The Road Trip begins: Thru BC, Yukon, and to Tok, Alaska

AlaskaFest 2005 - Sunday, June 12, 2005

Part 1 of the Automotive Journey on the Alaskan Highway

Time to drive on the Alaskan Highway - to the Alaskan gateway of Tok!

It was time for one last ferry - but at least this one was only two hours long and it was quite a different class of ferry. This one was not a stateroom-equipped ferry, and was much newer than the Malaspina. And the seating was all full of new comfortable seats and tables - very cool. It didn't matter though, as both Jason and I fell asleep on the ferry for most of the two hours. That quick nap made a huge difference though, and by the time the ferry landed in Haines, AK, we were ready to go. And go we did, as we had 450 miles to go before reaching Tok. So as we left Haines, an overeager highway patrolman was chasing our car and the camper in front of us as we approached Haines. Jason kept the car at the speed limit, but the camper in front of us didn't. Well, sure enough, the cop eventually jumped us and pulled over the camper for going about 5 miles too fast. Too bad for him. And with that bullet dodged, we truly set out on the journey after leaving Haines. As there's really nothing in terms of civilization for quite a while. You're in Alaska for about 40 miles, and then you hit British Columbia, Canada for a bit, and then finally the Yukon Territory, Canada. You spend quite a bit of time in the Yukon, and then finally hit the U.S. border and reenter Alaska. After a little bit longer, it was time to hit Tok, which really is the bottleneck for all auto travelers into Alaska. We did manage to get some dinner at Buckshot Betty's restaurant in the Yukon, and it was fun to eat in Canada. Anyways, by this time I was just ready to get out of the car and crash in Tok. What was crazy was that in Tok, being so far north, is that the sun barely set. At 11:30 pm, the sky was super bright. It began to explain the heavy heavy drapes that were in Young's Motel that we stayed in in Tok. Otherwise there would be no way you could sleep in the bright light.

The Journey from Haines to Tok, Alaska

Some cool BC mountains

BC scenery is pretty

Welcome to the Yukon!

I finally convinced Jason to stop at a pretty turnout

There's me

Some scenery in the Yukon - nice, eh?

The car that got us through!

Klaune lake - this lake is huge!

We had to make our way all the way around this lake to proceed

The Klaune road ahead

More Klaune Lake

Buckshot Betty's restaurant somewhere in the Yukon

Welcome back to the U.S.!

Here are some flags

And the Canadian signs, just for kicks

Shoot me an email if you have any comments!