Yes, we are in Alaska!

On Sunday we left the campground a little late because Gil's phone (which he used to check the time before we went to bed, and set the alarm) was on Alaska time because we had visited Skagway and the phone automatically set to Alaska time and did not change back when we came back into Canada. So it was 9:00 when we left, but we thought it was 8:00 am. We stopped for lunch at a roadside rest area, then drove all afternoon through some strange countryside. We went around Kluane Lake which had dust storms all around it and the mountainsides were very bare looking. Many areas of the road were gravel and we averaged about 35 mph much of the day. When Gil got tired we had planned to stop at a particular RV park we saw in the book we were given when we entered the Yukon, but it was closed and so was the next one listed in the book. We ended up staying in a rest area with 4 other RVs and the views were spectacular! We had a good night's sleep and got on the road early this morning (Monday). After about an hour and five minutes on the road, we crossed the border into Alaska and the tme changed again. We got into Alaska only five minutes after we left camp....LOL. Today we had some rough road with loose gravel for part of the way but as we got to the Richardson Hwy and turned north toward Fairbanks, the road was great...straight, and level and nice enough Gil could use the cruise control which was helpful on his legs and knees. Just after we got going good, Gil looked down the road and saw a "bicyclist" and said to me he hoped the rider would soon move to the side of the highway. I was taking a picture about that time and looked up and we both realized it was no bicyclist, but a mama moose and her calf. When the mama turned to look at us and saw such a large vehicle headed for her and her calf, they both started running toward the woods. It was a great experience, and I caught it on my camera. Gil said the mama weighed at least 800 lbs and the baby possibly 150 lbs.

We reached the AFB at Eileson about 3:00 and had a short drive to the Fam Camp. We were so happy to find plenty of camping spaces, and ours is near a lovely lake. It is only $18 per night so this saves us money compared to the ones off base. Just in case you wondered, the gas in Canada was almost $4 per gallon (well $1.09 - $1.19 per liter, which exchanges into about $4 per gallon). On base it is $3.05, which is still more than we paid in most places in the States. It took over $1,000 in gas but only about $100 in camping fees to cross Canada to get here. We have driven a total of 5,603 miles from Camden (took the long way via California). Today we did have a little incident on the road when we discovered one of our bedroom windows was broken by a flying rock at some point. Well, since this is the land of the midnight sun, and it never really gets dark on this longest day of the year, I'd better get to bed.