Day 48 - Tok, Alaska to Destruction Bay, Yukon Territory

Ivan & Shirley Yurtin

Destruction Bay, YT Rig # 12 
Monday, July 26, 2010

We headed out this morning leaving Tok, AK for a long and rigorous drive to Destruction Bay, YT. So back on went the Pro Tec to protect our Jeep from the rocks. It was not raining, which was a nice change from what we had in Valdez, AK.

The departure procedure was a little different due to the fact that the Fantasy Tours schedule landed them in Tok along with Adventure Caravans. Naturally, that meant two caravans would be departing at the same time, but it worked out fine. Seventy-seven miles into the trip we came upon construction. As a result, we had a ten minute wait which resulted in 20 rigs lined up waiting for the construction workers. It was quite a sight to see that many rigs lined up on the highway. That was the only area that we had to actually stop and wait.

The major part of our journey was loose gravel, pot holes and frost heaves. . . . . . one right after the other. For the rig drivers it was a very long day of driving plus very challenging. Ivan started calling the highway to Destruction Bay the “Destruction Highway”. The road was rough on the rigs and created damage to Marvin’s tow hitch, bending the steel bar!

A good part of the scenery was trees on both sides of the road, ponds and lakes interspersed among the trees and shrubs. We kept watching for wildlife, but did not see much in the morning other than a cow moose standing in a lake. Later in the afternoon we stopped in a wonderful bakery and lodge called, “Pine Valley” located in Beaver Creek, YT. Jim and Evelyn stopped at the bakery also, and we left at the same time. A few miles down the road we noticed their rig was pulled off the road and we saw Evelyn walking down the highway pointing towards the trees. We stopped and sure enough a huge bull Moose. What a site!!

We had other sites we wanted to stop at but it was getting late and we wanted to stop at the Kluane Museum and still make it into the campground in order to check out the walking sticks that Doubie was selling. On the outside of the museum is the World’s largest Gold Pan. The Kluane Museum of Natural History had wildlife exhibits displayed in their natural habitat that were extremely realistic. Also displayed were Native clothing, tools, weapons and Yukon minerals. The museum was well worth the stop.

Once we arrived at Destruction Bay Lodge, we readily set up our RV and made our way to the travel briefing. Dinner was being served by Loren, the owner of the lodge. The dinner was excellent and he introduced himself and gave us some background as to how he developed this lodge into what it is today. The food was homemade from the preparation of the roast beef, potato salad, salad, salad dressing, homemade rolls, etc. Dessert was also homemade and Loren served the berry/rhubarb with whipped cream to each of us.

After dinner we were entertained by a wonderful band called “Loose Gravel” led by Tim Naylor. There were only a small handful of us that took advantage of the wonderful entertainment, in spite of being tired. Sorry so many of our fellow travelers missed a great performance. Loren played the drums in the band and later recited a poem that depicted his move and love of the area. He then sang a song that he wrote about the Kluane area. Loren is a very versatile person that Built the Destruction Bay Lodge, makes repairs as needed, cooks the food, composes music, plays drums and sings……quite a guy! We had him autograph a CD of his before we left.