17 August 2018 – Whitehorse and Marsh Lake, YT
We were starting to feel back in a relaxed mode of our trip and created a shopping list for the big box superstore in Whitehorse (need to resupply those M&M’s!). First things, first – we hit the car wash and got another layer of mud off the truck and camper. Then into the Superstore and grabbed some stuff (but they were out of M&M’s!). We stopped at the Ford dealer to let them know things went well (and use their WiFi for a mail dump), and then we headed down the road to Marsh Lake Yukon government camp again. We were a little concerned, because this was the start of a three-day weekend in the Yukon (Discovery Day: Celebrating the day Gold was discovered) and we had definitely noticed that the traffic on the highways included many more “local” campers heading out of town for the weekend. Indeed, we did find a spot at Marsh Lake, but it was completely full (60 sites) before the end of the evening.
Sometimes we stay in RV Parks, sometimes we stay in campgrounds. We understand the distinction, and try and choose wisely. But up here, that distinction is even greater. RV Parks tend to be a gravel lot where somebody with deteriorating driving skills can maneuver their 40 foot class A motorhome towing a car. It offers a 50 amp electrical hookup so they can run the air conditioner all night. Those big site are usually in the center of the RV Park with the smaller “back in” sites around the perimeter. The perimeter is also where the little old ladies go to let their yappy dogs pee after exiting the 40 foot motorhome. We’ve had great success with campgrounds however. Most just offer vault toilets, but they tend to be inexpensive and next to scenic lakes. We’ve got a good book that lets us know what campgrounds are along that day’s route. So we suffer the RV Parks when we need to be near a city or need to buy groceries and do laundry, and enjoy the campgrounds as much as we can. We do dispersed camping when ever possible, but the opportunities have been less than we thought they’d be.
Canada’s Provincial and Government Parks have been the best. Both in British Columbia and the Yukon. Well maintained, great locations, and nice spacing between sites. They’ve tended to fill up by dinner time, so our pattern has evolved to get on the road early and try and get to our destination by early afternoon. Site choice is best, and it gives us time to take a hike and explore the area
