Day 16: Valdez, AK to Haines Junction, YT

568 miles

7 AM – 6:30 local time (5:30 Alaska time)

Thank you, Lord, list:

Same driving in rain

Gorgeous sights despite the rain

No significant construction delays

Yummy tuna sandwiches

Clearing skies

Great Chinese supper

Comfortable beds

This was our longest day. Mom was up by six so we were out the door before 7. (She has left her watch on Seattle time so for her it was almost 7, but that is still early for her.)

There is only one road out of town so it wasn't hard to find. It was raining, but the climb up the Coastal Range was fabulous anyway. If I could have stepped back a little farther, I could have gotten a couple more waterfalls in this picture.

We came around the corner to see this unidentified glacier. There was fresh snow on the higher peaks.

Tunes from "Sound of Music" kept running through my head. On road trips when we were kids, my sister and I would sing through the album from the starting orchestral notes to the final "'Til you find your dream!" I did not do that this time. Just snatches. Over and over.

We have now left Alaska behind with lots of promises to return. There was so much more to see. So many byways left unexplored, even ones marked "scenic" on the map! As of Tok, we are retracing our steps from the trip north. I had this fear that after Denali, the return trip that we had enjoyed so much on the way north would be a disappointment. Not to fear. It still took our breath away--even in places that were not marked "scenic" on the map. It was so North--wild flowers by the road, blue pools on the tundra with mountains in the background and snow-capped peaks beyond. The only thing it lacked was a grazing moose by one of those pools. But Mom did spot a grizzly by the road! 

We are back to wilderness. Alaska is the destination. The roads were much more crowded there with tour buses and RVs. There were more resorts, billboards and tourist attractions. Yukon and northern British Columbia are simply pass-through areas, the end of the world for Canada. As Steve said at one point, "You know you are near civilization when the side roads are paved."

We loved the Kluane Lake region on the way up. As we approached this time we wondered why the mist rising from the water. I even hoped I would catch a rainbow when I stopped for this photo. 

But no. The "mist" turned out to be dust from this dry flood plain at the south end of the lake.

 So just pretend that's mist not dust in this picture with the flowers.



Lots of wind. Hard driving for Steve, not to mention the distance and construction. Actually, the construction areas where the pavement had been taken up and the road was gravel were a LOT better than the heaving asphalt areas they replace. But "What's a road trip to Alaska," Steve asks, "without a few bad roads." You can tell you're getting near civilization when the side roads are asphalt.

Dinner for two at the Chinese restaurant connected with our motel was more than enough for three.

Tomorrow we continue southeast. At Watson Lake we will stay on the Al-Can for the eastern route instead of turning south for Seattle. It will be another long driving day.

Afghan update: I ended yesterday discovering a major error, made worse by an earlier attempt to "adjust". After sleeping on it, I came up with a solution, not to fix the mistake, but merely to get myself back on track. "There goes your chance of a State Fair ribbon," says Steve. Not my goal for the first thing I have knit in 20 years.