North to Alaska - Full Version - Day 12 (May 28)

Friday, May 28: Odometer at 17,756 so we've driven just over 2200 miles. We left at 9 AM on a glorious, sun-lit, birdsong-filled morning (swallows, seagulls, ravens, white-crowned sparrows and robins), at 55 degrees with no wind. A few miles out of town we came to "5-Finger Rapids" where many would-be miner's hopes were dashed on the rocks. Margaret wanted to descend the 219 steps to the river edge and back but we outvoted her, pleading a lack of time, and just took pictures. Another fire had come through the area in 1995, consuming 325,000 acres of beautiful forest. Sad, but nature's way of renewal.

Gas at Stewart Crossing ($64.34, Canadian) where it looked like rain any minute. We were going to photograph the Titina Trench, described in "The Milepost" as "extends hundreds of miles across the Yukon and Alaska, and is the largest earthquake fault in North America." The sign, however, was at the head of a 9% downgrade with no place to turn around, so we kept going. We thought we would be in snow or fighting mosquitoes by now, but it was a clear 63 degrees. Early afternoon brought us to Dawson City and "Guggieville RV Park," surrounded by piles of river rocks (hydraulic mine tailings) similar to the area along Hwy 5 near Folsom, California.