Day 15: Alaska...Finally!

I was up early on the morning of August 22, 2007, hoping to see some of those grizzly bears that were reported to be frequent visitors to the Cottonwood RV Park; but none were in sight.

As we hit the road that day, we were eagerly anticipating at last reaching Alaska. As we had been warned, the stretch of highway from our campground on Kluane Lake to the Alaska border, while not ALL bad, had enough bad places to make driving it pretty stressful for Doug.

Although the road was harrowing, the scenery was gorgeous.

Alaska Highway between Kluane Lake and Alaska Border

Alaska Highway between Kluane Lake and Alaska Border

But we were literally happy campers when we crossed the border into Alaska and the U.S. about 12:30 p.m.

The highway in Alaska was in much better condition, but the scenery between the border and the Alaska town of Tok (pronounced "Toke") wasn't as pretty.

After registering for a campsite at the Gateway Salmon Bake and RV Park in Tok, we went on in to town to get a few groceries. Then I went into the Caribou Book Store and rented a computer ($5.00 for a half-hour) so that I could receive and send some e-mails.

Gateway Salmon Bake and RV Park

Back at the campground, Doug just hooked up electric, then filled our fresh water tank. We ate supper at the salmon bake. It was kind of expensive, but delicious. I had the salmon, and Doug had chicken. The meal included a soup and salad bar and baked beans. It was the best food we'd had since leaving the Lower 48.

We hadn't had cell phone service the whole time we were in Canada, and we finally had it again; so I made a couple of calls before we settled down for the night.