Day 19 The end of the trail is near

Dear Diary,

We awake to full sunshine but there are dark clouds looming in the west over Prince William Sound.  The tides are in between so the water is very still.  Valdez is an ice free port which is one reason the pipeline comes here.  As in Homer last year we saw the state biologist on site when charters came into port.  They take samples of all the various fish and keep records.  We can see all the peaks around town very clearly there is a weather change in the air.  We’re preparing to leave the campground this morning after showers.  We’ve packed a few things in preparation for turning in the RV.  Brenna is stopping at our campground tonight for dinner.  We leave around 8AM and stop by the post office to mail a birthday card for a friend and stop by the Magpie Bakery.  A funky little historic house that sits alone on the street.  It’s really cute inside with a few antiques and open kitchen.  They have just taken blueberry scones and cinnamon rolls out of the oven.  Had to buy a few.  Leave Valdez in sunshine and full sun into Thompson Pass.  While we are retracing our route and seeing the same things, the morning light and direction of travel make it all new. We must pass through Keystone Canyon again, a magical place of close in sheer rock walls and beautiful waterfalls that spray us. We stop for more pics and see high glaciers more clearly.  There are glaciers there that seem to have no name.  We stop at the Blueberry Lake pull off and marvel at the view into the Lowe River Valley below.  But the Worthington Glacier is named and is still very grand with its own visitor spot.  This drive is very grand but coming into the pass from the north has the most spectacular views in full sun.  We enter the Copper River Valley water drainage; hundreds of blue lupine are blooming along the road mixed in with a yellow buttercup flower.  The Alaska state colors provided by nature!  It’s about 55 degrees.  All of a sudden a moose comes bounding up out of a culvert within inches of Chuck’s side of the RV.  We can’t stop it all happens too fast.   Luckily the moose stops short and turns at the last minute.  So, there ARE moose back in the Tiekel River washout area and we’re glad not to have any physical evidence at Milepost 54.5.  And we have

counted 3 beaver dams.  The Milepost, the AlCan travel bible, asks that travelers contact them if we see them back in the area.  So we’ll call if we remember.  We also see sign of bear on the road but no bears yet.  We have to retrace our route on the

Richardson Highway

because there is only one road in and out of Valdez.  The alternatives are planes or sea ferry.  We thought about the ferry but then we’d miss Matanuska Glacier and Palmer.  And we’ll be on the ferry for 5 days going back to Lower 48 so plenty of water time this trip.  The road has patch and heave, not the worst, not the best.  RV’s:  reasons not to speed.  Road conditions challenge controlling the vehicle.  Plus, there is a certain amount of rattling and shaking of the vehicle and contents directly related to speed.  We’re sure there is a mathematical equation for this.  And in the case of wildlife on the road, there are no fast stops.  The weight of the RV added to the speed compounds the momentum.  Even the best brakes can’t stop in time.  And there’s the friendly quotient that goes with RV’s.  Lots of waving from locals near the road and most everyone waves to us, especially other rented RV’s, wishing each other good luck with our adventure.  OMG!  3 of the 4 Wrangell peaks are in full view as they march side by side like big white ghosts.  Mt. Blackburn the highest and furthest away can barely be made out.  We can see the blown out sides of Sanford and Drum from ancient volcanic activity but Wrangell is a very much intact dome.  We did not see any steam coming off the top and that’s a good thing.  Stopped at the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Visitor Center which is very new looking.  A collection of small tan log cabins, each with a different function.  A beautiful hand made fish wheel is on display.  A local interpreter and a young native man give us lots of info on the wheel.  We have been fortunate to see them working on the Copper River but this one is almost completely made without metal.  There are no blueprints they are made from memory and individual ability to size and measure and use the right logs.  The logs are fire burned, meaning they have been through forest fire that hardens them.  One of the log cabins is the Ahtna Visitor Center, Ahtna are Athabaskan with multiple clans divided into two groups or moieties (learned a new anthropological term).  They must marry opposite or moiety clans in order to be identified as Ahtna.  Identify flows through the mother.  We learned more about the native corporation and how this young man was gifted a share by his grandparents.  The language is indecipherable but when it's explained it makes sense.  We stop at the Nat park center and talk with rangers about Kennecott and McCarthy, another trip in the future.  And we get the scoop on wolves in the area.  This Nat Park is not conducive to large wolf packs.  The ones that are here are very wild and unstudied.  We stop at Glennallen for gas and the fire level danger is high.  We hear mooing.  There is a young Holstein bull in an animal trailer complaining.  It’s such a random sight.  But Pat loves bovines and mooing so this is a treat.  Glennallen radio station hosts the Caribou Clatters, the community talk show.  Aside:  The public radio station in Valdez is KCHU, we think that’s pretty funny given this northern climate.  We change to the Glen Highway Rt 1 that will take us into Anchorage 190 miles away.  The road is long and straight lined with not pretty bog black spruce.  Looking back, it creates a frame around the last views of Mt. Drum and Sanford in full light.  The is a very wet, low and flat bog area, caught between the Chugach, Talkeetna and Wrangell Mt.  The road is heavily heaved but smooth but we must take our time.  We got too much sun yesterday, Chuck slightly red on face but his hat helped and Pat glowing like a beacon in the night.  It’s getting warmer and have to turn up the vent air, hoping not to run the AC.  We are coming into more open tundra and the caribou signs are posted.  We pass Lake Louise road.  We went back there last year.  It was overcast and the road while newly paved was heavily heaved.  The lodge was funky, the lake pretty and if it had been clear probably has a good view of McKinley.  But we were not very warm to the area.  Been there done that, move on.  We go over 2 passes over 3000 feet so we are on a high plateau.  There is a full view of the Chugach Mountains to the east with their massive majesty and some very large glaciers filling valley, coming down.  Ranging in 12-13k. Tazlina being one of the glaciers.   The Chugach form an arc that separates coastline and interior and are home to glacier and ice field.  The same mountains in the south ringing Valdez are the ones that form the mountainscape of Anchorage.  The peaks in Anchorage have less altitude but as it is at sea level it makes them more impressive.  The area makes for some very heavy cross winds.  They hit the RV on the side but today they do not rival the prairie winds.  We are traveling the valley between the Chugach and the Talkeetna Mountains.  On one side the Chugach impressive with altitude, snow and ice and Talkeetna on the other side mostly bare but beautiful shapes, rugged and mineral deposits that make them different colors.  We are following the path of the Fireweed Bike Marathon.  Brenna and a team of friends rode from Sheep Mountain Lodge on the Glen, through 2 passes, down the Richardson through Thompson Pass to Valdez.  She says she and Zach may do the 50 mile this year.  The road in this section is heave and holes.  We start to see the origin of the Matanuska Glacier in the Chugach and we feel like we are seeing an old friend.  We are still in full sun and all peaks are out.  We see Lions Head, a long standing rock formation formed by the grinding and passing of the glacier.  There is a new section of highway that is very beautiful, a curvy section that hugs the mountain side around Caribou Creek.  We had good sheep/lamb sightings last year.  The whole valley opens up and we can see the Matanuska Glaicer flowing through the valley.  It is literally a river of ice.  We stop off at a roadside glacier view point.  No matter how many times we see it we are bowled over.  The toe of the glacier, white and cracked is very visible but the black gravel hills beyond it are still glacier, it’s just that the top layer has melted off to expose the moraine.  And beyond that are little hills covered in plants and trees and there is still ice under that.  There is a pretty mountain path taking off from here which we did last year.  Since we had the same kind of day as last year we opt out.  We found a huge variety of wildflowers on that walk.  We meet some travelers who are driving back to Anchorage to fly out today.  They are very disappointed that the only thing they hadn’t seen was a griz.  But they saw McKinley bright and open and from all angles.  We tell them we’d take that over seeing 2 grizs.  We joked with them, if they really wanted to see a grizzly just put bacon in their pockets and take the trail!  We thought they’d done pretty good seeing what they did from their car.  We spotted 2 eagles in the mating death spiral. We follow the Matanuska River valley for 70 miles where it drains into Knik Arm of the Alaska Gulf.  The descent to the valley floor literally hugs the side of the mountain, curvy, heave and no guardrails.  There are some good patches and new construction but a lot of hairy road.  We pass King Mountain, always recognizable with its tall pyramid shape that sets apart from the other peaks.  There is not a lot of cut back in this area and we know moose love it here.  The village of Chickaloon has a very high fire danger rating.  Don’t know how they get out of this tight valley in fire.  Sure they have to be diligent.  We see overcast skies over the horizon and know that Anchorage will get rain.  Lots of beautiful yellow butterflies, unfortunately a lot of them are in our RV grill.  The river valley widens and the road changes to multiple lanes, flat, straight good conditions.  We start to see Pioneer Peak and know that we are in the Mat-Su Valley.  An experiment in 1940 to move mid state farmers hit by the Dust Bowl and Depression to this fertile valley to farm.  There are remnants of that past but there is more commercial interests here now.  The valley has ballooned into 100k population.  Our fave little town Palmer has managed to keep its small town ambiance, thankfully, but it is solid business and housing from here to Wasilla and the

Parks Highway

.  The valley is lush with growth and a little different climate than Anchorage as it sits back from the ocean water.  Home to gigantic vegetables and the State Fair grounds.  All watched over by beautiful Pioneer Peak.  We stop in Palmer for a quick bite at our fave diner at the Valley Hotel.  Funky old hotel, diner windows looking up the valley peaks and views of the little town.  Chuck wants the corn fritters, not as good as last year, less corn in them.  But the salmon burger is still very good.  A whole patty of salmon, we think red.  We passed the Musk Ox Farm on the way in.  Domesticated for their wool for clothing.  Took a couple field trips there with the kids while in school.  We pass the new mega highway intersection of the Parks and the Glen highways.  Lots of development off the road on the low grasslands.  Thankfully the state keeps the Palmer ‘Hay Flats’ from development.  This is moose country.  And the roadside sign keeps an update of how many are killed by vehicles each year.  Alaska is a huge state and it takes hours to get anywhere so people drive fast to get there.  The names of towns are more and more familiar.  We notice they are putting in light along the highway.  The explosion of population in the valley means a lot of commuters and road conditions can be tricky.  We pass an accident on the way.  We come to Eagle River.  It’s so large now they have Eagle River North!  We pass to the campground that sits below the highway on the Eagle River.  The signage for the campsite is pretty funny. The city dump is on the opposite side of the road and you’d never know the proximity because of that separation but it draws bears to the area.  The sign says, Landfill Campground, they have added an & to the message to keep away any misunderstandings.  No wonder bears are in the area.  The Alaska Women’s Prison is here too.  So if you make a left instead of going straight you are in jail.  It’s a very pretty campground with the river by but no water.  We have some to keep us until tomorrow.  Brenna comes out after work.  It’s the first time we have seen her in 6 months.  We talk for hours and eat dinner.  It’s raining, constant.  We’re very tired so slowing down.  We have one more day in the RV and having friends out for a Trails End Cookout tomorrow night.  Pat and Brenna walk to the outhouse and see a black bear very close by.  Bren leaves and we get a call telling us she is seeing two more in the campground.  Guess we won’t be walking around after dark!  But there will be very little dark.  Time for sleep. Yawn…

Travel Miles: 291 Travel Time with stops: 8 Hours 

Day 18 Valdez, warm, sun, clear skies, unforgettable special day

Dear Diary,
We slept in and awoke to full sun, cloudless sky, all peaks revealed, clear into the Sound and into the Pass.  Even the stubborn wall of peaks behind the town that rarely lose their cloud are clear.  Called for rain all weekend.  We could come here every year and never have this day.  When we lived here Valdez was always so far away and mostly rainy.  So we didn't go.  So, we know what we have today.  The small harbor is getting busy.  A boat with kayaks goes by heading out to Columbia Glacier.  Pat is feeling better but not 100%.  The small tanker off our shore is getting filled up.  It is very low in the water now.  Apparently this is at least a 48 hour job.  A large oil tanker has docked to fill across at the pipeline terminus, that's a long process as well.  We can hear lots of sea birds and eagles.  But no sign of the mating death spiral by the eagles.  Pictures and words can't capture this.  We know this is something special so we prepare to go out for the day.  There is an airport on the far end of the Arm, small landing strip ringed by close-in high peaks.  We see a small jet come in to land.  There is no opportunity for a circling descent.  The pilot aims down and lands, same in reverse for take-off.  It must be a hairy experience.  There are small bush planes and float planes in the area as well.  Aside:  got a text from Bren, Cousin Sarah and her friends left on Thursday and had a great time, Laura and Dave Flarerty from Tennessee just arrived.  Laura and Brenna went to school and church together in Hudson.  We will get to see Laura and Dave a little before they leave.  We take off with our new REI walking sticks, a gift from Bren, and head off for Mineral Creek Trail.  We had to walk a long way through to the western edge of town for the trail head.  We follow this pretty glacial creek paralleling a neighborhood.  This is a high use trail for locals, snowmobiles, ATV's and Nordic skiing.  It's smooth and flat with large stones so we can't take our eyes off the trail for long.  We are in Cottonwood, Poplar and Alder forest.  Alder have a sweet smell, if you can smell sweet.  It's very recognizable once your know it.  The ground is lush with growth.  Horsetail, burdock, fireweed foliage, fiddlehead ferns, devil club, and a small star shaped pink rose that must be some species of primrose.  And there is a large leaf plant that looks like the lily family.  The fiddleheads are just unfurling, so they have tight caps not yet opened.  They are a delicacy when sauteed by chefs.  There is a feast here!  We have to cross the creek on a one lane bridge.  We meet ATV's a couple of hikers and some trucks.  There is an old stamp mine at the end of the 12 mile trail.  But there is active individual gold mining claims back here as well.  So while we have times of seeing no one, there is the occasional meeting.  The valley is beautiful and lush.  Steep mountain sides with waterfalls everywhere.  It is 65-70 degrees and we are quickly too warm for our layers.  We start to undress and between our dark colors and sweat the mosquitoes start to attack.  Chuck has at least 50 on his back at once.  We have to put back on the warm clothes for protection.  We packed drink, check, toilet paper, check, Pat's trainers, check, Pat's wind jacket, check, Ibuprofen, check, Purell, check, Forgot the mosquito dope!  We are thinking about whether or not to endure and then we come across fresh bear scat in the road.  And we forgot the bear whistle.  We decided it's not worth it and we did meet our goal of seeing something new and found it lovely.  Now to return.  Pat is whistling through her teeth constantly to let the bears know we're there.  Chuck spots an eagle on its nest in a Cottonwood tree near the river.  We are able to walk in pretty close to take a picture but still too far for detail.  It is a treat to see this.  Of course Pat's whistling up a storm and we're watching the underbrush.  What we do for eagles!  A local tells us they are not nesting as much as in past.  We ask why no sign of moose, they would love this smorgasbord of plants.  Local tells us there is too high a bear population for this enclosed area and moose can't survive.  Not sure if that's the reason but moose are conspicuous by their absence.  We retrace our steps and decide to take the neighborhood streets back to town.  This neighborhood is very beautiful and relatively new homes.  Some with incredible views.  They are built very near the schools.  These homes are not apparent to the average visitor because they are off the main drag.  Valdez is flat with broad streets and easy to walk.  It's a working town with all kinds of businesses coinciding with the tourists when they are in town.  We find it a very pleasant place.  We walk over to Prince William Sound Community College.  They have a very nice totem there.  The Whitney Museum is also here.   We love this museum.  It is the most eclectic collection under one roof we have ever seen.  Maxine and Jesse Whitney traveled all over Alaska trading and buying and selling native art and craft in the 40's.  Their personal collection is the basis for this museum.  Artifacts, fossils, all of nature's materials represented.  Some of the best masks, beading on hide, ivory and parkas anywhere.  And some very different designs.   They also have one of the best taxidermy collections anywhere.  They have a little gift shop with a few nice things.  A couple movies play, Eating Alaska and a film documenting the rise and fall of tides.  We walk over to the sculptor Peter Toth's 'Whispering Giants'. Large (50-75ft) sculpture of a native chief done using a tree.  He has installed these all over the world.  We have one located in West Akron/Fairlawn area.  This one is located near the near CC dorms, renovated last year.  Very nice.  We stop at the visitor center and then to the Valdez Museum next door.  Their museums here are all well done and of high quality.  We stop off to check the gift shop.  Buy a caribou, beaver, and carved cottonwood face native made ornament.  They are selling handmade Sac-eyes.  They're very nice plastic bag storage shaped as salmon in fun materials and embroidery.  We bought one last year.  We pass through a few more gift shops including the very odd Sugar and Spice store.  A kind of dept store that sells odds and ends and consignment, an ongoing yard sale.
Finally we head for lunch.  There are special days and special meals.  This day and our lunch at the Harbor Cafe are just that.  A young couple started this place 2 years ago when Brenna and I were here.  The lady gave us t-shirts.  Their business is thriving.  It's family owned with a tiny indoor dining area and outdoor deck and picnic tables on the grounds.  Everything is homemade.  So we're sitting in the sun looking over the harbor and the incredible mountain landscape.  Not a cloud in the sky.  They're playing Sirius, John Mayer, Dave Mathews acoustic and Paul McCartney singing Yesterday with acoustic.  Pat's guacamole burger is handmade, slaw made with cream and horseradish.  Chuck's halibut sandwich has grated carrots on it as one of the ingredients and he loves it.  They make a curry pepper dip for their fries.  To finish off we share a homemade carrot cake.  Pat thinks it's her blue ribbon recipe.  Carrots, raisins, walnuts, crushed pineapple, orange zest, toasted coconut, and hot buttermilk glaze.  The lady chef's version, cake is cut into rounds, cream cheese frosting layer, then another round on top with real whipped cream and toasted coconut.  It was so good that Chuck forgot he hates coconut.  We stroll by the harbor and head for the Dock Point Trail.  We have attempted this trail in the past but were always warned about bears.  We do it anyway.  The trail follows the duck flats and area of sloughs.  We climb the hill and find some nice viewing decks in the woods.  Very peaceful.  The sign says we are in a Borreal rain forest and it looks it.  There are nice Arm views and views of the town and harbor below.   Pat does a quick tour of the Best Western gift shop, they have none so that's a zero.  Chuck gets firewood and we return to camp.  We figure we have hiked about 10 miles today.   Sitting in the sun watching the day and the busy harbor.  Talk with Seth for a while.  Things were wet and now they're hot and wet.  They are having brown-outs.  Things are going well at our house, no damage from the big storm.  Seth biking the United Way fundraiser.  Hope the weather is good. The owners have flowers out.  They have giant fuchsias and what looks like hibiscus.  They have their blue and white lobelia baskets hanging.  Everything is clean and extra attention. Note to self:  If we ever come back here ask for slot #12. Our village service fuel tanker has finally taken off.  The tank is a barge and a large kind of tug boat is attached at the back and it pushes the fuel barge out into Arm toward Prince William Sound.  The fire is growing low, the fading light makes the mountains pink.  We will not get a lot of dark tonight but the sunset is awesome.  We are heading for Eagle River outside Anchorage tomorrow about 250-300 miles.  We will be off Internet for May 31 and June 1as it is a state campground with no access.  We end the RV adventure on June 2 when we turn in the RV that has been our home for the past 18 days.  We talk with Brenna tonight and can't believe that we will be seeing her soon.  Travel Time: 0, Mileage: 0 Night.

Day 17 Lovely Valdez, Alaska

Dear Diary,
Up early, road habits.  The wind has slowed.  There is thick fog obscuring the mountain peaks. A small fuel tanker is sitting just off our shore area loading fuel to be delivered to villages along the Gulf.  It's taking at least 24 hours to do.  There is a small refinery at the end of the Arm for refining for this purpose.  The Alaska Ferry has docked and left.  This is one of the new catamarans in the fleet, The Chenega, it takes vehicles.  It runs from Cordova, Valdez to Whittier.  Pat and Brenna took it 2 years ago, it passes the Columbia Glacier and must dodge ice bergs in that area.  The ferry dock here is nice with fun outdoor art.  The city pier is very nice.  Our campground sits on the corner of the Valdez Arm and the small boat harbor.  The views from our RV can see it all.  There is a constant parade of small boats, a tour boat and coast guard and fishing fleet.  And then we can see the ocean going vessels and the ferries come and go as well.  There is a cannery here.  Chuck watches one of the commercial fleet unload their catch.  He thinks it's salmon, he didn't get that close.  The eagles will be showing up for the cleaning.  There is a city working dock on the far end of the Arm.  Valdez is on the Valdez Arm off the Prince William Sound.  The area teems with wildlife, fishing and activity.  This is the area where the Exxon Valdez hit a reef in the early 80's.  We lived in Anchorage and remember the devastation of the all the crude oil that polluted and destroyed coastline and killed wildlife.  It has been a long haul to overcome the effects in these cold waters.  This is also a big earthquake area.  The Good Friday earthquake in 1964 epicenter was near Valdez.  It wiped out the old town.  Earthquakes mean tsunami so there are evacuation signs all around town.  Basically, run for the hills!  We laugh at one of the signs, two stick figures running uphill from the wave, the one at the top of the hill is the girl, the boy is still climbing. Valdez, spoken with a long e, population is around 4500 and is the dead end for the Richardson Highway.  Annual snowfall is around 25 feet and lots of rain.  This is the terminus for the Alaska Pipeline which comes out of the mountains across the Arm into multiple holding tanks.  We have watched the big tankers come in to be filled.  There are none there today.  The Valdez Summit to Sound Marathon went well with lots of cheering, we watched the kayakers come right by our RV. Apparently, they had to eliminate the skiing part of the 4 leg marathon.  Conditions were too dangerous on the mountain.  The campground is clean and quiet with all hook-ups.  Beautiful showers and laundry facilities.  We are a short walk into the hubbub that is the town so we stay very quiet except for water activity.  The campground has a heavily forested tent grounds attached.  You would need it with tents because of the wind.  There is a party going on in the town with the end of the marathon.  Chuck catches up with two different RV's from the Ak Fleet.  We get the report that one of our RV's was in a bad accident yesterday around Teslin, YT.  Apparently, they were not injured but the RV's driver mirror and whole side was peeled back with impact of a passing semi.  A tow truck was taking the RV to Anchorage.  We count our lucky stars that we have not had a similar fate.  The roads are difficult to just plain bad and having semis share the space is tricky.  Chuck tries his hand at fishing from the dock but no luck.  Pat has had a run in with a flu involving headache, achy and GI. Not sure of the water we get.  It's all supposed to be potable but we really don't know how reliable.  One of those traveler risks.  The wind is picking up a bit and slowly the peaks that ring the Arm and town are revealed.  It's about 60 degrees without wind.  It's overcast but the low fog is gone for now.  Pat ventures out with Chuck for a walk.  We start over at the marathon celebration on the city pier area.  They have a band and a special event for the participants and their families.  A sea otter is in the water eating shellfish on his tummy.  Locals say they didn't get their usual snowfall this year, we see less leftover snow than we did last year when we came later.  And tourism is down again as last year.  We think it's a bit early to predict that but it makes sense given the econ.  There are a lot of camping spots open but the weather forecast for this area over the weekend wasn't very good.  We stroll over to the boat harbor and watch the charter catch come in.  There is a halibut derby going on right now.  We see  138 and 118 pounders hanging on display.  But yesterday a 153.5 pounder was caught, the largest so far.  We watch them fillet so close to the bone that it just leaves the skeleton and the even cut out the precious cheeks!  It is wet, cold and slippery work with very sharp knives.  Some of the workers wear a metal mesh glove on their non dominant hand to protect it from the fillet knife.  The fish entrails and bone are put in a special bin in the water that gets hauled out to sea.  Not good for the harbor environment and it draws sea lions etc, and they become nuisance.   We stroll to the Best Western which has one of the best indoor views of the area.  They just opened yesterday and we stop for hydration.  Things are pretty quiet there.  We try to go to the Halibut House, fast food diner with great fish, but they are out of halibut!  As we walk back we see 2 Ak State Troopers in unmarked cars with cars pulled over.  And then they quickly pull 2 more over.  We know it's Memorial weekend and that brings traffic issues.  We hear later that locals are complaining about the Trooper crack-down on traffic.  Sounds like there is going to be an uprising at some point.  We decide to try the Totem Inn.  It always looks like such a dive from the outside.  What a pleasant surprise.  It's all Alaskana-log cabin theme.  Huge gift shop.  Some very well done native art for sale.  But would need to have good info on the pieces before buying.  And some reasonably priced Alaska theme gifts.  We decide to eat there.  It's an ambitious menu with some very exotic type cuisine.  We stay with fish, red salmon and halibut.  The meals are good, not the best we've had, the service is very friendly.  They've been here a long time.  Their private collection of Alaska native pieces are worth going in to see.  Some of the best quality and uniqueness of any we've seen.  They have a bar/lounge which we step in to see and find there is a side deck for outdoor dining and it's very pleasant.  We walk the long way back to the RV around 8PM and it's 56 degrees with breeze.  Very pleasant.  There is sun out in Prince William Sound.  The tide is coming in and the peaks that surround the Arm are cleared.  We can't believe our luck.  The weather report said rain and we've not had a drop.  The lights come on across the water at the Ak Pipeline Terminal, it looks like another city over there.  The Aurora, another Ak Ferry, is docked at the terminal offloading and collecting.  There is pink sunset light showing on the peaks.  No description or picture is adequate.  Chuck starts a campfire and we sit looking at the boat harbor, a harbor seal pokes his head out of the water.  The parade of boats is ongoing but less.  The temperature is dropping and Pat still doesn't feel 100% so into the RV to finish the blog and get in the warm bed.  Note to self, we stopped at Mike's Palace and find it to be more pleasant inside than looks on the outside.  The menu looks good too.  Try some time?  The gift shops are far and few between on the harbor side street.  Maybe it's too early.  Nighty night.  Miles traveled: 0 time Traveled: 0

Day 16 Long drive, terrible road, many delights

Dear Diary,

            We awake at 6AM.  Forgot to turn on the furnace last night, it’s 45 degrees in the RV.  Dress and walk down to the lake one more time.  Sun rising over the Ruby Ridge and morning light on all the surrounding mountains.  A large open crack has formed far off shore.  We have witnessed big changes in the thaw in 24 hours.  Hard to leave.  The Alaska men are gone, they left very early.  It’s likely one drove and the others slept.  We leave by 7AM, good-bye Congdon Creek!  We follow the lake for miles and pass through the town of Destruction Bay established during the construction of the Alaska Highway as relay station and camp.  All happening during WWII.  The speed limits drops and a trooper is sitting there with radar.  Wait, it’s a wooden cut-out painted to look like trooper.  It works for visitors, the locals ignore it we’re sure.  We continue to follow the lake, the road is patch and heave, slightly better than The C.  The mountains are a solid wall on both sides of the lake.  We are mountain geeks, always impressed with their majesty.  A tribal type memorial along the way dedicated to Southern Tuchone man, items of different symbols.  Pass Burbish Landing at the north end of the lake.  Big forest fire here 80k acres, people had to be evacuated.  Take a picture of the world’s largest gold pan.  If we hopped over the mountains and swam the Alaska Gulf to the west we would be in Anchorage and we would wake up Brenna.  We are seeing more of the St. Elias range, 14-16k.   Geek alert:  can’t stop admiring.  We are having sun and driving over fast moving glacial streams filled with glacial flour.  Yesterday we learned that we have been following the Skakwak-Denali Fault line from Canadian Rockies running through to Alaska Range running past Denali.  Perma-frost heave makes us reduce speed.  This road is quickly becoming a Cassiar sibling.  It is becoming apparent that Canada, the YT specifically, doesn’t give a hang about this road.  There are few citizens living there and it basically serves as a truck route for Alaska goods which don’t stop and US tourists (85%) who are just driving through to the border.  This is an American war time road built through a foreign land. In 1977, the US government agreed to the Shakwak Project with funding for reconstruction, to be completed 2010.  The road is the worst road we have been on since 1984 and on this trip.  It makes the Cassiar like a walk in the park.  We have to stay at 15 mph in many places.  The explanation is that this is tundra perma-frost, remote and glacial.  There are perma-frost experiments going on with tubes and vents to deal with it.  But we believe it’s evidence the Canadian govt doesn’t give a hang.  There is no reason for the deplorable state of this road.  And after passing into Alaska, in the nearby proximity and it being a more reasonable but not great road, we are confirmed.  We stop at an overlook of the Kluane River coming from the K. Glacier, one of which forms the Kluane Lake.  There is more information about the Kluane Nation who claim rights to this area.  The message is welcome, enjoy, come back.  It’s an incredible valley with info on salmon runs in September.  Salmon spawn in the creeks and streams, swim down the Yukon River, 2000 miles, eat and mature in the ocean a few years and then swim back to spawn and be eaten by humans, bears, wolves and others.  And they come back to the exact stream of their spawn.  Nature really is more fantastic than any fiction.  We hear a coyote or wolf howling nearby.  We hurry back to the RV, not sure what they are saying about us. The forests are black spruce and birch, no snow on the low levels.  Sign says No Caribou Hunting.   Poaching is a problem.  We see a porcupine by the road.  Another of our favorite creatures.  He is ready for a fight, all his quills are raised as warning.  They are various shades of brown, grizzled.  We pass beautiful Pickaxe Lake with muskrat and a pair or Trumpeter Swans.  Swans are very territorial, only see one pair per lake.  Good there are so many lakes.  The road is so bad it shakes you to the bone.  Can’t elaborate enough on this terrible road.  There is some effort at construction but it seems they are just going through the motions.  The shoulders are soft with piled loose gravel.  If you veer too much to the side off you go into a culvert or worse.  We come to Beaver Creek, pop. 112, the last town in Canada and YT.  This is a tourist bus route.  The Westmark Inn exists there for their use.  Nightly shows etc.  It’s so random.  Wondering how the heck the buses do this.  We pass by Canadian Customs and the road becomes beautiful and smooth.  We are heading to the US border.   A black bear by the road bids us farewell.  We approach the US border but first there is the stop that designates the 141^st Meridian and a cleared swath of land that goes on for miles and stone oblislisk markers.  A big welcome to Alaska sign, signage that we will be traveling a

Purple Heart Highway

.  Pat stands with one foot in US and one foot in Canada.  It’s a heady experience.  We are also passing into Alaska Time, our final time change.  And we are leaving metric for feet and mph.  We gain an hour, very meaningful for travel time.  Four hours earlier than home.  After a very bad US border crossing at Vancouver to the US a few years ago Pat always gets tense.  But no problems c crossing since then and we’ve had no problems.  Some of these guys can be real bullies.  It’s an eye opening experience for Americans.  We have crossed borders 3 times this trip and will cross twice more while on the return trip on the sea.  The roadway is fantastic through here and when we are out of sight of the border it turns back.  But while there is heave etc, it never gets as bad as the Kluane-Border stretch of the Alaska Highway.  We enter the Tanana Watershed, rivers are starting to sound familiar.  The Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge has a nice visitor center.  But we don’t stop.  The Milepost guide says this is a huge area for hundreds of thousands of migratory birds, most fragile are statuesque Sandhill cranes and feisty Trumpeter Swans.  One hundred forty three nesting species and only 25 are permanent.  This land of thousands of ponds, many unnamed, is home to black and grizzly bear, lynx, caribou, moose, coyote, red fox, beaver, wolf.  The art and craft of the Athabaskan people who live in the Alaska Interior, are represented using these animals.  As well as their famous birch baskets.  We are driving on the edge of the Tetlin Indian Reservation.   Forest fires in these areas are very serious, burning thousands of acres at a time.  We learned that lightning strikes account for most.  Interior Alaska can be hit 6000 times daily.  Black spruce burn easily and are the most pervasive species.  Interesting survival technique, when the fire reaches the cones they explode their seeds and begin re-seeding immediately.  We see more experimental perma-frost tubes by the road.  Starting to see blooming blue lupine wildflowers and another species that is purple.  A roadside info panel is dedicated to mosquitoes.  Can’t come to Alaska and not talk about it.  Multiple species and some very large – all feeding on blood.  It says a moose can lose a pint a day from mosquitoes feeding.  Poor moose, mosquitoes, flies, no-see-ums, no wonder they’re cantankerous.  We are in taiga, Russian for little trees and grow close together.  It’s about 85 degrees and breezy.  We pass another musher truck.  We stop at Northway to look at Athabaskan art/craft.  Bought a cylindrical 8 inch high birch basket with moss will on the sides and birch peelings.  Made by a woman in the area.   Interior Alaska is ice box in the winter and gets extreme temps in the summer.  We stop to take pics of the Wrangells.  We can see the 4 main peaks which is a rarity especially in this much heat.  They are 14-16k dormant volcanoes, snow and glacier covered.  All except for Mt. Wrangell which is still active and spouts some steam from time to time.  We are seeing them from the north side and even from this distance because of their massive size they seem very close.  Our pictures cannot do them justice.  We are thinking these temperatures may be too hot for animals to be active.  We cross where the Tanana River headwaters begin, 5^th longest river in Alaska, it flows through Fairbanks further west.  We pass Rt 5 going north to Dawson City, Chicken and Eagle.  As we come further west we can begin to see the Alaska Range.  We take a metal trestle bridge over the Tok River, high level, (Tok Glacier) and it’s a short one thankfully.   We come into the town of Tok, there is a burn suspension on.  Last year we came through fires here and outside Fairbanks.  They are concerned again.  The visitor center rep tells us no rain and even the ground moss is crunchy.  If it lasts much longer there will be a ban on ATV’s because their hot exhaust can start a fire.  We caught up with an Ak convoy who left on the same day we did.  They are looking for fishing.  The vs. center says the temperature here was -83 degrees in 1981 and 96 degrees in 2004.  She says it is currently 120 degrees in the sun.  They have nice bike/walking paths in this area of straight even ground.  Tok is also the official place where RV’s wash off the Alaska highway dirt.  We are feeling the heat.  The RV motor housing is partly located in the cab.  The heat from is makes it stifling.  Because of the outside temperature the vents don’t help.  Can’t believe we have to turn on AC.  Not good for gas mileage.  We stop to get gas and pay the least we’ve paid since we were in the US.  A HOG is filling up his Harley motorcycle at the pumps.  Don’t know how to say this delicately but we didn’t realize that a rider rides with the fuel tank between the legs.  We are at a cross-roads, Ak route 2 goes to Delta Junction (official end of the

Ak Highway

) and Fairbanks.  We take the Tok Cut-off and go south.  We enter the Mentasta Mountains.  We really liked this area last year.  We are traveling a scenic byway.  Road conditions vary but not awful.  Can’t speed.  We climb to Mentasta Summit at 2500.  Sign says 80% of the world’s trumpeter swans nest in Ak.  We see swans, a moose feeding and 5 caribou crossing the road all in 15 minutes.  A record setting 7.9 earthquake hit in 2002 upheaved the roadways for 209 miles with 12 inch deep cracks in this area of the Interior along the Denali fault.  Lots of effect along the

Glen Highway

.  All in 90 seconds.  Mentasta Lake Village is unincorporated, Athabaskans living subsistence lifestyle.  We cross another divide that separates watershed to Yukon River (Bering Sea) and Copper River (Gulf of Alaska).  Snow patches.  Chuck spots a grizzly in the middle of a field we stop to watch him run toward a small stream.  He is about 100 yards away.  He stops and sizes up a Canadian gander across the stream that stands his ground with his mate on a nest behind him.  The griz doesn’t cross the river.  Instead his spots something else and we watch him dash off into the stream, water flying.  Then he goes behind some trees and we’re thinking there’s a Canadian goose down there that’s not so lucky.  The grizzlies we’ve seen have all been the brown ‘grizzled’ color.  But in Yellowstone they were silver tipped.  Very beautiful bears and unique to YNP.  We are seeing the Wrangell peaks pretty clearly, Sanford, Drum, Blackburn, and Wrangell.  They are so massive they are making their own weather.  The contrast between low hanging clouds, bright sky and ice/snow is low its hard to make good pics with a regular camera.  We’ll have to commit these views to memory.  Road continues to be fair, a lot of heave, still better than you know what.  We pass Ahtell Creek with current active mining claims for silver lead and gold.  A reminder that gold and silver are still being mined.  We are hit with a sudden blast of wind.  We believe this is the Wrangell weather making effect.  We come to Chistochina, nice roadside village with cute gift shop.  An historical lodge with a grass airstrip to bring in guests.  Nice bike paths follow the road.  We enter about 10 miles of road construction requiring a pilot car.  Even though it’s stone and dirt, it has been grated smooth and watered for dust control.  We pass an Aurora Borealis Research Center, maintained by Airforce and Army.  We begin to parallel the great Copper River with confluence of the large Gakona and Gukana Rivers.  Copper drains to the Gulf of Alaska.  This waterway is a salmon fishing Mecca.  Lots of fish wheels and dip netting etc.  Kings and sockeyes June-July.  We leave the Tok Cut-off road and turn south on the

Richardson Highway

.  Shortly we arrive at Glennallen, pop 450.   Lots of govt. type jobs, Ak trooper station and AT&T Alaskcom microwave towers, an accredited 4 year Bible College, the native owned Ahtna Corporation is headquartered here.  Home of KCAM area news station and Caribou Clatters.  Lots of all season sport.  Used to be a Ak Pipeline work site but that’s not mentioned anymore.  

Glen Highway

takes off from here going to Anchorage.  On down the Richardson and all 4 peaks of the Wrangells are mostly visible except for Mt Sanford that sits directly behind Drum.  The sign in Glennallen says Thompson Pass is open so we can go through.  An Alaskan State Trooper has stopped a speeder and giving him a ticket.  The Memorial Day Weekend has officially started.  We start passing the Alaska Pipeline above ground with various pumping stations.  We pass the Chitna, McCarthy, Kenny Lake turn-off.  Went as far as Chitna last year and on to the Copper River fishing area.  Lots of fishwheels and dipnetting going on.  The dipnetters are nuts.  Someone ties a rope around their waist and they wade out in the strong current to catch salmon.  Very dangerous and completely whacko.  Would rather buy the salmon.  The McCarthy road is rugged old rail bed and not good for RV’s and most other vehicles.  Someday we will make our way back there to the Kennecott Copper Mine (defunct) and the beautiful lodge that got a National Geo rating.  We start climbing into Thompson Pass at around 2700.  We have entered the Chugach Range with 12-13k peaks.  We are greeted by sunshine on the peaks and can’t describe the beauty and our pictures will not be enough.  This is a special memory day.  This area along with Valdez is called the Switzerland of the North.  Never been to Switzerland but if it’s this beautiful maybe the Alps should be called the Chugach Alps.  The road is fair and must watch our speed.  We are hitting wind the higher we go.  We are following the Tiekel River, there was a terrible flashflood through here several years ago, there is still evidence of its force.  It cleaned out the moose and beaver, hoping to see them active again.  The Pass has gotten a record 974.5 inches in one winter and broken other day and month records.  The warm current from the ocean enters the small Valdez Bay and it creates hundreds of inches of rain and snow for the area.   The sides of the jagged peaks are sheer and waterfalls are everywhere falling from great heights.  Many avalanches are still evident.  A porcupine waddles along the road.  We see glaciers but finally see the Worthington Glacier that is spectacular and can actually walk up to its face.  We pass campers on the pull off with snowmobiles and a snow tractor.  They have a big marathon in Valdez this weekend.  The competitors ski down the mountain to the pass, ride a bike to the valley floor and the bay’s edge, kayak across the bay and then run back into Valdez.  Whew!  We see fog creeping up over the mountain peaks and know that the weather is changing on the other side in Valdez.  An 8% descent straight down, no switchbacks.  Great road conditions.  Come to the valley floor and enter Keystone Canyon, very narrow.  The Lowe River is racing next to the road.  Sheer cliffs press in on both sides of the road.  Several high waterfalls.  Can’t describer or record in pics.  Has to be seen.  Then we are in the Valdez Valley, lush with growth, Fiddlehead Ferns and Lupine blooming.  It’s obvious there is water and warmth.  A bike path follows the road into town.  See an immature eagle right a way and salmon spawning viewing areas.  The Silver Salmon Derby takes place here.  Bears like it too!  We see an evacuation route sign and are reminded of earthquakes and tsunamis and run for the hills.  We go to our campground that we found in the past.  The weather is windy and cold.  A significant change from the interior.   It’s a small campground for adults right on the harbor.  Chuck takes the short walk into town for stretching his legs.  Pat curls up in the RV.    We have driven almost 500 miles over 13 hours.  Time would have been better except for bad road.  It’s been a long day but we have a 3 days layover in one of our favorite places. Nighty night.

Day 15 A Day of R&R, throwing rocks

Dear Diary, 

            We slept like logs but were up by 7AM.  Habits of the road.  We took our time as it was very cold last night but the little furnace in the RV kept us warm and we were rolled up in blankets.  We began the morning with a fry up American style.  Sausage links, scrambled eggs with cheese and Pancakes made with vanilla yogurt and sliced almonds and real maple syrup.  Yum!  We deserve it!  Get the campfire going again.  Wearing long underwear and many layers.  It’s cold and overcast.  We put on our Merrill hikers and go for a long hike along the lakeshore.  The shore has all sizes of rocks to stones to pebbles to coarse sand.  The glaciers have made it all.  Kluane is the largest lake in the Yukon so it’s huge.  It’s also frozen but we notice spots that are thawed near the shore so we take large rocks and begin to help break-up by knocking off the edges of ice flows.  It sounds strange but fun to do.  The floes near the shore are at least a foot thick so when they splinter it’s like shards of glass.  When they break off it’s like mini icebergs. And as the floes move and when they are broken they sound like plates breaking, wind chimes or snap, crackle, pop.  We spend a lot of time doing this and enjoy ourselves.  Of course, the whole time we are hiking and having fun with rocks we are watching around us and always looking over our shoulders for bears mostly. There is every kind of rock you can imagine.  The variety is amazing.  No two alike and each a different type.  The water is so clear that the stones look like artwork in the water. Just because we haven’t seen animal signs doesn’t mean they’re not here.  The day really starts to warm and the sun comes through.  What beautiful views.  We have to remove all the layers, it’s too much now.  The Kluane range forms a wall of peaks on one side, the Ruby Ridge peaks form a wall on the other side.  And the great St Elias Range stand tall on the south.  We take our camp chairs and snacks and sit on a ridge above the beach.  We watch as the larger more distant ice sheets begin to move.  The noise gets louder as the different ice sheets start to move against each other.  There are large ice shards punching up into the air from the pressure.  We watch a huge storm form over the St Elias and can hear thunder in the distance.  The storm moves across the lake and we watch the black clouds dumping rain over there.  We get a few drops on our side but not enough to take cover.  It is hard to describe the immensity of proportion of this land.  We’re just a speck and watching nature unfold.  While the few rain drops come down we play another game of Scrabble to pass the time.  We are able to keep the campfire all day.  Rain over, we take a hike through the park designated path.  They describe various aspects of the land and the native people who inhabited it.  The sign says this side of the lake gets very little rain but when it does they have terrible floods.  This sandy, stony soil cannot hold the water.  We finally see moose nuggets (droppings), we saw where they were eating but the sure sign are the nuggets.  We also notice all the low growing tiny plants that are seen in sub arctic and arctic areas.  And we see cotton grass which we believe is a tundra type plant.  And we see what we think are soapberries growing close to the ground looking like a cranberry.  They are not ripe but there are so many, no wonder the bears claim this area in summer.  There are a variety of birds but no water fowl in this area of the lake yet for obvious reasons.  But we saw a pair of swans and wood ducks yesterday in the thawed southern portion.  The campground has practically cleared out.  We see one of the Alaska convoy pull in.  They have just left Skagway and had a great time.  It’s four men sharing the RV.  They have the largest model offered.  It would be easier to have 4 drivers and share the costs 4 ways, but that’s a man thing and too much togetherness in Pat’s opinion.  They close down their camp very early.  We figure they had a very good time in Skagway last night.  It’s warm and pleasant again.  The noise from the lake keeps us alert.  So, we go down there for a few more rock throws and another look at the incredible views.  There are no ground squirrels here or any other active animal, not sure why.  We have our dinner and sit by the fire.  Pat has to make s’mores on the super hot coals of the campfire.  A few more campers have arrived but not as many as last night.  We are lucky to still have the whole cul-de-sac to ourselves and our little beach entrance.  Chuck is really tired and is going to bed early.  We go over the US border tomorrow heading for Valdez.  We believe it is pushing too hard to try to go all the way.   So looking for a spot between Tok cutoff and Glenallen.  We have cleaned up the camp and can leave by 7AM.  We have only battery and propane so will have to turn on the generator to make our coffee.  We’re far enough away from the other campers it should be okay.  It’s our one sticking point.  Fresh brewed coffee before hitting the road.  And we make sure we have enough water supply to make it!  The sun is behind the mountain but there will be some light most all night.  Everything has gotten very quiet.  The sun basically sets in the north west and rises in the north east, not much down time for the sun here.  We arrange curtains and such to block as much light as we can.  We’ve had no Internet access for a couple days and no cell phone access at all.  Keeping the blog in WORD so it can be transposed.  But it is written at the end of every day.   Time for sleep.  Miles: 0  Travel Time: 0  Busy day as always.  Nighty night.

Day 14 On the road again, the Alaska Highway

Dear Diary,

We had cable TV hook-up last night and watched some action program set in a town around Vancouver.  The leading man was handsome but the story line and acting were bad.  Vancouver is in hysteria with their win toward Stanley Cup.  We have heard of more tornadoes in the lower 48 with one perhaps touching down within 15 miles of our house.  We don’t have cell but have emailed Seth to go check out our house.  It has been so wet at home that grass cutting is delayed and professional baseball games cancelled.  We have followed this weather pattern across the nation and Canada.  We have moved so far north that we have almost never ending light.  And in the last day or so we seem to have entered an entirely different weather pattern.  At 1:30 this morning there was dawn type light in the northwest.  It’s not too bad yet as it gets somewhat dark.  The light will increase until solstice on June 21.  This is why you see campers with tin foil over their windows.  We’ve given up on Scrabble for the time being.  Chuck having a bad run of luck with the tiles.  A beautiful morning and clear.  The sun in the northeast sky sits above a low mountain and Wye Lake.  We are in the middle of this town that is really more a crossroads.  Texas, California, Arizona and Pennsylvania are in the campsites.  So, people actually like camping in the north this early in the season.  The mosquitoes are out in full force, last night there were several cruising the screen door, hovering or clinging, little nervy vampires. They are large and still not in their greatest number.  Thankfully we are fully screened, another necessity in the RV.  There is a 9 hole golf course here, not sure how much it gets used.  We take our morning coffee and walk the short distance to Wye Lake.  It’s warm and breezy, sun, no clouds.  We get some nice pics of the lake.  There are some noisy waterfowl.  Our beloved loons are not present.  I made a mistake on calling the Yukon River in this area a delta.  So not true, blaming it on fatigue and too many tour books.  The headwaters for the mighty Yukon are up the road.  The bird banding in this area must be being done at the many lakes in the area.  We leave the campground around 8AM after showers and breakfast.  We stop at the Sign Forest before leaving town.  This is an area of wooden pools where people from all over the world have put up a sign from their hometown or something that commemorates their visit.  It has gotten huge.  Took a lot of pics of it.  It was much smaller when we came through in ’84.  Thinking we still have the Hudson city sign that commemorated Brenna’s field hockey team as state champs.  We believe this would be an awesome place to hang it.  Must plan for the future.   Aside, it made us feel old when Brenna said, where have you been, you’ve been off the grid for days, I was worried.  Reversed roles?   It’s okay, she’s still in the Will but we vow to live long enough to spend it all.  haha   It was mentioned earlier that bison were left behind on the prairie, but as we travel north we are reminded they transplanted a bison herd into Delta Junction, AK, where they roam and make buffalo chips.  We are retracing our mileage and are now officially heading west on the Alaska Highway, Rt 1.  We re-cross the Laird River, a metal trestle and metal grate bridge.  The river is lined with sandbags here trying to hold off flooding from this swollen river (another one).  Besides the black spruce that grows naturally they have planted white pine, a pretty contrast.  Because land is basically glacial moraine there are rocks/stones everywhere.  All sizes.  We see ‘stone’ graffiti along the slanted sides of the road.  We saw this in Alaska last year and thought it was a great idea.  No spray paint still requires talent and patience to write messages in stone.  And eco friendly!  We pass one that says JUST MARRIED!   We can see the road winding for miles in front of us.  Road conditions are barely a step up from the Cassiar and sometimes are just like the Cassiar.  But this is an area of incredible beauty.  Wide valleys filled with little lakes, pine and spruce, low mountains and high snow covered peaks.  There is a vista of far away high peaks and we know that Mt Logan, Canada’s highest peak is out there at over 19k.  (McKinley is over 20k, highest in North America).  Pat flew over Logan one time and couldn’t get over its size and pyramidal shape.  And the area is so heavily glaciated that all could be seen were miles of ice rivers, many flowing into the water.   Logan is part of the St. Elias range that covers Alaska and Yukon (Wrangell – St Elias ranges flow together).  Very remote and difficult to get anywhere into the US and Canadian National Parks that meet.  If we could hop over the mountains to the west we would be at Yakutat, Alaska, located above the Inside Passage but on the Alaska Gulf.  We will be docking temporarily in Yakutat on our return ferry trip.  We will have traveled by RV up the eastern side of the coastal mountains and will go down the western side on the water.  At one point on the road we slip back into BC and over the Continental Divide once again.  At this point the water divides to Alaska sites, going north to the Beaufort Sea, Prudhoe Bay and south through the Yukon water shed to the Bering Sea coming off the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.  The local Yupik call is it the YK Delta. The Pacific salmon migrate up the Yukon River while the Beaufort Sea drainage does not.  Local info cites that the run of salmon has determined the lifelstyle and location of peoples through history.   We pass a dog musher with his dog truck and a sled on top.  It reads that he is from Kotzebue, Alaska, the map reminds us how far north that is, above the Seward Peninsula.  He can’t drive there so maybe he shipped his rig and dogs down the Yukon River to this area.  Dogs are trained off season with wheeled sleds.  We can see the Cassiar Mountains to the west of us and they are beautiful, just glad we’re seeing them from this road.   Despite the only fair road conditions this drive is very pretty.  And the sunshine doesn’t hurt!  Most snow is gone from this level, a rare patch.  Alas, the spruce beetle has done its worst in places.  It’s been a problem in Alaska and we’ve seen it throughout from South Dakota.  They have an interpretive center here to explain what has and is happening.  It looks like someone dropped a bomb.  Most of the lakes along the way are at least partially frozen.  We go through an area of forest fire and you can tell it jumped the road; can tell it’s a couple years old by some regrowth.  We weave out of our brief time in BC back into Yukon. There is major bridge construction at Morely River, it will be nice when done.  We are following a couple on a motorcycle from New Jersey.  They have three small hatches connected to the bike for storage.  It appears they are living in their leathers.  What a trip for them!  Of course, it means restaurants and hotel rooms.  But very tiring.  We can see the peaks of the St. Elias looming in the distance, they are biggies.  This area is semi-arid, even with snow and water running.  And they haven’t had rain for a very long time, everything is dry.  The birch trees are prettiest right now.  Bright spring green leaves, long slim white trunks with black markings.   The Wrangell-St. Elias mountains curl around into central Alaska in the Alaska Range.  So, really the spine of the Rockies continues in a way into Alaska.  New realization after studying the maps that the Continental Divide continues into very northern Yukon Territory and curls downward through Alaska in the Brooks Range ending on the Seward Peninsula at York.  We crossed the Divide for the last time on this trip west of Watson Lake, YT.  We’re such nerds, but this fascinates us.  We descend to Teslin Lake with a panoramic view.  We are able to take pictures of this beautiful large blue lake and the longest metal trestle/metal grate bridge on the

Ak Highway

.  The info panels speak of the Tlingit people and they have a heritage center here.  We’re unable to stop but have known of these people over our years living in Ak.  It appears there are designated groups called nations under the Tlingit ‘umbrella’ identity.  This may be similar to the native corporations that have formed in Alaska.  Anchorage has a nice native heritage center where all native peoples are represented.  Tlingit have the ceremonial wool flannel capes etc with hundreds of shell buttons and symbols of their clans.  They are also totem people but we haven’t seen any totems since south in BC.  We know there are lots on the Inside Passage.  The panels also talk about Nisutlin Delta on Teslin Lake, many varieties of birds migrate here.  We pass over the bridge and are reminded of how difficult it is to navigate.  The long length of metal grate causes the tires to swerve.  We have to go slow and are glad the traffic on the other side has waited.  A caribou is feeding by the roadside.  Apparently we aren’t in high enough latitude for tundra yet.  But we know we are in perma-frost.  Reason being is that the local caribou are identified as Woodland Caribou and are on the ‘concerned species’ list.  We have only known tundra caribou.  Some of the rigs are pulling double containers and we think that’s really pushing it.  No train through here that we know of.  The rivers are used for transport too.  We’re at about 60 degrees and full sun.  We cross the Teslin River over a high bridge, no metal grate thankfully.  We come to Jake’s Corner, there is access to Atlin and Atlin Lake (neat looking place but dicey road) and access to the

South Klondike Route

via Rt 8 the

Tagish Road

, leading into Rt 2 to Carcross.  At that point you can proceed further south to Skagway on the Inside Passage.  Once there, there is a ferry that takes an hour or so trip to Haines on the Lynn Canal.  And from there you can drive up to Haines Junction.  Skagway is very fun and commercial, around 1 million visitors a year, mostly on cruises.  Haines is more laid back.  We didn’t opt to do this trip this time, spending time in Yellowstone instead.  But would love to in future.  We come to Marsh Lake, it’s very beautiful and there are many cabins and homes lining the lake.  Takhini Hot Springs are in this area.  We pass a sign for Inn on the Lake.  Martha Steward stayed there and filmed one of her shows there and National Geographic voted it in the top 10 great places to stay in 2009.  On down is Marsh Lake Dam or Lewes Dam, we stop and walk near the dam, this is the headwaters of the Yukon River.  We are shocked by the low water level, in fact we can see where the water was higher recently by about 4 feet.  Knowing the flow of this river from other trips, we can’t believe it.  There is not that much snow pack left in the mountains.  Locals say they haven’t had rain in a long time.  Everything is very dry.  What a contrast with our trip up to now.  The Yukon is an awesome river that flows 2000 miles from here to the Bering Sea.  A vital source for transportation and salmon from the Pacific.  The book says it’s 4^th or 5^th largest in US.  We thought it rated higher.  Looking at the map the Yukon flows just south of the Continental Divide in Alaska.  We believe they are in for big fires in this area.  No wonder there are so many people out here, very soon down the road we come to Whitehorse, around 25k population and capital of Yukon Territory.  The city limits are 162 sq miles.  2/3 of the YT live here.  Lots of minerals, including gold, tourism and commercial hub.   The Yukon River flows around the downtown in a valley.  It’s 70 degrees and we’re too warm for the first time.  There is a lovely golf course as we come into town and a salmon viewing area.  Stop at the visitors center.  We passed the Klondike on the way in, the old riverboat steamer on display.  Have cute pictures with kids and 2 GM’s.  There is no way that steamer could make it on these waters now.  The river is more gravel bar than water.  They have a very nice walking path along the river and a little trolley that also follows the path, only along the river.  This is a very busy place and it’s very young and very progressive.   Yukon College here.  We head to Klondike Salmon and Ribs on the main drag.  Funky place with a tree growing out of the deck.  Inside it is an old log cabin with corrugated roof.  Lots of memorabilia and artifacts in the main dining room.  We choose to sit on the deck elevated above the sidewalk even if the traffic is busy, it’s sunny and 70 and wonderful!  It snowed a foot here last week, so everyone’s in tank tops and white flesh.  We have the best halibut we’ve had in a while and Chuck says the Yukon Brewery ale is quite good.  Their slogan is, Beer worth freezing for.  There is a large bronze sculpture of a lone miner, loaded with gear and pick axe standing with his faithful pack dog, also loaded with gear.  And this is what it’s all about, the Klondike Gold Rush.  All the license plates have a miner panning for gold.  We stop at a gift shop and see the Canadian mined diamonds.  Very beautiful and have the 4 C’s and comparable with any worldwide diamond.  And we see a 12 oz gold nugget about the size of a baseball that was found nearby.  We stop at the local quilt shop to see what patterns and fabrics are going.  Buy a couple kits.  Also stop at a bookstore.  Robert Service is everywhere, books and poems etc.  We really like his work that captures the wilderness and gold mining perfectly.  We decide to push through to Kluane Lake so we can stop and make a camp for a whole day.  The road is only slightly better than Cassiar.  Elk signs appear and we are surprised.  Elk are not in Alaska than we have ever known.  Then there is a sign that it is a managed area and we think they have introduced them, probably for sport.  All of a sudden 5 horses are walking free along the road, no humans or homes in sight.  If we hop over the mountains to the west and have a swim in the Gulf of Alaska at this point we would be in Cordova, Alaska.  We are in a joining up area of St Elias and Kluane Mountain Range.  Incredible views.  Alas, we can’t see Mt. Logan from here but Pat thinks she spots its peak briefly.  These mountains literally rise straight up from the valley floor.  Glaciers are on some.  We pass through Haines Junction, the town is a cross-road but surrounded by lush forest and high peaks.  Rt 2 takes off south here for Haines on the Lynn Canal, the South Klondike Loop.  Can catch the ferry there and to Skagway.  They have been doing road improvement in the Kluane Lake area.  It’s as beautiful as we remember.  The lake is huge and mostly frozen.  The level looks down.  But with all the deep ice it should fill when thawed.  We come to Sheep Mountain in full view in front of us and can see groups of white dots frolicking.  The mountain is now called Tachal Dhal which we like better.  As we move around the mountain we can see sheep clearly with lambs.  We decide to stay at Congdon Creek on the lake.  As we enter the campground it looks so isolated and there is a large sign that tells tent campers (bear tacos) to not camp here in July and August because bears come to eat soapberries and get aggressive.  We find there are campers here at least 12, so we’re not alone.  We find a spot in a cul de sac and are steps away from the lake.  Sunny and warm.  Set up camp, start a campfire.  So quiet.  Only birds.  Walk down to the lake.  Just small areas of thaw along the shore, lots of big stones.  The glacier filled part of the area 3-400 years ago.  It moved in a way that permanently changed the drainage of the lake forever.  Instead of moving to the Pacific, short distance, it now drains the long way through the Yukon.  Take lots of pics the mountain views are great.  The ground is so dry here everything crackles underfoot.  No standing water, a few patches of snow.  No real sign of moose which we find puzzling.  Wolf pack in the area, but no fresh sign of any animals here yet.  We just realize that advertising that water is available is all relative.  If we want water here (Ca Nat Park) then we have to boil it.  As if.  So we now have to ration our water for the next day and a half.  As we relax by the fire the temperature begins to drop.  The sun is fading behind the mountains and we are sitting next to a giant ice cube.  Stay awake as long as we can but sleep calls.  It’s 10:30PM and light enough to do yard work.   Miles:  423.  About 10 hours travel time.  Nighty night.