We made it to Alaska!!! After driving nearly 2,200 miles we arrived in Tok, Alaska where the sun sets at 11:43 pm and rises again at 3:15 am.
Last night we stayed in a wonderful RV park 33 miles south of Beaver Creek, Yukon. There was a community campfire (everyone off loading the firewood obtained in Canada which is not allowed in the USA). We met fellow RVers also heading north. What’s interesting is every one heading “North to Alaska” has great stories of their trip and some folks have done the trip several times.
The road between Destruction Bay and the border is rumored to be the worst part of the drive, dirt and gravel road that were wet down to reduce dust but increase mud on your vehicles. Check out the caked on mud on both the truck and RV. At the campfire last night we had a vote on which RV had the most mud. We were told the RV Park manager that the closest RV wash is in Tok. The rumors are correct. As some point the wash boarding was so bad that we were going 10 mph and that seemed too fast. The arrival time on the GPS kept getting further and longer down the road. Once we passed into Alaska, the roadway was dramatically improved. Clearly there were some frost heaves, but generally the road was well cared for and easy to travel.
At noon today we arrived at the Alaska border crossing and were greeted by a customs official. There were no other vehicles in front or behind us, we were entering the border solo, just Karen and me and 55 feet of RV and Truck. We were ready with all the answers, no firewood, all fruits and vegetables in a bag ready to hand over. He asked only two questions: “Do you have any firearms; are you carrying more than $10,000”? The answer to both was “NO”. He took our passports and said he would be right back. He came back a few minutes later and said…. “Have a nice trip”.
Our first stop is Tok, 70 miles west of the border, and find the RV wash. Before setting up the RV, at our site, we drove directly to the RV wash, taking about an hour and some labor, the RV and truck was clean again. The plan is to be here for 4 days and do some side trips without the RV. One side trip is to visit Chicken, Alaska and drive the Top of the World Highway and spend the night in Dawson City, Yukon. Going to learn all about the gold rush, and the showgirls who entertained the seekers. Just outside of Tok, our AT&T cell phones started buzzing with messages and voice mail that had been waiting for us. It was great to pick up the phone and call home, and all the other reservations we needed to make.
