Paradise Found

A three day side trip from the Alaska Highway over 40 miles of gravel and 18 miles of paved road has brought us to quaint, historic Atlin, the most Northwesterly town in British Columbia.

 Founded in 1898, the area was one of the richest gold strikes made during the great rush to the Klondike, with many mines still operating today.

The MV Tarahne, resting on the shore of 90 mile long Atlin Lake, was used as a transport and sightseeing vessel.

                                 Many original buildings still stand, some in use today.

We stopped by the original town of Discovery, abandoned long ago, and the nearby Pioneer Cemetery.

We tried our luck panning for gold on Spruce Creek before calling it a day.

Surrounded by many snow-capped mountains, glaciers, rushing creeks, and pristine mountain lakes, the scenery around this relatively remote village is perhaps the most beautiful we have ever seen.

We camped next to a float plane at the edge of town with snow-caped peaks all around.

View Larger Map

Having A Real Field Day

After a quick breakfast we are off to the Albert Creek Bird Banding Station just West of Watson Lake. This is on a narrow, dirt road not accessible to large RVs or trailers but our truck camper glides right in.

Far more than we expected, this is a real field banding station that allowed us to witness up close the capture, banding, measuring, documenting and release of many birds.

Directed by Jukka Jantunen from Finland, a respected professional with a very deep knowledge of birds, this is an unusual opportunity and something anyone interested in birds should not miss.

The ride to Teslin Lake was typically scenic of the Yukon.

The temperature was pleasantly in the 60's F as we crossed the Continental Divide, but some lakes still have ice and snow.

We experienced our first road construction but no delay as we are early in the season and there are very few RVs here now.

After crossing the Nisutlin Bay Bridge, the longest water span on the Alaska Highway, we are camped for free on the shore of Teslin Lake at Mukluk Annie's restaurant.

View Larger Map