As usual, we were about the last to leave the Destruction Bay campground heading to Skagway, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 27. At just under 270 miles, we were expecting an arduous journey through the Yukon and British Columbia and back into Alaska.
It was a day that brought three major surprises.
Surprise #1 -- Things got interesting at Slim’s River Bridge (Mile 23). There we saw a bridge that the legendary Sam McGee helped build. And, the surprise: Madi was there to ask us to do the caravan’s blog for the day. A long, dull day ahead … and we had to find things to write about.
Surprise #2 – The road was laced with road heaves and construction delays. That’s not unusual, and it was a welcomed relief when we finally got to a smooth section of highway, and then came the surprise … or surprises. Major bumps in the road, some with signs and flags but a few with nothing but skid marks and wavy white lines on the roadside. We took it down a notch from our usual 58 mph.
Surprise #3 -- One of the most glorious, awe-inspiring highways in of our entire trip. It may have started at Emerald Lake (Mile 198.3), where the blending of green and aqua waters was memorable. We stopped at Spirit Lake and others over the next 100 miles or so, drawn to the viewing areas by the vistas.
The “World’s Smallest Desert,” which is actually a glacial silt dune, was a hop, skip & jump away, was our next stop. Then, not far down the road we visited Caribou Crossing, a tourist-trap village featuring a 3,000-pound slab of jade, a dogsled team behind whom visitors can ride for $50, and several other ways to spend unneeded money. The ice cream was good (our purchase for $3.50).
We drove into Carcross, a very interesting, historic town being restored by the Canadian government, which serves currently as the end of the narrow-gauge railroad from Skagway. We wish we could have stayed there another few hours, but we could almost feel Spence and Madi breathing down our necks.
A short time later, we were part of a two-vehicle bear jam. A black bear crossed in front of us, posed for pictures and went on his way.
Next stop: Yukon Suspension Bridge Visitors Center, where we cajoled the guard into allowing us to take a photo of the bridge by putting the camera up over a fence. At $17 a person to cross the bridge, we decided to forego the opportunity to walk across a gorge and back. We got a free sample of a maple cookie in the gift shop.
A few more stops at roadside pull-outs to contemplate the varied scenery, and soon it was time to take off the sunglasses to enter Alaska again. Our passage was delayed by a group of about 25 bicyclists in front of us, but we made it through in about 20 minutes.
Down the steepest grade of the tour with more beautiful scenery all around us, and suddenly we were in Skagway, greeted with a rousing or rowdy group of caravan members having an unscheduled social. But the day wasn’t over for us.
After getting settled a bit, we took off for town, hoping to see cruise ships while they were in port. Turns out, there are always cruise ships in port – very impressive. We ended our adventurous day by watching a van carrying girls screech up to the dock in time to see their cruise ship pulling out of sight into the fjord. The implications of their distress kept our interest until we got to sleep.
One other note. By the time most of us awoke Tuesday morning, Jenks & Nancy Jenkins and Nelson and Marlene Cahill had departed the caravan, on to other adventures. It was good having them as part of the group for the past five weeks.
Everyday on this trek to the Land of the Midnight Sun is wonderful!
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