Alaska Adventure – the Alaska Highway

Last June my husband and I had the pleasure of helping our newly married son and daughter-in-law move from Anchorage to Juneau, Alaska. She flew ahead to join my folks in Juneau, and look for an apartment. We packed up a U-Haul truck and their station wagon to drive from Anchorage to Skagway, and then take the Alaska Marine Highway System from Skagway to Juneau. We had last visited Anchorage in 2012 to see our son’s art show (see Memories of Anchorage and the Art Show).

I was enthusiastic about the 750 mile drive, as a chance to spend time together, and see some spectacular Alaskan scenery. We set out, armed with maps, Miss Nuvi (our name for the Garamond GPS), and the Milepost 2014 edition (the classic travel planner that documents Alaska and Western Canada milepost by milepost).

Glacier and spruce forest vista

 

It is hard to beat the sweeping views along the Glenn Highway from Anchorage to Tok, with its glaciers and rivers. According to Alaska Trees and Shrubs (by Leslie A. Viereck and Elbert L. Little, Jr.) this is an open, low growing spruce forest, which includes bogs and is underlain by permafrost. The trees are stunted—a tree with a 2 inch trunk (5 cm.) may be 100 years old. We had dinner at the Eureka Lodge (Milepost 128), and stayed at Nelchina Lodge (Milepost 143.3).

Copper River

 

But then, the scenery from Tok to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, with its big sky and closed spruce hardwood forests, which includes birch, and quaking aspen, is a close rival. We had dinner in Tok at Fast Eddy’s (Milepost 1313), and stayed at Buckshot Betty’s in Beaver Creek, Yukon (Milepost 1202).

Cabin at Buckshot Betty's

 

It started raining as we approached Whitehorse (we saw a double rainbow), and kept raining through the night. We stayed at the High Country Inn in downtown Whitehorse, and had dinner at The Deck right in the hotel (Milepost 918). I have great memories of camping near Whitehorse as a girl, and going into “the big city” for hamburgers at A&W Root Beer.

Kluane Lake

Emerald Lake

 

The high country outside of Whitehorse is also beautiful, with its great sweeping vistas, beautiful lakes, and bracing wind. High country gives way to dense coastal spruce-hemlock forests as you descend into Skagway, the legendary jumping off point to the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898. We walked around Skagway, which was bustling with cruise ship foot traffic, and enjoyed coffee in a Starbucks that shared space with a jewelry store.

Skagway street scene

View from the Skagway ferry terminal in Southeast Alaska

 

We drove our vehicles onto the ferry (expertly guided by the crew), then staked out space in the forward lounge to enjoy the spectacular Southeast Alaska scenery and relax after three days on the road. The terrain is too rocky for a highway, so the marine highway system of ferries and ports is a civilized way to travel. We arrived at the Auke Bay ferry terminal around 9:30 PM (still light), checked into our hotel, and reunited our son with his beautiful bride. Someday I hope we can all make the trip together!