NORTH TO ALASKA 2025 - DAY 74 - MORELY LAKE REC AREA

NOTE.... THIS IS PROBABLY IN THE TOP THREE CAMPSITES OF THIS WHOLE TRIP!!! 

We packed up at Lewe's Dam and headed out on kind of a drizzly morning further down the Klondike Highway. We had two campsites in mind to perhaps stop at. One of them was called Big Government Campground. But when we finally got there, it was alongside of a whole bunch of road construction. Tons of dust and noise would have made it impossible to stay in the campground. We saw three other campers there and I don't know how they managed it. Everything was covered with the dust blowing off the large grading areas right next to the campground. Even the trees were brown with dust??

So we drove on to our next place we marked on the map as a possible campground. Boy oh boy, am I ever glad we did!  It was called Morley Lake Rec area and it was just a few miles in on a muddy steep downhill grade. We were a little worried getting down there because it was awfully narrow and a lot of big mud holes in the gravel two-track road leading to the campsites.

Morley Lake Rec Area

As we pulled in, we found that there was one empty site, the three others were occupied. They are space so far apart we don't even see each other. It's like we were all by ourselves. I think we got the best site! 

There are only four sites, and they are free. There is an outhouse and fire rings and that's it. But it is absolutely well worth it to make the trek through the woods to get there.

Just look at this ...

We were soon set up, nestled in against the tall pines and having the full length of the private beach area alongside of us. The other three sites had their own beaches.  This one was all to ourselves.

I cannot imagine a better campsite. Everything was quiet and beautiful. Some loons were floating out on the water, calling to each other with few babies bobbing along behind.

We got the slides out and made ourselves at home. It was easy to get set up and comfortable. There was nobody else around nearby, and the other three campers were out of sight, spaced far down the lakeshore.

I mean, how many beautiful lakes can we end up camping at with mountains ringing around in every direction?

This is the view right out of our windows. I can not imagine anything better than this...

It was a bit cloudy when we got there, but the sun poked through later and we had absolutely gorgeous weather. There were barely any mosquitoes, no flies, and a slight breeze coming off the lake. We walked along the shore and picked up a few rocks. Everything was comfortable and peaceful. We didn't hear a sound other than nature all around us.

As we walked, we could see one camper further down the road. They weren't there, or they were inside napping. We didn't hear a peep.  We set up the Starlink and I finished up a blog post and got a video ready to send out. The signal was really good even though Starlink insisted on making us face it to the East. But usually it wants to face North, which was up across the lake? But oh well, who's going to argue with Starlink. If you don't put it the right way, you don't get a signal and that's that.

The lapping water on the shore made a peaceful tranquil sound. I have it recorded on the video link down below. We just sat there and enjoyed the nature and the comfort of such a serene campsite. When I think of our road trip, I will think of this campsite...

The tiny rocks along the shore were so pretty, almost in a terrazo floor pattern. I walked back and forth in my bare feet and let them massage the soles.  The water was pretty warm for being alongside of mountains. I think it was because of the sun shining down in the shallow areas warmed it up enough to walk in it.

Speaking of walking, as we were wandering along down the path, we saw bear prints. Pretty big ones! Of course, we were being bear aware, making plenty of noise, and had our bear spray with us.

The serenity of the pine trees and the muffled sounds made it even more peaceful and relaxing. It's like we were in our own little private world.

Towards evening, after supper, Steve decided it was time to work on a project. We have this really nice Williamsburg reclining loveseat but both of the pull handles have broken off at the cables, right next to the seat cushions on each side.

These are the little D-ring handles that have pulled off. The cable is actually shredded right down below the brackets alongside of the cushion. The rest of the cable is still attached down below in the mechanism of the chair, and it will still release and allow the footrest to come up.  

We can order new ones, but that doesn't help until we have a mailing address to ship them to. So we will just wait until we get home to order them.

They aren't even that expensive, and I think when I order them I will order two of them to replace what have broken, and order two extras to keep on hand--- just in case.

Our solution was an easy fix for now.  We pulled off the extra plastic tube and clamped a small vise grip pliers right to the shredded cable. Luckily, he had two vice grip pliers in his toolbox! One for each side. He clamped one to each of the cables and just left them tightly clamped in place. Then we just tucked each of the pliers down between the cushion and the arm rest, out of the way.  When we wanted to pull our cables, we would just reach down and pull up on the pliers. It was enough to release the inner mechanism and allow us to still use the foot rests.

While we were fiddling around with that, I made up a nice pot of beef minestrone soup. It sure smelled good in the camper, and made for a nice hearty meal in the woods.  Step by step recipe is in the video link below.

I did a little "panorama view" thing with my camera for fun. This is actually the long beach that was stretched out, now condensed into a short photo.  I wanted to capture it all for a memory! 

Evening came, with darker clouds. But we didn't mind because it sure was pretty, no matter what.

The light breezes died down and the lake was as smooth as glass. 

 

It seems like so many times we find these perfect spots alongside of lakes with mountains in the distance. Each and every single one seems special to me.

I guess that our "Wisconsin Eyes" are just not used to such terrain.  People that live up here in British Columbia, the Yukon, and Alaska are probably used to always seeing mountains off in the distance and it doesn't really mean much. But for us, especially with snow capped mountains in the middle of summer, I feel that it's really special. What a backdrop!

We had a peaceful night of sleep, with nothing to disturb us. Not a peep. 

We woke up with fresh cups of coffee in our hands and opened all of the windows to let in the fresh air. We could smell the wild roses all around. The dew in the morning really enhances the scent of the roses through the air.

We heard a gentle tap tap on our door. To our surprise, it was the neighbors from the first site way down on the point. They saw we were up and she walked over to ask a favor. They had decided to make pancakes, and realized they had forgotten to take along any syrup. Since the nearest store is probably a hundred miles away, they thought they might ask if we possibly had a bottle of syrup? 

Yes, we did. They kindly offered in return the opportunity to borrow their kayak or their fishing boat if we wished to go out on the lake. How nice was that? 

We grabbed our coffee mugs and walked along the beach for a morning stroll. There was a little robin that kept fluttering back and forth and back and forth. Nick always wants to chase them so we kept him on a short leash. He thinks he can fling his little body up into the air after them, as they fly away. Somehow he thinks he can fly just like the robins? I don't think he wants to eat them or kill them, I think he just wants to fly with them?

This other little bird, (perhaps a sandpiper type) kept trying to lure us away from it's nest.  She kept frantically peeping at us, trying to lead us off in a different direction. We complied and went the opposite way so she could be at peace.

We wandered along the shoreline where there was a nice little path in the woods. It was covered with pine needles and was soft underneath our feet. If you watch the video link below you could "join us" on our walk. 

The sun was dappling off the slight waves on the lake and making reflections bouncing up as we walked along through the woods.

This is heavenly...

We walked further back down the shoreline to the east and found this little memorial erected in stone, surrounded by white fencing. 

We did a little research:

https://www.explorenorth.com/alaska_highway/morley_lake-whitfield_memorial.html

William H. Whitfield. He died in 1942 during his service on the Alaska Highway Project. 

In Memory of William H. Whitfield
19005873
Staff Sergeant, 340th Engineers, U.S. Army
Born - Dec. 30, 1918
Died - Dec. 18, 1942
"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord." Psalms 37:23

What a lovely spot to place a memorial in his honor.

After our relaxing morning walk up and down the beach and through the woods, it was time to gear up and start heading out. As much as we really didn't want to leave, we knew that there was heavy rainfall predicted for the next 2 to 3 days. The slippery muddy two track road coming in would only become more hazardous to try and get out. Especially uphill! Our motorhome is not made for such terrain, nor is it four-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. I highly doubt that a tow truck company would come down that road to come and un-stuck us?

So was time to keep this place in our hearts, and move on down the road.

If you watch the video link below, you'll get even more of an idea of why this place became so special to me:

Stay tuned

 as we head on further south, 

towards Dease Lake. 

119 miles travel today 

 6,238 miles traveled so far