Watson Lake Y.T. to Haines Junction, Y.T. to Palmer, AK

We left Watson Lake at 8 a.m. and headed across the Yukon to Haines Junction. We had originally planned to stay in Whitehorse, Yukon, but it was only 1 p.m. when we got there and we wanted to keep going a few more hours. We stopped in Whitehorse to eat lunch at Mickey D's. No adventuresome lunches. Ken doesn't like eating in places that seem strange. Thank goodness Mc Donalds was not in every town!

The food selection was not great however, so we ended up making our own breakfasts and lunches and ate them along the way.

Haines Junction was majestic. The mountains surrounded the stop. We settled the dog into the motel room and unpacked the car. Then we took her on a walk around "town" to the local bakery. After she ate her dinner, we dined at the Frosty Freeze (someone was being tight with money!). The Frosty Freeze was OK, but I really would have prefered a dinner and not another sandwich. To splurge, I had onion rings (Ken hates them).

The roads up north have "freeze bumps" and the Alaska Hwy. from Haines Junction to the US border and further was the worst. The sign at the US/Canadian border refers to the ride as a Rollercoaster Ride. It was like Gadget's Rollercoaster in Toontown at Disneyland for hundreds of miles. The little trailer we were hauling took more of a beating than the Suburban. There was no way to nod off from boredom or listening to another murder mystery on that road. More than once, my seatbelt kept me in my seat!

The sceney was much the same....tall skinny pine trees that looked sick....could be the ground they were in was much like a bog. The Yukon was just thawing out. The mountains were in the distance and the road reminded me of I-80 through Wyoming.....up and down, except we did see trees and a few caribou.

When we reached the US border, customs was a snap. We were asked if we had meat, fruit, veggies, etc. They didn't ask about the dried dog food, so we got through. The US Customs has a compound there at the border for the customs agents and their families...talk about living in the boonies!

We arrived in Tok, Alaska around 2 p.m. and decided to keep going to Palmer. We arrived in Palmer at 6:15 p.m. When I got out of the car, I was pleasantly surprised by the warm weather. We hadn't had such nice warm temps since leaving Eureka, CA on Sunday, May 10.

When we arrived home, the sunshades and blackout shades had been installed. Good thing, since the sun doesn't go down until after 11 p.m. and is up before 5 a.m. We slept in until 8 this morning then started to unload the trailer and Suburban. We picked up the mail, but have not gone through it yet.