Day 51, Aug. 22

Another lovely sunrise this morning with a sliver of a moon in evidence. We were on the road by 6:30 but had to stop after a few minutes. The sun was shining right into the cab and our window was dirty enough that we could not see where we were going. A combination of the squeegee and my Norwex cloths and the windshield was sparkling. We fueled up in Tok and headed for the worst section of paved road in Alaska and the Yukon. 

The worst portion is in Alaska where not only do you have to contend with frost heaves but also huge rough edged potholes. With little traffic on the road, it is a game of dodge them as best you can. We made the 93 miles to the border in 2 hours which wasn’t too bad. The first 40 miles you can drive at the posted speed but after that there were times we went at 30 mph. 

After we crossed into Canada, we had to contend with frost heaves, sections of road that had been poorly cold patched and sections of washboard. In between, there would be stretches of great highway. The washboards had us crawling along at 10 mph. 

Mom has gone to hospital with severe neck pain. She will be admitted once a bed becomes available. No one has indicated that there is an urgency for us to return home immediately, so we decided to continue with our plan to go to Haines. 

We both have vivid recollections of our visit to Haines in 2002, but didn’t remember the drive there. Alaska is mountains, forests and glaciers but each area is so different that it just doesn’t get old. The vistas were stunning on the 2 1/2 hour drive from Haines Junction Yukon to Haines Alaska. The weather was holding and the mountain tops were visible. 

It was a confusing day time wise. We lost an hour going into Canada and then gained it back when we returned to the US. 

Oceanside RV Park lives up to its name. It is right on the water looking across Chilkoot Inlet. Like so many campgrounds in Alaska, it is a parking lot. But unlike others, it is paved and the sites are roomy. You can put your slides out and still have room to sit outside.

After supper we drove out to Chilkat Lake. We had fished there when we were here last and there were always bears around. Tourism has increased and a weir has been set up to attract the bears. A mama and her two cubs were catching supper on the weir. We had to drive on by and when we got turned around and back to the weir, mama was chasing the cubs off and up the hill to home.