Remembering Our Veterans – November 11

We travel this country -- free to enjoy the splendor of it all.  On Veterans Day we stop to contemplate how we came to have the freedoms that we do.  Since the Revolutionary War our military forces have stepped up to protect the freedoms of every United States citizen. We will never be able to thank them enough.  

Our recent travels held a few reminders of our veterans’ accomplishments. During our trip this summer in Canada and Alaska we traveled the entire 1,422 miles of the Alaska Highway, built in the early 1940s to establish a defensive route to protect the country against attack by Hitler and his allies via Alaska.  It was eye-opening to learn about the situations the soldiers working on the road endured to build a path through the wilderness connecting Alaska to the lower 48. They chopped the way across treacherous terrain to make our lives safer.    There are stories told and markers laid remembering the Alaska Highway workers. Thanks to them, we can explore the area slowing only for the frost heaves that continue to plague the highway crews each spring. As we continued through Alaska we encountered memorials to veterans of all stripes.  They gave us pause to count our blessings. Below are a few examples from our Alaska trip.

If you are a veteran reading this, Jerry and I want to say “Thank You.”  For every veteran, whether still here enjoying our freedoms with us or traveling in the heavens, we appreciate all you did and do.  

Stay safe.  Talk with you later.

Up and Over and Around – Alaska Adventure 2010

Aug 14 – 17:

What day is it and where am I?  During these four days we did occasionally lose track. Our travels brought us up, over, out, around and back, covering 970 miles from the U. S., into the Yukon, over to British Columbia and around into the U. S. again.  The last I wrote we were in Haines, Alaska, monitoring the wildfire burning near the Cassair Highway in B.C., our next destination.   Would the road stay closed and keep us from our planned route? The news on the Forestry Service site let us know we could not necessarily count on going south on the Cassair (37) once we came to the junction on the Alaska Highway. And then there’s the continuing issue of Ferd’s air bag. Would the temporary fix keep us level for a while? On the 14th of August we decided it was time to go, regardless. Time to begin the exit to our Alaska Adventure, south to the lower 48.   

The first 250 miles from Haines, AK, to Whitehorse, Yukon’s capital, was smooth going. We were glad to be retracing the Haines Highway north, one of our favorite chapters in this three-month trip.    There’s nothing but nature, deep valleys with rivers running, abundant spruce and mountains painted in whites, browns and greens.  No roadside fuel stations, no McDonalds, not even very many fellow travelers.  This day was up out of Alaska, into the Yukon. 

Our next day of travel was another 260 miles east on the Alaska Highway, thankfully without any road condition issues. But there was one unique experience.  Maybe this situation could be closely equated with camping out at the box office for concert tickets….Just waiting for an end result, hoping things work out the way you want.   When we arrived at the junction of the Cassair (37) and Alaska (1) Highways  we could see around the corner a short line of vehicles stopped.  At first, this looked like a good sign. They must be waiting to move on down the road, right? Then we noticed that the rvs in line had awnings out and lawn chairs setup. People were walking around and gathering in conversation.  So we pulled into the line and asked: “What’s the story?” Answer: “We’re waiting, hopefully, to go down the highway tomorrow. They say that if all goes well there will be a pilot car to lead us through around 9:00 a.m.”  Okay, so what do we want to do?  It was already 6:00 p.m. and the parking spot’s free.  So, we chose to stay too. What a mix! There were a few locals just trying to get home in cars and trucks. The distant travelers ranged from Pennsylvania to Kansas and Vancouver to Ontario. We even had a participant from Sweden in his Class C anticipating the next leg of his trip.  As the evening progressed, people were making new friends, sharing halibut recipes and petting each others dogs.  And yes, the next morning, August 16, the pilot car did bring a line of travelers from the other end.  Then it was our turn. All of us, by then the line was about a mile back around the corner onto Highway 1, proceeded along the smoky road south.  After running the 42-mile gamut of the restricted road, we questioned whether these closures were necessary.  Smoke, yes, but no fire was visible anywhere.  We were released at the end of the closure to enjoy at our own pace.  We found a fantastic spot for lunch, at a rest stop on Summit Lake. During our break a few of the folks we met the night before, stopped by to chat. In our photo (right)  Jerry and two compatriots from the Cassair Highway lineup are consulting the  Alaskan Camping guide we have depended on throughout our trip. And later, we met some rving friends from the night before to share a pleasant pull off for the night. 

The Cassair through B. C. held up to our expectations for views as we continued south on August 17.  But we did take one side trip, exiting at the Stewart-Hyder Access Road, leading west for a spectacular 40-mile stretch. This highway winds through the steep-walled Bear River Canyon before moving up next to Bear Glacier in its frozen grandeur, hanging right out there along the highway. The terminus spills out into the Mezaidin Lake, feeding its murky water.  Here you can see  nature at work as the annual melt of the glacier flows out of this massive, aged ice structure.  (Put your cursor on photos for more info.)

We had an extra bonus on this piece of road, also.  Just as we came along, black bears were out hunting berries or other vegetation for lunch.  We had four different sightings along the highway, the last being a black bear and her two cubs.   We gawked and they looked somewhat puzzled or aloof.  

As I was saying, this brings us up, around and over to the tiny town of Hyder, Alaska. (More later.)  After all the events and considerations, we were happy that we took this particular route with this particular timing.  It all adds up to another unique segment of our Alaska Adventure -- interesting and fun.

Talk to you later.  

Ride Along With Us Again – Alaska Adventure 2010

August 2 – 6:  Are you still with us on the road trip? The next segment takes us to Haines, Alaska, via the Tok Cutoff, Alaska Highway and Haines Highway. This might be the lengthiest post in miles and words in a year or so.  It just belongs together.  So here we go.

On the morning of August 2, after having coffee with the view of the Mount Sanford volcano, we resume our northerly trek on the Tok Cutoff.  We encountered a few patches of buckling road again (photo below), but mostly we had smooth sailing with the Wrangell Mountains and Copper Valley views.  Ninety miles north we were back in the crossroads village of Tok for our second visit. We’ve written about Tok on our way into Alaska on June 2. Our one-night stopover this time was a fill-up and clean-up stop.  The Chevron offers free water and dump with fill-up, plus a free overnight parking spot.  They also have an rv and car wash, more seriously needed by those coming from the east on the Alaska Highway.  We took advantage of everything, including a nice out-of-the-way spot for the night, next to a quiet and congenial trucker.   This was an opportunity for Jerry to ask a question about a peculiar feature he’s noticed in this state.  See these yellow strips attached to the rims of this trailer’s tires?  We’ve also seen many tires marked with yellow paint in the same manner. Why? The trucker informed Jerry that when the driver sees these markers turning he knows that his axles are not frozen. That’s how cold it gets in Alaska!

The next morning we decided to have breakfast at a popular Tok restaurant, Fast Eddy’s.  The accommodating parking lot had an assortment of rvs, semis, pickups and motorcycles. One ambitious motorcycle traveler from California had loaded his/her moose antlers onto the back.  Seems to me that this biker must have wanted this rack badly.  We had to post a couple of these shots for Tim, Bobby, Tammy, Ron, Dick and our other biking friends.  Can you imagine riding from Alaska to California with this baggage?  Maybe they were on the way to their new cabin in the Alaska wilderness….just up this road.

For us, it was time to travel a stretch of the Alaska Highway that we had covered in early June. At that time we were pleasantly surprised as we didn’t find the treacherous road conditions that we had heard stories about before this trip.  People had warned us we might damage our vehicles on the frost heaves, have road crew delays and hit long gravel sections.  This wasn’t the case when we arrived. 

But, wait.  On our return two months later it’s a new story.  We became acutely aware of how the thawing of the permafrost does cause havoc. The Alaska Highway trip from Tok to Destruction Bay was considerably different than when we came over a portion of this road before warm temps.

For about 175 miles, we rode the ruts, kept our eyes peeled for the orange warning flags and took it slow through the gravel areas. The ground crews were busy trying to make some sections more travelable.    It’s evidently a never-ending battle.  I tried to get a good shot of the heaves, but these are the best I could do, even with the new camera’s features helping to steady me.   There’s one photo here of the efforts of American and Canadian scientists and engineers to slow down melting beneath the roadbed for a stable embankment.  The theory is that these devices (pipes) inserted into the ground will keep it at the proper temperature so that frost heaves will not occur.  Seems to be an ongoing dilemma. 

 

The freezing of the soil also creates an issue for the black spruce trees. Traveling through this area, probably for 150 miles, you can’t help but notice these spindly bottle brush trees covering the hills and valleys.  Again, The Milepost gives me the answer.  “Where black spruce thrive, few other plants can survive.  They spread their roots in the boggy, shallow soil above permanently frozen ground.

 

 

 

 

Permafrost blocks water drainage and limits root growth and soil fertility. ….a tree two inches in diameter may be 100 years old.”   Also, their drooping branches invite forest fires to spread, forming a stepladder to the cones on their crown. The fire’s heat opens these resin-sealed cones, spreading the seeds for new trees to begin. Is that amazing?!

On today’s trip (August 3) on the Alaska Highway, if you are still with us after the bumps and dips, we are passing alongside and through places such as Deadman Lake, Beaver Creek, Snag Junction, Pickhandle Lake, Burwash Landing and Destruction Bay.  We crossed once again through Canada Customs, into the Yukon Territory, without any concerns, passports ready.   We averaged 43.9 miles per hour and traveled 237 miles in 5 hours and 23 minutes (according to Tillie the GPS). Our highest speed was 63 miles per hour, one time when we had a smooth stretch and passed someone moving at a snail’s pace.  Even though bumpy, it was a good day.

In the late afternoon we stopped at what is one of my favorite spots over the past ten weeks, Congdon Creek Campground on Kluane Lake.   It is a Yukon government campground, $12.00, no hookups.  We were able to get a site facing the lake and shading our temperamental refrigerator.   I am including a few photos that might explain somewhat my opinion of this location.  The fireweed in the woods is just behind our camp site. And then, of course, there we are playing around at the lake, a short walk from Ferd.   

  

The last part of this road trip I’ll take you on was shortened unexpectedly.  On August 4 we left our Kluane Lake home, looking forward to the long stretch of lakeside driving as we continued down the road flanking this scenic waterway.  But…..just a couple of miles into what would be the day’s 202-mile trip to Haines, Alaska, I smelled trouble – literally.  Any kind of burning smell, of course, sends off alarms, especially when you’re riding down the road in your home.   It seemed to be only in the front of the rig so we narrowed it to the small electric fan that Jerry was using for an extra breeze.   Yeah, that’s it.  Must be the fan motor. A quick stop at the pull off and we had replaced the fan and were smoothly rolling along again….  Not!  Whiffs of that mysterious smell were back in a few minutes. And the ride seemed less smooth, too.   It took us three stops, checking everyplace inside and out, in both the motorhome and the Jeep,  to finally narrow down that lingering smell.  Low and behold, we looked yet another time at the tires and saw up underneath the wheel well that the back, passenger side tire was definitely rubbing.  Long story short…..we have a problem with our leveling system. The valve on that air bag lets out too much air (in my simplistic terms). The next town, Haines Junction, was 70 miles away. Don’t ask me to explain it technically, but with Jerry’s magic maneuvering of the leveling and the ride height on Ferd, we slowly made our way into town.  

After pulling into the first empty lot we saw, we unhooked the Jeep and went into the local library to use the Internet, planning to contact fellow Foretravel owners on the internet forum.  Jerry monitors the site constantly and has learned to trust the regulars for providing knowledge and advice. So, he posted a question about our problem. We hoped for some good and quick suggestions. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…..we took Ferd slowly about two blocks further to the Kluane RV Park.  Without belaboring or relating the next two days of happenings, we gathered the best advice we could and adjusted and duct taped and tested.  Great news. The fix seems to be satisfactory, at least for now. But, should we make a change in our plans to go to a larger town east instead of going south?   Our best evaluation is that we can proceed as is.  So, we cautiously and hopefully, resumed our travels south on the Haines Highway (August 5).  We haven’t noticed any more alarming smell or listing to the right side.  The air bag is holding steady.  Things are good until we can get back to a dependable repair facility.

Having said all of that, we were happy we kept to our plan. The road to Haines is another byway of tremendous natural vistas.  It reminded us of being in Denali National Park or the wilderness of the Denali Highway.  There are no commercial entities and very little traffic for the 146 miles.  Just lots of beauty. 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, it’s been nice having you along on this portion of our journey.  I’ll leave you with these last two photos from the Haines Highway, the view at our lunch spot at the summit, Chilkat Pass, and of a small creature who joined us there.    

Take care.  Talk to you later.