Monday June 06
It rained most of the night but when we left Dawson Creek and started north on the Alaska Highway it was overcast and 50 degrees. However, after we stopped for lunch it started to rain and continued to rain throughout the rest of the day. We saw coyote, deer and five black bear as well lots of beautiful scenery. We traveled 379 miles before the rain and fog forced us to stop and we camped for the night beside the McDonald River in British Columbia.
 |
| BLACK BEAR CUBS ALONG THE ALASKA HIGHWAY |
 |
| MOUNTAINS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA |
Tuesday June 07
When we got up this morning it was 39 degrees and we saw from droppings and tracks that several Moose had visited our campsite during the night. Once again as we continued north on the Alaska Highway the scenery was awe inspiring. Temperatures had climbed into the low 70’s by the time we stopped at the famous “Sign Post Forrest” in Watson Lake where a lonely US soldier placed a sign in 1943 and where tourists from all over the world have left behind over 70,000 signs. We encountered road construction with lots of mud, unpaved sections and dust. The stone used for road repairs appears to consist of very dirty sandstone which turns into a gritty dust when run over by traffic and large dust clouds result. We saw Wood Bison and Moose today as well as a lot of roadside businesses that were closed; we’re guessing that most were victims of the weak economy and fewer tourists. We traveled 413 miles today and camped at a government campground at Teslin Lake in the Yukon Territory. As we’ve traveled north and west the days have gotten noticeably longer and the sun is well up when I get up at 6-6:30 a.m. and sunset is after 11 p.m.
 |
FLOAT PLANE ON MUNCHO LAKE, BC
|
 |
| WOOD BISON GRAZE ALONG THE ALASKA HIGHWAY |
 |
| NANCY AT SIGNPOST FOREST IN WATSON LAKE |
Wednesday June 08
The morning dawned overcast with a temperature of 49 degrees. After only about 45 minutes on the road we stopped at Johnson’s Crossing for homemade cinnamon buns. At White Horse we bought food and fuel before proceeding north. Again today we encountered road construction that was either mud or extreme dust but always rough. North of Haines Junction the frost heaves started and we were forced to slow almost to a crawl at times. We had to be very careful because the frost heaves weren’t always apparent until you were on top of them which made for slow going. After traveling 308 miles in spite of the construction delays, frost heaves and intermittent high winds we stopped for the night at a road side turn-out south of Beaver Creek. We’re now 4,369 miles from home and should enter Alaska tomorrow.
 |
YUKON RIVER BRIDGE
|
 |
| SAND DUNES ALONG THE ALASKA HIGHWAY NORTH OF HAINES JUNCTION, YUKON TERRITORY |
 |
| KLUANE ICE FIELDS IN THE ST.ELIAS MOUNTAINS IN THE YUKON TERRITORY |
 |
| KLUANE LAKE |
Thursday June 09
It rained all night last night and we drove in a light rain today. We only traveled 183 miles, but it seemed much further because of road construction and frost heaves. In fact it took us three hours to travel the 91 miles to the US Customs Checkpoint at the Alaska border. We cleared Customs without incident and proceeded toward Tok, Alaska. The Alaska road was much improved from what we experienced in Canada, but still contained sections of frost heaves. We saw two eagles and a large black bear today. We arrived in Tok at 1 p.m. and checked into the Sourdough Campground where we plan to spend three nights. Ben, Bonnie, Nancy and I enjoyed dinner at Fast Eddy’s Restaurant in Tok before returning to the campground for the nightly Pancake Toss. The idea is to toss pancakes into a bucket (not unlike bean-bag toss) to win a free breakfast. Most everyone from the campground joined in the fun, but Nancy was the only winner.
 |
| WE MADE IT |
No comments:
Post a Comment