Whitehorse, Yukon to Alaska

The view heading into Haines Jct, YK

"Your vehicle assistance provider should arrive in 120 minutes”, said the text message from Good Sam Roadside Assistance. 

 It hadn't taken Bucky long to notice our soft rear tire, though not completely flat, it was no longer drivable. It was an outside rear tire being supported by its dual counterpart. He noticed it when dumping our black water at Hi-Country RV park in Whitehorse. We seldom stay in RV parks, preferring to spend the $50 charged per night in other ways, such as buying gas. However, the chest freezer in our motorhome shower, carrying the food of our home freezer and hopefully carrying salmon and caribou back to VT needed electricity to cool its contents. Knowing the AK Highway wouldn't provide many overnight opportunities between Whitehorse and Haines Junction and watching the temperature within the freezer rise, as indicated by an exterior thermometer, and also thinking a shower would feel nice, the decision to spend $50 for power, water and a place to dump seemed prudent. 

Our 2 hour wait for assistance stretched to 4 hours with some grumbling, much like the tension created in a taunt rubber band. It allowed time for Bucky to peel hard boiled eggs, mix these with pickle relish and make egg salad sandwiches using hot dog buns, a classic which we gobbled down. While waiting, Pika and I investigated the dusty 4 wheeler paths leading from the RV park to town. Tall spruce trees rose high above us casting a dark shadow over trails lined with blue lupine and bright purple vetch, accompanied by the sweet scent of wild pink roses. What nature had so strategically placed would be hard for an expert gardener to duplicate.

AJ busily working 

Once back on the road, we thought how fortunate we were to have our flat tire occur in town. We’ve now used Good Sam’s services twice with “good” success. However, this time when AJ Automotive arrived, AJ’s jacks were not adequate to lift a vehicle of our size, despite Good Sam giving AJ the weight and size of our motorhome. Finally, on Bucky’s suggestion, the RV was backed up onto thick wood planks we carry onboard for leveling. By positioning the dual rear wheels with the good inside tire on the plank and the damaged outside tire off the plank, the flat was easily removed. We had seen this technique used in Zion NP after hitting some sharp rock jutting from one of Zion’s magnificent red rock cliffs. While negotiating one of Zion’s narrow and curvy roads, the motorhome’s rear tire clipped a rock protrusion resulting in a flat. Good Sam sent a technician equipped with a heavy plastic wedge that Bucky drove the vehicle up on. It worked slick!

Beautiful Kluane Lake 

We carried our flat tire with us to Destruction Bay, appropriately named if describing the condition of the highway. There, at Chuck’s Tire and Welding, our tire was quickly repaired for $25!

Bucky supervising!

Griz

 Our day which began in haphazard fashion, ended magnificently!

Dawson Creek Mile 0 to Whitehorse, YK mile 887

 

It’s always exciting to begin our drive on the Alaskan Highway. For some the AK Highway is a great adventure, for others it’s a long drive. We are in the first group. We made our first trip in 2008, wide eyed and amazed by the wildlife and scenery. That summer we made u-turns after sighting animals, we retraced our steps and marveled at all we saw making little progress. Now, on round trip 15, we easily drive past herds of bison, slow for caribou, but still brake for bear and sheep.

We almost always see sheep in the same place and usually in the road. Here, the road winds through shear rock wall and steep hills of rock ledge and scrub trees. When not seen in the road, they are difficult to locate. They stand and lay high up, perfectly camouflaged in the rocks. I’ve photographed them positioned this way and they’re so perfectly camouflaged that it’s almost impossible to distinguish the animal from its surroundings. On this day, they greeted us in the road! The lambs are adorable. We watched as one tried to follow its mother who had jumped the guardrail. He looked at the hurdle, turned back, eyed it again and finally lept over with unanticipated ease.

Bears were in abundance, all Black bears, all black in color and all solitary. I’ve struggled over the years getting quality photos of these bears. We spot them as black dots in the distance and we’re now fairly good at determining if the dot is a bear or a culvert. From a distance, culverts also appear as black dots. Once properly identified, I try to catch the bear with its head out of the grass. Of the 20-30 photos of bears taken today, only 5 captured the bear with head up. The desire to munch green grass and young vegetation after a long winter is the bear’s sole focus, moving along, constantly biting and chewing, paying no attention to cars like ours stopping.

The turquoise water of Muncho Lake makes it impossible not to photograph. Muncho means big lake and its one of the largest in the Canadian Rockies. We were fortunate to find a site in the second park campground that we tried. It’s first come first served and since we put in long days of driving, the sites are usually taken. This is the first trip that we’ve been able to stay in one of the two provincial campgrounds.

I had said, “I’m not photographing anymore bison, but when the red coated calves appeared, I couldn’t resist. This particular herd was enjoying fresh water coming from a nearby culvert. One sweet calf lay on the edge of the road only feet away. Some calves nursed from their mothers. All looked very healthy.

Laird River Hot Springs Provincial Park is a favorite stop! 

The quarter mile walk along boardwalk through wildflowers and accompanied by the songs of local birds is a treat before the soak. Floating among the surrounding ferns and flowering shrubs and paddling through cool freshwater rivulets, makes these hot springs unique. Benches line one side of the pool, but the remaining sides are all natural. 

A brief stop for gas and cheese bread sticks in Watson Lake gave Pika a chance to also soak. She loves to swim so during our walk around Wye Lake she didn’t hesitate to jump in.

Tonight we’re in Whitehorse, YK. We’re spending the night in a campground where sites are tight and our neighbors close. We were late arriving so we feel fortunate to have a site. It’s 11:00 and the sun hasn’t set. Rarely do I stay up past 9:00 at home, but the midnight sun changes my internal clock and here I am typing away. Whitehorse has the Yukon River running through it and the city incorporates the history associated with the river. Whitehorse has flourished since the Goldrush as a center of transportation, lodging and services. It’s definitely a city I’d like to explore more thoroughly, but we’re always quick to pass through.

Tomorrow we should reach the Alaskan border and the town of Tok. We’ll still be a day and a half from our cabin in Talkeetna, but after 9 days of driving, the end is now in sight!

Chinook, Wild horse, Elk Water, Medicine Hat……

Napping has become a daily occurrence.

A customary overnight stop at the home of our friends, Tim and Judy, in Chinook, MT always provides a welcomed break, warm conversation and much needed showers. Our dog, Pika, joined in our pleasure, running off leash through the surrounding fields of tall grass. Our only regret was missing the extended family including six lovely grandchildren. So often in the past we’ve landed in Chinook on a birthday and have shared in cake and ice cream. This time was no different as it was Judy’s birthday. Unfortunately, she’d gone camping with friends and took her party and cake with her!

Rather than taking our usual route to Sweetgrass, Montana and crossing here into Alberta. We crossed in Wild Horse, MT.

Fields of canola brighten a day made hazy by wildfire smoke.

This church sits in a farmyard, begging the question, which came first?

Signpost at Wild Horse border crossing.

Cowboy silhouettes, not Big Foot, crest the hill as we head to the border

Miles of grassland dotted with cattle abruptly morphed into green hills. Towns with the names Manyberries, Elkwater and Medicine Hat conjured images of a time when native people inhabited this land. 

The suburbs of Calgary seem to grow larger each year. Planned communities in which houses are placed within yards of one another would make it essential to “love thy neighbor “.

The oil rich land from Edmonton to Grand Prairie competes with farmland. Oversized farm equipment being towed down the highway, is passed by heavy oil tankers. We hold steady in our lane, moving along with less urgency.

Tomorrow we’ll start our journey on the Alaska Highway beginning at mile 0 in Dawson Creek, BC and getting off in Tok, AK, 1257 miles. 

AK 2023

As I hefted the final tote overhead in the RV, it fit how I had envisioned, like a colorful yet awkwardly shaped jigsaw piece. It’s become easier, after more than a decade of summer repetition, to pack our motorhome and ready the house for renters. However, it’s become increasingly more difficult to leave Vermont and our children and grandchildren behind. Perhaps it’s because as I age, so do they! Our grandchildren are no longer babies and toddlers, but children and young adults with whom I now share conversations and life experiences. Most of our six grandchildren weren’t born when we began traveling to AK and now the eldest has graduated from high school! Heading off leaving infants and toddlers behind was much easier. I’ve now spent years bonding with these dynamic youngsters. We share so much time together during the year that when a small voice asked, “why do you have to go?”, it left me wondering. I miss summer birthdays, family bbqs, pond swims and seeing youthful exuberance unfold during summer vacation. 

It’s a 4800 mile drive through the US and much of Canada to reach our cabin in AK. Averaging 450-500 miles a day, it will take us ten days with very limited stops….almost three weeks of our summer devoted to “the drive” that started the summer of 2008.

Tonight, with our motorhome nestled between a large box truck and tractor trailer, I crawled into bed and quickly fell asleep to the rumble of diesel engines. Our dog positioned herself on the bed and I welcomed the familiar pressure of her warm back against my thigh. Our first day of travel was relatively short, ending near Utica, NY, but as in years past, we celebrated the beginning.

Buffalo, Cleveland, Toledo, and now, 540 miles later we’re parked beside an island of grass in the Walmart parking lot of Angola, Indiana. The dog has quickly remembered the requirement to sit and wait until I navigate the RV steps and invite her to leave for her long awaited walk. I’m proud of her for remembering these life saving tasks that aren’t necessary in VT. I wonder if the woodchuck she sniffed out in the underbrush a year ago still lives here. By her twitching tail I assume it is.

Parking lot walks, strip mall store fronts and abutting neighborhoods can look familiar but in turn can be indistinguishable after repeated stays at the same Walmarts. I often ask my husband, Bucky, “does this look familiar to you?” I have a book, the Walmart Atlas, which helps us locate stores along our route. Then, I call to see if overnight stays are allowed. Many stores have changed their policy of welcoming travelers. I write in the “atlas” the date of our stay and sometimes a comment…..nice!, train whistles or crowded. 

Chicago, Wisconsin Dell, Minneapolis, Fargo, Devils Lake, ND…..

The smoke of the wildfires burning in Canada dulled the usually green hills of Wisconsin. Red barns appeared pink in the haze and the sun had an eerie red glow. My throat scratched from breathing smoke.

 

The highway can present some interesting sights. Such was the case when this bus passed. It’s been a while for these boys.

Tomorrow it’s Montana, about half way to AK.