We got an early start leaving Dawson City on Sunday morning,
trying to avoid as many vehicles as possible on the roadway since today we are
tackling the Top of the World Highway.
As has been the pattern during this trek, we encountered a
dreary, damp, foggy morning, and it is a crisp 45 degrees.
We took things slowly since visibility was limited for the
first 10 miles or so. But the sun broke
through at times, and the vistas were spectacular. Richard
Carpenter’s song lyrics popped into my head:
“I’m at the top of the world, looking down on creation…” Every
time you reach the top of one peak, there is another mountain to climb! You cannot distinguish where the mountains
end and the clouds begin. I ponder philosophically
whether the mountains are within the clouds or the clouds are within the
mountains (somewhat like which came first, the chicken or the egg). The
road is desolate, just us, Claudia/Mike, and Mother Nature sharing the moment. The unadulterated, pristine, elements of
nature engulfed and moved me. I think I
entered heaven!
My spiritual thoughts are often interrupted by fear—Mamma Mia,
this is some intense driving! Inclines,
switchbacks, hairpin turns, narrow roads, soft shoulders, mud, gravel, frost
heaves, drop offs! If you’ve got your
foot stuck in your mouth or a boot stuck in your butt, come drive this road. All the bouncing around will dislodge
ANYTHING, for sure! See for yourself—take
a look at this time lapse video I made of our adventure! Yes, I have expanded my horizons. I am now a filmmaker with my own Youtube
channel!
We arrived back into the good old USA and border crossing was a piece of cake. Welcome to Alaska!
We stopped at Chicken, AK for me to change my soiled shorts, Mom to calm her nerves, and Dad to get the blood circulating in his hands again after gripping the steering wheel so tightly for the last 6 hours! Not to mention to take some cheesy pictures!
We saw a bald eagle
flying over the Dennison River West Fork. And we spotted a moose cow near Logging
Cabin Creek--we even got a photo! But we saw neither hide nor
hair of any of the 40,000 caribou that roam the Fortymile River Region.
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Fortymile River Region |
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The weird "sandy beaches" outside Tok |
It took nearly 8 hours to travel the 180 miles from Dawson City to Tok,
where we are now destressing, decompressing, and delighting in some sunny,
seasonal weather.
It is 11:39 p.m., and the sun just set a few minutes
ago. It is now dark enough now for me to
go to bed in this land of the midnight sun.
Talk to you again soon!
Wow! Top of the world high way with a 5th wheel - talk about excitement. I rode it on two wheels a few years ago coming back from Deadhorse, AK and it would be a white knuckle experience with a large trailer.
ReplyDeleteI stumbled on your blog after seeing a picture of your rig on rvnetwork.com. I like it a think a similar setup may be in my future (few years away). Would love to see more on your truck and bike storage.
Dan
The truck was custom built by 2L Custom in Poolville, TX. Set up works out well for us. Photos available on Photobucket http://s962.photobucket.com/user/mybigboomer/library/Bigboomer%20and%20Garage%20Box?sort=2&page=1
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