It was on Wednesday, 13th June - an auspicious day! - that my van proudly stepped out on her two new bootees, and headed down the Richardson Hwy. The last time I was on this road was in a tow-truck.

Just six miles down the road flashing lights alerted me to trouble. A moose had just been hit by a vehicle, and was obviously dead. Heartbreaking! Despite all the warnings and the speed limit, some just find it impossible to drive slowly. Wildlife is so unpredictable.

Wildflowers lined the roadway. It was a clear sunny day, and I determined to just put the miles away, and not be tempted to stop for yet more photos. That was, until I got to Big Delta. Another great example of these huge deltas built up by the rivers flowing out of the mountains.




Lunch was at the Delta Junction Visitor Centre - the official northern end of the Alaska Highway. (The Richardson Hwy continues on to Valdez.) The rest of the day I relaxed, and enjoyed my run into Tok, where I spent the night at the Chevron Truck Stop. Like so many truck stops at which I have stayed (and at which I was yet to stay), their fuel was not exactly the cheapest... but hey! it saved me the $38 charged at the RV Park across the road.

Back in the Yukon I tolerated the 'frost heave' road, and made my way to Whitehorse, stopping only around Kluane River which I had had to forego on the journey up. It seemed a good place for lunch. In Whitehorse I went back to the Hi Country RV. There are other RV parks, but, when you are happy with a place, why go elsewhere. Besides, it was only $28, right on the Alaska Hwy and on the right side of town for the next morning.

Left early on Friday, not knowing how long the hold up would be at the breech. There were some horror stories going around, yet others seemed to think it was no big deal. When I got to where the slide had been... I missed it! I do recall seeing something, and when I got to where the road had been washed away, it was so small, I thought it was where the slide was... and that I was yet to see the major breech. It was not till I got to Junction 37 when it became clear just what I had seen. The areas were so small. Sure, there had been a complete wash away of the highway, but it had been completely filled in, and was allowing one lane of traffic to pass over it, while they were building the bailey bridge higher up the side of the mountain. I take it that when that bridge is in place with two lanes of traffic flowing again, they will set about digging out the 'filling' from the breech, and repairing it. That will not be a small job. And it was amazing to see how such a 'small' event could cause so much chaos.

The Watson Lake library is a great place to check email, forum and other internet tasks. It is just that I arrived late, and they close at 5pm. When she left, the lady in charge gave me a ticket for a further two hours of wifi access. It was accessible outside the building, and right there by the front door was a standard power outlet for me to plug in my computer. There was also a milk crate to sit on. (What more would you want. LOL)

It was while parked here that I decided to make some dinner. Even though overnight camping was not allowed, I was able to plug in to the power outlets (used for winter) and make a meal with my sandwich maker. That is not the only time I have found these power outlets very handy. Just south of Contact Creek BC there is a rest area to the west of the highway and another much bigger, more sheltered turnout to the east. I chose to join a camper already settled in the latter.

Lifey