Day 14 on our great quest to find Alaska. We spent the night at Haines Junction Tuesday May 27th after driving 372 miles from Watson Lake. We had wanted to stop at Whitehorse however we just couldn’t find a suitable place to pull over; more our fault than the location. We did wake to the sounds of woodpeckers and loons nearby. Not wanting to drive a great distance today (Wednesday May 28th) we decided to stop Burwash Landing a grand total of 98 miles from Haines Junction. We had a great breakfast at Sheep Mountain then drove through Destruction Bay before setting up camp at Burwash Landing. It appears that we are 128 miles from the Alaska US border so we should be back in the US sometime early tomorrow. The next leg of the Alaska Highway should prove the most difficult as it has been built on permafrost and we’re told that the going will be slow; in any case we’ll be in Alaska tomorrow.
We left Burwash Landing the morning of Day 15 (May 29th) headed for Tok AK arriving early afternoon. We decided to spend 2 nights in Tok at the Tok RV Village which if you’re in Tok you need to think about stopping and spending some time here; clean quite sites, great laundry facilities and hot showers!
The drive into Tok was exciting in that we saw moose, beaver, and a huge grey owl. We crossed into Alaska at 1158 (Alaska time) having driven 3,542 miles from our front door to the US/Canada Alaska border. Yes we finally made it!
Tok at 10 P.M. !
Day 16 (May 30th) and we’re spending the time catching up on chores and housekeeping. We’ve got images to share however the internet connection reminds us of about 20 years ago – very slow! We move into Fairbanks Saturday where we’ll be till June 9th and will have better internet there so we’ll add the images then.
For now it’s in the lower 60’s with clear sunny skies and life is good in Alaska!
A note on road conditions: The road all the way to Whitehorse was very good and you could keep a reasonable speed if you wanted to (we traveled a little slower to see the sights); the road past Whitehorse to the Alaska border is a little more tricky with it getting worse just past Burwash Landing to Beaver Creek where is gets even rougher in-between Canada Customs and US Customs (approximately 20 miles). The key to all this is drive slow – Alaska has been there for many years and will continue to be there for many years to come.
Hi Claire! It was great talking to you from the side of the road in the Yukon Territory!
Sandy & Don
