The World's Smallest Desert, Carcross, YT

Caribou Hotel and Satellite Dish

The Duchess of Philadelphia

Some readers of this piece in draft have asked me why this locomotive is named the Duchess of Philadelphia.  As a matter of fact, I gave it that name.  The name on the side of the locomotive is The Duchess, and it was built by the Baldwin engine works in Philadelphia.  So what's to understand.

Near miss by Train on "Abandoned" Track

I was shooting a picture of Jim when I heard a rumbling behind me.  I didn't worry about it because I figured the tracks were abandoned.  As the rumbling got louder, I turned around and discovered this little engine and trailer coming at me on the tracks.  I have no idea where he came from, or where he was going.

Looking North Toward Carcross

As we pull out of Carcross later in the morning, we are still fighting a headwind, but it is not so bad as the night before.  On the sign for the “World’s Smallest Desert,” we noted that the prevailing southerly winds which created the desert came from Bennett Lake. 

Bennett Lake sits in a notch in the mountains on the inland side of the White Pass out of Skagway.  The southerly winds that blow the rain into Juneau, also blow through the venturi-like White Pass, along Lake Bennett, through Carcross, and on up to Whitehorse.  These are the winds we have been fighting all day today and yesterday.

The good news is that the road south from Carcross goes on the other side of a range of mountains from Lake Bennett.  We are hopeful that this ridge will further cut down the headwinds.

Bove Island

Once we leave Lake Bennett, the velocity of the head winds drop even further, and it is turning into a beautiful sunny day.  Bove Island is named after an Italian officer who traveled the area in the mid-1800s with Frederick Schwatka.  Apparently Schwatka was very pleased with Bove’s work on the expedition.