Monday, July 13, 2009

Dawson City to Tok

Set off on a cloudy Day from Dawson City at 8;30. we needed to take the Ferry across the Yukon River to continue our trip on the Top of the World Highway. There was no line for the Ferry when we arrived, however only one RV and towed vehicle would fit at one time and construction vehicles and tour buses had priority. It took 4 crossings before we were all across and ready to tackle the next adventure. It was our turn to lead. About 10 miles from the landing we hit the gravel/washboard roads. They went up, they went down, they went round and a. round. There was no guard rails and as John says they were wide enough for 2 Model T's to pass. Going slow 5-10mph I thought the coach would shake apart. When we increased the speed to 35mph we seemed to skim the top of the bumps but then the curves became more treacherous. we had 100+ miles to go. Sorry but my camera broke the day before (it bounced off the dash during a bumpy stretch) and I was having a hard time working John/s. By the time we hit the boarder it was not only cloudy but a haze was settling in. The farther we went the thicker it got. It was the smoke from the forest fires. Visibility was diminishing. Soon it was so bad that we could not see the sides of the road and when we hit the gravel again there was NO line down the center. If we could see 5 ft in front of us we were lucky. I was almost ready to go and walk in front of the coach. Thankfully it started to disperse and at least we could now see the road. We stopped in Chicken. We were more than half way. Shortly after we met up with the Alaskan Highway and smooth roads. What a relief. We reached Tok and the Sourdough Campground. Before entering the Campground we stopped for fuel. John had taken some on in Chicken but at 4.35/gal. --not a full tank. Alex arrived on fumes. Glad we did not have to worry about that on the trip. We had a relaxing evening at the campground. Chilie in sourdough bread bowls and then a pancake toss to see if we could win breakfast in the morning. We all need more practice in tossing those pancakes.
Would we do it again? Probably not. The weather was so bad we can't even say that the view was great. But it was an experience.

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