The Yukon to Tok Alaska

 

The road up from Skagway through the Yukon Territory was a study in contrasts. First the 11mile climb up through the pass filled with waterfalls and rocky maountain gorges. Then a real live desert, complete with sand dunes and arid landscape. Then into the first wilderness.

 

Back into Canada and back an hour in time. All of Alaska, including the inside passage is in one time zone. So going north into Canada changes zones.

The worlds largest wind vane.   After parting out this old DC3, someone decided it would make a great wind vane.

Now come the dreaded frost heaves.  Building a road on permafrost means it’s never completely permanent.  Every winter, the road bed and the road on top of it moves, making for amazingly effective speed bumps.  Hundreds of miles of very effective speed bumps…

Well, the moose is mythical no more!!

Roads are bilingual.

One in each country!

The first of many construction stretches where the asphalt is gone and the road is all gravel.

We made it!

Three Bears is sort of the wilderness version of Walmart.

We decided to do this trip mostly without reservations, figuring out future directions based on what we find as we travel. So each few days we dig out the books and weigh the various options.  One of the best parts of that is being able to get advice from locals as we travel.

 

But if not…