Beaver Creek, YT - Stop 30 on our Trek North to Alaska

We left Copper Center at 7 a.m. on Saturday.   Mt. Drum and the sun were trying to peek out from the clouds after two days of damp, wet, dreary weather.  Neither was very successful.

Mt. Drum

We stopped at Tok to fuel up and gear up for what the grapevine said would be a wild ride along the Tok Cutoff.  The rumor mill was correct—the road was a shambles, with dips, frost heaves, cracks, and potholes aplenty.

We didn’t see much wildlife as we left Alaska—just a few trumpeter swan pairs and a couple of stellar jays.  We zipped through Customs without any problems, but thought it strange that the customs station is 30 miles INSIDE of the Canadian border.  The other strange thing was that the mile posts in some construction areas were actually hand-written—on paper plates! 

Since we didn’t have sewer or water hookups for the 5 nights we were in Copper Center, we stayed two nights at Discovery Yukon Lodgings to catch up on laundry, dump our tanks, and refill our water.  It is located about 30 kilometers outside of Beaver Creek, which is one of the two spots where work crews connected the Alaskan and Canadian sides of the ALCAN highway, making it possible to drive the entire length.   Discovery Yukon Lodgings is a really cute place with cabins, fully-furnished tents (almost like yurts), and nicely-sized RV sites within a unique setting.  It is nestled at the foothills of the Kluane Wildlife Sanctuary near the White River.  The campground is set up almost like an army camp, and there is quite the collection of army surplus equipment and antiques scattered along the property.

Side view of our site

View of our site from air field

Cute cabins...

...and fun, fully-furnished tents

Old army surplus equipment on premises

Most interesting, though, is the air field alongside the campground!  We got to watch a couple of bush pilots take off right from the front door of the rig!   This was a real treat, and not something that happens very frequently—the campground has not had a landing there since March!

Not just one...

...but two planes taking off!

Wi-Fi is available inside the office only.  The owner, Amanda, is truly a sweetheart and very accommodating to her guests.She apologized profusely for the lousy Wi-Fi.    She herself stated that it is awful service for the $800 a month she pays for it. But it is fun going to the office just to see all the interesting items she has collected through the years, from taxidermy, to antique bottles, to rock collections.

This stuffed rat sure is glad I didn't see any of my species hanging on these walls!

The campground only offers 30 amp electric, but this is because the place is off-the-grid.  All the electricity is provided by a 40KW generator!  I highly recommend this campground if you plan to be in the Beaver Creek area.   

Tomorrow we head to Kluane Lake—hopefully Dad will be successful in fishing trout!  (I can dream, can’t I?  LOL)

Talk to you soon!