The North Pole to the Yukon

On our way back to the Yukon we had to stop at The North Pole to get things right with Santa and have a visit with the Reindeer. And we were in luck too. The reindeer were all there and there were even baby Reindeer. After Yvonne got her picture with Santa we headed out and ended up camping at Lost Lake campground.

I highly recommend Lost Lake for their hiking trails and the beautiful lakes in the area. We started our day with a couple mile hike and after breakfast headed out for a long day of driving. After clearing Canadian customs we drove through some of the bad roads we encountered on the way up. Lots of gravel and many frost heaves. Once while daydreaming I missed noticing a frost heave marker and the truck and 5'er bounced pretty hard. Hard enough that we had to go into the trailer to do damage control. But it wasn't too bad. 

After a short while of being in the Yukon a Moose came out to greet our truck and about 20 minutes later a Grizzly Bear. By the time we ended the day we saw 5 Grizzly Bears and the campground we're staying at doesn't allow tent camping because of the high level of Grizzly activity. Warning signs everywhere. It's because this campground is in Destruction Bay where some of their favorite berries flourish. Or should I say Bear-ies.

After a lot of discussion in the truck yesterday, Yvonne and I decided we like the Yukon better than Alaska. It's so much more wild in the Yukon and the mountains and wilderness is more remote. Plus the big draw for us is the wildlife. In Alaska this year the Moose numbers are way down and they don't know why. Possibly over hunted or maybe it had to do with the warmer winter they had. Regardless, we only saw a handful of Moose in Alaska and zero bears which was disappointing. In 4 hours of driving the Yukon we saw Moose and 5 Grizzly bears and a herd of wild horses. The scenery is wonderful in the Yukon also. Our friend Bob who drove to Alaska a couple years ago, also said the Yukon was his favorite section of their Alaska trip.