Northern Trails And Tales

Special Dispatch From The Field….On Monday, June 19th as the sun crossed the yardarm, we crossed from Canada into Poker Flats, Alaska, USA. This time there was no international incident that would cause Homeland Security to raise the alert status. In fact, a very personable and humorous customs official had us processed in about three minutes max! A pleasant change from the last time. Last night we stayed in Tok, Alaska and tonight we’re just outside Fairbanks t our home for the next week or so. It’s on a pond that’s a site for a couple sea plane bases and a regular small plane airport. We have a waterfront lot with a gorgeous view. I’ll try to get a picture posted on the blog soon…. Yesterday’s trip was something else. From Dawson City we took a ferry boat across the swift Yukon River which still features ice chunks and immediately began a 4000 foot ascent into the mountains. Most of the trip was on narrow, winding, steep roads with no shoulders to speak of and no guard rails anywhere at all. There was barely room for two vehicles to pass and sometimes your vehicle’s wheels were only three feet or so from a thousand or more foot drop. The way you have to view it, I guess, is that a drop of five feet could kill you. Some of the time we were actually driving above the tree line with snow banks along the side of the road. You who know me, realize it was white knuckle all the way. The views were spectacular and vertigo inducing . Unfortunately, this jaunt is about 140 miles long and the potholed and washboard surface gets to you long before you reach the pavement in Chicken, Alaska. I’m not sure that I’d want to do it again, but… We have wi-fi at the Chena Marina RV Park where well be till early next week. However, it’s intermittent wi-fi. Some of the folks up here blame it on Eielson Air Force Base, which is only a couple miles away, with all their sophisticated communication systems. Anyway, I’ll be in touch, but if I’m not on-line a lot, that’s the reason. Please keep in mind, too, that we are now on Alaskan Time, four hours behind EDST. It never gets dark here— at least as this time of year. Tonight we’re off to the midnight baseball game featuring the Alaskan Goldpanners…. A report tomorow— maybe….