Alaska!

June 21, 2009
Tok Cut-off/Glenn Highway, Mile Marker 35.2

We made it to Alaska! Yea!!

Today's drive was full of interesting roads. Some portions were very good (I thought we were on the Autobahn), some were construction zones with gravel (in spite of that, we found 40-45 MPH was the best speed), and the rest were some of the worst frost heaves we've ever seen (from 20-35 MPH zones).

We crossed the border in record time - 3 minutes. A few of the standard questions, and all was well.

Southbound traffic has been a little surprising, with quite a few RVs heading "the wrong way". A lot of them have Alaska plates, and are likely natives heading elsewhere for summer vacation, but many are people from the "lower 48" who've already "been there and done that". We met a couple today from Mahwah, NJ who left home on May 17th, drove all the way to Alaska, and are already headed home. I wonder where they stopped?

All that said, we made pretty good time and were in Tok (rhymes with "Poke") a little after noon. A stop at the Visitor's Center, a stop for diesel, and a quick trip through the coin-op car wash for Bob (I decided to wait until Valdez when we take the cover off the car), and we were headed south, putting in a few bumpy miles toward Valdez. Rod & Jean decided to spend a couple of nights in Tok, collecting their mail tomorrow and catching up on laundry, etc. They'll catch up over the next few days.

Click here for a few photos from today's travels.