SAFELY ARRIVED IN ALASKA!!! 8/11/14

We finished driving the Alaska-Canadian Highway today (8/11/14).  After leaving Kluane RV Park, we headed out toward Destruction Bay, YK, then onto Beaver Creek, YK, and then the US Border.  At the end of the day we had driven 400+ miles, saw 6 different glacier fields, and driven on some of the worst roads experienced in my life.  We thought after crossing the border, roads would improve, and they did for a short time until we were in the more rural parts of Alaska where no cell service or any evidence of civilization is present.  We left just as the sun was rising in the Southeast and noticed the moon was still up in the Southwest.  The shadows are always at an angle, even at high noon due to being so close to the Artic Circle.

 My sister asked what the rest areas looked like in the "wilderness".  Notice the bear-proof trash cans, no electricity for lights or heat in the outhouses.  The vent pipes do help reduce the odors from the pit toilets.

We finally arrived at Destruction Bay and Kluane Lake, where the notorious road conditions began to deteriorate around 8AM.  The Kluane Mountain Range through this part of the drive was awesome.  It helped take the edge off the road conditions having such beauty to admire.

People in the Yukon must have a lot of time on their hands.  The painted satellite dish was quite unique.  As I mentioned earlier we saw quite a few glaciers.  They were magnificent.

It boggles the mind as to the lack of safety measures the road design has in the Yukon.  Note the sharp curve, water ahead, steep grade on gravel road, and no guardrails.  If someone missed the curve, it would be weeks before anyone would find them or even know they were missing.  This is not a road to travel after dark or alone.

The landscapes along the way are so foreign to anything we have seen before.  Rocky mountains, alluvial flows, pine trees about 20 feet tall that are at least 200 years old, and water that is crystal clear you can see the rocks on the bottom even when the water is 20 feet deep.

Wildflowers were everywhere.  Here are just a few pictures of some of the specimens seen.

We were stopped 2-3 times by pilot cars for road construction.  I liked the idea of using a stoplight for this process rather than a flagman/person.  

Another thing we noticed is the lack of hotel/motels that we are accustomed to seeing along the roads in the lower 48.  This is an example of a combination gas, grocery store, restaurant, and motel along the AlCan in the Yukon territory.  (This was one of the nicer ones)

At about 12N on 8/11/14, we made it to Alaska.  Here is the official picture of the Alaska State Border sign.  

The mountain ranges along the way were pretty.  If it hadn't been cloudy and rainy, the pictures would have been awesome.  These were shots of the St. Elias Mountain Range.  One of the mountains was covered by a huge glacier.

We stopped at Glenallen, AK at a campground since we still had another 200 miles to drive to get to Mike and Monika's home in Eagle River, AK.  The dogs were jealous of the steak dinner we were enjoying.  We had to put them up on our bunk so their noses wouldn't be in our dinner plate.

The next day (8/12/14) our goal was to arrive at Mike & Monika's house.  We noticed another water leak in the camper after supper and decided we needed to take the camper off the truck to access the panels near the toilet.  Driving such rough roads takes it's toll on the plumbing system of any RV.  We just hoped it wasn't anything serious.