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An Alaskan Adventure : July 1 - 29, 2026

Part 1 - San Diego to Dawson City

July 1: San Diego - Lovelock - Wenatchee

Day 1 was all about getting within range of the Canadian border. I flew 885nm north to Wenatchee, with a fuel stop in Lovelock, NV.

All packed with room for more	Butterbredt Peak, which I hiked many years ago	Owens Lake	cIMG_3829.JPG
McNary Lock and Dam, Umatilla	Crop circles and Pac-men	Interesting windbreak on some cropland	pIMG_3849.JPG
Final approach at Wenatchee	Canadair CL-415 Super Scooper

July 2: Wenatchee - Penticton - Mackenzie

After having been through Kelowna twice, I cleared Canadian customs at Penticton this time. It was a nice day starting out, but as I got further north in the afternoon, I had to deal with some low clouds and rain. It was a shorter flight day, only 487nm to Mackenzie, BC.

Road border crossing at Osoyoos	pIMG_3869.JPG	Spotted Lake	pIMG_3878.JPG
Approaching Penticton over Skaha Lake	Green Lake and Watch Lake, NW of Kamloops	Following the Quesnel River	Prince George Airport
Approaching Mackenzie	Tied down at Mackenzie	A bitcoin mine turned AI datacenter	pIMG_3912.JPG
The World's Largest Tree Crusher	cIMG_3922.JPG	Juvenile ravens	Forest Tent Caterpillar

July 3: Mackenzie - Watson Lake - Dawson City

My second time up the Trench Route (along Williston Lake) was much nicer weather than my first trip years ago. I got to see more of the gorgeous scenery along the way. After fueling at Watson Lake (where all the other planes I saw were Americans either coming or going to Alaska), the afternoon leg to Dawson City was again through poor weather conditions. While I meandered a little, the straight line travel distance for the day was 712nm.

pIMG_3959.JPG	The view up Williston Lake	Fort Grahame Airport	Ed Bird Lake
Fort Ware	Soarcity Mountain (?)	pIMG_4024.JPG	pIMG_4034.JPG
Next to Scoop Lake	Twin Island Lake	Aeroplane Lake	pIMG_4051.JPG
pIMG_4068.JPG	pIMG_4078.JPG	pIMG_4083.JPG	pIMG_4091.JPG
Cassiar Mountains	Daughney Lake	Next to Rudy Lakes	pIMG_4121.JPG
Oxbow lake on Nisutlin River	Crossing the ridge near Teslin Lake	South end of Lake Laberge	Lake Laberge
Gloomy at Braeburn Lake	Yukon River at Ingersoll Islands	Yukon River confluence with Pelly River	Stewart River
Final approach at Dawson City	Communal fuel metering	pIMG_96918.JPG

July 4: Tombstone Provincial Park and Midnight Dome

I celebrated Independence Day in Dawson City, where they were fresh off their own Canada Day festivities. No rental cars are available in town, so I booked a day tour through Tombstone Territorial Park and an evening trip to Midnight Dome, which overlooks the town.

pIMG_4173.JPG	cIMG_4185.JPG	Say's Phoebe	Fold Mountain
Goldensides Mountain	Aspen Bolete	Red Squirrel	pIMG_4208.JPG
Arctic Skipper (Carterocephalus palaemon)	Northern Bluebells (Mertensia paniculata)	Mountain Cranberry amongst lichens	North Klondike River
There's nothing behind the mirror	Juvenile Canada Jay really annoyed by its reflection	pIMG_4246.JPG	Canada Jay
pIMG_4256.JPG	Spruce (Black?)	North Fork Mountain	Tombstone Mountain is the bump in the far distance
cIMG_4279.JPG	Goldensides Mountain	pIMG_4284.JPG	Blackstone River valley
pIMG_4304.JPG	Aspen Leaf Miner	pIMG_4342.JPG	pIMG_4353.JPG
Yukon Order of Pioneers Cemetery	pIMG_4369.JPG	St. Paul's Church	pIMG_4374.JPG
pIMG_4375.JPG	cIMG_4381.JPG	Larch	pIMG_4393.JPG
Camera obscura	cIMG_4403.JPG	The S.S. Keno	cIMG_4406.JPG
The Klondike Spirit	cIMG_4415.JPG	pIMG_4418.JPG	cIMG_4422.JPG
White-spotted Sawyer Beetle	Bonanza Creek mining area	pIMG_4444.JPG	Dawson City from Midnight Dome
Dredge tailings	Elegant Camas	Yukon Bellflower	Willow catkins
Fireweed	pIMG_4483.JPG	pIMG_4485.JPG	cIMG_96965.JPG

July 5: Dawson City

I spent the morning on the Klondike Spirit paddlewheel cruise on the Yukon River. While 2 hours long, it only went about 3km downstream to Moosehide before having to fight its way back upstream against the current. In the afternoon, I took the Goldbottom Mine tour, which was quite interesting as it is a small family mining operation. Our guide's father and sisters were operating the heavy equipment while we were on the tour! It included a gold panning session where I wound up with a couple of flakes.

Paddlewheel Graveyard	Moosehide	pIMG_4504.JPG	pIMG_4515.JPG
George Black Ferry	Home of "Caveman Bill" (Donaldson)	Red-throated Loon	pIMG_4539.JPG
cIMG_4550.JPG	The bedrock is greenish	cIMG_4589.JPG	cIMG_4596.JPG
cIMG_4597.JPG	Large sluice	pIMG_4609.JPG	Smaller sluice
cIMG_4620.JPG	Winnowing dirt	pIMG_4633.JPG	Removing black iron magnetite
pIMG_4649.JPG	A hypnotic spiral wheel separator	pIMG_4667.JPG	What fortunes await me?
A brief panning tutorial	The fruits of my labor	A claim stake	Tag for the claim once it's recorded
cIMG_4696.JPG	pIMG_4699.JPG	cIMG_4710.JPG	Commissioner's Residence
Yellow Warbler (?)	White-crowned Sparrow	Former Territorial Court House	This French family just finished a 2 year driving tour from Ushuaia to Tuktoyaktuk
pIMG_4758.JPG	cIMG_4759.JPG	Black's Residence	Old Territorial Administration Building
Victory Garden	St. Andrews Church	Moosehide Slide scar	pIMG_4790.JPG