And we are now officially on the way to Alaska!  We're on the Alaska Highway!  I know, I know.  We've been on the way to Alaska since April 18th.  But, not really.  We've been dinging around in the US and Canada seeing things of interest.  They were only 'time fillers' until the pull of Alaska got real strong.  Its so strong now that we can hardly wait until we see the border!

Dawson Creek, BC -  Fort Nelson, BC (280 miles)

        Climb, climb, climb.  Boring, boring, boring.  Sure, we saw a black bear and a moose but this stretch of the Alaska Highway is nothing to write home about.  Oops, I just did!

        In 1985, Jerri, Shannon and I first drove north on the Alaska Highway.  In 1986, I made a round trip from Fairbanks to Ft. Lewis, WA on the Alaska and Cassiers Highways; in 1987 I made another round trip using just the Alaska Highway.  Then, in 1988, Jerri, Shannon and I made a trip south on the Alaska Highway, Shannon - at 16 - driving her Karmann Ghia all by herself.  Since then, the Canadian government has worked at straightening the curves and flattening the hills.  They've done a good job with straightening the curves, so good a job that one is rarely on the old highway we used back then.  In one 41 mile stretch near the Prophet River, they eliminated 132 curves, and in another they rerouted the highway around Trutch Mountain eliminating some great views of the northern Rockies!  And at another, the Provincial Park that was right on the highway is not 7 miles off it on an access road.

        They've done a passable job of flattening the highway in the section we traveled today though there's still a 10% grade going down to the Peace River and several 6- and 7% grades at other places.  Plus, Suicide Hill is still there with its ominous greeting: "Prepare to meet thy maker".  Not far after the hill, we saw a car that had just flipped off the road.  At the campground tonight, I spoke with a guy who'd come along right after it had happened, apparently the driver had lost control going down a steep grade.  Luckily, there was a Greyhound bus there to lend assistance.

        But, with all the straightening and flattening, they did little or nothing to make the highway any smoother.  Its still like riding a buckboard wagon on a washboard!  I just found the smoothest part of the highway and rode there.  Sometimes I was in my lane, sometimes I straddled the center of the road, sometimes I was mostly in the opposite lane.  But, that's okay since there's relatively no traffic and in most places you can see a long way up the road.  With the cruise control set on 55 mph, life's good!  

Day 39 (Wednesday, 26 May):  50's, Partly Cloudy.

Fort Nelson, BC - Muncho Lake, BC (148 miles)

        Soon we were crossing through the Northern Rockies.  We climbed until the snow in the distance was oon even with us on either side of the highway, the leaves on the trees became ever smaller until they were only buds, and the temperature dropped from the 50's to the 40's.  At the highest point on the highway, Summit Pass (EL 4,250 feet), the temperature was so cold that Summit Lake was still frozen.

        Along the way, we stopped at Toad River Lodge to look at their hat collection.  I gave them one of my "theAutoist" caps and they gave me a card signifying that it was hat number 6,423!  And then, before we knew it, we were at Muncho Lake, my favorite place on the highway.  Some photos:

        After getting the RV set up, we took the MG off its trailer and drove the 40 miles to Liard Hot Springs to work out all the highway kinks.  The springs are a series of natural pools where the water ranges from 108° to 126°.  To get to the springs, you walk about a half mile over a boardwalk that crosses a wetland that supports orchids and other tropical plants, in Canada!.  Ah, what relief!  Photos:

        After soaking for a couple of hours, it was back to the lodge for one of their scrumptious German meals: wiener schnitzel with pan fried potatoes and red cabbage, good German wine and, afterwards, a banana split!

        Now I understand Jack London's love for the north land; the pull of Alaska on us is evermore strong.  We can hardly wait to cross into it.  Oh, at 10:30 pm, here's a photo of the western sky.  No flash needed and right after watching that weird Tom Cruise movie, Vanilla Sky, on DVD.  A half moon is there but the sky still has an azure blue glow from the sun that's barely over the horizon, and you can still see for miles!  What an ending to a great day!

Day 40 (Thursday, 27 May):  High 40's, Partly Cloudy.

Muncho Lake, BC - Johnson's Crossing, Yukon (326 miles)

        Wilderness, wilderness, wilderness!  Horses, lots of buffalo (Jerri likes the newborn with their "little brown humps and flat calf faces"), deer, and black and brown bear.  About half the day was spent at 55 mph in cruise, and about half (the afternoon in the Yukon) was spent on gravel at 20 - 40 mph, sometimes with pilot vehicles leading us.  The RV and MG look tan they're so dirty.  I'll wash them tomorrow in Skagway.

        Yep, this is the Alaska Highway I remember, though we've not yet been given directions like we were back in '85 by a highway construction worker:  "Sir, turn right and follow the tracks until you come to a big boulder.  Turn left by it and go about 2 miles until you come to a dead tree with a big forked branch.  Turn left there and you'll end up back on the highway."  I think Shannon asked me at every boulder or tree if we were going in the right direction or if we were lost in the wilderness.

        "Keep going," was Jerri's comment throughout the day.  "Let's get to Alaska!  We can drive another hour."  And that was before we even got to the Yukon!  We stopped for lunch in Watson Lake and visited the 'signpost forest.'  Its grown tremendously since our last visit, so much that they've added a nice visitor's center with free coffee and an interesting exhibit about building the highway through Watson Lake.  No signs there from Gurley though.

        Then, it was onward towards Skagway.  As we came into the little Tlingket Indian village of Teslin, I suggested we stop at the same place where we'd spent the night back in 1985 as they've now added a nice RV park on the lake.

        "We could drive a bit longer if you'd like." was Jerri's suggestion.

        A bit down the highway, I stopped at Mukluk Annie's, a real tourist spot on the highway.  Neither of us liked it so Jerri volunteered to look in the 'Milepost' to see what was down the road "a bit closer to Alaska."  So, here we are, 128 miles from Skagway, tomorrow's destination - and the place where we WILL stop for a few days!