Tok, Alaska to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory

A bumper sticker reads: “Was the guy who built this road coming from hell or going to it?”

We are passing through an area where winter temperatures can reach -72 and temperatures stay below freezing about 165 days of the year. This road has been under re-construction since it was built in 1942. This particular stretch presents some unique challenges. According to an informational board: “ …much of the soil is of glacial origin and unsuitable for road embankments. Anything that causes the permafrost to melt will cause the ice-rich soil to liquefy, and liquid soil has little strength and will settle then subside. When it refreezes it expands or heaves. This process wreaks havoc on the road surface by creating undulations and cracking.”  May I politely say that this is an understatement of great proportion? We bounce and heave for 200 miles. We catch air on some of these bumps, and others raise you up and slam you down like a pile driver.

When we stop at the Yukon government Visitor Centre we mention the road conditions to the ranger there and she tells us the road ahead is worse. We stay awhile.

They have a map of the world and everyone who stops puts a pin into their home city. Eastern Washington is pretty full already, but we manage to squeak in a red-topped pin. There’s also a variety of molds of animal paws and some soft sand to make imprints. We test a few.

Even with the rough ride, there are positives.

The Kluane Range parallels the highway. Every crisp peak and snow field is accentuated by the blue sky background. Their knobby backbones rub up against the heavens.

There’s a view around every bend and curve. Chain after chain of small lakes and over-sized ponds and then, the 154 square mile Kluane Lake, the longest in Yukon Territory. It’s smooth as a mirror today and reflecting back images of sky, cloud and mountain.

We come around a curve and drive right into a painting, the last piece of Kluane Lake and the Ruby Range, ready to hang above the couch.

This is a migratory bird route. Hundreds of thousands of birds from as far away as South America return here each spring to nest and raise their young. Trumpeter swans are among them. We see them in secluded ponds. They are great big birds.

We leave Alaska at the Beaver Creek border crossing. This is Canada’s most westerly community. We turn our watches back to Pacific Time and re-enter the land of the Loonie and the Twonie.

Our Lady of the Way Church in Haines Junction was created by a resourceful priest in 1943 from a Quonset hut left behind by the American Army after they’d completed the Alaska Highway. He fashioned a one of a kind place of worship with a name we find especially appropriate today.

As we rock and roll on this crazy road we check from time to time to see if the trailer is still behind us. It never fails to be there..

We hear about a couple whose microwave has fallen out of their fifth wheel because of the road. When we check our trailer at the end of the day we find 3 ripe tomatoes have fallen out of the cupboard and splattered onto the floor and every hanger in our tiny closet has fallen off the rod.

Giddy up!

Wildlife count: 4 trumpeter swans, 1 eagle

Airstreams: 1

Miles: 387

Gratitudes: PKB: the guy driving this rig JMB: the girl with me

Gin Score: J: 2340 P: 2415

Our Lady of the Way