Day 14: Swift River, YK to Kluane Lake, YK

On August 21, 2007, Day 14, we stopped at Dawson Peaks Lodge in Teslin, Yukon, to take a picture of the building and of the couple who own it. Their ad in the Milepost said that they were mentioned in a Sue Henry book. She's an author that my niece, Beckie, likes.

Dawson Peaks Lodge

So, while at Dawson Peaks Lodge, I bought a copy of the book, which had been autographed by the author, and which the resort owners inscribed to Beckie and signed.

We filled Harvey's gas tank while in Teslin, too. On the way out of town, Doug saw a bear beside the road. I was still doing my clerical work after the gas stop and totally missed the bear, which Doug said was practically posing for us. There had been a neat wildlife exhibit at that gas stop, which I had run in to see while Doug was paying for the gas. He missed that, so I guess we were even. Although, I sure would have liked to see that bear.

Earlier, we had seen a moose in the distance, and later we saw a family of mule deer (a doe, a buck, and a fawn), just running along the edge of the woods beside the road.

Nisutlin Bay Bridge at Teslin

Yukon River Bridge at Marsh Lake Dam Rest Area

Lewes Dam (also known as Marsh Lake Dam), the first dam on the Yukon River

We drove around town a little in Whitehorse, but our only stop was for gas. Then we went on to Haines Junction. I talked Doug into driving another 30-35 miles past Haines Junction to an RV park whose ad I had seen in the Milepost. But I must have misread the ad or something because it wasn't where I thought it should be. And we got into about five or six miles of very bad road (gravel and mud) around Kluane Lake before arriving at the next campground, which was Cottonwood RV Park, on Kluane Lake, at Destruction Bay, Yukon. It was a lovely spot, but they had only 15 amp power and charged us fifty American dollars for a campsite. We were so tired that we decided to stay anyway.

Cottonwood RV Park on Kluane Lake, Destruction Bay, Yukon

Kluane Lake

Our camp hostess said that grizzlies often came through the camp. They had seen a mama and two cubs two or three days earlier.

Another camper told us that the road from here to the Alaska border was pretty bad. The Milepost seemed to agree.