Yukon Trip 2009 - Day 10 Part 2 - Atlin, B.C.

As we headed back towards Atlin, we stopped to take pictures of these Arctic Lupins that lined the side of the road.
I couldn't understand why residents weren't making use of some of these native plants that obviously thrived in the area, to do some sort of landscaping.

A close up of an Arctic Lupin and a Bumble Bee. At this point we had to decide whether to go back to the RV Park, or go some place else. I guess in retrospect we could have returned to Warm Springs - it had been nice there, or Palmer Lake where we could have perhaps put the kayak in the water...but it was obvious that I had been really disappointed in the town and I guess Ernie must have been too, so we elected to head back north towards the Alaska Highway. There were a number of campsites we could check out along the way.

We re-entered Yukon and headed into Tarfu Recreation Site - there was a fairly long, very narrow, and quite rough road leading into what turned out to be a pretty dusty, with not much going for it site. A lot of these places are designed for fishing and hunting and are no doubt great for that but not for if you just want a pretty spot to sit and relax....so we turned back and headed out to the main road again. Tarfu had been just a little further along than the spot where we had had lunch on the way in, so we decided to head back to that spot as it was obvious that people had camped there from time to time.

So we hung up a line to dry the still damp clothes and made our supper and then sat around and said 'now what?'. It was hot. It was going to be hot for hours yet and the sun was going to shine for hours yet.....going to sleep would not be an option....so we decided we might as well pack up and drive for a while.

One last look back at Atlin Lake. That dust cloud to the left means a car was driving along the road. When we reached the end of Atlin road we decided to head west towards Tagish and Carcross, instead of going to the Alaska Highway, reasoning that we would be driving the highway on our return trip.

We hadn't gone too far when a Moose crossed the road in front of us. I took this through the windshield. We saw probably 6 or 8 Moose in total during the entire trip - not nearly as many as I would have thought we'd see and I found that Moose are very camera shy - believe it or not - this is the best Moose picture I have. Reaching Tagish, we looked for the campground that was supposed to be there. We even turned around and looked for it....I don't know where it was 'cause we sure couldn't find it. So on to Carcross where there was also supposed to be a campground. There was a nice Trading Post style store/gas station/RV Park at the intersection where the road we were on - #8 - joined highway 2 that goes from the Alaska Highway to Skagway in Alaska, so we stopped there and asked where the campground was. The RV park was one of those 'cheek to jowl' types that we have an aversion to and since we wouldn't need power for picture downloading for a while now, there was no way we were staying there. The campground turned out to be across the street, sandwiched between the highway (#8) and the airstrip. We checked it out and some places you just don't feel comfortable in....and this was one of those places....it didn't help that there was no one else staying there either. So back onto the road, now heading north on highway 2.

Almost immediately you come to the Carcross Desert. This is supposed to be the smallest actual desert in the world.

The sign talked about the winds off of Lake Bennett making it difficult for plant life to get established. The cynic in me figured that the ATV and dirt bike tracks probably didn't help a whole lot in that regard either!

Further alone we came to a rest area over looking Emerald Lake. I would have liked a more scenic shot of this pretty lake but there was someone who had parked right in the best spot and was sitting in just such a way that said ' don't invade my space'....so I didn't.

This is looking back the way we had come, I took it mainly to show the highway.....paved and smooth enough to suit the fussiest of drivers.

Highway 2 joined the Alaska Highway a bit east of the city of Whitehorse. Wolf Creek Campground is situated not too far west of the junction. We pulled in there at 9:30 pm and set up - looks like mid afternoon doesn't it? Thus ended June 1st.

Campground fee: $12. Total distance driven to date: 2,258 km (before the jog to Carcross etc.) - didn't always remember to check the odometer at the right time!