drivetofive

Odometer:  168,459

Day Distance & Time:  695 Miles;

Overall Trip Distance & Time:  4,761 Miles;  78 hours 31 minutes

No big deal – just a little grizzly bear crossing the road in Haines Junction, Yukon Territory!

The southbound trek has begun!  And we’re hoping that some of that Alaska mud caked to our cars still remains when we make it back to the Lower 48.  Call it a souvenir.  Today was a back-track day – the only one we’ll be having, since tomorrow morning we head south from Watson Lake on the Cassiar Highway – Highway 37 – through British Columbia.

After fueling up at Chevron in Fairbanks, Jason and I made our way to the Canadian border under bright blue northern skies this morning.  The Customs representative was a little puzzled when he learned that we were traveling together, yet in separate cars.  It’s something difficult to justify – even to ourselves – but eventually we were sent on our way in Beaver Creek and on down the Alaska Highway in the Yukon, retracing our steps from a few days prior.

Destruction Bay is aptly named – the roads in that stretch of the highway are among the worst we’ve experienced.  We had to wait twice – for 15 minutes each time – for a pilot car to guide us through some very long (and dusty) stretches.  Now that the 3-day holiday weekend is in full force, the RV traffic is starting to ramp up and most of the vehicles we saw coming northbound were touristy looking.

I made a point to stop in Kluane National Park and Reserve to take a picture at an old log cabin that my dad & I visited in 2006.  Sometime in the last decade, the original highway through that area has been bypassed by a newer version.  The log cabin was visible from the new highway but I found an access road to the old stretch of road and went to the cabin once more.  The padlock on the front door had already been busted free so I let myself inside and wandered around the two rooms.  It was still fully furnished, though in pretty sorry shape.

The cabin in 2006:

With dad at the cabin:

The cabin today:

Inside:

We dined at the Kluane Park Inn in Haines Junction.  We were the only patrons.  The sight outside the windows was breathtaking.  Freshly-snowed-upon peaks surrounded us.  The menu was surprisingly large and also had a surprisingly Asian flair.  I didn’t want to risk anything too crazy so I went with a cold cut turkey sandwich and a Diet Coke.  It ended up being delicious!

By this time we’d decided we wanted to press on to Teslin again and stay in the log cabins we stayed in on the northbound leg, so I called ahead.  I actually recognized the woman’s voice who answered.  “Is this Jessica?” I asked.  Sure enough, it was her, and she remembered me!  The people in this region are so dang friendly.  Jason and I hauled some butt to get on through Whitehorse and to our final destination for the day, which took us about 3 hours.  It’s of course still very light outside at 11:00 p.m.

Jason has been dutifully blogging about his trip, too.  Check out his version of the story at any time!  Here’s his blog link.

Fueling up at Chevron in Fairbanks

The Three Bears Outpost in Tok, Alaska. One stop shop for ammo & sporting goods!

Three Bears Outpost from outside

View from a rest area

More amazing views

Fitting song for the roller coaster frost heaves after entering the Yukon.

Stove inside that cabin I visited

Bedroom in the cabin

Even an oven mitt still hanging up!

View of the old road that goes past the cabin, which has since been bypassed

Peaks in Kluane National Park.  Just can’t get enough of these.

Here’s how my car’s back-up camera looks when it’s covered in mud.

Peaks in Haines Junction, to show Carlos they were just under clouds in my previous picture.

Passing through Whitehorse

Arrival tonight in Teslin for the night, fueling up.

Catch ya later!  Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

This entry was posted on May 28, 2016 at 10:53 pm and is filed under Alaska, ILX, Road Trip. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.