RTTMS June 18, 2011 Headin' South-Sort of

Today we arose in Tok,Ak at about 5:00 am and started loading to make a quick exit to Whitehorse, YT., after breakfast. Question...how to you pronounce TOK?

The weather was cool, about 46 degrees F, clear blue sky and no wind. We were quickly on the highway looking forward to crossing into the Yukon Territory and making the turn south.
The road has some wet spots on it from the rain yesterday but other than that, it was clear riding. We passed several scenic views that we had missed on the way north. Sometimes traveling the opposite direction on a road yields a very different sights.

The valley leading to the border is very lush and covered with lakes, streams and sitka spruce trees. Once again, the tall mountains that filled the horizon were capped with bright white snow and cloud cover.
We passed out of the USA into the Yukon without stopping. There is some sort of an agreement between the two governments that does not require a passport check going out, only going into the other country.

The Alaska Highway on the Canada side is being worked on for about 182 kms (113 miles). There are areas of chip-seal, just gravel on the road and water on top of the loose stuff. The dust can be a little messy but fun riding during this stretch.
The views of the mountains in this valley are wonderful and sometimes take you mind off of the poor road conditions.

On coming traffic is also fun since the generate dust and some flying stones that are somewhat of a problem.
One thing Jeff and I noticed about Alaska vehicles.The usually have two options we are not used to seeing.
The first option is an electrical plug hanging from the front grill/bumper/front end. The second is a cracked windshield.

The first option is an engine block heater used in the winter to keep the engine warm when parked so it will start easier in the extremely low temperatures. Many hotels have outlets outside in the parking lot for the use of the peoples spending the night.

The second option is just there because since on the few main roads are paved and everything else outside the cities is gravel, the road is constantly covered with stones and they are thrown into the windows with great frequency.

Strange but true.

After we finished dodging the frost heaves that had not been repaired yet, we passed Lake Kulane. This is a beautiful blue lake.We learned that this lake has salmon that swim the 1500 miles up the Yukon River all the way through Alaska and spawn in this lake. That is simply amazing that they have the endurance and sense of smell to find their way this far from the ocean.

We stopped along the lake to get some pictures and talked to some folks traveling north with travel trailers and informed them of the poor road conditions.
At the Cop Stop.
We continued south to Haines Junction for refueling. While there, we were caught by quick rain shower but nothing to be concerned about.

We then headed to Whitehorse to our stop for the day. Just outside of Whitehorse, the highway is also under construction for in several areas and a couple of them were very loose gravel and the riding was exciting.

Killed a lot of bugs today.

The city of TOK is pronounced like Coke only with a T.

We are setup in the room and planning to make it to Ft. Nelson, BC.

Rode 395 miles today and missed the real rain.

More tomorrow.

Mike