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It’s nerve-racking, but scenic

Soon after crossing into Alaska, the Top of the World Highway ended, and they headed south on the Taylor Highway (Alaska route 5) toward Tok. “The road was worse in Alaska — if that’s possible,” Joanne said. “It had more hairpin turns, no pullouts, and by this time more traffic, including tour buses. And there was no place to pull off for a break or to let other traffic go by. I couldn’t look half the time.”

For approximately 115 miles, they had driven on a gravel road barely two lanes wide. “It took us 6½ hours to go 115 miles. It was worth doing it once but I would never go that route again.”

Traveling above the tree line afforded them expansive views in all directions. Joanne snapped more than 100 photos of snow-streaked mountains, abandoned mine dredges from the 1890s, lemon-yellow arctic poppies and more. “The road was awful and the contrast with the beautiful scenery is what made the photos so good,” she said.

After stopping for lunch in the town of Chicken, along the Taylor Highway, they set out again. Now the road was seal-coated stone with some gravel spots. “But by this time poor Bob had had it. I finally peeled my hands off my eyes and convinced him not to try to drive the rest of the 75 miles to Tok.”

They took a break, spending the night at a delightful Bureau of Land Management campground. “It had no hookups,” Joanne said, “but the sites were more than large enough to accommodate us and there was a gem of a lake along the back of the campground.”

Also, the price was right — $4 per night — because they had a National Parks Pass, which precluded them from paying an entrance fee.

Alaska, ho!

On June 26 they reached Delta Junction, the official north end of the Alaska Highway — historical milepost 1422. At the visitor center, they picked up a certificate of completion, which they framed and mounted inside the motorhome.

They had enjoyed the drive from Tok to Delta Junction, with the massive, snow-covered Alaska Range towering in front of them.

From Delta Junction they stopped in North Pole, Alaska, where street names include Elf Way and Reindeer Circle. They mailed some postcards to their folks.

Fairbanks: salmon and sled dogs

In Fairbanks, on June 27, they finally did something “touristy” that had been recommended by fellow travelers. Chena River RV Park and Marina reserved a ride for them aboard the Chena River Discovery III, a sternwheeler steam riverboat.

It was worth the money, Joanne said. “Our friends were right. First we saw a bush plane land on the river right next to our boat and then take off again. Then the pilot, an Alaskan native, spoke to us through some sort of intercom system. It was an impressive sight.”

That same day, they visited Susan Butcher’s home in Fairbanks. She’s a four-time winner of the Iditarod sled dog race who passed away in August 2006 after an eight-month battle with Leukemia.

Joanne and Bob watched Butcher’s assistants hook up a team of dogs to an all-terrain vehicle. “You should have seen them take off running around a half-mile track,” Joanne said. “Those dogs were overjoyed to be on the harness running. When they returned and were taken off the leads, they all jumped into the river.”

On a tour of an Athabascan village in Fairbanks, they watched Eskimos tan the hides of animals, sew beautiful fur clothing and make smoked fish.

To cap off the day, the couple dined at the Pump House Restaurant and Saloon, which re-creates an 1890s Gold Rush motif and atmosphere. The reconstructed restaurant is a national historic site overlooking the Chena River. Joanne ordered Alaska salmon and Bob had musk ox meatloaf and mashed potatoes.

“We will never be able to eat store-bought salmon again,” Joanne said. “Alaska salmon is so wonderful — not at all fishy tasting and a beautiful color.”

Denali National Park — board the bus

Several days later they traveled south from Fairbanks toward Denali National Park and Preserve. The road from Fairbanks to Denali was “the best so far,” Joanne said. It was a 120-mile trek along the George Parks Highway (Alaska route 3).

They passed through the towns of Nenana, Anderson and Healy. In Nenana they had lunch at the Two Choices Café, which had two choices on the menu: “take it” or “leave it.”

On June 29 they arrived at Denali Riverside RV Park, about 2 miles from the entrance to Denali National Park. Their campsite, on a cliff overlooking the Nenana River, unnerved Joanne, who is not fond of heights. “We didn’t see any land beneath us — just air and water.”

But she was grateful for the park’s pet walking service, because dogs are not permitted on the trails or tour buses in Denali National Park.

In Denali National Park, private vehicles are allowed only up to the 14-mile mark along the park’s main road. This is to ease traffic congestion and protect the park's natural resources. Joanne and Bob decided to explore the park by shuttle bus.

During an eight-hour, narrated bus tour, they saw sheep, caribou, grizzly bears, snowshoe hares, an arctic fox, eagles and hordes of wildflowers. “If you are going to Denali, take the bus tour!” Joanne said. “It’s really worth it and the time flew by.”

They regretted that the weather wasn’t clear enough for them to view the 6-million-acre park’s centerpiece, Mount McKinley, North America’s highest peak.

Still, the lighting on other mountains in the park was incredible, Joanne said. “It was as though an invisible stagehand were shining the spotlight on one mountain or another, as if to highlight a particular performer. Photos could not do it justice.”

Glaciers galore

The next day, while driving along the Seward Highway en route to the Kenai Peninsula, they could see 5,000-foot-high, snow-covered mountains that appeared to be rising from the Gulf of Alaska. “There were 38 glaciers cascading over the mountaintops and down the sides," Joanne said. "I thought Denali was spectacular, but this … was breathtaking.”

They were planning to stay at Williwaw, a U.S. Forest campground about 55 miles south of Anchorage. It was full, but a hostess there referred them to a gravel pullout along Portage Glacier Road, off the Seward Highway.

When they reached the pullout they couldn’t believe their eyes. “Right behind where we put the coach was the most spectacular set of mountains and hanging glaciers either of us has seen,” Joanne said. “They were blue and white and absolutely beautiful, especially in the late afternoon light.”

At 10:30 p.m., they were able to take a hike into the glacier and walk through huge crevasses at its terminus.

On July 4 they embarked on a Kenai Fjord National Park cruise around Resurrection Bay, on a 110-foot boat with a national park ranger narrating. Sightings of sea lions, a humpback whale, sea otters, bald eagles and bird colonies — and a salmon buffet dinner — highlighted the voyage.

Better than the Philadelphia Eagles
The Kenai Peninsula was one of the best parts of their trip — for Joanne because of the eagles, for Bob because of the boats.

On July 6 they walked down to a state recreation area where the Ninilchuk River flows into the Cook inlet. There, fishermen filleted their catch and tossed the remains into the water. The remains ended up on the beach and attracted eagles and gulls.

“The Kenai peninsula was awesome,” Joanne said. “There would be 10 bald eagles just standing on beach, eating salmon. Others were flying or sitting in a tree that jutted from a cliff — everywhere you would look, you would see more. I was so close to them … it was absolutely incredible.”

Meanwhile, from the beach, Bob spent the afternoon watching the boat launch and recovery process. Because the tides had such a wide swing, a giant tractor would pull a boat into the water and let it float free of its trailer. Later, when folks were ready to come in, the tractor driver retrieved the corresponding trailer and towed them out.

“Even Bob stopped looking at the tractor long enough to be wowed by the eagles,” Joanne said.

Cruise ship rocks

A July 14 visit to the fish hatchery and dam at Allison Point in Valdez also created a lasting impression. They saw water bursting with salmon trying to get above the dam.

“While we were watching," Joanne said, "all of a sudden we saw a large shape in the water and a big, stellar sea lion burst up in the middle of the salmon. It was like watching a National Geographic TV special.”

The next day, a 10-hour Prince William Sound cruise proved memorable. Rain, fog and heavy winds characterized the 130-mile excursion. Rough seas made many passengers seasick, and the rocking of the boat made it difficult to take good pictures.

“The boat could hold about 100 people, but there were about 50 on board — only hardy souls like us,” Joanne said. “The captain was informative and you could go up to the wheelhouse and stay there with him while he piloted the boat.”

Sightings of sea otters, waterfalls, eagles on ice bergs, and one huge, crackling glacier (Mears) made the 45-degree temperature less noticeable for Joanne, whose seafaring apparel included a fleece turtleneck, sweatshirt, fleece jacket, parka and hat and gloves.

Dangerous curves

Later in July, on their way back to Canada and the contiguous United States, Joanne and Bob paid $235 to take a one-hour ferry ride from Haines, located on a narrow fjord, to Skagway, Alaska. They figured they were saving on camping and fuel costs by not driving the 350 miles around the fjord.

But perhaps more than than that, they had learned that long days on bad roads can be exhausting. Those days weren't behind them, yet.

On July 27 they left Fraser Lake, British Columbia, and headed south on provincial route 97. Unable to find a place to camp, they wound up driving on two harrowing provincial routes on consecutive days.

First up was route 99. "It was incredibly narrow with switchbacks around every corner," Joanne said. "The road was perched on the side of cliffs, with oblivion below."

The next day, a 40-mile stretch on route 12 proved to be, for Joanne, the longest 40 miles of the entire trip.

"There was one section of the road that wound around the knife edge of a mountain and it was one lane — so you had to yield to whoever was on the road first. I simply closed my eyes, held on and asked Bob to let me know when it was over."

Bob, after two months on the road, took it all in stride.

Back in the U.S.

They pushed on through Vancouver and arrived at the Blaine, Wash., port of entry to the United States on Aug. 1.

There was much more sightseeing to come, including Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, Grant Teton National Park, Devils Tower National Monument, Mount Rushmore National Memorial and Badlands National Park.

National parks and Alaskan landscapes can be awe-inspiring, rendering other sights of nature prosaic. But motorhoming makes it easy to recognize simple treasures, anywhere, as Joanne discovered while camping in Iowa.

“I was bowled over by the Mississippi River in Iowa,” she said. “We stayed in Bellevue State Park there and it was overwhelmingly beautiful to see how the sun lit up the river at sunset. To me it was as beautiful as anything we saw. ... This earth is an incredible place full of mysterious and fascinating places.”

Reality sets in

Joanne and Bob arrived home on Sept. 9, 2006, only to find that Hurricane Ernesto had dumped 4 inches of rain on their yard and house.

Tall weeds had spread in flower beds, and tree branches had fallen in the storm. The clothes washer was in disrepair. They needed to scrub the basement and shampoo the rug.

“The first night back home, I was totally disoriented,” Joanne said. “A week later, I was still dreaming about motorhoming and feeling like there was too much space around the house.”

Motorhoming is a great escape — precisely what someone in their respective professions needs, she said.

Her area of law practice includes all aspects of public education, from the representation of several school districts to the representation of employers and employees in employment-related matters. She tries cases involving special education, collective bargaining, discrimination and contract issues.

“Bob has been a policeman for 33 years. When you work in law enforcement , you become really cynical and jaded, about the world and people in general. And I spend my days arguing with people — being a litigator is adversarial, by nature. So when we can get away from all that, even for a weekend, it’s very renewing.”

Case closed?

Joanne and Bob intend to continue motorhoming as much as they can.

“We try to go somewhere every weekend,” Joanne said. “A lot of our friends have homes or cabin cruiser boats on the Jersey shore. For us, having a motorhome is the same as having a second home.”

They have spent plenty of time hiking and snow skiing in Colorado, and hiking and camping in New England, so those states are not high on their list of destinations.

But the Grand Canyon, Texas and other southern states are on their agenda, as are the Maritime Provinces.

Of course, a return trip to Alaska tops their travel docket. “And this time, we’d take six months,” Joanne said.

Until then, the slide show and screen-saver images on their computer will have to tide them over.

But with Bob planning to retire in August 2008 and Joanne contemplating a retirement date, they may be Alaska bound soon.

Any objections surely will be overruled.

Travel Alaska
www.travelalaska.com

The Milepost
www.themilepost.com

Guide to Federal Recreation Passes
www.fs.fed.us/jhgyvc/passports.html