After nearly a month on the road, we’ve made it from Arizona to Alaska via the famed Alaska Highway. Our previous post highlighted the first half of our journey, and in this post, we’ll finish the story.
When we last checked in we were in Liard Hot Springs, relaxed and rejuvenated from our soaks. Next we headed west and north to Watson Lake and the famous signpost forest. It was only one night but we packed in as much as we could.
In 1942, during the construction of the Alaska Highway, a homesick soldier added his hometown to the army signpost he was building. People from all over the world have followed the time-honored tradition of adding signs to the “forest” on a daily basis ever since. We even found some from Prescott!
With Russ’s help we posted our sign, which once decorated the front of our RV. Russ and Susan also added their own sign. We’ll give five dollars to anyone who can find our sign among the over 80,000 that now hang in Watson Lake.
The scenery along the highway did not let us down. Even with construction delays, we were kept busy marveling at the snow-capped peaks and vast expanses.
We’ve also been keeping a list of the wildlife we’ve seen and it grows every day. From moose to bears to caribou, the Alaska Highway delivers.
We made a stop in the Yukon Territory’s capital of Whitehorse. In our short time there we explored Miles Canyon and the surrounding trails. Before the Yukon river was dammed, this canyon was a treacherous stretch that prospectors had to brave during their journey to the gold fields in Dawson City.
Today it’s a popular area for hiking, mountain biking, and wintertime cross country skiing. Bob enjoyed his hike, especially when he got to cross the suspension bridge with Steve.
We also poked around downtown Whitehorse, enjoyed lunch at the Klondike Salmon and Rib and found the local brewery. At Yukon Brewing the beer is worth freezin’ for.
Our favorite stop of all along the Alaska Highway was our overnight at Congdon Creek Yukon Government Campground. Set right outside the small town of Destruction Bay, this small campground on Kluane Lake was perfect in every way!
The sunshine and warmer weather allowed us to sit outside all afternoon, enjoy the views, the campfire, and the fresh air. It didn’t hurt that we arrived early enough to snag a waterfront site, which added to our enjoyment.
After braving some pretty rough roads from Destruction Bay to the US border, we could finally say we’d made it to Alaska. We stopped for the obligatory photo at the “Welcome to Alaska” sign and proceeded to Tok, our final stop on this part of the journey.
In Tok we explored a bit, caught up on laundry, cleaned the truck, and bid adieu to our wonderful traveling companions.
Russ and Susan are headed north to Fairbanks while we’re heading south, so our time together has come to a close. It was so fun and reassuring to have travel partners, and these guys are so easy to travel with. We celebrated our accomplishment with a wonderful pizza dinner prepared by Susan. We’re sure gonna miss these guys!
Marnie and Steve Travel 