We arrived in Skagway the afternoon of July 3rd. This is our first stop in Alaska, so far we have spent our time in Canada. Even though we are thousands of miles from California, it felt a little like coming home to be back in the USA! Our caravan group had been asked to participate in the Skagway 4th of July Parade, as we are a group of military veterans. Everyone came together, bringing decorations for two trucks. Paul Thomas, our wagon master, and Tom volunteered to drive their trucks. Now if you are ever wondering why we have such a big truck for the size trailer we pull, look at the second photo and you’ll see what we carry in the truck. It took Tom the afternoon on the 3rd to get it cleared out. The bed of the truck and the back seat serve for the storage we lack in our trailer!
At 8:00 a.m. the decorating began! Some people volunteered to ride in the back of the pickup trucks and many more walked the route, we also had one bike rider. We staged the trucks by the dock and at 10:00 the parade stepped off. It was a cold and misty morning, but the streets of Skagway were packed with joyful spectators and each time Tom blasted his air horn, the crowd cheered! Everyone either handed out candy or tossed it from the back of one of the trucks. The route went down main street, turned around and headed back up the same street (Skagway isn’t a very big town!). There is just something about a small-town 4th of July parade that warms your heart and brings a tear to your eye.
Later that day we all gathered for a traditional 4th of July bar-b-que with hot dogs and hamburgers, provided by the caravan. The “group 2” potluck folks provided all the sides. We laughed, visited, and generally had a great afternoon, finishing up with a game of beanbag baseball. Such a great way to celebrate this great country we live in!
Skagway is a stop on the cruise line itinerary and the with 3 ships in port the streets were packed with people. The fun fact is it’s hard to find a place to eat lunch, but by 5:00 all the people head back to the cruise ships, and it gets relatively quiet in town.
We took the White Pass train ride that follow the same path blasted out during the Klondike Gold Rush in 1898. The trail to Skagway was steep and dangerous and the building of the railroad through White Pass. The scenery was beautiful and the engineering it took to complete the rail line was impressive.
Later that day we took a bike ride up the road to a gold rush era cemetery and made a short hike to Reid’s falls. The falls were truly beautiful, and the ride was on a paved road, so I was also a fan of that!
Now, can we just stop for a moment and talk about mosquitos? Last year we were in Minnesota and never saw a single one, this year in Alaska they are EVERYWHERE! I brought a Thermocell bug repellant, that you put a cartridge into, and it protects you from most bugs, I have lavender spray, Deet, and citronella wrist bands but the thing I brought the most of was After Bite, because no matter how hard I try those little suckers still get me! Thank goodness for all the stuff I did bring, and thank you to our kids who gave me the wristbands, I really can’t take the thermocell on a bike ride!
We left Skagway on the 6th and traveled back to Yukon Territory and stayed at Haines Junction, just a wide spot in the road. On the 7th we left early and traveled back to Alaska to Tok. This drive was projected to be 7 – 8 hours and we were on the road a little over 9! There were frost heaves, which I didn’t really know about except they are where the road has buckled because the ground underneath freezes and the water expands pushing the road upward, sort of like a speed bump. So basically, you are traveling along and in front of you there may be a little orange flag indicating a frost heave. If you don’t slow down (or even if you do) it is more like a speed bump with a pothole on either side!
Canada “fixes” these and then spreads loose gravel over them and warns you that there is loose gravel and “severely dusty conditions”. This is a complete understatement! For a good part of this portion of the drive we were unable to average any more than 30 mph.
But as an added treat, we did stop and snap a photo of the world’s largest gold pan! The excitement never ends.
Just before the United States border, they are repairing and resurfacing the road. This required us to be escorted through. The bad news? We had to wait 45 minutes for the escort vehicle, which only took us a couple of miles to the inspection point. Once we cleared that we had to wait again for the escort vehicle. The good news? The road was nice a smooth until the end of the escort (about 30 miles) then it was awful again! We arrived in Tok pretty much unscathed, but the amount of dust in the trailer was amazing! For those hunters reading this, think of taking your RV on the roads of Yuma, yeah, I spent the next day cleaning!
The drive was long and exhausting but also beautiful. The scenery is truly amazing, and we saw a bald eagle swoop down across the road to the river running next to us. And, no, I did not get a photo!
I was also amazed at the weather. On our drive to Tok the truck registered 90 degrees, I checked at home, and it was only 82. So much for the cool Alaska weather, and oh! The sun doesn’t set until 11:30 p.m. and it rises at 3:15 a.m.
Tok is an adorable little place, and we visited the Tanana River, relaxed and played some cards. I learned to play Hand and Foot – My Mom would be so proud! We leave next for Fairbanks and the adventure continues!
Tom and Patti's RV Adventure 