Leaving Valdez and Returning to Tok to Exit Alaska (July 31, 2013)

Leaving Valdez we traveled through Thompson Pass again.  This pass is so high all I got in the picture was clouds.  But when we traveled through the pass going to Valdez it was clear and it looked like the Grand Canyon.  Believe me,  I was paying attention instead of taking a picture.

I forgot to mention the pipeline and the pump stations.  The pipeline is visible along the drive to Valdez and ever so often there will be a pump station to keep the oil moving.  I can't imagine having a job that is in the middle of nowhere.

This Anna who works at road construction sites.  She was working near Glennallen, her home town.  She goes to college in Anchorage.  I mentioned Anna because we were amazed at how many of the road construction workers were women.  They do everything from direct the traffic to drive the big earth moving equipment.

This is leaving Tok, Alaska headed for the Yukon down to Dawson City by way of the "Top of the World Highway".  Please bare in mind that some people we talked with refused to take this route.

There is a famous little gold mining town named "Chicken", Alaska.  This is where the "Top of the World Highway" actually begins.  This highway is 132 miles long and 4,157 feet above sea level.  The road is dirt and gavel.  We lost a new tire on the fifth wheel because of the sharp rocks.  John was not happy.

 This is the border patrol getting into the Yukon on the "Top of the World Highway".  I don't know how these people get to work but I would by on some kind of medication to do that highway everyday.

See the sign, it is on the very edge because there is no extra room.

Now tell me you don't see the danger here.

These are some of the views along at the way.  Most of the time I could not look down.  I am not kidding.  The road had no barricades and not much shoulder.  John is my hero even though I did yell a few times.  Driving this thing in a car is one thing but pulling a house behind you is another.  We are blessed.