As previously noted, we arrived in Alaska on Sunday. It was one of our longest days of travel thus far, but we so desperately wanted to get there! We traveled 521 miles and were on the road for 11 ½ hours. We started the day by coming within feet of hitting a large brown bear! We had only been on the road for 5 minutes when he came barrelling across the street (just outside of Teslin, Yukon). Whew! It goes without saying that bears have the right of way up here!
We finally landed in Tok (sounds like poke), AK about 7 p.m. at a little campground called Eagle Trail State Recreation Area. The last 30 miles of driving in the Yukon (on the Alaskan Highway) were awful! The road was so “humpty-dumpty”; it was like being on a rolling sea. Apparently, they’ve tried many things to fix that problem, but, no matter how many times they fix it, it keeps reverting back to that rolling/bumpy road. It has something to do with the permafrost. One could almost benefit from a dose of Dramamine on this stretch of road.
Monday we drove to Anchorage and camped at Eagle River Campground in the Chugach State Park. It took us over 8 hours to get from Tok to Anchorage. You don’t get anywhere fast in this state, that’s for sure. But, it was a beautiful drive along the Tok Cut-Off Hwy between Tok and Anchorage. We stopped alongside the highway at one point and I took pictures of either side of the highway. Note the difference: there is a wide angle shot and a close-up of both sides of the road. (pics attached)
Monday we drove to Anchorage and camped at Eagle River Campground in the Chugach State Park. It took us over 8 hours to get from Tok to Anchorage. You don’t get anywhere fast in this state, that’s for sure. But, it was a beautiful drive along the Tok Cut-Off Hwy between Tok and Anchorage. We stopped alongside the highway at one point and I took pictures of either side of the highway. Note the difference: there is a wide angle shot and a close-up of both sides of the road. (pics attached)
As we approached Anchorage, it started to rain. We suddenly realized that we had not experienced ANY rainy days on this trip up until that point. We were supposed to meet up with Len’s cousin when we reached Anchorage, but, unfortunately she was down with the flu. So, we decided that we would head down to Seward for a couple of days and then catch up with her on our return trip, once she’s feeling better.
Tuesday, we headed down to Seward. Seward is a quaint little, coastal town on the Kenai Peninsula (pop 3,000). The Kenai Peninsula is a temperate rain forest. Which means…it rains a LOT! They have had 12 straight days of rain (and no sunny days in the foreseeable future). The normal highs for this time of year are only in the 50’s. I don’t mind the rain, and I don’t mind the 50 degree weather. What I do mind is the fact that the rain clouds are blocking my view of (what I imagine is) the beautiful glacier mountains that totally surround this town! It’s like living in a fog down here. Regardless, the Alaskan salmon is abundant, fresh, and delicious to the taste. :-)
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