7/15
As we leave this morning there is a gentle rain and the clouds are hanging down over the mountains. It is so beautiful. There is lots of road construction at Destruction Bay and Haines Junction. We are staying at Walmart in Whitehorse. Tomorrow we plan to tour the SS Klondike which is located in Whitehorse. The Klondike, a steam powered stern wheel built in 1929, carried mail, general supplies, passengers and lead ore along the Yukon River between Whitehorse and Dawson City. The ship has been completely renovated. It could carry as many as 72 passengers though it rarely did so. The cost for a 1st class passenger for the 4 ½ day trip upriver from Dawson City to Whitehorse was $50. That was quite pricy for those days. The Yukon River is quite impressive. It is nearly 2000 miles long draining ¾ of the Yukon Territory and 1/3 of Alaska. It travels northwest from its head waters near the Yukon / British Columbia border to Ft. Yukon in Alaska. From there it turns sharply southwest and empties into the Bering Sea. It is bridged only 3 times in the Yukon and once in Alaska. It remains a way of life for those people living in the bush.