But first, here are a few more photos from heading out of Alaska...
The Harding Icefield and Exit Glacier near Seward (a must-see if you're ever in Alaska)
Fall colors and the Matanuska River along the Glenn Highway
Autumn in Alaska was magnificent...
Sunset from my boondocking spot along the road to Lake Louise.
The Lake Louise road boondocking spot -- my last night in Alaska.
Matanuska Glacier. There's a winding road going down to the foot of the glacier, where I could have possibly touched it -- I promised a friend to touch at least one glacier when I was in Alaska -- but the road was too steep and narrow for Tundra and Discovery. And I left Alaska having never touched a glacier. Something to plan for my return in 2018.
One last look at Alaska's vast, magnificent and unforgettable landscape.
And now it's South From Alaska...I had to make time as the weather was turning, and I didn't relish having to pull Discovery in snow or icy roads. Here's the Alaska Highway in the Yukon.
I followed the same route heading south as when I was going north. Not that I had much choice. Kluane Lake, more like a miniature ocean --
Then I ran into a spot of truck trouble at Whitehorse; the Trip of Serendipity hit a snag. It turns out diesel had gotten into my gas tank. Was it a mistake made by one of the tiny gas stations along the highway -- inadvertently putting diesel into an underground gas tank; it has been known to happen -- or was it MY mistake? I'll never know the reason, only that I had to spend nearly a week in Whitehorse, waiting for my truck's fuel system to be cleaned out. The "check engine" light had gone on prior to that, and it was still on after the truck had been "fixed". "Oh, the light will go out once all of the diesel is out of the fuel system," the mechanic at Whitehorse said. It never did until Butte, Montana, but I'm getting ahead of myself. I got back on the road and at least there was no traffic --
The rest stop bathroom graffiti around the Cassiar and Alaska Highway intersection could be inventive and wise --
I was now faced with a decision. My "check engine" light was on, so I didn't have total confidence in the truck. I could take the Cassiar Highway south, which I'd taken going north, but most of the campgrounds would be closed for the season and the gas stations are few and far between. Besides, it was a "mom and pop" independent station where the diesel/gas problem started. So I opted to take the Alaska Highway all the way to its beginning at Dawson Creek, though it was a longer drive and wouldn't take me directly south as the Cassiar would. But at least there would be more places to stay as it's the major highway in the area and there would be more big-name gas stations and not just independents. So my first stop was Watson Lake, with its famouse "Signpost Forest" --
I was thinking of contributing one of my FARANUF Arizona licence plates, since I had two and Arizona only requires one on the rear, but didn't. Maybe I will when I go through Watson Lake on my next North To Alaska trip. The highway eventually dropped into northern British Columbia, and the fall colors continued their dazzling display --
There's an electronic sign over the road where Alaska Highway enters British Columbia. It lists road conditions up ahead, and I did a double-take when I saw "Bison on road -- Drive with care". And they were right, though these had ambled off to the side --
This fellow was eyeing me carefully. And these are bison, not buffalo; American bison live only in North America, while the two main buffalo species reside in Africa and Asia. The mixup was thought to have begun when early American settlers called bison "bufello" due to the similar appearance between the two animals. And I suppose "Buffalo Bill" has a better ring to it than "Bison Bill".
Since the Alaska Highway goes east, I had to go up and over the northern Canadian Rockies. I passed Muncho Lake, with its crystal-clear water --
And started my climb up to the pass. The scenery through the Rockies is jaw-dropping; though it was a tight squeeze along the narrow road I just had to pull off and take a photo --
But the weather was getting worse on the eastern side of the pass. Though I did see this caribou --
But it was snow and ice. And I didn't know what was up ahead.
I went into the clouds, hit snow flurries, saw a bear gamboling in the snow on the side of the road -- I daren't stop while pulling the trailer -- and finally got out on the other side to clear skies. Which lasted for all of a day. An early-season storm had moved in to the east side of the Rockies, so the next day the road went up hills and down into valleys, going into clouds and then sunshine, snowy landscapes then less-snowy ones. Thank goodness the road was plowed as it's the major route through the area. Those are the Canadian Rockies in the distance --
But the weather made for VERY muddy conditions. Though the truck is filthy, at least the buggy is still relatively spotless --
Discovery had "her" share of dirt, too --
Except for the diesel/gas incident, I'd escaped having any damage to the truck and trailer. I'd heard stories about cracked windshields and headlights, broken axles, shredded tires -- you name it. Even my windshield had survived intact. But now I noticed a "bullet hole" --
-- and a U-shaped line that appeared to be growing. As I've been chronicling my travels on Facebook some FB friends gave suggestions as to how to control any further cracking. One mentioned using fingernail polish, but I preferred leaving Walmart with a tube of Superglue instead. It's now nearly 4 months later and there's no further cracking.
I finally ended up in Dawson Creek, Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway. To be honest, I wasn't too impressed; it had none of the charm I assumed it might have. So I continued on and eventually spent the night at a municipal campground/RV park west of Grand Prairie in Alberta, having driven about 400 miles. As most of the remaining route south to the US border was interstate driving I felt like I was pretty much in the clear. After an overnight stop at a deserted provincial park I found myself in Cardston, about 20 miles from the US border --
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