3 days worth then some old pictures.

Wednesday July 21 Headed Home
This morning we filled the water tanks, dropped the grey tank, and rode around Valdez one last time. It had rained all night and by the time we left the sun was starting to peak through the clouds for the first time since we had been there. We went back to Allison Point for me to try and catch some more salmon. There were not eagles flying or visible in the trees along the road. There seemed to be no fish activity as none were breaking. I though it was just too early as the tide was still pretty full. I fished a couple of hours and had two strikes that produced 0 fish. Finally I came back to the camper to take O for a walk. By then it had warmed up to where I could put on a short sleeve T shirt, and we were actually seeing some sun. The water was calm and we saw some sea otters and one sea lion swimming. Only the gulls seemed to be active as they had found some fish carcasses but no eagles stealing them today. I met a woman who said she had caught her limit early and left and was coming back just to sit by the water. So I guess I missed the bite as I didn't see anyone catching fish. Finally about 2:30 we decided to leave. It was sad because I knew we were officially headed home from this point in our journey. We drove through the mountain pass coming out of Valdez that we couldn't see the other day for rain and fog. Today the weather was much better and we could see the mountains, glaciers, and waterfalls clearly. It was a breathtakingly beautiful drive with tons of waterfalls from the glaciers. It was equal with any drive we have had on our trip. We drove about 150 miles and found a pull out to spend the night. Actually their is another gravel pull out across the road. Two campers are over there and 4 others are sharing this lot with us. Tomorrow we have less than 100 miles to Tok where we will get propane and fuel and turn toward the Canadian border. I figure tomorrow night we will be back in Canada heading southeast.



Thursday July 22
This was an up and down day. We woke up with the heat not working. It was 49 degrees outside and 55 inside. Sometime during the night it quite. If you tried to start it, it would light and go out in 3 seconds. It would repeat this three times and stop completely. I got the manuals out and looked for the obvious things to no avail. We decided to head for Tok about 100 miles away since we knew we would have phone service there to try and find a service center. Their are a few mechanic and places there but we needed an Atwood Authorized dealer because it is under warranty. We arrived in Tok and called Atwood customer service. At first they said they did not have any Authorized service centers in Alaska but when he looked further he had two and one was in Tok. We also called Mike to Google it and to get a number. We called them but the number would not work. I called Atwood to see if they could get me a number. I got the same guy so after giving me another number he ask what the furnace was doing. I described the problem and he said most of the time when they do this it is low gas pressure. He ask if the stove and hot water heater were working okay. I told him that the hot water heater and stove were fine but the oven had not worked the whole trip. He recommend I fill the propane tank as a possible solution to the furnace. I told him the gauge said half but it was on the to do list anyway so we would fill it. He said to take the knob off of the oven and push it in to light the pilot by hand, then light the stove manually. He said on certain models the knob did not push it in enough to light it. I gave him my model number and he said that was it. I tried it and it worked. As directed I put some cardboard inside the knob to make it push the button in further and the problem was solved. When I went to fill the propane the gauge on the tank read less than 1/4 which did not agree with the inside gauge. After the tank was filled the furnace worked normally. So two problems solved while in Tok. I even bought a lucky Tok, Alaska hat when we went to the grocery store. I noted that 3 Bears Outpost Sporting Goods is the place to ship guns when coming to Alaska. It is the first gun shop in Alaska coming by either direction. I filled the tank with gas which was $3.48, I knew it would be a while before I saw it that cheap again. We ate lunch at Fast Eddies and headed for Canada.
In the late afternoon we crossed into Yukon, Canada. The crossing was uneventful, thank goodness. We drove through Beaver Creek and took some pictures of some statues and read some signs about the Alcan. The road after that got horrible with frost heaves. If you haven't drove through them you don't know what you are missing. All the pull offs had no camping signs up for miles. I guess they were trying to fill the government campgrounds in that area. We finally stopped at a newly opened private campground beside the White River. No services camping (dry camping) was $15 but I talked the lady into letting me fill the water tank. The campground was real nice and quiet and the lady who owns it was extremely nice and friendly. They had a collection of old military trucks, steam shovels, and other equipment used in the road construction. The had a few old chain saws and boat motors too.

Friday July 23
Today was a driving day. It rained all night last night and early this morning but then it stopped and cleared for most of the day. Frost heaves continued to be terrible until after Destruction Bay the got better. Road construction is a real problem up here with the permafrost and surface thawing in the summer.
We drove by some pretty mountains and around the shore of Kluane Lake with its turquoise colored water. O went for a swim but didn't like the waves created by the wind. They said stone sheep were in the area but we didn't see any.
We stopped Canyon Creek bridge built in 1903 to look and take pictures. While we were there I looked down beside it at a sand bar and their were fresh bear tracks. You could even see the long claw prints. Deatra headed for the camper and the photo session was over.
We drove 242 miles today and ended up at the Wal-Mart that we camped at exactly four weeks ago. Tomorrow we will retrace our steps to Watson Lake and then turn off of the Alcan Highway and head south on the Cassiar Highway. We will see new sights on the way home. We will stop in Stewart, BC and Hyder, Ak about Monday to look at the bears. We are over 4,000 miles from home but headed that way.
I will try and find internet this weekend to post some pictures, I promise.