Back on the Alaskan Highway our day started out wet with the car wash Jeff had done last night a waste within 4 miles after leaving Watson Lake. To make matters worse we ran into our first large construction project, 14 miles of muddy gravel about 50 miles west of Watson Lake. The rain later that morning helped some but we have now been indoctrinated! 
We also had to purchase our first really expensive fuel in Teslin, 35 gallons at 1.03 a liter or $3.67US a gallon. Fortunately we only needed the 35 gallons to get us to Haines where diesel is supposed to be down under $3.00 again. 
Our first stop of the day was in Teslin where we had lunch and Jeff went through the Northern Wildlife Display, several very well done natural settings of wild animals. Up the road were two more attractions, George Johnson’s Heritage Museum and the Tlingit Museum.
Johnson was an entrepreneurial native who decided Teslin needed a car before it had any roads. In 1928 he purchased a Chevrolet and had it brought up the lake by barge. George then built 4 miles of road along the lake and provided taxi service as well as using the car on frozen Lake Teslin in the winter. He also ran the general store in Teslin and was known for his photographs of the area and its people.
The local Clans of the Tlingit Nation originally were dwellers along the Alaskan Coast who migrated inland when white men from Russia and lower North America started settlements on the coast. They ended up settling along the 70 miles long Lake Teslin and carried out trade with both the inland tribes as well as the coastal Tlingit Clans. Life remained constant for them until the Alaska highway came through the area in 1942 and their way of life disappeared. Today a great deal of emphasis is being put on returning to their ancestors' values. The totems and masks represent the history of the Tlingit as well as that of the various Clans of the local area. 
We then drove 8 miles west of Teslin to MukLuk Annie’s Salmon Bake to spend the evening. MukLuk Annie and MukLuk Chuck are Chuck and Annie Fenner who migrated to the Yukon 35 years ago from St Paul MN after spending their honeymoon up here a few years before. They have eight children two of whom now run the business with their spouses while Chuck spends his time running the boat and hunting and Annie entertains her grandchildren. Annie’s provides free RV camping for those who avail themselves of the salmon bake (or ribs) for dinner. After dinner Chuck loads everyone up on a large enclosed houseboat and takes his guests across beautiful Lake Teslin to feed birds leftover bread from the restaurant. It was a relaxing stop and one more Alaska Highway memory. 
Tomorrow it is on to Skagway.
Tomorrow it is on to Skagway.
