Catching up

On the way to Whitehorse, YT, a bear quickly crossed the road - too fast for a photo. 

Of the 2 usual Alaska driving mishaps (flat tire or broken windshield), we got "cracked" by an 18 wheeler; it was easily fixed in Whitehorse, YT.  We visited 3 nice museums, the McBride, Transportation and Beringia Interpretive center in town.  This piece of equipment was used to build the Canada-Alaska highway in 1942 (6'2" is the height of the axle) - the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers helped build the road.  It is built on permafrost (melts then refreezes), so this causes havoc with the surface.  In one of the Canadian museums, it was noted that Canada allowed the U.S. to build the Canada-Alaska highway during the height of the cold war, then turned over the Canadian part of this "poorly built road" for Canada to maintain!  The U.S. has since taken over maintenance of some of that roadway as it was determined that it was mainly used to transport stuff into Alaska  

On a drive from Whitehorse, we stopped at the Braeburn Lodge (a stop on the Iditarod Race course) for the biggest cinnamon rolls we've seen so far - as big as a dinner plate.

Here was the board showing the February 2014 sled teams arrival/departure times at the lodge - some were down a dog when they left..

Camped in a lovely waterfront spot along Kluane Lake and walked around the campground.  Once in the motor home, Minnie started freaking out.  She was cowering, shaking, backing into the bathroom then down the steps, then started yipping like she was injured.  We had to hold her until it was bedtime.  We couldn't figure out what scared her (wolf pack, bear, lapping waves?), but she returned to normal after we left the campground.

Passed this grizzly walking along the roadside - we were happy to see an 18 wheeler slow down and move over for the bear.

Some vent/fan systems are being tested along the roadway to see if they can keep the permafrost from melting.

Love the names of some of the establishments here.

We've noticed many buildings using old quonset huts, but this church is the best so far.

Finally we made it to Alaska...

Official end of the AlCan highway in Delta Junction, AK.

A nice depiction of the pipeline

After this town, we go back into YT then into AK and the road is pretty bad - we gave the truck plenty of room so as to avoid another crack!

When we got to Tok, AK, the road improved dramatically.  While waiting for some Thai take-out at a roach coach, we chatted with a local couple (guy is a nurse who was from Sacramento) on their way to a local bluegrass concert, so we followed...  Great music and an unexpected treat!

Then on to Fairbanks, AK, passing Skinny Dick's roadhouse on the way!