03 August 2006
Day 18: Whitehorse to Watson Lake
I left Whitehorse in a leisurely fashion. After gas, I headed south, toward Skagway, Alaska. I actually turned around just prior to the border, as I didn’t feel any desire to go through customs another two times (so far it’s already been five times). I’m sure Skagway is as lovely as Haines. C’est la vie. There is some nice mountain scenery near the border, but not nearly as dramatic as that of the Haines Highway (which borders Kluane National Park in Canada, and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in Alaska). Lakes are the main feature of the Skagway route. The light was somewhat sunny, but not terrific for photography. I took a few photos anyway.
Returning to the Alaska highway, I headed east, over a familiar stretch of road, until I reached Watson Lake, which is just past (15 miles) the point where I joined the Alaska highway going on the way to Alaska.
I stopped early to recharge and update my log. Oh, my credit card bank decided today would be a good time to put a security block on my card. Thanks, Chase. If they weren’t giving me cash back… Anyway, I had to find an Internet connection first so that I could check my account and match up the charges described on the phone to something I could actually identify ("July… 14th… $431.36… sporting goods…. July… 31st…. $131… service station goods and services…" Ugh.) The most annoying thing is that they indicate (via recorded message) that the security block has "now" been cleared, but charges continue to be blocked for an hour or several afterwards. I don’t think I’m familiar with their particular definition of the word "now." I guess my dictionary is out of date.
Tomorrow: most of the remaining distance along the Alaska highway.
Just to give you an idea of the distances involved in this trip: the remaining distance (by highway) to Seattle is roughly the same as from Seattle to Los Angeles via I-5. Of course, it will take longer to travel since almost none of this distance involves a superhighway (but a heck of a lot more scenic than the central California valley).
Departed Whitehorse around 10:30 AM PDTArrived Watson Lake, Yukon (60°4'N, 128°42'W) at 9 PM PDT
Sun: 5:18 AM - 10:04 PM
Distance to Seattle: 905 milesDistance driven: 385 miles
Total driven: 6,475 miles
3 August 7:50 PM PDT