Teslin

Our next destination was Teslin.
One of the things we looked for on the side of the road were rock messages that were spelled out along the highway.  The rock messages were started in the summer of 1990 by a Fort Nelson swim team..here are some pictures.

On our way we stopped at milepost 699 to stand on the Continental Divide…the Continental Divide is the ridge line that separates two of the largest river drainages in North America….the Alaska Highway crosses the divide at one of the lowest points…..only humps of sand and gravel separate the west flowing Swift River from the east flowing Rancheria River.

Teslin is home to one of the largest Native population in Yukon, the Tlingit.  Situated at the confluence of the Nisutlin River and Teslin Lake, Teslin began as a trading post in 1903.
One of the attractions we visited was the George Johnston Museum.  We decided to walk to the museum from our campground which was located on the lake.

On our way,  a man jumped out of his truck and ran towards us alerting us that there was a black bear on the road coming from the museum.  We were about to cross the street when we spotted the bear doing just that…he was crossing over the highway which meant that we could continue on our way.
Talk about being lucky…I don’t even want to think about what would have happened if we confronted this bear….I’m glad we are safe!
Back to the museum….
The museum tells the story of the venerated Tlingit elder, photographer, trapper, and entrepreneur George Johnston.  George left a rich legacy of historic photographs that captured almost every aspect of life in the Teslin area…he preserved the Tlingit community and its cultural changes.
George also brought the first automobile to the area even though there were no roads…..but the frozen Teslin Lake offered 78 miles of highway to drive on….he painted the car white in the winter to camouflage it on the lake where he fished and trapped animals.  He also provided taxi service for the community and hired local people to help him widen the trails around Teslin and to cut a five mile road to Fox Creek….this stretch of road later became part of the Alaska Highway.  Here are some fabulous pictures of his community and car.

What an amazing story!