North to Alaska: Atlin, BC

Approaching town

The drive down to Atlin on Route 7 is just breathtaking.  The road initially is a little rough but is paved almost all the way down.  We picked up a hitchhiker from Quebec on the way down, who needed a ride a few kilometers down the road to bring his boat up to pick up his family.  They were enjoying a day’s outing fishing on the Little Aitlin Lake, which was huge.

We were starving, so stopped at the Pine Tree for a panini lunch.

We bought take out a few times from the Chuck Wagon!

We had read about Gail and Harley’s campground here and decided to pull in and see if it was a fit for us.  Norm, the owner, met us as we pulled in for a look around.    

Norm and Jim

They have a spot called the Penthouse, which backs up to the water, where G and H stayed and looked great, but it was occupied.  We told Norm that we had a picture of him and he seemed pleased.  Norm first said he didn’t really have anything, that maybe some with reservations wouldn’t show up or……Then he said he had a “dry camping” area that might interest us, that there were a couple from Germany camped there and that they wouldn’t mind, if he put us in next to them.  That couple left about two days before we did, so, for much of the time we had it to ourselves.  

Well, this spot was Nirvana!  Who needs electricity and water!  He said with a grin, “ It’s $25 a night for hookups or $25 without”.  We were happy without.  We are on a rock promontory, jutting out into the lake.  The view is absolutely unbelievable.  We are staring at glaciers and islands, watching seaplanes land and take off, as well as kayakers and paddle boarders and motorboats enjoying the lake.  It is not, however, in any way, a busy place!

The kind of light colored (greyish pink?) spot in the mountain range across from us is a rock glacier, a unique geographical phenomenon.  It behaves like an ice glacier, as it flows, deforms and advances into a forest at its toe.  It contains some ice at its core, a buried remnant of an old glacier, where ice has been covered over with rock debris.  Frost shatters the rock fragments and they move against each other.  This is one of the most active rock glaciers in North America.  And it is right in our front yard!

Fascinating to watch the seaplanes come and go right in front of us.

Boo loved it here!

The first day, we decided to get some laundry done at the shower/laundromat building in town.  The next day, we actually took showers!  Wow, did that feel good-an inside shower.  We have one in Maxine but, since we use it for a storage area, it is kind of a pain to shower inside and, usually, it is much more fun to shower outside.  However, lately, it has been a bit nippy for that!  Later that afternoon, since it was a bit cloudy, we took a drive out the Warm Springs area to where most of the Tlingit tribe lives and to see the scenery.  The gold mine is still out here, and working, as our waitress this morning told us that her husband works there. There was a fabulous old pioneer cemetery on the way home.

An original and loved "Gentleman Adventurer"

 The drive up was great-the warm springs not so much!  There were 2 families camped there and it didn't look very inviting.  But, we did drive up a bit later and ran into a fisherman who had just caught a lake trout.

My goodness!  These trout are big ones!

There are several fun things to do here in the campground:  Our favorite is to watch Eddie, the Bald Eagle, fend off the gulls.  We hear that he steals the gulls’ eggs.  The gulls literally scream at him and follow him here and there, whenever he leaves his sitting place.  He hangs out here because Norm feeds him fish heads!  And, he has been here for at least the last ten years, atop the highest lamppost in the campground.  

Another, is to watch Norm negotiate places for incoming campers to park.  Most of the hookups are in a spot, though beautiful, we would not want to stay:  all in a row, facing the water but with no privacy.  When that is full, it is so funny to watch Norm find places for them-in the road, in front of his mobile home, in back of his mobile home, etc.  No one seems to be turned away.  He is a wheeler-dealer, if I ever saw one. (And, aren't we glad not to be in this lineup!)

The following day, I met our neighbors, Karen and Michael Klein while taking a shower at the Laundromat-what a way to meet, huh!?  They are from the coastal area of North Germany on the Baltic.  They were warned to be careful about getting into conversations with Americans (because of the Trumpster!), but once meeting us, were really happy to talk politics with someone from the U.S.  

We had some great conversations that evening and then had coffee together at the coffee wagon downtown the next morning before they took off.  Interestingly, they liked this area so much that this was their second visit.  It was lovely having a chance to apologize for the behavior of our president and letting a European know that we and many, many others are embarrassed at the way he has treated our European friends and treasure our long good ties with Europe.

 

Atlin is known for its great coffee.  It did not disappoint!

Although the famous Tarhne no longer runs, it is home to a grand afternoon
tea aboard.

What a spot we chose for coffee!

The most fun event was on our last day, Canada Day, July 1^st !  There was an old-fashioned real small-town community parade.  This town is reminiscent of a lakeside Gold Hill, CO!

Jim even bought a Canadian flag to fly from our rig!