RETIRED ON WHEELS: THE ALASKAN ADVENTURE Day 59 July 14, 2009 Haines Junction, YK to Haines, AK

We left Haines Junction this morning by heading south on the Haines Highway. I am still a little bit under the weather but it is only a short drive ( 149 miles ). We are planning to stop at a lot of places but are not going to be doing much hiking.

The first place of interest we came to was Kathleen Lake. There is no historical importance to the area, it is simply a very beautiful spot. We would have enjoyed camping here for a couple of days.

A little further down the highway we came to Dezadeash Lake. Compared to other big lakes in the southern Yukon, Dezadeash is a large shallow bathtub, with waters no deeper than seven metres, and surface water temperatures that can climb to 18°C . Nature has a way of surprising us as the lake looks cold and deep.

We stopped for a look at the lake, took a couple of pictures, commented on the lack of bugs and then hit the road again.

The next area we stopped at was because the name intrigued us. The Million Dollar Falls. We found out that the Million Dollar river was named because of a large gold find in the area. The falls are fast with a lot of water so they have it blocked off for safety. The downside is it does not allow you to get a good picture.

The drive from the Million Dollar Falls to the US Border had very little activity. There were no little towns or villages and the traffic was very light. Someone described it to us as a lonely drive but we found it anything but as the vistas and scenery were truly spectaclur. It's just another awesome scenic byway, this time in Canada.

We reached the summit of the Haines Highway and realized that we were driving just about even with the tree line. We had been travelling in an area called the Alpine Tundra Zone but hadn't realized it until we saw the signs. It is an area which ice and snow meet rock and tundra and is usually higher that 3000 feet. The plants are typically small and grow close to the ground.

Prior to leaving the Alpine Tundra Zone we saw and were pretty close to a couple of glaciers. Not sure what their names are as there are so many but we did take pictures of a couple of them.

We would travel through two more zones between the summit and the coast. The first would be Mountain Hemlock Zone and it amazing how you go from barren to lush in such a short time. In the Mountain Hemlock Zone you are anywhere from 1200 to 3000 feet above sea level. You now have dense stands of Mountain Hemlock throughout the zone with Sitka Spruce more common along the creeks in the lower elevations. This zone has short cool summers with 196 inches of precepitation, most of it is snow.

The next zone is the Coastal Western Hemlock Zone and is a mild and wet climate and is actually considered a rain forest. This area is among the most effective ecosystems in the world and is home to trees of great age and massive proportions.

Shortly after entering the Coastal Zone we ended our short stay in Canada as we arrived at the US Canada border. Again we got through without any problems ( must be the grey hair ) and we were back in Alaska.

We made two short stops on the final leg of the journey, the first was at Mosquito Lake. Yes, it is aptly named. The notice on this place was: Very pretty but bring lots of bug spray. We stopped long enough for a couple of pictures and then headed off.

We also stopped at the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve but it is the wrong time of the year. There are about 200 eagles that make the preserve their year round home but in November about 4000 eagles return here to feast on a late run of chum salmon. People who have seen it say it is something special. So being this is only July not only did we not see any eagles but we did not take any pictures. There is a Bald Eagle Museum in Haines that we plan to visit.

At this point we continued on to Haines and tried to get into an RV park on the waterfront but they were full. However we were able to make reservations for the next four nights. We then headed 11 miles out of town to Chilkoot State Park and got a spot for the night. The park is absolutely gorgeous and we are sorry we didn't come here first. C'est la vie.