Making our way back to Alaska . . . Day 6 Final Day

This is the last day if all goes well so we awoke early to hit the road for the couple hour drive to Beaver Creek and the lodge there so we could eat breakfast. It was nippy outside in the early morning light. Haines Junction is located in a valley with mountains on the west side of town. Just over the mountains are the Gulf of Alaska and the Pacific Ocean.

We were on the two lane road by 4:30 am and were heading towards Kluane Lake. Notice it is already a ‘normal’ daylight outside.

It was not long before we finally hit the section of road that has made the Alaskan Highway famous. We hit the gravel roadway about 10 miles from Kluane Lake. They were replacing the drainage culverts that drained all of the snowmelt from the mountains into the lake. There were many of them every 1000 feet or so. The road looked like it had actually been paved since our trips five years ago but they were torn up again now.

Man was it torn up now. The best ‘speed’ we could safely drive was between 15 to 25 miles an hour and that was quite jolting to the body and the stuff in the trailer. We did not want to damage anything and took the rough road for what it was, a time to enjoy the beautiful morning before us.

We passed the area of Burwash Landing with all of the dead trees from a fire that happened year’s ago.

We saw some wild horses on the side of the road amongst the dead trees. There is a re-growth of the vegetation but still no mature trees anywhere for miles . . . just the ‘stick trees’ that are everywhere for miles in all directions.

There were no wild animals this morning . . . well there was this one bull moose who ran up the embankment into the roadway and gave us a quick look as he crossed our path and made his way into the muskeg on the other side. He was a nice size bull, proud, and his gait showed he was confident in his surroundings. As quickly as he appeared he was practically gone with the encounter lasting maybe 25 to 30 seconds.

The layer of road had been peeled away and the loose gravel exposed to all who traveled by. There were high bumps and low dips from the frost heaves that had moved the ground during the winter’s freeze and thawing cycles. With time it became rough and bumpy with little more than a few yards to three hundred feet between them.

It was going to be a long day and we were both hungry since we had no food last night. We continued to be bounced around and the road slowly was better in places as the gaps between the rougher spots increased to about a half a mile between them. We noticed the DOT had placed little red or orange flags beside the road in the roughest places so we could judge how fast to go and whether to swerve to the opposite side if there was only one flag. Two flags across the road from each other showed damage all the way across while one flag showed damage on the side of the road with the flag. It was slow going but we finally arrived in Beaver creek after a three hour jaunt. It was time to refuel, the last time in Canada and eat breakfast. It would be a good time to get rid of all the loonies and toonies we had from the trip.

The stop at Beaver Creek was greatly needed. We felt like we were still bumping and jarring from the rough roads over the last three hours while we sat and ate a nice breakfast. It was simple but nice since we were hungry. Hot coffee, some eggs, bacon, and potatoes hit the spot while we took our time eating. Charlie was talking with several of the locals before getting back to the long drive still ahead.

We headed the last few miles to the border station and the roads did not get any better. They remained bumpy and torn up these last one hundred fifty miles of Canada. Overall for the trip I guess that is not a bad average with only 150 miles of bad road out of the 2300 we have traveled so far.

The greeting at the border was friendly as we were asked the same questions as before and a little more detail asked of what was in the trailer. It was not long before we were allowed to come back into Alaska. The roads improved only slightly as our speed now picked up to about 45 miles per hour.

We had only been back in Alaska for just a few minutes when we saw a bald eagle flying around ahead of us making a slow left turn. He made that arc turning it into that beautiful flare with outstretched wings as he came to rest in the top of a large tree. He sat in the top of that tree looking majestic as we slowly made our way past. I wanted to stop for a picture but there was no place to pull off and we had lost time already making several stops trying to figure out an electrical problem we were having.

All I could think of was ‘old & new’ with the mixture of the new road and the old tired travelers. We both laughed at the thought of having to travel another couple hundred miles at 35-40 miles per hour. I could see a pull off up ahead on the left side and sitting there was an old Model T Ford getting ready to drive out of the small rest area. Now that ‘old’ car was making its way through the wilderness of Alaska. I have seen a few antique car road rallies that have traveled to the state before or this could be just a person out ‘joy riding’ on a lonely gravel road.

We drove past the old Model T and marveled at the changes in technology over the last 85 years. It had quite the elegant look about it and pulled out onto the road just as we passed the rest area. I watched it in the rearview mirror grow smaller and smaller as we slowly widened the distance between us.

We crested the next hill and there in front of us was another Model T slowly making its way along the bumpy road. It struck me that with all of the technology of 80 plus years there was no real difference between us as we were both traveling about the same speed. We were equals on this isolated road going to each different destination. Both traveling different horizons.

The first hundred miles of Alaska we pretty bad but more passable than the last miles in Canada. Once we drove past Tok the road west towards Glenallen was quite nice. It seemed to be newly paved and had fewer areas of heaving ground. We passed the place where we had a flat tire on the last trip and were back to enjoying the scenery.

We drove down past a nice pool of water, probably from the snowmelt where there were two moose standing eating quietly in the morning sun. There were the Wrangle Mountains in the background and it reminded me of several picture post cards I had seen. I stopped the vehicle but I had driven about a quarter mile past the moose and had to walk back to get my pictures of them.

It was pretty cool to walk up and see them stop eating and look up in my direction. At first they could not see me but had heard the vehicle stop and the doors close. Did you notice the one on the right is peeing on the tundra? I could hear it from a distance of several hundred yards as it hit the water. It was so quiet out in the country with no sounds of any kind except the soft sound of me walking down the road.

As I made my way past the trees and now into full view the moose slowly looked at each other and one continued to eat. The other seemed curious and determined to keep an eye on me even though I was a good distance away from them. He ate for a minute then watched me while chewing.

The morning wore on as we drove with the Wrangle Mountains in the distance.

The way the road runs is you approach the mountains as you drive west then turn towards the north to go around them. As you continue to drive then they are on your left towards the south. We continued to have a small electrical problem and pulled off into another overlook to check things out and see if we could figure out the problem. The gauge for the battery kept showing a discharge and we wondered if the battery was going dead or if the alternator was charging it in between the times of heavy discharge.

As Charlie was checking on things I took a couple of pictures showing a panorama of the area. Left to right . . .

Here’s a close-up of Mt. Wrangle, a beautiful mountain that has a volcano crater on the west face.

Mid afternoon we were driving past Eureka a great place to ride snow machines over miles and miles of trails, mountains, and lakes in the area. It sits atop a high plateau about a hundred fifty miles from Anchorage and is a favorite winter playground for many winter activities.

We drive past the Matanuska Glacier where they have filmed episodes of The Amazing Race and National Treasure for television. It is really pretty and easily accessible to camp next to or climb the ice field.

Driving past the gorge and then down the mountain that lead us into Palmer Alaska I know that I am about an hour from home. The familiar things are around me now as we drive past the place I deal with in my work. We make our way onto the Glen Highway and past the Hay Flats Wildlife Refuge where the winter moose herds graze on the snow covered grasses.

We are both excited now as we cross the Knik River and make our way past the Army’s Ft. Richardson Flag Stand where our Alaska Arctic Warriors train between tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. The flag is a most welcome sight as we near the end of our journey.

A couple more turns and we are heading through town on our way to the house. Another fourteen hour day but the last turn down my gravel road is the one I have been looking for. The snow has melted now and only the larger piles from the snow plows pushing is the only thing left of our winter.

A safe journey through the wilderness with no major incidents and no radio turns into a pleasant week of sitting and talking together. Sharing another Alaskan Highway experience, our third together, with my father in law, but this time no minus 35 below temperatures, or frozen roads to deal with made the scenery was better this trip and the wild animals plentiful making the days pass.

By days end another 634 miles brings our trip total to 3,100 miles.

Tired but off to work with no down time tomorrow.

Ice