Day
41 – 6-21-15 Sunday We got up to a light drizzly rain. Lena fixed
blueberry pancakes for breakfast, then we departed about 9AM. The
drizzle stopped before we got to Tok. We stopped in Tok to fuel up
the motor home and the Jeep at the Tesoro fuel stop where the fuel
was about $.25 a gallon cheaper than the busy station at Glennallen
that we were going to fill up at yesterday. We notice a lot of smoke
from a forest fire as we drove into town and asked a man at the fuel
pumps about it. He said it was just outside of town but the roads
were all open.
We
drove the 90 miles to the border and crossed into Canada and went
through the checkpoint without any problems. The agent asked 4-5
questions and told us to have a safe trip. We stopped at Buckshot
Betty's in Beaver Creek and ordered the same thing we got when we
stopped there in May, except we didn't buy their cinnamon buns this
time. Their buns were too dry. Before we departed three couples came
in that had just pulled up in three motor homes. We talked to them
for a few minutes. They were from the San Antonio Texas area. I have
a brother that lives near San Antonio.
We
knew when we left Beaver Creek we were in for some rough roads for
about 100 miles between Beaver Creek and Burwash Landing. If you have
read all the blog entries you have read about the drive over this
part of the road in May coming to Alaska. Well it was worse going
back, if you can believe that. It was not muddy this time but it was
dusty in the areas where they had ripped up the pavement and were
prepping the road for paving. But this time there was a section about
20 miles long that had been ripped up since we passed through in May
and that section was TERRIBLE. It felt like riding on a huge
washboard. I only drove about 20 miles an hour and still the motor
home rattled like it was coming apart. I will be getting new shocks
when we get back to North Carolina. We had to wait for the pilot car
at two of the work areas for over 30 minutes and then we had to
follow the pilot cars for a long ways through the work areas. When we
came through in May there was no one working so we did not have to
wait. We saw one area where they were putting down new pavement. They
do what is called Chip Seal. They prepare the road bed ( I have been
told a year ahead of the paving) and then pour tar out, then pour
rocks in the tar and press it into the tar. They do not use asphalt
like what we in the USA are accustomed to. I was told by a truck
driver at the place where we ate the Rav Von burgers that asphalt
will not hold up as well as chip seal in the permafrost areas.
We
did get one treat along the way. We got to see a big brown grizzly
bear and get two good photos of it grazing right beside the edge of
the road.
We
stopped for the night at Congdon Creek Yukon Government Campground, a
few kilometers from Destruction Bay Yukon. It sits on the banks of
the Kluane Lake. We picked site 16 and set up and paid for two
nights. We were too tired to walk down to the lake so we'll do that
tomorrow. No hookups but the sites are large and there are large
spruce trees and wildflowers all around and it is very quiet. The
sites have fire pits and they provide free firewood. Not bad for $12
Canadian.
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