The Top of the World Highway

Before we get to today - let's wrap up yesterday. Mike and Marg gave me two excellent cigars as a retirement gift. I smoked the first one in St John's - at the harbour - it was a wonderful Trinidad. The second one was a very nice Cohiba which I took to TuktoyakTuk with me - intending to smoke at the Arctic Ocean. The beach where I went skinny dipping would have been perfect - no bugs - but - I was busy having a skinny dip. Back at the boat - too many bugs - so I saved it - and smoked it when we got back to Dawson City. Thanks Mike, Thanks Marg.

We also went back to Diamond Tooth Gertie's for one last beer and watch the show one last time. The girl possing with Laurence served us lunch earlier in the day at Sourdough Joe's. Very nice person.

Got to bed at a reasonable time - had breakfast and off we go across the Top of the World Highway to do the Dawson City to Tok Alaska leg. You gotta drive this highway - it is amazing. We crossed the river at Dawson at about 370 m above sea level - and then immediately climbed up above 900 m - and then ran along this amazing series of ridges between 900m and 1200m - it was just fantastic - incredible valley views to the left and right with huge ranges of mountains all around us. Just as we got to the USA border - we were up over 1300 m for several kilometers. Just incredible. The tops of all the ridges had no trees - I was not sure if it was strictly because we were above the tree line - or maybe if because we were in the rain shadow of the Alaska range. But - very green - and tons of Boreal Forest in the valleys. The highway is mostly gravel - a stretch of good pavement here and there - but I would saw that Dawson City to Chicken is about 90% gravel - but it was in very good shape - except for a bit of construction here and there and the 10 km around Chicken werea real mess because of construction.

A couple of videos and a bunch of pictures to tell the story. Btw - in the videos I say "1000 feet" - but I misspoke - I meant "1000 meters".

If the videos are not loaded yet - try again in a few hours. They must be nearly uploded.

So - it was a fantastic day. We are staying at the Caribou Cabins in Tok tonight - and it is nice as well! Off to Anchorage in the morning - and the next day - to Anchor Point - as far west as you can drive in North America.