ALASKA - THE ARRIVAL

We were intrigued by the fact that we were so close to a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Four contiguous national and provincial parks straddle the international border and protect different regions of the St. Elias mountains. The Yukon's Kluane ((Kloo-AH-nee) National Park and Preserve (21,980 sq km), Alaska's Wrangell-St. Elias (52,600 sq km) and Glacier Bay National Park (13,360 sq km) and British Columbia's Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park (9,580 sq km), form the largest international protected area in the world. It is considered an outstanding wilderness of global significance. A little more than half the park makes up the largest non-polar ice fields in the world.

We didn't intend to go to Haines but had been told that the drive from there Haines Junction was beautiful. We opted to go just as far as Kathleen Lake in Kluane NP. The fee for a campsite was $15.70. We don't get a senior discount in Canada! Firewood was free, however it was $8.80 for a 'Campfire Permit'. Interesting.

Our secluded campsite.

View behind us.

In spite of loading the maps for Canada on our Garmin before we left, it has not handled Canada well, at all. This was even more cryptic than usual as we were leaving Kathleen Lake, headed north back to the Alaska Highway. 

We stopped again in the Visitor Center in Haines Junction because Linda can never seem to remember to stamp her National Parks Passport on the first visit. Strategically placed right across the street is Village Bakery. How could we not stop for a muffin to take along for 'elevenses'? A gas stop on the edge of town yielded this sign, attached to three pieces of heavy construction equipment. Local politics always make Linda take notice.

Fortified with fuel and treats, we had to face the dreaded stretch of highway from Burwash Landing to Beaver Creek and the border. The highway travels alongside beautiful, 82 mile-long Kluane Lake. Not much of one's attention is free to enjoy it. Disappointingly, the Kluane Natural History Museum was closed for electrical work. Outside, however, was an excellent exhibit of fire ecology and the history of the 1999 fire there.


The Alaska Highway,  named the 'Alcan' while it belonged to the military, was built by the U.S. in ten months in 1942 in response to the threat of a Japanese invasion of Alaska. It has been under 'reconstruction' ever since. All of the highway has been paved but this section is built on unstable permafrost and subject to 'frost heaves'. (The definition of permafrost is soil which is frozen, without thawing, for two years.) Paving the highway causes increased heat absorption and melts the permafrost, causing the roadbed to collapse. Subsequent freezing causes it to heave. Alternating with good stretches of highway, it makes for a very tense drive. Often, but not always, the worst sections are marked with orange flags.

There are many studies being done to resolve some of the problems. This is one designed to allow cool air circulation, preventing thawing.

All too often, it's too late to slow down by the time you see them.

A welcome sight!

Carole was so happy to get to the Alaska border after the long stretch of bad road and the high prices in Canada that she willingly posed for these pictures. She was very careful to stand on the U.S.side.

It's official. We're in Alaska!