Haines to Destruction Bay (200 miles)
We backtracked over the passes of highway 3, heading north this time. We had a bit of hassle getting propane as it was a Sunday and everything was closed up. It would have been a pretty chilly night and Heather had cooking plans that was more than heating up soup! We eventually found a place open and I thought Heather was going to kiss the propane man!
Whilst Canadians have a reputation as being a friendly bunch and we can generally agree with that, the immigration guys seem to be missing the friendly gene. I think it could be something to do with being banished to a cold outpost in the middle of nowhere or that we clearly woke him up when we arrived at the border post!
Once we were topped up with propane and fuel it was time to find somewhere to sleep. We are getting good at spotting random logging trails to off-highway spots to park up, and tonight’s worked out great. More chance of being disturbed by moose than people.
Destruction Bay to Eagle Trail Campground (260 miles)
Back on the ALCAN and heading into Alaska, we crossed the border and it looks like the Canadians start the road repairs earlier in the season than the Americans! The frost causes huge potholes and frost heaves that are basically big holes in the road. The Ford F-150 truck hauling the camper unit has been great all trip but today it took a bit of a battering. We hit some unexpected gravel patches which were half arsed attempts to fix the holes but all they did was hide them.
After a few times of pebble dashing the bottom of the truck with gravel, it finally protested and we had most of the warning lights on at one point and lots of beeping. One of the warning lights was steering fluid which was a bit of a concern considering it was 100 miles to the next garage! Luckily no pipes or hoses were damaged and after a bit of turn the engine off and on a few times (my software engineering skills were put to good use!) it was back to normal – this time with speed reduced a bit 🙂
The only damage was that one of the steps to the camper dropped off, this didn’t bother me but Heather’s legs are a bit too short to make it up without some complaining.
With the season not starting yet it means a lot of the campgrounds are closed – luckily at the one we arrived at tonight they forgot to close the gate – aka ‘free campground’.
Eagle Trail to Valdez (245 miles)
We took another diversion from the highway and headed down to the coast again, this time to Valdez. Valdez is infamous for the oil spill and the town is less tourist town and more oil terminal town but it is still a beautiful spot on the waterfront of Prince William Sound. We took the Richards Highway south over the Thompson Pass and had great views of the Worthington Glacier.
With the season still not having started yet, the kayak companies were not running any tours so we parked up at the waterfront and had a campervan party and worked through the beers we had collected from each state along the way!
