Thursday, July 03, 2008
Skagway to Valdez
[Be sure to click on the photos for larger versions.]
This installment covers Monday (June 30) through Thursday (July 3).
Monday was a sunny driving day. We got an early start from Skagway; went through Canadian customs; reset our clocks; stopped for breakfast (ice cream) in Carcross; and bought fuel in Whitehorse. Carcross is a small, picturesque community whose name is short for Caribou Crossing.
En route today we saw one moose, one fox, and one lynx. Mid-afternoon, our windshield wipers suddenly started by themselves and would not turn off. We pulled off, could not find the right fuse, and instead disconnected the wiring connector to the wiper motor. Also, when I checked the tire pressure this evening, one of the tire valves would not close. The valve cap is preventing any leaking, but I will need to see a tire place when we get to Tok.
The scenery today was pretty, with the snow-topped Kluane Mountains to our south a good part of the day. Destruction Bay is actually on Kluane Lake. There was about 7 miles of road construction just before we arrived at the campground. I remember from our 2002 trip that the road between here and Tok, Alaska was the worst of the trip. I hope it has improved some since then.
This evening was a bring-your-own-plate BBQ dinner in the campground. The campground owner told us a little about the area. The name Destruction Bay dates to 1942, when 18 hours of 100 mile per hour wind destroyed the Army road construction camp at this location. After dinner a local guitar player/singer put on a good, short show.
I called Freightliner and Winnebago on Tuesday morning to try to diagnose the windshield wiper problem. Winnebago said that the most likely problem is a wet electrical connection. They suggested drying the connection carefully, then treating it with dielectric grease (apparently somehow related to dilithium crystals). If that doesn’t cure the problem, we will have to see a Winnebago dealer when we get to Anchorage.
Tuesday was a drizzly driving day. There were several short stretches of gravel road, and a lot of frost heaves. Our tailender treated our windshield with Rainex last night and it worked as advertised – we were able to drive safely all day without the windshield wipers. Because of the rain and mud, we did not see much in the way of scenery. It also is the first day in a while that we saw no wildlife.
Wednesday was a bright and sunny free day that we used to do errands. This morning we did laundry, fixed our windshield wiper problem as suggested by Winnebago, got the leaky tire valve core replaced at the local tire shop, and washed the RV and car at the campground’s wash facilities.
Our group had a social hour this afternoon – we gave up after about an hour and a quarter of sitting in the sun. The sun may be short lived – Internet weather says that we will have showers for three of the next four days in Valdez.
Thursday was a driving day from Tok to Valdez. It was sunny, and the road was in good condition except for a couple of stretches of continuous frost heaves. This is a pretty drive, with views of heavily snow covered mountains. We saw 4 moose; however, all were at a distance and we could not get any photos. We had lunch at the Trail Lodge with another couple from our group.
After a social hour in the RV park’s recreation hall, Carol and I went out for pizza at a local restaurant.
This installment covers Monday (June 30) through Thursday (July 3).
Monday was a sunny driving day. We got an early start from Skagway; went through Canadian customs; reset our clocks; stopped for breakfast (ice cream) in Carcross; and bought fuel in Whitehorse. Carcross is a small, picturesque community whose name is short for Caribou Crossing.
En route today we saw one moose, one fox, and one lynx. Mid-afternoon, our windshield wipers suddenly started by themselves and would not turn off. We pulled off, could not find the right fuse, and instead disconnected the wiring connector to the wiper motor. Also, when I checked the tire pressure this evening, one of the tire valves would not close. The valve cap is preventing any leaking, but I will need to see a tire place when we get to Tok.
The scenery today was pretty, with the snow-topped Kluane Mountains to our south a good part of the day. Destruction Bay is actually on Kluane Lake. There was about 7 miles of road construction just before we arrived at the campground. I remember from our 2002 trip that the road between here and Tok, Alaska was the worst of the trip. I hope it has improved some since then.
This evening was a bring-your-own-plate BBQ dinner in the campground. The campground owner told us a little about the area. The name Destruction Bay dates to 1942, when 18 hours of 100 mile per hour wind destroyed the Army road construction camp at this location. After dinner a local guitar player/singer put on a good, short show.
I called Freightliner and Winnebago on Tuesday morning to try to diagnose the windshield wiper problem. Winnebago said that the most likely problem is a wet electrical connection. They suggested drying the connection carefully, then treating it with dielectric grease (apparently somehow related to dilithium crystals). If that doesn’t cure the problem, we will have to see a Winnebago dealer when we get to Anchorage.
Tuesday was a drizzly driving day. There were several short stretches of gravel road, and a lot of frost heaves. Our tailender treated our windshield with Rainex last night and it worked as advertised – we were able to drive safely all day without the windshield wipers. Because of the rain and mud, we did not see much in the way of scenery. It also is the first day in a while that we saw no wildlife.
Wednesday was a bright and sunny free day that we used to do errands. This morning we did laundry, fixed our windshield wiper problem as suggested by Winnebago, got the leaky tire valve core replaced at the local tire shop, and washed the RV and car at the campground’s wash facilities.
Our group had a social hour this afternoon – we gave up after about an hour and a quarter of sitting in the sun. The sun may be short lived – Internet weather says that we will have showers for three of the next four days in Valdez.
Thursday was a driving day from Tok to Valdez. It was sunny, and the road was in good condition except for a couple of stretches of continuous frost heaves. This is a pretty drive, with views of heavily snow covered mountains. We saw 4 moose; however, all were at a distance and we could not get any photos. We had lunch at the Trail Lodge with another couple from our group.
After a social hour in the RV park’s recreation hall, Carol and I went out for pizza at a local restaurant.
