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Published: September 5th 2013
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Leaving Valdez Day 35 - Tuesday August 20 Valdez to Tok 258 miles
It was still rainy and foggy the day we left Valdez and headed to Tok. We had been to the same RV park when we had the group RV wash. After a long drive we had dinner and an ice-cream social with the log briefing and off to bed.
Day 36 - Wednesday August 21 Tok to Kluane (Clu on ee) Lake/Destruction Bay 227 Miles
Rain had previously washed out all the summer road work that had been done on this portion of the Alaskan Hwy and we were back to horrendous frost heaves and wash board roads. Our wagon master named it Bottom of the World Highway because it was just as bad as the Top of the World Highway. Just after the border crossing into Canada the heaves were so bad an 18 wheeler came up next to us and pointed us over to the side of the road. Two truckers stopped with us, Pat's bike had come loose from the rack and was dragging on the road. He lost his gears and it tore off the gripper and ground down some of his handle.
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Fall is in the air in Tok. The Aspens are already turning They helped us tie it on better with some baling wire they were so helpful, no telling how long we would have drug the bike, we can't see it on the rear camera. We stopped again later to recheck it and one of our group stopped too and gave us some long zip ties and we secured it some more. It is so great to be traveling in a group and look out for each other.
We pulled into Destruction Bay really worn out and checked in with the others to see if there was any more damage. The worst one was someone had a 4 wheeler on a carrier mounted on his RV between the RV and his car. The bumps were so bad it bent and luckily there was a welder in town who could fix it that afternoon before we left the next day.
The name Destruction Bay was given to the area when the road was built in 1942, a huge wind had blown through and destroyed the army camp. Loren, the owner of the RV park treated us to a wonderful dinner and entertainment. He had a lovely First Nations woman Diyet and
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The Canadian Border her husband sing for us. She told her story and the story of her people in song, surprisingly stories we can all identify with. It was a great evening.
Day 37 - Thursday August 22 Kluane Lake to Whitehorse 168 Miles
We woke up to a beautiful sunrise and an equally beautiful ride to Whitehorse a place we had been before. The roads were much better and we got in early afternoon. We thought we would wait until getting to the United States to get Pat's bike fixed especially because we were on such quick one nighters. Jim had done some checking on bike shops in Whitehorse and sure enough there was one and they were able to fix the bike in an hour. The rest of the day was spent running errands and washing the car. We did stop by the eagle nest and one of the babies was sitting on the edge with his back to us. He was so big you wouldn't believe he is a baby, but his brown head that will remain with him for two years and his scruffy feathers were a dead give away.
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Pat
non-member comment
paradise
does come with a cost. sounds like you are headed out of the challenging opportunities for greener pastures! when we went to Colorado, we had some tucker honking and pointing at us. Sure enough, one of our bikes had come loose and was dragging on the road! Hopefully your trip south will be less eventful. looking forward to catching up when you get back.