Day 11 - Haines Junction, YT to Tok, AK

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Yesterday I went from Alaska to Canada (Yukon Territory); today I went from Canada back to Alaska. My 24 hours in Yukon Territory was marked by an almost constant drizzle; not enough to hinder views very much, but just wet enough that I had to keep the top up on the Miata.

This morning started out dry, BUT I had to revise my goal of leaving the Miata top down at all times unless it was raining. Even though it was not raining when I started out this morning, it was 37 degrees and cloudy; a bit too numbing for me so early in the morning, so I left the top up and turned on the heater. After about an hour on the road and a stop for breakfast, it had “warmed” up to about 43 outside and I decided to flip the top down. That worked OK for about 15 minutes, but then it started raining again. The top went up again and stayed up for the rest of the day. One “benefit” of having two days of rain is that the Miata is surprisingly clean now. I’m not sure how the drizzle managed to remove those thousands of bugs, but it did.

I forgot to mention yesterday that shortly after I crossed into Yukon Territory I met the Alaska Highway for the first time (near Whitehorse) and hopped on. Today I was on the Alaska Highway all day. In doing my research for this trip I learned that the highway (built in 1942 at the start of WWII) was engineered to use whatever route was the cheapest and fastest to build. There was no regard, of course, for planning a road with great views. As a result, the Alaska Highway is actually one of the LEAST scenic highways in Canada or Alaska, so I’ve tried to chart a course that keeps me off of the highway as much as possible (although there are times, like today, when there is no alternative).

Choosing to travel in late summer (it’s more like early fall up here) was a good idea. Traffic has been VERY light. Most of the time I’ll travel for 15 minutes or more before seeing an oncoming vehicle, and I only have to pass another vehicle maybe once or twice a day. I’ve read that the Alaska Highway moves VERY slowly in mid-summer with long lines of motorhomes and assorted tourist vehicles. I’m very happy having the road to myself!

My last 100 miles in Yukon Territory, just before crossing into Alaska, was on a stretch of highway that is constantly plagued with “permafrost”. In this area (and more commonly to the north) if you dig down a few feet you will hit permanently frozen ground. The top few feet are constantly freezing and thawing with temperature changes and this causes the ground to buckle and heave, which means that it’s impossible to build a highway that remains flat and stable. They are constantly repairing this stretch of road and it undulates almost continuously like a mini roller coaster (but not as much fun!). I was glad to get off of that section of the Alaska Highway.

Note that the heaving ground above the permafrost also causes the trees to lean at strange angles (see photo). They’re sometimes referred to as the “drunken forest”.

Fall comes early up here and the foliage is already very colorful. I suspect that my next two weeks up here will only get better in that regard. I overheard some locals saying that we’re in for an early winter this year. I only hope that means late-September and not mid-September (while I’m here).

Stopped for gas this afternoon (I was not wearing my cap, which is an important fact to this story). A guy comes up to me and says, “Does TOPFREE on your license plate refer to your car or the fact that you’re going bald?”. Another smartass!

Yesterday I passed the 2000 mile mark on my trip (actual driving distance) and today I finished with about 2300 miles. If you add the 480 miles on the ferry, I’ve covered 2800 miles at this point.

I’ve noticed in Canada that most large trucks (like 18-wheelers and big construction trucks) have two flashing strobe lights mounted high above the cab, one blue (on one side) and one yellow (on the other side). You can see these trucks coming from miles away (if the road is straight).

I think I know what they mean when they say “sly as a fox”. As I was driving the Alaska Highway today I saw an animal dart out onto the highway and stop right in the middle of the road. He sat down and watched me approach as I slowed down and pulled to the side of the road about 15 feet away from him. He immediately came over to the car and I suspect that this was part of his regular “ambush” routine for stopping tourists and hoping for a handout (which I didn’t give him because you’re not supposed to). Anyway, we stared at each other for a long time and I took a few pictures. As I was pulling away, I looked in my rear-view mirror and saw that he was ambushing another driver.

I arrived at my Bed and Breakfast destination in Tok, AK and found that the owners weren’t home. They had taped my room key to their front door and a note said to come in the house, move into my room and make myself at home. The note said to help myself to any beverages in their fridge and any snack foods that were on the counter. I found a plate of homemade chocolate chip cookies and didn’t waste any time. They also have a hot tub which I plan on using this evening. The owners are incredibly trusting and I’m glad that their system seems to be working for them up here (it certainly wouldn’t work in most parts of the country).

A couple of stories that I forgot to tell from earlier in the trip:

While waiting to board the ferry in Prince Rupert, I noticed an SUV in line with Alaska plates that said “AKCOUG”. There were three 50-ish ladies standing by the vehicle. When I looked closer I saw a license plate frame from Washington State University, so that confirmed that the owner of the vehicle was probably a WSU (Cougar) grad. I approached the ladies and asked who was the Cougar (no, not THAT kind of cougar). All three ladies simultaneously responded, “We all are.” It turns out that the owner of the vehicle has lived in Alaska for more than 30 years (her husband works for Exxon). The other two ladies were longtime friends from college and all three of them were having a vacation together. I kept bumping into them on the ferry and would always say “Go Cougs” (and they seemed to like that).

When I got off the ferry in Skagway, I was sitting in the Miata on a side street and talking to Sereda on the phone. While I was on the phone, a group of about five ladies (40-ish) were looking at the Miata and one of them pointed to the license plate. When I got off the phone, one of the ladies asked me what part of Washington I was from. I asked her if she knew where Vancouver was and she laughed and said that she was from Vancouver also (Orchards area). It turns out that all five ladies are longtime school chums, now scattered in different cities all over the state. Only the one lady was from Vancouver and I suspect that they all went to school in some other town (forgot to ask).

Hope I’m not getting too chatty. At the end of the day it’s fun to “share” my stories because I don’t have a traveling companion to share with.

Tomorrow I’m heading for Palmer, AK which is outside of Anchorage. I’ll be staying at a B&B there for five days and doing day trips from my home base there.

Later!

Jack

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Comments

[carole]

fox
Loved the fox story. We have a local one that strolls up and down the road barking at dusk. You'll find him peering into the house thru the storm door. Don't know if he's nosy or lonesome. Love your stories Jack and descriptions. I'm taking you to the beach with me!! Love Carole