I left Houston on August 20th for my 5th journey across the Alcan highway. On the way, I picked up my copilot in Oklahoma and we set off for a nice relaxing trip.
We started our tour in Mitchell, SD and attended the Corn Palace Festival! I love stumbling into things like that. We had no idea it was going on. What a treat! Believe it or not, we almost didn't get a hotel room due to the crowds...yea for last minute cancellations!
From there we headed over to the Black Hills to visit Mt Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial. Crazy Horse hasn't changed much since I was there in the mid-ninety's. I think seeing it again made me truly realize what a huge project the Memorial is and I am saddened to know I won't see it completed.
Next stop - Devil's tower. That place is just cool.
Wandered over to Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper. BEAUTIFUL! (I highly recommend the drive if you enjoy mountains. Take snacks though.)
After Jasper, the wildlife started coming out. We saw white tail deer, elk, moose, eagles, buffalo, black bear, swans, caribou, fox, dall sheep, stone sheep and amazingly enough a wolf. YEA - none were introduced to the car!
After Jasper, the drive really starts and by the time I get to Whitehorse, I just want to be in Anchorage. Yukon Territory after Haines Junction has some really bumpy roads. Sadly, we did come across a semi trailer that had overturned on the highway. The driver and passenger were airlifted out by helicopter but seeing the damage to the cab when we drove by, I would be surprised if they survived. We stopped at the wreck about 2:30 pm and didn't get going again until almost 4:00pm. The highway had been closed since about 10:30am. Makes you appreciate cell service (there is none there) and lots of communities (closest ambulance was 90 minutes away).
Our last night on the road was in Tok, AK. The inn keeper was a champ and let us watch the OSU vs Florida State game in the lobby of the hotel as my Sirius radio does not work here.
After 5502 miles and lots of paint destroying rocks, we safely arrived in Anchorage on August 31st.
1 comment:
Very good trip log! And it was an awesome trip! Thanks for taking me along!
Post a Comment