We have discovered over and over again that while Alaska is a truly beautiful place it is also very isolated from itself. By that I mean that most of the towns are very small by any standard . . . a post office and a gas station/convenience store. The larger towns have a real grocery store and maybe a restaurant or food truck. Most of the state outside of Fairbanks and Anchorage are seasonal and depend heavily on the tourists with the exception of the coasts where fishing is the main industry. There are large distances between towns and the old New England saying of "You can't get there from here" really applies because there is only one choice of roads between where you are and where you want to go. It is also interesting that the traffic just comes to a standstill when they are doing road construction at times. It isn't like you can avoid it or go around it . . . you just wait and eventually go again.
To get from Valdez to Haines we have to take the Richardson Highway back to Glennallen and then the Tok Cutoff to Tok . . . from Tok the Alaska Highway to Haines Junction which takes you back into Canada and then the Haines Highway back across the US Border to Haines. This is the only way besides a Ferry to get to Haines. A three day nearly 750 mile trip.
Day 1 we traveled from Valdez to Wrangell St Elias National Park Nabesna Road, where we drove nearly 30 miles in on a bumpy dirt road to the Kendesnii Campground. It had no services, so we went prepared to try our hand at dry camping and the price was right . . . $0. It was awesome . . .large private campsites, very few others even in the area and beautiful weather. We grilled some steaks and enjoyed the evening in the great outdoors.
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| An awesome day to view the Mountains of Wrangell St Elias National Park |
A few pics from Kendesnii Campground
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| To Good Times and Great Memories |
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| Sad to see that this Fireweed plant has reached the top of its blossom stem . . . .winter isn't far off here . . .according to the locals |
Day 2: Back out 30 miles of the Nabesna Road and on to Destruction Bay on Kluane Lake in the Yukon Territory of Canada . . . just a driving day through lots of construction.
Surprising for a Sunday but I guess they have to work 7 days a week in the construction season because it is so short. Our campground in Destruction Bay was one of the best private campgrounds yet. We had a lakeside site and with entertainment at the nearby campground deck. We were also treated to an eagle visit. Not sure if he is a golden, immature bald or some other but it was definitely very neat to watch. The evening was capped by a spectacular full moon over the mountains.
Our friend the eagle provided extra entertainment for the evening.
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| Our dirty trek from bugs and road dust |
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| Perfection |
Day 3 : Destruction Bay to Haines. Destruction Bay was in the Yukon,Canada and Haines back into Alaska so once again there was a border crossing to make. We saved the shortest drive for the last day so we could get into Haines and explore a little before settling into our campground. Of course there are always a couple of geocaches to be found while exploring.
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| A nice view in British Columbia on the Haines Highway |
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| A mining core sample drill . . . still looking for gold |
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| Our 1st real totem pole |
The totem pole was made by the Tlingit People. It is called Eagle Family and stands 16 feet high overlooking Portage Cove.
Tomorrow more exploring Haines and Wednesday is a trip to Skagway on the "Fast Ferry" with a train ride up a mountain pass. Thursday we begin the journey down the inside passage to Juneau.
What a incredible journey
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