Alaska Highway

4/28/22

After many miles and hours in the car, infinite beautiful sights, and a few good windshield cracks, we finally crossed into Alaska!


The section of highway between Destruction Bay and Tok, AK was by far the bumpiest part of the entire drive. I mean huge frost heaves, sending the truck bouncing this was and that. We had to drive pretty slow, and there is not much along this section of the drive except for trees and pretty views. But, we finally made it to the boarder. Crossing back into the U.S. was easy and took no time at all. We travelled through Tok, and on to Delta Junction, where we reached the end of the Alaska Highway!


In Delta Junction we turned onto the Richardson highway and drove about 30 minutes south. We had a great camp spot with pretty spectacular views. We read our books in the sun, and enjoyed some time NOT driving!

4/27/22

Another long day of driving. We drove through Rancheria, Swift River, Teslin, and Marsh Lake, to Whitehorse. Whitehorse is a big town by Yukon standards. It's actually the capital of the Yukon, and the largest city in the territory. Whitehorse played a major role in the Klondike Gold Rush in 1898; it was a supply center for prospectors and stampeders heading north to Dawson City. We made a quick stop here to grocery shop, and we visited the S.S. Klondike National Historic Site. The S.S. Klondike is a sternwheeler ship that ran freight back and forth between Dawson City and Whitehorse along the Yukon River in the 1900s. There were actually two S.S. Klondikes. The first one ran from 1929-1936, and then ran aground in June of 1936. The second Klondike (Klondike II), almost an exact replica of the first, was built from salvaged parts of the Klondike I, and ran from 1937-1950. 

After stopping in Whitehorse we continued through Ibex Valley and Haines Junction. Shortly after passing through Haines Junction we reached Kluane Lake. There are many pull offs along this section of the Highway that are great for camping. We drove along the lake, enjoying beautiful scenery, until we reached Destruction Bay, where we camped for the night.


In the 1940s, there was a highway construction and maintenance camp in the bay. When a severe windstorm destroyed many of the buildings, Destruction Bay became the name of this wild, remote place. This small town of about 40 people lies in the foothills of Kluane National Park, which contains the highest mountain in Canada. 

Kluane Lake as seen from the southern edge

Scenery along the marshy crossing of Kluane Lake

Camp spot in Destruction Bay

Scenery along the marshy crossing of Kluane Lake


4/26/22

Highlights of the day were:


I guess you could say it was an eventful day. We started the morning driving through a snow storm. We came upon a section of the road that was not paved. Luckily this section was short, but it was also very muddy and snowy. We felt lucky to have four wheel drive!

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After making it through the mud we continued driving, passing through Toad River and Muncho Lake, until we reached Liard Hot Springs. These hot springs are semi-developed. A dam has been built to form a hot pool, and there is a deck and changing rooms as well. Since it's April, there were very few people there. We enjoyed a nice hike across the boardwalks, through the bog to get to the hot spring. Soaking in the hot springs was amazing! You can choose the perfect water temperature by moving closer to the hot spring source, or further away. The forest surrounding the pool is gorgeous, and we decided to definitely stop on our way home as well!

If you ever drive the Alaska Highway, make sure to look for Bison! In the area around Liard, there are herds of bison all around. When I read about this in the Milepost, I was surprised - I didn't realize there were bison this far north. But, after we left Liard we saw many of them.

During the Ice Ages, a type of bison called Steppe Bison crossed the Bering land bridge from Asia to North America. These bison were larger than modern day bison, and had much longer horns. As they migrated across North America, they evolved into two subspecies: Wood Bison and Plains Bison. Eventually, the giant longhorn Steppe Bison became extinct. The Wood Bison adapted and thrived further north, while the Plains Bison thrived further south, forming the herds seen on the American Great Plains. In 1995, a herd of forty nine Wood Bison were relocated to the Liard River region of the Alaska Highway. The grass along the shoulder of the road are a tasty snack for them, so make sure to obey the "Beware, Bison on road" signs!


After some bison observation, we continued driving through Coal River to Watson Lake. After getting another rock to the windshield (luckily this one didn't leave as large a crack as the last rock), we arrived in Watson Lake. We visited the Sign Post Forest which, like many of the other quirky tourist stops on the AK Highway, was very unique. We spent the night at the Downtown RV Park, where we were able to do some laundry and take a shower. 

4/25/22

We spent the rather uneventful day driving. The major milestone of the day was reaching Dawson Creek, which is mile zero of the Alaska Highway. Now we begin the really remote part of the journey!