June 28, 2009

June 28, 2009

From Haines Junction, YT we continue our Alaska Highway journey. The road west of here is noticeably worse. Lots of frost heaves cause the highway to undulate. The up and down is not too bad, but the side-to-side rolls give me and our top-heavy rolling-house the willies. Apparently Canada maintains the highway east of here because it is well used by Canadians. West of here, the highway is used mostly by Americans traveling to and from Alaska, so the US has to contribute to its maintenance. Even with that support it lags. Nevertheless I am thoroughly impressed at the overall condition of the Alaska Highway and the amount of traffic on it.

Unfortunately the weather is still depressing… cold and rainy. We get fifteen minutes of blue skies at the start just to tease us with a glimpse of the beautiful snow capped mountain scenery we are missing. I am hoping we are luckier on the return trip.

In the afternoon, we finally make it to the Alaska border. Like the shining land that America represents, the sun makes a miraculous appearance and it is noticeably warmer. Yes!!!!!!!

Fairbanks is still 300 miles ahead but now that we have warm dry weather, we are in no hurry. We drive for another hour and stop for the day in the small town of Tok. It truly feels like we just came out of the bush and we are back in civilization.