dare2go

Alaska Highway to its end


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In another hour we arrived in Beaver Creek where we spent the night at the Westmark RV Park. As we were checking in the proprietor told us that the same storm we had seen at the lake had brought a little snow and then heavy rain to Beaver Creek- it was the 21st of August, which we had heard was summer in the northern hemisphere! The sky cleared again but the air became colder as the evening wore on. It seemed to take forever to get dark as Canadian time means that full dark comes after 11.00 pm this far north at this time of the year. It was considerably colder in Beaver Creek than we had experienced so far and we woke on Tuesday morning for the first time (since late March) to a frost!

Friday, 25 August 2006, Dawson City, YT
The cold and sometimes wet weather was starting to make us re-think how long we want to spend here in the far north of the continent. But Tuesday gave us some sunshine, and we continued north into Alaska. After crossing the border once again into the USA, we made our first stop at the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Centre. This 730000 acre refuge stretches south from the Alaska Highway and west from the Canadian border. It is a key migration stop for many species of birds and there are more which call it home all year round. Other wildlife includes bears, wolf, coyote, beaver, red fox, lynx and caribou. We could see some Trumpeter Swans through the telescope on the viewing deck and realised that they were the same type of swans we had spotted on a lake on the Haines Highway a couple of days previously. Unfortunately they were the only wildlife we saw in this refuge, but the Visitor Centre was most interesting and the staff extremely knowledgeable and helpful.
We stopped at a couple overlooks and the sun shone just enough to keep us encouraged, but it was a very cold day. When we arrived in Tok we noticed a mechanic's workshop, which was working on a couple of very large RVs. Since these often have diesel motors and our truck needed a service, we decided we might as well ask. The mechanic said he could do it straight away, because all the other jobs standing around were waiting for parts. Tok RV Service Centre gave us good service, checked over the whole truck (beyond what we had asked for), and the people were very friendly. We had originally planned to drive to Fairbanks to have the service done, because it is a larger city and a mechanic with time should be easy to find - it is Alaska's second largest city with a population of about 30000.
Now the service was done and we had to decide what to do next. We had also thought to go to Denali from Fairbanks, but had heard that the road was closed due to a washout. Also, in the weather we had been experiencing, it seemed unlikely that we would see Mt McKinley as it would probably be covered with cloud! We went to the Grumpygrizz Café for some warm food and to mull over our next move. We were tempted to head for Chicken and the "Top of the World Highway" and leave Alaska, but I wasn't really sure that I had seen everything I wanted to. So we decided to drive on to Delta Junction so that we had at least reached the true end of the Alaska Highway. (Some mistakenly believe that Fairbanks is the end of the Alaska Highway, but is actually the end of the Richardson Highway which starts in Valdez.)
The road to Delta Junction is excellent, compared to some of the Highway. We had been getting used to rollercoaster-like bouncing and lots of potholes since arriving in the north. Most of this damage is caused by the extreme weather here and some is a direct result of being built on permafrost. A little melt here and there can cause a sudden drop in the road surface. Alongside the road we noticed utility poles and trees that have almost fallen over due to this phenomenon! The road we were now on was straight for miles and suffered very little of the damage we had started to expect as the norm!
We stopped a few times along the 110 miles to Delta Junction - once to take a photo of the snow dusted mountains that were looking pretty in afternoon sun. They had received a light sprinkling of snow the day before and they stood out clearly because of that. We also stopped briefly at Sawmill Creek because it is in a Bison Sanctuary. But we couldn't find any information as to where to look for them, so drove on to Delta Junction. At the visitors centre we found markers for the end of the Alaska Highway and a scale recording the very cold winter minimums reached here, as well as a very helpful young woman behind the counter. She told us where the campgrounds were and also provided information on where to possibly see bison and the Trans Alaska Pipeline which passes by Delta Junction. (Note that the website paints a very rosy picture of this pipeline, but some will remember the Exxon Valdez disaster and currently the pipeline is only being used at half capacity because of corrosion problems causing leakage!)
We drove to the Quartz Lake State Recreation Area, which is about 12 miles out of town toward Fairbanks and 3 miles off the road, to spend the night. This Area has 2 campgrounds, one at Quartz Lake and a smaller one at Little Lost Lake. We chose the latter as there was no-one else there. We are always trying to find campgrounds which have few people and no highway noise, so this one was perfect in every way. The lake was lovely and the environment peaceful. There was even an otter swimming around enjoying the evening. There was also a very nice sunset to be seen - Juergen took the last photos of it at about 10.30!
Wednesday morning we enjoyed some more solitude at Little Lost Lake before driving back toward town. Our first stop was to have a closer look at the pipeline where it crosses the Tanana River next to the Big Delta Bridge. It is quite spectacular the way the pipeline is suspended across the river. Just down the road is the Big Delta Historical Park, the site of Rika's Roadhouse and Landing. This State Park shows some foresight in preserving this important historical site. The roadhouse provided service in the early 1900s to those travelling the Valdez to Fairbanks trail. There was a ferry here to cross the Tanana River. Rika Wallen was a Swedish immigrant who worked for the original owner from 1917. In 1923 she became the owner (as a payout for overdue wages) and ran it as a roadhouse until the late 1940s. She lived there until her death in 1969. It is an interesting place to wander about in and the buildings are well restored. There are interpretive signs all over that give factual information about the life and times. Unfortunately it started to rain and we didn't stay as long as we might have otherwise.
In Delta Junction we sought out the farmer's market held across from the visitors centre but didn't find anything very interesting. We also found some internet access and caught up on a few things. Just as we were getting ready to eat lunch and then leave, it began raining in earnest, so once again everything got wet! We packed up as quickly as we could and got on the road back to Tok. We were no more than 10 miles outside Delta Junction and the rain had not only stopped but the road was absolutely dry! We are constantly amazed at how quickly the weather changes here. And we are also amazed at the number of people we meet during the course of a day that live in this inhospitable climate year round - and say that they love it and wouldn't live anywhere else! The surprising thing about that is that they all have an incredibly positive attitude about life in general. They are relaxed, friendly and always helpful, and they speak so enthusiastically about their home.
On the way back to Tok we took a short break at an overview of the Tanana River. This river parallels the Alaska Highway from Tetlin Junction, shortly before Tok right up to Delta Junction where it joins the Delta River at Big Delta. It is not often possible to see it from the road, but this overlook about 30 miles out of Tok shows the magnitude of this body of water. We stopped briefly in Tok and then were on our way to Tetlin Junction to join the Taylor Highway which would take us to Chicken and then the "Top of the World Highway".