Travels of The Mercury: Alaska – Canada Travels 2014, Haines Junction to Fairbanks, June 28th to June 30th.

The Alaskan Highway goes for miles along the blue waters of Lake Kluane. At its southern end we find an unmarked road that takes us a few miles to the ghost town of Silver City. Of course we had to stop to see it since we live in Silver City, and were rewarded with a cluster of log buildings that was once an outpost from the early gold rush days.

Silver City, Northwest Territories. Just what you'd like a ghost town to be.

A peek inside the cabin.

Chicken coops.

A sturdy structure even though the roof is gone.

Imagine how it must have been.

One of the largest cabins, perhaps the trading post.

The population of Silver City, Northwest Territories, is 0. This one-time community had a trading post, roadhouse and a North West Mounted Police barracks. They also raised chickens in a well-built poultry house. It was populated from 1904 to 1924 serving people traveling the wagon road from Whitehorse to the goldfields near Kluane Lake. The buildings were sturdy log cabins although the not-so-sturdy roofs have collapsed. The more than 133 mile wagon road from Whitehorse had to be quite an adventure especially with unexpected weather changes. Silver City must have been a very welcome sight. We took lots of pictures and guessed at the function of the buildings.

Our camp at Congdon Creek on Kluane Lake.

We camped the night at the Congdon Creek Campground on Kluane Lake. This is one of our favorite government campgrounds with sites well-spaced among the pines and a trail along the lake with interpretive signs.

Here we are at Kluane Lake.

Isn't it a beauty?

We built a inukshuk on Kluane's shore.

We pass through the community of Beaver Creek with this interesting little chapel.

I think the Beaver has mittens on.

A little church.

At the Canada/Alaskan border.

At the Canada/Alaska border.

The carved swan door greets visitors to Tetlin.

Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge, bird paradise.

As we continue toward Tok, AK, the road becomes the east boundary for the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge has hundreds of lakes cupped in the hollows of low black spruce-covered hills. The Visitor Centers beautifully carved swan doors greet us and features displays of wildlife and native Athabaskan culture. The expansive county can best be viewed from the centers observation deck.

Tok Civic and Visitor Center.

We get to Tok and decide to spend the night before our last push to Fairbanks. Tok’s a pleasant little community with a beautifully constructed log Visitor Center. The center has great information and staff and worth the stop to see the outstanding display of finely crafted duck mounts. Many of the duck species we haven’t had the opportunity to see are represented here. The taxidermist who created them did a beautiful job and had a knowledge and love of these beautiful creatures.