Day 8: Are We There Yet!?!

as remembered by Stacy

We continued our drive through Canada weaving in and out of British Columbia and The Yukon Territory several times on day 8. One of the days first sightings was the "thousands of bison" that the crazy lady from day seven had warned us about...really there were only a fraction of that amount, and they weren't technically ON the road...but it was still really cool. As was the drive that day, sunny and gorgeous! Our morning drive brought us to the first Yukon community, Watson Lake, home of the "Sign Post Forest." It was started in 1942 by a homesick Army G.I., who while working on the Alaska Highway, placed a sign pointing the way and stating the mileage to his hometown. Everyone followed his lead, the 10,000th sign placed in 1990..and over 70,000 as of 2007! When we walked through we found Nebraska license plates, Husker signs, Signs from Hazard and Fremont Nebraska, and even a sign from Jonathan's annual family vacation site in Minnesota...check it out!

...Sign, Sign...



...Everywhere A Sign....














After wandering through the "forest," our growling stomachs encouraged us to get on the road and find some food. So, we did just that and found ourselves at a roadside Lodge called Rancheria. Jonathan had collected a handful of travel guides from the Sign Forest Visitor Center, which included coupons for discounted fuel...Rancheria was the first place with a discount, so we stopped to fuel and calm our disgruntled stomachs. Even with the discounted 4 cents/litre it still costed around $90 together each time we stopped for gas, which averaged 3 times a day in Canada..unfortunately, we planned our 4044 mile trip during the highest gas prices i've seen in my lifetime...BUT, completely worth it! After our meal of hamburger, fries, coffee (jonathan) and a diet coke (me), we were again on our way. We crossed over the Continental Divide..again (see day 3, Yellowstone Park) on our way to our next stop, Teslin. Here we stopped to collect "attraction numbers" for the "Yukon Adventure Contest 2008," another brochure Jonathan had grabbed at the Sign Forest. The adventure was to stop at designated attractions along the Alaska Highway in the Yukon Territory and collect a number from the desk worker at each location. If 5 or more attractions are visited, the form can be mailed in for a chance to win $1000 of FREE gas. Of course we entered. Jonathan did the dirty work of collecting numbers along the way, while I took pics. (In the end, it was a nice thought, but we didn't win...sad.)



We were never really sure how far we would get by the end of any given day, and this day was no different. At this point in the trip, we were close to the "fork in the road" (also known as Jake's Corner) that would take us either: a)Northwest, continuing through the Yukon or b)Southwest into the "Southeast" of Alaska (sounds confusing, but if you look at a map you will understand). I had left a message for my friend, Ruth, who was spending the summer working as a climbing guide in Skagway, letting her know that we would be in the general vicinity that day. Jonathan and I decided we were making good time and why not check out Skagway? That we did! We found ourselves once again leaving the Yukon and crossing back into British Columbia, it was after 9pm, but still full daylight. What a gorgeous drive this ended up being! It was stated in one tour guide that "the scenery around here with blow your hair back!" By that point in the trip, without a recent shower, my hair was so well greased to my head, I don't think the strongest wind could have blown through it....but, the scenery was pretty awesome!




As we continued downward through British Columbia into Alaska, the elevation dropped us into this crazy "Lord Of The Rings" type of setting. Everything was green and foggy...there were waterfalls coming out the sides of mountains and each turn would open up something even cooler! Getting a good pic was no small feat, as it was hard enough to focus on the road with very limited visibility due to the fog. Still daylight, we gained an hour when crossing into Alaska...and nearly lost it when we got to customs. Not really, but it did take us some time to get through U.S. Customs. Our biggest fear finally came true. The Custom Patrolman asked to look in our U-Haul. Let's just remember back to day 1, that this U-Haul is incredibly jam-packed with all our belongings and has not been opened since it was packed. So, approximately 3200 miles of starting, stopping, uphill and downhill....imagine the shifting of all those belongings. Not to mention that a number of clothing items, blankets, etc. were packed in vaccuum sealed bags that had lost their seal and had expanded. I watched through my rear-view mirror as Jonathan struggled to get the U-Haul door open for the Patrolman, and struggled even more to get the door shut. After several minutes, I jumped out to see if I could help. Afraid of losing an arm in the effort, I stood by and watched Jonathan man-handle my bike, several UN-vaccuum sealed bags and random cleaning supplies and hangers that had been thrown in last, until the door finally latched closed. For a second I considered staying in Skagway, thinking it may be less of a hassle just to live there instead of crossing the border twice more before getting to our final destination! :) Coming down through the pass into Skagway was a very steep drop, and all I could think about was how Jonathan was going to pull the U-Haul back up the same pass the next day when we returned. The list of "reasons to stay in Skagway" was getting longer... We were welcomed with huge hugs from Ruth and taken to our "quarters" where we would have a bed to sleep in. It was a loft twin bed, nearly the size of our tent, but it was a bed, no less, and we were excited! Ruth works for Alaska Mountain Guides, and all the employees live in 2 houses. We claimed a bed from an employee that had left as the season was winding down. We walked through the quiet streets of Skagway, and felt like we were in a ghosttown. During the summer, Skagway is a popular stopping point for all the Cruise Ships. The main street looks like the set from an Old Western Movie, and is lined with stores selling furs, jewelry, and anything else tourists to Alaska might be interested in. Apparently the last Cruise Ship had left just a couple of hours before we rolled into town, and there was no one around. We joined Ruth and her friend Brian for dinner and drinks, Ruth and I catching each other up on the whereabouts of our families and our old friends from college. After another long day of driving, Jonathan and I retired to our sleeping bags in the twin loft. Even though we still had a couple of days to drive...it felt good to be in ALASKA!