Day 67 - Monday July 24/17

(Posted on Thursday August 03/17 at Fairbanks, Alaska - while STILL waiting for the wheel bearing servicing on the trailer to be finished - but the trailer is out in the lot, so hopefully they are doing the paperwork now!!)

On this lovely 13 degree morning full of sun we got underway around 10:30, heading to just past Tok (pron. “toke”), Alaska. (map)

As promised in ‘The Milepost’ we drove beside a range of magnificent mountains, many of them snowcapped.  Traffic was light and the road in fairly good condition in most locations.  However pot holes and undulating waves of frost heaves ensure the driver is alert and not lost in the marvelous scenery around us.  Just past a small town called Burwash Junction, YT (site of the world’s largest gold-pan - see photo) 

we encountered a lone, loping wolf crossing the highway. We were unable to get a photo, but the image of the animal is imprinted in our minds’ eye. It was the first time either of us had encountered a wolf in the wild. It was a wonderful moment. Truly wild and natural.

We are driving beside the St. Elias Mountains this morning. From an information plaque we learned these are the youngest mountains in Canada.(photo) Within this range is Mount Logan – the tallest mountain in Canada at 5,959 m (19,551 feet) – but it is not visible from the highway.

Near Swede Johnson Creek we encountered construction. At times the dust was so thick we couldn’t see anything in front of us. Quite nerve-wracking. We are discovering that it’s not only the distances we drive that are tiring, but also the tension in negotiating the intricacies of the road. We take turns at the wheel, with Michael doing about 2/3 and Nancy 1/3 of the driving. Still, it’s no wonder we are tired at the end of a day on the road.

The mountains disappeared mid-morning and we were surrounded by forest of stunted black spruce trees. (We’ve learned that black spruce look like a bottle brush and white spruce look more like a traditional Christmas tree. Another bit of Canadiana knowledge!)  While driving we caught a bit of CBC this morning. The comedy/parody show “This Is That” was on. They introduced the show with the line “Canada – home of wood” and this morning it certainly felt accurate.

A bit later on, still in the Yukon, we came across a rather emaciated-looking fox on the side of the highway, chewing on a piece of plastic. He didn't move as we pulled up beside him, and we wondered about the state of his health(photo)

A little further on a sign caught our attention, as we live on Pine Valley Drive, so we had to take a photo:

We gassed up in Beaver Creek, just before the US border. There was a sign posted at the gas station reminding us of what we’d learned going to Skagway – the border service will confiscate firewood. So we took time and unloaded all our firewood at the gas station hoping some other camper would pick it up. But in a little joke of the Universe, when we crossed the border the agent didn’t ask about firewood, alcohol, fruits and vegetables or dairy products – the “contraband” we knew we were carrying. He only asked where we were going, for how long and if we had guns. Then he wished us a good trip. Go figure. We could have kept the firewood!

Before leaving Beaver Creek we saw a small Roman Catholic Church built out of a Quonset Hut left from the building of the Alaska Highway (photo)

and an interpretive display about the Gold Rush (photos)

Our last 'sight-seeing' stop was at the Yukon/Alaska border:

"Hands Across the Border" - Michael is in the Yukon, and Nancy is in Alaska

Welcome to Alaska - again!!!

We got to Tok Alaska around 5:30. The shift to miles, gallons and Fahrenheit has taken a bit of adjustment, but it’s amazing how the old formulas drilled into us in school have returned. Gassing up at  267.9 per gal seemed expensive, but really not so bad when you consider we paid 129.9 per litre at Beaver Creek just before leaving the Yukon. 

We left the Alaska Hwy and drove a short distance south on the Glenn Hwy to a state park called Eagle Creek. We had almost free choice of sites so finding one with wooded privacy was easy.  There were pit toilets but no other services. Water was available from a hand pump. The fee of $18.00 barely fit through the payment slot as we used an accumulation of US quarters we’d brought with us to pay a good part of the cost. 

Some blog writing and a fire of wood we picked up around the campsite ended our day.