After our one-night stay at Waters Edge on Dease Lake we continued north into Yukon, where we intersected the actual Alaska Highway almost immediately after crossing the provincial border, so this felt like a trip milestone. Though I had researched this section of the route in some detail, I had not quite planned the gas correctly, and we ended up paying our highest rate by far, around $6.50/gallon after converting from liters and the US to Canada exchange rate, for a partial tank at the juntion. This was a full dollar more per gallon than we paid anywhere else on the trip, so I highly recommend planning your fill ups to avoid this, which was the only significant price gouge we encountered our entire time in Canada or Alaska.

Though we crossed into Yukon, the Alaska Highway runs along the Yukon-British Colombia border for a good ways, and dips back across a couple of times.

Fortunately, we were able to partially offset the inflated gas price with another free campsite, this time on Morely Lake. I had researched several options on iOverlander, and after skipping the first two, we turned off the highway onto a dirt road with some tight maneuvering due to trees, but it was sufficient for our sized rig to make it the half mile or so to the edge of the lake, where we found a doeze or so very informal spots that were basically wide spots along the trail. We had a beautiful spot though, directly on the lake shore and with not a single other camper in the area.

We spent a good amount of time behind pilot cars this trip!

The only downside were the enormous numbers of mosquitos and other inspects, which managed to invade our RV in the evening. It was so bad we had to get up well after dark and hunt for the source of our “bug leak,” going so far as to pull the slides in thinking we might have a bad seal. It turns out the inside engine cover between the drive and passenger seats was partially ajar, and the combination of the warm engine and the gap encouraged a steady stream of insects until we were able to secure it.

The second fox we saw as we were leaving the resort. This one had a successful morning hunting!

The next day we allowed ourselves a short leg, making a planned stop in White Horse, one of the larger Yukon cities. With only one significant leg remaining to reach the Alaska border, we also rewarded ourselves with our third multi-day stop, and at a full-service resort to boot. We selected Hot Springs Campground Resort north of town, which has a relationship with the spa-like day use hot springs next door. We paid about $38 per night for our electric only site (separate water and dump station on premises) in an attractive woodsy setting.

The nearby spa offered patrons from the campground to have in and out privileges, which worked out quite well for us considering their odd price structure: the earlier in the day you arrived, the cheaper the entry fee. This allowed us to pay the lowest amount, about $15 US for each of us if memory serves, but still use the facilities any time during the day and into the evening. The spa featured multiple lounging pools of varying temperature, relaxation rooms, and a cafe and bar. We also enjoyed our first fox sighting of the trip; apparently a family of them live on the property and are frequently spotted.

On the last day of July we departed White Horse for our last leg through Canada. We stopped for lunch in Haines Junction, a town that on a future trip will likely be a jumping off point for a side trip to Haines and Skagway in the southern pan handle of Alaska. We enjoyed a solid meal from a local Chinese restaurant inside the Kluane Park Inn before pushing on.

The road deteriorated significantly somewhere north of Destruction Bay, but we arrived at Beaver Creek’s Visitor Information Center, located just a few miles from the Alaska border. The helpful attendees got us logged into their guest Wi-Fi and advised us on a safe spot to spend the night: directly across the street at a now closed group of cabins. Apparently built by one of the cruise lines in better days, a change in the tourist travel pattern had caused a number of local businesses to close. We had plenty of room and traffic on the road was barely existent, so we enjoyed a quite night, finishing off any food items we thought might be a problem during the next day’s border crossing.

Our quite roadside site across from the visitor center.

Next up: Alaska, finally.

Our entire route so far.