Tuesday, June 17: Haines Junction to Tok, Alaska

We've made it all the way. We're here and the day is beautiful.

These following pics are not necessarily in the order taken, because I take so long between posts to get them on!
This was our wonderful campsite last night (Tuesday) at Deadman's Lake, Alaska. Not far inside of the border. If you look hard in the trees to the left, you will see our camper. Not a bad spot, huh?

This was at Rancheria Falls. Beautiful walk there....I think I wrote about it in past blog
Another view at Rancheria Falls. Not really much of a falls...looks more like a rapids to me, but they called it a "falls".
Could have been a trapper's cabin?; saw it beside the road

Catholic Mission in Haines Junction. I think that this was the church that we missed Mass by an hour.

This is a picture of the Catholic Mission in Beaver Creek (furthest west town in Canada); note that it is made out of a WWII quonset hut.
On the road at 7:30 am; 50 degrees and sunny. Didn’t seem to get very chilly last night; rained a bit but not evidence of drenching on the groeund this am. Just 200 miles to the Alaska border; should do that easy today.
Saw 2 timber wolves run across the road; also a rainbow. We stopped so far today in Destruction Bay, Burwash, and Beaver Creek (the furthest west town in Canada, and 20 miles from
The Alaskan border & Customs.
Burwash had an awesome museum with First Natiown displays
About the native ancestors & crafts. Then there was a walking tour of a trappers cabin. A few hundred feet away was the second of 3 Catholic mission churches. (Haines Junction, Burwash, and Beaver Creek; the 1st & 3rd being salvaged quonset huts salvaged from the building of the Alaskan Hwy.) The church in Burwash had a museum attached in the old school house, priest’s quarters, etc. Totally interesting. I was disappointed when we got to Beaver Creek and found that the little mission church was locked; I really wanted to go in and see it and take pictures. Stopping at the Visitor Center (which employed of th 2 of the village’s 80 residents), I told him of my wish to see inside of the mission church. He just told me where the key was hid at the church. Bingo! It was awesome; 5 plywood pews on each side. The priest travels between the 3 missions for alternating Sunday Masses. Didn’t hear where he was during the week; but it goes without saying that his parish is monstrously huge! I know some of these churches have lay service on off Sundays; but I’m sure without Communion service, because there was no Eucharist kept at either of the 2 quaint little churches we stopped in.
We crossed into Alaska at 2:45; took us about 2 minutes at customs. We came across a free wildlife refuge campground at Deadman’s Lake. Stopped here for the night at 2;30; traveled 229 miles today. The night was beautiful. That evening we had a nice nature walk w/ a Fish & Wildlife Officer, Cora; since she was an Athabascan Indian by heritage, and was raised in a small family unit in the “boonies”, she was raised knowing the medicinal uses of many plants. She showed us “pitch” off of pine trees, used to patch their canoes….AND they used it for chewing gum when they didn’t have any. J
We plan on staying a second in this awesome camp site on the lake. Really quiet, friendly, and close to nature. We saw 2 moose on the other side of the lake (too far away for my camera to take a picture). They were eating the vegetation at the edge of the lake (in the lake) because of its high salt content. Of course we had red squirrels “raising cain”.
It was light at 11 pm; don’t know much past that because I was asleep! But Cora said that even in the middle of the night now it’s not really dark. I just know that it’s light when I go to sleep at 11 pm and it’s light when I wake up….anywhere from 4 am on.

June 18:
We decided to not stay at Deadman’s Lake since it was raining, and didn’t look like it was going to stop any time soon. Left camp at 9:15 am, 53 degrees, raining. Heading west on Alaskan Hwy toward Tok, about 60 miles.
Lots of road construction.
Stopping in Tok, Alaska to do this post; the crossroads to Alaska because everyone must either enter or exit Alaska through Tok. Chris is downstairs buying his fishing license…is he ready!
So, until we “connect” again….