Roadside view, just out of Haines Junction, Yukon
The US border was only 30km from Beaver Creek and we encountered the usual unfriendly and brisk manner of the Customs official. Welcome to the USA! While waiting for Mike to go through the process in front of me I took a photo of him and the customs building, next thing the Customs officer walked up to me insisting that he look at the photo to make sure that he could not be seen in the photo. Talk about paranoia!
The coastal range appeared on our right almost immediately we left Beaver Creek and dominated the scene for the rest of the day, some mountains as high as 16,000 ft. We crossed several wide rivers carrying melt water from the mountains, north to join the Yukon River hundreds of kilometers away. The rivers were strangely wide, perhaps a kilometer or more, very shallow and littered with rocks and gravel carried down from the mountains. This is the process of mountain leveling in real time. Since leaving Whitehorse animal life has been strangely absent. I have seen only one Moose and Mike saw what he thought was a Linx. Perhaps the gun happy Americans have shot all the game or at least made them retreat to more distant and safer havens in the wilderness. We stopped at Delta junction for a lunch break and petrol at a roadhouse and were confronted by an example of remote northern life. The use of drugs was clearly evident as one young woman laughed at anything and nothing while paying for her petrol. All the locals were sloppily dressed and the store was scattered with goods for sale in no particular order. There was cafe attached to the service station but was unattended and when we asked of the gas attendant he looked puzzled and said that they must be closed for the day. This was at 2.00pm. Along the roadside, in the vicinity of the remote towns, sat unkempt and sometimes derelict houses surrounded by old cars and the detritus of modern living. To the credit of the local authorities, the roadside was kept beautifully clean throughout all of Alaska, so far. The sense of remoteness was shattered as we approached Fairbanks. Eilson Air Force Base loomed on our right and dozens of plane sat on the tarmac in anticipation of an emergency. The road widened to a divided dual highway and for the next 20km we passed hundreds of commercial facilities but no obvious signs housing or shopping centers. It was around 5.00pm and the traffic was heavy and fast. Our motel, found courtesy of Mikes' gps, was in a secluded wood but still we saw no sign of houses or the city centre which is apparently on five minutes away. Maybe tomorrow. By the way, to date we have not camped at all as it is much easier to stay in Motels and the weather has not been conducive to camping, until today that is.
know about rajasthan tourism places at http://www.allrajasthan.com
ReplyDelete