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An Unforgettable Evening Drive Towards Alaska

Date of travel:   September 7, 2007
Distance traveled: 240 km
Total Distance for the day   452 km

Coming up was perhaps my favourite part of the day - dusk.

I like it for several reasons: the landscape takes on a mysterious look, the shadows of the approaching evening cast their spell upon the scene, the chances of a beautiful sunset are good, the diminishing sunlight reflected off the cloud patterns can create a magic effect, there is less traffic, the frantic activity of the day has been left behind, there is more time to reflect on things, and driving is easier.

Above all, I like the sense of isolation in the landscape and in my psyche.

So it comes down to the isolation of the landscape to bring about the full effect .

I last experienced it during long hours of night driving in the rolling grasslands of south-western Texas during a trip done last February.

The sense of isolation was almost complete as a car coming from the opposite direction would be a rare event.

The towns were far apart, the road was extremely narrow with no shoulder with steep drop-offs being the norm rather than the exception.

These circumstances definitely sharpen the senses and fire the imagination as to what would happen if a breakdown would occur.

These were the same sensations that I felt driving the Alaska Highway from Haines Junction to just short of Beaver Creek as similar conditions existed here to those in Texas.

With my penchant for photography, if I saw something of interest I would stop the car and walk back to take the photo .

The feeling of walking away from the idling car in the near dark, in the middle of nowhere can only be described as "tingling" as we are so accustomed to having people around us at almost all times.

I say "idling car" because the last thing you would want to experience out here is to turn the ignition key and hear nothing. Besides, the primitive CD playing system I have in my car means the CD starts over again from the beginning each time I turn off the ignition.

My "tingling" feeling about walking away from the car in the middle of the night was further enhanced by the campground sign announcing the campground had been closed by a roving bear.

Like ghost ships passing in the night, the signs for Destruction Bay and Burwash Landing broke the darkness of the night. I walked back to take the photos of each sign.

The walks also served to keep the feeling of sleepiness at bay for a little while longer .

I managed to make it to the next community (three to four houses) of Koidern. I had the impression I was near to Beaver Creek. Being loath to check a map too often I was actually still some 80 km from the border.

Koidern has little to offer so the night was spent in the car but hey when you are tired ---

Within an hour of leaving the next morning I was in Beaver Creek.

I would be remiss in not mentioning the state of the Alaska Highway from Haines Junction onward and particularly along Kluane Lake and onward all the way to the border.

The word roller coaster comes to mind but that would be exaggerating. I guess I have never done that before.

Let's put it this way, the road is in bad shape but due to permafrost, there is nothing to do but keep patching up the road . It certainly keeps the road maintenance crew at Beaver Creek in the money.

At the southern end of Kluane Lake millions are being spent on blasting the rock walls to allow the highway a little more space.

I really had no reason to go into the beautiful visitor's center in Beaver Creek other than being attracted to the rustic log construction.

Sid was the person on duty and every person has a story.

His was rather interesting insofar as he had emigrated with his parents from Holland at the age of 15 to Alberta. His role was to work on a farm not to go to school. So it was a life of hard work at a relatively young age.

Eventually he escaped his circumstances and came to live in Beaver Creek, Yukon on the border with Alaska.

He has been here for 55 years and with his former first wife of First Nation origin he raised a family, passing the years with self employment .

He is obviously an integral part of the mostly First Nation community and he has also seen the entire Alaska Highway story first hand.

During that time he has accumulated a treasure trove of artifacts associated with the highway and he still has the dream to open a museum here in Beaver Creek.

Sid says the move to Beaver Creek was the best move he ever made and he has greatly enjoyed his life here. This of course is totally puzzling to a city slicker like me who thinks maybe happiness is living on the "Rive Gauche" in Paris.

His daughter in law is the only teacher in a school that goes up to Grade 8. Enrollment at the present time is 6 students.

I enjoyed talking with Sid for his story was one of a good man being resourceful to overcome adversity in creating a life for himself in an outpost of Canadian civilization .

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