Day #17
Date: 08/06/11
Traveled: Whitehorse, YT - Glennallen, AK
Interstates:
Miles Driven: 600
Hours on Road: 16
Weather: Rain early with clearing skies later in the evening (65 degrees)
This morning we awoke early to leave Whitehorse and to try and make it across the border to Tok, AK. We knew it was going to be a long day but the scenery more than made up for it. Again, more and more spectacular mountain views. Once we reached Destruction Bay, we saw quiet possibly the most beautiful lake that any of us have ever seen. This lake was called Klaune Lake, which was over 121 nautical miles long and set at the base of 2 mountain ranges, one on each side. With the rain clearing, the raining clouds sat low on the mountain tops making for some wonderful views and photo opportunities. We stopped in at a lodge/restaurant there in Destruction Bay to have lunch and to was able to enjoy a nice view of the lake while we ate. Once we finished lunch, we headed out on the last 150 miles or so of the remaining section of Alaskan Highway in Canada. This particular section of road was extremely rough… so rough that we literally had to drive 25-40 mph the entire way. After a couple of hours bouncing all over the highway, we finally made it to the Beaver Creek, the last town in Canada before crossing the border. We stopped here to fuel up and the let everyone get their 10th stamp in our Yukon Gold Rush books and submit our entries to win 2 ounces of gold.
Once this was finished, we headed out for the border, which we reached in about 20 minutes. Prior to the border was the "Welcome to Alaska" sign and the Yukon / Alaska border marker. As you would imagine, we stopped here to take pictures as we were all extremely excited to finally be in the state we had longed to be in for the past 2 years. There was a ton of joy and excitement as we had finally arrived. We took numerous pictures and took a few moments to reflect and enjoy the blessing. I was also able to stand with one foot in Canada and the other in the USA and take a picture of the marker showing the line that divided the two. This was a pretty neat feeling. After our stop at the sign we proceeded on a few hundred feet to the border patrol. We approached the same as we did before and supplied the officer with our info. He asked several questions of me and a few to the kids. After a few minutes, we were on our way.
After crossing the border (big sigh of relief) we continued on a much nicer paved road to the top of another mountain, where we stopped at the Tetlin Visitor Center. This was a nice large log building with a grass roof. No kidding, the roof was made of growing grass which was mowed as needed. From the back of the center, was an amazing view of the bogs below and the large mountain range across the way. After a few pictures we continued on, again with more wonderful views. Within another hour and a half to two hours we finally arrived at Tok, AK where we stopped to fill up with gas and get a bite of supper. During supper we discussed what we should do and decided we would just continue on toward Glennallen until it got too dark or I became too tired. Along the way we saw several moose along the sides of the road and again had some incredible mountain views. Snow covered peaks, with low lying clouds and lakes that lined the forrest floors below them. I continued on the Glenn Highway past dark and came to a road construction sign that indicated road work ahead for the next 25 miles. Once again, I was reduced driving 25-35 mph for the next hour as the bumps, dips, cracks & ruts were absolutely terrible! I continued on until finally around midnight, we made it to Glennallen, AK. I stopped at the Alaskan Hub, a gas station / mini-mart at the intersection which lead on to Anchoargae and Soldotna. I fueled up with the intentions of continuing on but after talking to the cashier and another customer who had just came from the direction we were heading, I decided it might be time to rest. I asked the cashier if we could park for a while in their parking lot and he agreed. I dropped the legs not he camper, extended the slides and everyone made their way inside where we have all crashed after spending 16 hours on the road and covering just over 600 miles. Tomorrow we hope to rise early once again and make it to our final destination, Soldotna, AK! Below are the links to our pictures and videos, we hope you enjoy!
Pics:
Videos:
God Bless and Safe Travels!
The Moores
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