Alaska or Bust - Day 15

Day 15 – Haines Junction, YT to Tok, Alaska (back in USA)


Last night we stayed in a roadside motel in the tiny town of Haines Junction and Brian said for loading/unloading purposes, it was his favorite. He backed the truck right up to our 1st floor room and things happened in a matter of minutes. Despite him having to fix the room AC unit, it wasn’t too shabby of a stay. Not too bad for our last night in Canada.

The drive this morning let us see the snow-topped mountains which really were breathe-taking. After traveling along some of the most beautiful scenic roads (although the road conditions were not too good due to ongoing and continuous permafrost damage in the winter), we arrived back in the United States shortly after lunch time. Before arriving at the border and going through customs, I asked Brian jokingly, “Do you think the border guard will welcome us home just like they do when we are vacationing at the Disney Vacation Club resorts? You know, ‘Welcome Home Mrs. Heck!” I quickly found out that they were all business… just wanted to see our passports, wanted to know where we are going, and if we had any firearms. That’s it. It was a little anti-climatic if you ask me. But then again, so was crossing the border INTO Canada. No getting out of the truck. No truck inspection. No strip searches. Nothing. Easy Peasy. Oh well, at least we gained another hour in our favor this time – we are now on the Alaska Time Zone.

One profound noticeable difference as we entered back into the US was the condition of the roads. It was like night & day. The roads up in this region in the US were MUCH better. Smoother; better marked/painted. *Huh*

Shortly after we stopped to take the “Welcome to Alaska” picture, Thomas asked me what we just did when Brian and I jumped out of the truck (didn’t feel like hauling the kids out of the truck since 2 of 3 were asleep). I told him that we had just arrived into Alaska and took a picture of the sign. He looked more closely out the window and seemed a bit confused. He turned to me and stated, “We aren’t in Alaska yet Mom - there is no snow here. Alaska has a lot of snow. When I see snow, I will let you know that we finally are there, OK?”

I’m not sure why I haven’t mentioned this yet before now, but they aren’t kidding when you hear that there is an obscene amount of sunlight and daylight hours in the summer up here. Thank goodness almost everywhere has had dark out curtains because as of last night when I went to bed at 10:30 pm, the sun was still shining like it was 6 pm. Crazy. Just crazy.

OK so we arrive down in Anchorage tomorrow.  Finally.  Not sure what the Internet situation will be when we are in TLF (Temporary Living Facility) on base, but knowing Brian... he will have us hooked up and online pretty quickly if possible.  I know on the agenda for Saturday is to do some shopping for Abbigail and her birthday (which is Sunday); secondly will be to explore Elmendorf AFB and the city of Anchorage.  We are going into this with open eyes and the willingness to explore and experience everything we possibly can.  Heck, we have already driven across two countries (4300+ miles)... there is even more to see and do now that we are practically here.  I promise you will hear from us soon.

Day 15 = 295 miles
Total Trip = 4,394 miles