August 7

THE WEATHER: As we departed Tok it was a beautiful day in Alaska. Partly cloudy, Highs in the 60’s, dry, slight breeze.

THE DISTANCE: Left Tok around 12:30, crossed the Canadian border around 2:30 and arrived around Haines Junction at 7:30 (Keep in mind we are one hour different than when we left and we could only travel between 30 to 35 mph. due to being back in the bouncy house of the Yukon. Roads were as bad as we remembered them being.)

Gary and I sat and discussed the different options we have as we left Alaska. There was one road that we opted not to take on our way in to Alaska, but then wished we had due to what people were telling us about it. The Klondike Loop Road which takes you through Dawson City, Yukon sounded interesting. We were told there are a lot of bear and caribou sightings along that route. It would take us 50 miles out of our way but who’s counting miles at this point! BTW, we have driven a total of 7,100 miles so far. As I went to post the blog last night, using the laundromat to get out of the mosquitoes, we began talking to a woman who told us that the Klondike Loop Road has been closed! A culvert washed out a hole approximately 20 feet deep and 60 feet wide! We thanked her for the information and stuck with our original route which is the Alaska Hwy to Haines Hwy.

Before leaving Tok we took one last trip through some of their gift shops and got some gas. In talking to one of the ladies at the counter about the road closure she informed us that the Cassier Highway is also closed due to wild fires burning! Yikes! We were planning on being on the Cassier in just a few days! We may have to stay in Alaska, because there’s no way out.

Those two road closures prompted us to look at other options. We are beginning to think taking the Alaska Marine Highway would be a really cool alternative. We spent the night going over the difference between driving and the cost of taking the ferry through the Inside Passage. We estimated it will cost us an additional $600.00 and maybe 3 extra days in Alaska, but might be worth the extra money. We’ll be talking to the Marine Highway Terminal office tomorrow to see what they give us for a price. Stay tuned for more information!