<– Day 17: Aug 6, Alaska Paul’s M-38 | Day 19: Aug 8, Naps & Teslin Refugees –>

On Monday August 7th we left Palmer for Whitehorse, a twelve hour drive.

The first part of the drive on Monday to Tok could have been a spectacular one, if not for the fog and clouds. The mountains were tall and the muddy rivers wide. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate, one of the few times on our trip it didn’t go our way.

What I can report is that when the weather turn beautiful, the roads, AK-1N and Yukon-1E, between Palmer and Tok turned worse. Most of the trip was a fast 65mph, while other portions were undulating hops that reminded us of a roller coaster. Some shifts were obvious, but a few took us by surprise and at least one felt like it launched Patterson into the air. We both felt that parts of AK-1N and Yukon-1E were the worst paved roads we’d encountered (though I’m sure there are plenty worse in other parts of Alaska).

This photo was taking going up the pass out of Palmer. We soon ran into fog (or the clouds themselves).

Eventually the clouds lifted and the sky turned blue.

It always felt like we were headed for mountains, but never actually got to them.

When we finally arrived in Whitehorse around 10pm, waiting for us were Marty, Don, Rob and Diana (Diana had flown into Anchorage to accompany him home). The four of them had just completed the “top of the world” road to Dawson City, which they enjoyed immensely. The only exception to that was when Rob lost brakes because his entire brake booster fell off due to sheered bolts. Thanks to some quick engineering by Rob and Don, the foursome was soon back on the road. Later on, he got some holes in his radiator. He turned to Q-bond which fixed the holes instantly. We all plan on getting some of it.

Tok to Chicken to Dawson City to Whitehorse

While in Dawson City, they attended an old-time dance show, then dared to have a drink with a mummified toe in it. Swallowing the drink while kissing the toe earned them the right to join the Sourtoe Club. Here are a bunch of pics from their trip.

They had a great time. Merlin and Brittany also drove the top of the world, but they six of them didn’t have a chance to rendezvous.

<– Day 17: Aug 6, Alaska Paul’s M-38 | Day 19: Aug 8, Naps & Teslin Refugees –>