On the Way to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory

Cassir Mountains, Yukon Territory

The stretch between Muncho and Watson lakes is about as isolated as you can get. Beginning our journey before the sun rose, we drove through darkness behind a semi that lit the way. Watson Lake is the largest city between Muncho Lake and Whitehorse, the capitol of the Yukon Territory. We had to reach Watson Lake as soon as possible to secure a new tire for the Camry. Then we could ride in confidence through the rest of our trip.

Miles and miles of empty road stretched in front of us as temperatures continued to drop. Two bison munching frozen grass next to the road were undisturbed by our passing. Yellow signs with a detailed bison were placed strategically along the road.

Soon the light began to shine as the descent from the Northern Rockies delivered us closer to our destination. As the car neared Watson Lake, our eyes strained to see signs advertising tire repair shops. Yes! There was a place! We pulled onto the frontage road as we entered town and slowed the car near Bee Jay’s Service. Looks were deceiving as my immediate reaction was ‘not there.’ We continued our search and then pulled into a repair shop with truckers parked outside. “What can I do for ya?” said a man exiting the shop building. “We have tire trouble,” Rick responded. “Down the road three blocks to Bee Jay’s,” and so we turned the car around and slowly pursued our tire-replacement destination.

Pulling into the parking lot near the ‘Tire Shop’ sign, we jumped out of the car and entered the side entrance. As we walked through announcing our presence, there was a mechanic working on a car. When we entered a door at the far end of the garage, there was a counter with a cash register in front of us. Seeing a woman with glitter in her hair, we inquired about getting our tire fixed. The young waitress, with lace trim below her hoodie, went in search of the tire guy while we decided to eat breakfast in the café. The breakfast special was two eggs, a pancake, and your choice of meat: bacon, sausage or ham.

The tire guy appeared and Rick went out to display our ruptured tire to this young man in greasy coveralls. After several minutes, Rick and the tire guy appeared. The fix price tag was $147 Canadian, plus mounting and balancing for a new tire. “Great! Let’s do it,” I agreed.

When Rick went out to check the progress, I settled up with our twenty-something waitress, and then joined them in the shop. Seeing the tire was nearly changed, I went to see the manager to pay the $172 bill, who took all the cards except Discover.

Back on the road, our next stop was to fill the gas tank after which time we headed for the Watson Lake Signpost Forest. At temperatures hovering around 19 degrees, we walked through seeing signs from places like San Anselmo, California, to Shoshone, Idaho. Places in Canada and the Midwestern United States were also represented. This was our first touristy activity after more than 1,200 miles. After pics were taken of familiar places, we set out for the last stretch of Alaska Highway for today. The lonely stretch of road along the borders of British Columbia and the Yukon Territory contains miles of dense forests and a light sprinkling of snow on the ground. Another 260 miles to go on this day.

When we stopped in Teslin, YT, for lunch, a young man recognized us as being the ones along the side of the road changing the tire the previous day. He was happy to know we had made it and shared the camaraderie of travel along the Alaska Highway to Anchorage. We had seen them stopped on the shoulder as a convoy including an empty car trailer, moving van, Jeep and other vehicle, on their way to Anchorage. They are trying to make it through Whitehorse tonight because the white stuff is expected to accumulate on the ground through that area and beyond before night’s end. The young man with a short-cropped haircut and his wife were from Idaho. His aunts, along for the ride, were from Tennessee. As they departed, we said we would probably see them on the way somewhere. After a late lunch, we departed as the light snow fell. Only two hundred more miles to Whitehorse.

While there’s not much civilization along the way, we did encounter the beautiful Cassir Mountains and several lakes. Up and down mountains with varying outside temperatures was the variety that broke up the monotony along this long stretch of road.

Whitehorse, the capitol of the Yukon Territory, is a hip town of 24,000 and only 396 miles to our first Alaska destination, Tok. We entered this cultural city that includes a convention center and the Yukon Art Centre, along with a few museums. We travel along the Yukon River to the Westmark Hotel. As a beacon to a former day, the SS. Klondike sits dry docked along the highway. The downtown core has a mix of groovy renovated buildings and four story office buildings. After a day of calculating the mileage, we are finally here.