Leaving Congdon Creek at 8:10am and saw our first GRIZZLY here as we were getting ready to exit the campground. We stopped and grabbed the camera to get pictures! We have been on the road for a month and this is the only Grizzly Bear we have seen that didn’t run away. (we saw two others but could not get their picture)
Later on down the road we were treated to a Mama Grizzly and her twins. WOW, what a treat. No one was coming so we pulled over on to the shoulder and were able to stop even with them. They were just having a leisurely breakfast right off of the road. We grabbed both cameras and started shooting, got some really neat pictures. Cindy opened the door and was shooting standing halfway out of the door while I was shooting out the window. They were about 10-20 feet away. Those babies stayed close to Mama and she kept an eye on them. They finally decided it was time to move along and started making their way back into the trees so we moved on also. What an exciting start to our drive. Click on each picture to see it larger.
We didn’t know what we were to be treated to next. It was the loooongest roller coaster ride either of us had ever been on in our lives! We had read many times and been told by many people that the Alaska Highway is a very rough road. Many times we were asked why would we take our motorhome on that road. Up until today we were sure our Louisiana highways and I-10 were so much worse than the Alaska Highway. Well, we finally reached the bad section. Less than thirty miles on our way this morning we began to experience the dreaded FROST HEAVES. Frost heaves form when the road and the surface under it freezes then thaws and then freezes again. The subsurface expands as it freezes and the result is bumps and dips in the road. Looking down the highway you can see the road rippling up and down. The long gradual waves are not too bad but the short ones are a real killer. If you don’t slow down to about 30 or 40 mph you may lose control. Some of the frost heaves are marked with an orange flag on the side of the road but we found most are not marked. It made for a looooong drive.
We cannot complain too much because we have covered over 1,060 miles of the Alaska Highway before experiencing this horror. We were hoping when we crossed into Alaska the roads would be much improved, but they were not until about 30 miles out of Tok.
We stopped for lunch at Buckshot Betty’s in Beaver Creek, Yukon. Beaver Creek is the last little town in the Yukon before crossing the Canada/Alaska Border. The burgers were good but not great. It was a much needed stop!
We stopped for a quick picture with the Welcome to Alaska sign (which was before the US Customs station) then made it through customs.
Oh, we did have to throw out 2 “just ripe” avocados, you cannot bring them in to Alaska. Thankfully the rest of our food made it in.
Now to kick back, relax and catch up on laundry and internet.
Later on down the road we were treated to a Mama Grizzly and her twins. WOW, what a treat. No one was coming so we pulled over on to the shoulder and were able to stop even with them. They were just having a leisurely breakfast right off of the road. We grabbed both cameras and started shooting, got some really neat pictures. Cindy opened the door and was shooting standing halfway out of the door while I was shooting out the window. They were about 10-20 feet away. Those babies stayed close to Mama and she kept an eye on them. They finally decided it was time to move along and started making their way back into the trees so we moved on also. What an exciting start to our drive. Click on each picture to see it larger.
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| Further confirmation that a bear does not do it in the woods but on the roadside! |
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| This guy almost fell off the ledge! |
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| Big difference between mom and baby! |
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| Gimme a hug! |
We didn’t know what we were to be treated to next. It was the loooongest roller coaster ride either of us had ever been on in our lives! We had read many times and been told by many people that the Alaska Highway is a very rough road. Many times we were asked why would we take our motorhome on that road. Up until today we were sure our Louisiana highways and I-10 were so much worse than the Alaska Highway. Well, we finally reached the bad section. Less than thirty miles on our way this morning we began to experience the dreaded FROST HEAVES. Frost heaves form when the road and the surface under it freezes then thaws and then freezes again. The subsurface expands as it freezes and the result is bumps and dips in the road. Looking down the highway you can see the road rippling up and down. The long gradual waves are not too bad but the short ones are a real killer. If you don’t slow down to about 30 or 40 mph you may lose control. Some of the frost heaves are marked with an orange flag on the side of the road but we found most are not marked. It made for a looooong drive.
We cannot complain too much because we have covered over 1,060 miles of the Alaska Highway before experiencing this horror. We were hoping when we crossed into Alaska the roads would be much improved, but they were not until about 30 miles out of Tok.
We stopped for lunch at Buckshot Betty’s in Beaver Creek, Yukon. Beaver Creek is the last little town in the Yukon before crossing the Canada/Alaska Border. The burgers were good but not great. It was a much needed stop!
We stopped for a quick picture with the Welcome to Alaska sign (which was before the US Customs station) then made it through customs.
Oh, we did have to throw out 2 “just ripe” avocados, you cannot bring them in to Alaska. Thankfully the rest of our food made it in.
Now to kick back, relax and catch up on laundry and internet.
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