Rev. 07/05/01
Alaska & beyond - continued 7/6
Hains Junction YT to Glenallen, AK
I awoke to a light rain. The weather report was more encouraging -- a high pressure system was developing over the gulf of Alaska which should drive the rain north and east -- in a day or so. For today, rain.
Coming around the southern end of Kluane Lake the sides of the road were covered by large beds of purple flowers. Inquiring what they were, I was told the are Arctic Lupine. I am familiar with the Lupine in the west which is blue, and grow so dense that from a mountain summit they cover a meadow it looks like a lake. Their cousin the Arctic Lupine add a very nice color to the road.
Kluane Lake is a long lake, aligned northwest to southeast. Stopping at a display, I discovered a number of things about the lake. The name Kluane means water of the big fish - large Chum Salmon. And more startling is the Kluane River, which flows north into the Yukon drainage is a very new river. Four hundred years ago the lake emptied into the Kaslawuish River at the south end of the lake and on into the Gulf of Alaska. Then the Kaslawuish Glacier moved down blocking the river. It found an outlet to the north and changed its direction of flow. Wow!
At
Disaster Bay, I stopped for a cup of coffee. It got its name from an
event in 1942 when the US Army was building the Alcan Highway. When
the got to this point, they wanted to build their camp down by the lake shore.
The local indians advised them not to, that it was a bad place. Army
brass prevailed and built it there. One day a strong wind, of over
a hundred miles an hour came. It blew the entire camp, tents and all,
into the lake -- at Disaster Bay.
I still had the speeding ticket, my expensive lesson in the metric system, and was looking for a Post Office. Up here they are few and far between, not open every day, and keep short hours. At Beaver Creek the last town before the US border, I was in luck -- the PO was open, that day and that hour. There I met Post Mistress Terry. She cherrfully helped me purchase a money order, stamp and envelope, and mail in my fine -- now I can come back through Canada without a warrant out for me. Terry, I apologize for the photo of you being slightly out of focus. And, Mistriss Terry, because it is out of focus, no one can read your red pin (an inside joke.) I should always take at least two pictures just in case that happens -- hopefully I'll catch you on my return.
At
Tok, AK I turned southwest on the Tok Cut Off toward Anchorage. Part
way down there were two moose feeding in a lake along side of the road.
That evening, tired of the rain, I stopped just beyond Glenallen for the night.
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