Leaving Alaska

Our summer adventures in Alaska are drawing to a close. If you look at our camp site coordinates on the right of this page you will see we are already out of Alaska. I fell behind on the blog since we haven't had good Internet connections on our return trip.

From Valdez we traveled to Tok, Alaska where we stayed for two nights. Bob and I did some geocaching--finally got our 5000th find! Larry and Connie did their computer work so they would be up-to-date when they crossed the border. They were also waiting for mail. Their mail arrived on Monday morning and we took off soon after that. We were hoping the drive on Alaska Highway was going to be better than our ride in on Taylor Highway. The leaves on the trees near the highway were starting to change color.

 It started off pretty good. Bob and I even stopped at a rest area and found cache number 5001! Once we crossed the border, Bob and I stopped to get the 'Welcome to Alaska'........

 .... and 'Welcome to Yukon' signs.

 There was even a bench so you could sit in both the USA and Canada at the same time. The customs offices are 15 miles apart, but this is on the actual border.

 Once we got beyond Beaver Creek, Yukon, the road deteriorated. In fact, it was just gravel all the way to Destruction Bay, Alaska! Not only was it bumpy, but it was dusty. The amount of traffic was horrendous as there were several RV caravan trips exiting Alaska at the same time we were. The number of people passing in no passing zones was astounding. One RV passed us on the left when we had our signal on to turn into a rest area on the left! This picture was of the road where it had been wet down to prevent dust. Not long after this, we hit the section of the road that was pure dust! You could barely see the vehicle in front of you.

 Once we cleared Destruction Bay and the road was paved, Bob and I pulled off at Kluane Lake Rest Area. We had a beautiful view and were glad to stop for the night.

 It was hard to choose which window to look out for the view. The lake was to the east and the mountains were to the right. The colors were amazing.

 The next morning we headed toward Haines Junction where we would stop to wait for Larry and Connie. They found a place before Destruction Bay to pull over for the night. At first it looked like there was snow along the highway, but it was cotton plant in full bloom.

 We met Connie and Larry at a rest area beyond Haines Junction and we all decided to keep going for the day. We knew we were going to turn off Alaska Highway to go south on Cassiar Highway.  Jade City was our choice for the next night on the road. Jade City had free Internet, but where we were parked, we couldn't get a good signal. Jade City is home to another Discovery Channel reality show.  Someone was out near the road flying a drone to film the highway and the front of the store. The Cassiar Mountains are the source of most of the jade in Canada.