thus far, we’re the only ones in this park and we chose the first site that has a beautiful view of the Nitsulin Lake. This year the lake is frozen over. Perhaps a moose will skate by, who knows.
For those who pray, keep our truck in prayer. We are about 125 miles from any service stations. Our truck needs to start tomorrow so we can head north toward the ‘dreaded’ Whitehorse and find a Ford dealer to deal with the ‘check engine’ light. After Whitehorse, we will be continuing on toward our favorite place: Haines Junction and their infamous coffee shop.
©2018 Tentstake Ministries Publishing, all rights reserved. No copying or reproducing of this article without crediting the author or Tentstake Ministries Publishing.