Day Fourteen–Left Watson Lake at 7:30 am and arrived Beaver Creek, Yukon at 8:40 pm. Covered 547 miles averaging about 47 miles per hour. Today was a pretty good day. We crossed the Continental Divide and pretty much all day was downhill. The last factory rim failed and shredded a $130 tire. So it wasn’t an all out good day.
Saw glaciers and snow capped peaks along the way. I don’t get to see a whole lot of the scenery unless we’re creeping up some hill. Keeping Berthagreasy side down and from committing suicide by going over some 500 foot cliff is a full time job allowing for few distractions. I did, however, see trees and bushes so bright orange and yellow that they appeared to be on fire.
The roads up to Whitehorse were very good. After Whitehorse they become less good. They aren’t particularly bumpy. They are more like dippy. It appears the Canadians have no concept of level. All road patches are either 1-2 inches above or below the level of the existing road. Result: Dippy or occasionally really dippy. All of the terrible things I’ve heard about the ALCAN are probably related to 10-20 years ago. Today you could bring Grandpa’s behemoth sedan up the ALCAN with little or no trouble.
I have rethought my position on the bus. Had I bought a truck, I’d have been stopping 100 or more times at weigh stations. Losing even more time than we have already. Besides that, I am the only person I know who has ever driven a school bus from Florida to Alaska and it has been an adventure.
Tomorrow we say a fond farewell to the People’s Republic of Canada. Our current camp site is about 20 minutes from the border. Will be truly happy to get back into the US of A. Tomorrow’s stop will be in Anchorage unless something goes totally awry. Its 11:21 or 12:21 or 1:21 on Sunday morning depending upon where you are. Good night.