Birds, botany, bikes, boats and beaches

It has only been a week since the last blog but it seems like a lot longer because we've done so much!

After leaving Watson Lake we headed for Atlin Lake, however, we didn't make it there. We stopped at Little Atlin Lake where Ken did some fishing and caught 4 Whitefish and I took about a million pictures of the eagles and other birds in the area. The weather cleared up for the evening and we were able sit and talk until late into the night around our fire. Seeing as the weather was to clear and warm a little in the next couple of days, Ken and I decided we would head for Whitehorse where we wanted to leave the truck and camper while we took a ride on the bikes to Skagway, across on the ferry to Haines, to Haines Junction, and then back again to Whitehorse. Along the way we saw the most beautiful grizzly bear that stood up on it's hind legs and took a good look at us, unfortunately Ken decided to give his famous bear call and it took off faster than I could get my camera out. Grizzly Adams he's not!

We could not have picked two better days in which to do the ride! It was sunny, warm, and the scenery was out of this world. We made many stops along the way including a ride to the head of the Chilkoot trail( I wish I could have done the hike but that is for another time!). Skagway was very busy with 3 cruise ships in port so we wandered the streets with the rest of the tourists and window shopped. We have never saw so many gold and jewelery stores, I guess when you are on the gold trail there is only one thing to buy, and boy they are hard selling the stuff! Our only purchase was a lunch of fresh halibut.

The evening ferry was a little late but it took us to Haines in just over an hour. Our boat was going all the way to Bellingham and it was full. It was no trouble getting on with the two bikes but the truck and camper wouldn't have made the trip without a reservation and that would have been a lot more expensive that the $130 we paid for ourselves and the bikes.

Haines is a world away from the touristy town of Skagway. With it's quiet streets and sleepy stores it was more up our alley. We dined on fresh halibut again(this is the place to do it)and found a nice state park in which to pitch our tent. Sweet dreams of magnificent glacier capped mountains!

Early the next morning we were off again, camera in hand! Oh My God, could the ride get any better than yesterday? Another day of riding with many, many stops just trying to take it all in. From Haines to Haines Junctions we were on sensory overload. After Haines Junction the land flattened out a bit and road conditions got a little worse due to construction, but not too bad. That evening we were back in Whitehorse at Camp W and unfortunately the next morning rain.

There was one more thing we wanted to do here in Whitehorse and that was canoe down the Yukon River to Lake Lebarge. So, here we sit doing laundry etc. etc. waiting and hoping that the weather will clear and we can paddle. We have the time to wait a few days and we have patience. On second thought...no patience, we are leaving for Kluane Park and hopefully better weather.

Oh by the way, for our German speaking followers, check our friends Stephen and Emma's website. They are travelling by Land Rover from Germany, Canada, South America and Africa! Their link can be found in the right hand column.

Lily pads on a small stocked lake we stopped at to have dinner between Watson Lake and Atlin.

Reeds on Little Atlin Lake.

This eagle decided he had seen enough of me.




Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon and our base(at Camp W) for a few days.



The scenery changes on the road from Whitehorse to Skagway, from a drier low mountain area to snow capped mountains and something that looks like a moonscape around "The Log Cabin" near the top of the Chilkoot Pass. The White Pass/Yukon Railway passes by just below the road.



We stopped along the way for a bit of a walk and for Ken a bit of rock climbing.

Just as we slip into Alaska is a great time for a photo op with the bikes.

At Skagway, (which was quite but a little too touristy for us, with 3 cruise ships in port) we had lunch and wondered around before we caught the boat to Haines.

A cannery in Haines on the road out to our campsite.

A short hike along the ocean took us through dense forest...

and along open beaches lined with such deep grass we had a hard time finding and staying on the trail sometimes.

The road from Haines to Haines Junction was so beautiful the pictures just couldn't do it justice, maybe I need a wide angle lens for my camera. Just a thought!

Ken caught the Ptarmigan, along with its family, walking in the tundra. They ran circles around Ken until he didn't know which way they all went.

Tundra flowers. I need to find out the names of the flowers up here, many are different than ours but yet some are very similar to plants I have in my garden at home

At the end of Marsh Lake, an adult Bald Eagle and 2 chicks.

The trail was close to the nest and with the telephoto we could even see the birds tongue.