WE DID IT!!–Tok to End of Alaska Hwy on to Valdez

Let me catch up (again)


Since we had such a LONG & RUGGED ride to Tok, AK (and back); we decided to stay an extra day there so we could just rest & let the girls have a break from riding. Sadie was so anxious on the ride back into Beaver Creek to get my credit card, after crossing back into US, I got in the back seat with both of them to help calm them as we rode back. Mr.Charley did a great job driving & we were both happy he had put the “air spring “ suspension on the truck before we left.
There really isn’t that much in Tok, but we did a little shopping & took the extra day &  piddled around the RV. Mr. Charley did some RV maintenance things & I did some cleaning. But mostly, we rested & let the girls stay out in the beautiful sunny 81 degree weather. It actually got up to 86 that last day.


Here’s a few pics of Tok area:
 
These are my kind of signs!
   
My son-in-laws would love these! A dually jeep :0
   


Since I’ve been doing a blog, I haven’t been sending postcards to the grands (sorry )  so we did mail some before we left!





We also planned our next stops. Since the end of the Alaska Highway officially ends at Delta Junction (Historical Milepost 1422), only 108 miles northwest from Tok, we decided we’d leave early & go for it. Then we could cut over & head to Glennallen. (151 miles). If we stayed on the Alaska Hwy, (now called the Richardson Hwy) it would head to Fairbanks & the North Pole, but we need to make our way over towards Anchorage for Mr. Charley's eye shot; so we’ll catch that later. Then from Glennallen, we went on to Valdez. (119 miles)


Here’s the official end Historical Milepost 1422 in Delta Junction, AK
        
These were also at the Delta Junction Visitor Center  
               

Since it was so early, the Visitor Center was closed, but I’m sure we’ll be able to get some type of “souvenir” before we leave.


The drive from Delta Junction to Glennallen wasn’t that impressive as for any wildlife viewing. There was some cool mountain ranges (Donnelly Dome, Mount Deborah, Hess Mount, Mount Hayes, Rainbow Mountain & Wrangell-St. Elias ) we also went by Gulkana Glacier (among others), Isabel Pass & the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Then up through Thompson Pass & into Valdez. 


Here’s some pics from that ride:

Another long & “iffy” road  We’re learning a lot about “frost heaves”

A lot of the ‘ridges’ in the road are frost heaves, where the water underneath is frozen, melts, refreezes

Here’s one of the stations for the Alaska Pipeline. They run it all underground unless the ground is

See the white pipeline running up/down the mountain

             

Here’s more of the ride. We’re running along the Delta River but there are many creeks & rivers that flow into and around.
     


See the Worthington Glacier ahead
  


This is coming into Thompson Pass
(Notice the snow poles along the road, that helps the snowplows know where the roadbed ends)
  
The National Climatic Center credits snowfall extremes in Alaska to Thompson Pass station where record measurements were over 974 inches in 1952-53, 298 inches for month (Feb 1953) and 62 inches for 24hr period in Dec 1955.
As you can see above it’s very foggy, cold & rainy so it was hard to get a good pic of 27 Mile Glacier ahead.

Here’s some pics of the rushing Lowe River in the Keystone Canyon & some of the many waterfalls.
(I’ll have more pics on them after we tour Valdez)
    


Once we landed & setup, we met up with Anne & Briggs and went to watch the guy across the street feed the eagles. (He has a special permit to do it through the short time before the salmon run starts, then they’re gone) It was fantastic to see so many eagles so close up!


                                            


That’s it for now. And…just for the record it’s a lot colder here than it was in Tok (I think high 40’s )
Have a good one everybody!


 
RV Riding is driving from one extreme to the other and loving it!