Wednesday, June 27: Ninety-six miles north of Whitehorse we arrived at Haines Junction, so named because it is a junction between the highway coming from the south in Haines, Alaska and the AlCan. Since we not only passed through the town on all of our trips up and down the AlCan but also whenever we took the ferry from Juneau and drove to Anchorage, Haines Junction was like an old friend. Several times we stayed in one of the two motels in town and probably ate at all (three or four) of the restaurants.
What we remembered most, however, was the Village Bakery, a small log house almost
hidden in the trees a couple of blocks off the main street. It was a must stop whenever we went through town. Today was no exception. Since we had breakfast in Whitehorse not two hours before, we ate light—we split a mouth-watering cinnamon-apple fritter. They had brewed decaf! Connie had an amaretto latte. She pronounced the bakery a Four.
Haines Junction
is in a beautiful green valley. To the west we could see the St. Elias Mountains, the highest and youngest mountains in Canada. Mt. Logan, the highest peak in Canada, is there at 19,545 feet. There are six other peaks over 16,000 feet.
Once we left Haines Junction we left behind the smooth road with wide shoulders. When we crossed the Donjek River we entered the section of the AlCan that was most difficult to build and maintain. According to an interpretative sign on the roadside, “Glacial rivers, like the Donjek, posed a unique problem for the builders of the Alaska Highway. These braided mountain streams would flood after a heavy rainfall or rapid glacial melt, altering the waters’ course and often leaving bridges crossing dry ground.” Swampy ground underlain by permafrost, numerous lakes, creeks, and rivers, plus a thick insulating ground cover, made this section especially difficult.
In recent years, the same section of highway has been the object of a massive, ongoing reconstruction project. It remains a particularly difficult section of road, as witnessed by the number of frost heaves in the new pavement. This is definitely the roughest road so far on the trip, as it has been on all of our other trips. We also think twice about getting out of the car when we are stopped by road construction. Yes, you guessed it. Even Velvet is anxious to get back into the car and away from the mosquitoes.
After 2,267.6 miles we went through customs and came out in Alaska. Fireweed is brilliant along the roadsides. We still have a hundred miles to go to Tok for the night. We have reservations at the Snowshoe Motel where there is supposed to be wireless access to the Internet. If there is, I may get to post this new blog.
Hope you all have had a great day!
What we remembered most, however, was the Village Bakery, a small log house almost
hidden in the trees a couple of blocks off the main street. It was a must stop whenever we went through town. Today was no exception. Since we had breakfast in Whitehorse not two hours before, we ate light—we split a mouth-watering cinnamon-apple fritter. They had brewed decaf! Connie had an amaretto latte. She pronounced the bakery a Four.Haines Junction
is in a beautiful green valley. To the west we could see the St. Elias Mountains, the highest and youngest mountains in Canada. Mt. Logan, the highest peak in Canada, is there at 19,545 feet. There are six other peaks over 16,000 feet.Once we left Haines Junction we left behind the smooth road with wide shoulders. When we crossed the Donjek River we entered the section of the AlCan that was most difficult to build and maintain. According to an interpretative sign on the roadside, “Glacial rivers, like the Donjek, posed a unique problem for the builders of the Alaska Highway. These braided mountain streams would flood after a heavy rainfall or rapid glacial melt, altering the waters’ course and often leaving bridges crossing dry ground.” Swampy ground underlain by permafrost, numerous lakes, creeks, and rivers, plus a thick insulating ground cover, made this section especially difficult.
In recent years, the same section of highway has been the object of a massive, ongoing reconstruction project. It remains a particularly difficult section of road, as witnessed by the number of frost heaves in the new pavement. This is definitely the roughest road so far on the trip, as it has been on all of our other trips. We also think twice about getting out of the car when we are stopped by road construction. Yes, you guessed it. Even Velvet is anxious to get back into the car and away from the mosquitoes.
After 2,267.6 miles we went through customs and came out in Alaska. Fireweed is brilliant along the roadsides. We still have a hundred miles to go to Tok for the night. We have reservations at the Snowshoe Motel where there is supposed to be wireless access to the Internet. If there is, I may get to post this new blog.
Hope you all have had a great day!
1 comment:
Hi Milo and Connie!
As Kris and I read your blogs and travels, a broad smile crossed our faces when you mentioned the Village Bakery in Haines Junction. A favorite stop on all our travels thru that area! In fact, we thought we might venture that way later this month just for fun. But, now that we know you're back in AK, we may just venture down to Chugiak instead.
Welcome back!
Kayla and Kris
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