Rough Roads and Alaska

Seven years ago we made this trip and encountered many, many miles of very rough road.  We expected it to be as bad on this trip and were presently surprised to find there were fewer than twenty miles of road construction and many fewer frost heaves.  The construction was bone jarring as the pilot car guided us over the rocky road at thirty miles and hour.  That seemed a bit fast to me.  Once we were back on pavement the motorhome bucked in and out of the frost heaves.  Breland took it nice and slow but we still rattled and rolled along and a few things flew out of the cabinets.

The major work near Destruction Bay has been completed.  On our previous trip they were taking down a huge portion of a mountain and the drive around took a long and bumpy time 

Another major difference on this trip was the number of roadhouses and campgrounds that are now closed.  It was sad to see so many gone, and worrying.  Is it the economy, with fewer people traveling?  Or is it also that the roads are so much better that one could now make good time and don’t need the services?  Are the roadhouses disappearing now like the stage coach stops once did?

We stopped to take our photos at the Welcome to Alaska sign and then crossed the border back into the United States.  The border guard was businesslike until he finished all of his official questions and then quite charming after.  He seemed genuinely sorry to confiscate our lemons and limes.  I didn't know I was not supposed to have them.

Tomorrow is the Fourth of July and we are looking forward to spending it in Tok.  We had good memories of our stay at the Sourdough Campground on our last trip and went there again.  The campground had been improved and there are nice pull-throughs screened by trees so that the sites feel like a wilderness setting and the power and water are very welcome.  The advertised wifi was too weak to reach our site.  We watched helicopters fly overhead with balloons filled with water to drop on the fires a few miles away.

The nightly pancake toss contest was fun to watch.  Several people won free pancake and reindeer  sausage breakfasts but we did not.