AK Adventure-10/14/07

Hello All.
Updating pictures has been a problem. Farther south, closer to the American boarder, it was much easier. However, the farther north we get, the more impossible it becomes. We can still provide text updates, but the photos, of which we have an additional 70 or so to share with you so far, may have to wait until we reach Anchorage.
We left Whitehorse, Yukon Territory around 5:30 last night and headed towards Haines Junction on Highway 1. Our goal was to make it before nightfall, and we barely succeeded. Good thing, given the size of the elk herd we came upon. If you hit an elk out here, you don't just hit one. You hit an entire herd. We had to split Whitehorse before we could get a t-shirt that said 'Yukon' on it. The Canadians were driving us crazy. At a gas station, I had one, then two, then three attendents helping me figure out why the pump wouldn't work. None of them, collectively, could figure it out. I finally went inside, asked the inside attendent to reset the pump, and came back out to find these same three experienced attendents still trying to solve the puzzle. Now, I know some of you are Canadians, or have Canadian blood. I have Canadian blood. I'm not trying to offend anyone, but come on! When we left Whitehorse we were immediately confronted with 90 miles of frost heaves. We don't have it totally figures out yet, but we think frost heaves are created when the permanently frozen ground and tundra terrain collide with pavement and the friction that traffic naturally causes. It creates hoopdedoos in the road that are impossible to navigate without going extremely slow. But, the 1990 Ford 460 CruiseMaster by Georgie Boy that gets 7 miles per gallon has again performed flawlessly.
For those of you who were wondering when Cousin Eddy was going to show up on this trip, he appeared last night in the RV campground we stayed at. For those of you who don't know who Cousin Eddy he, he's the RV traveling bum/brother-in-law of Clark Griswalk in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. I went outside last night to go pee outside the motor home and was visited by a neighboring RVer. He was dressed in pants, a shirt, and a coat as he walked his dog. I was peeing next to the RV in my bright tighty whities and my hiking shoes on, and that's it. Also, there was a flood lamp on the back of the building next to us that was shining right on me. I made my wife very proud.
When we woke on the morning of the 14th we found ourselves right on the edge of the Wrangell St. Elias mountain range. We were right on the eastern edge of it in Haines Junction. As we traveled on, we ended up spending a bunch of time in Kluene Lake, which is a spectacular place with an even better view. We wish we could get our pictures on this site. Not far down the road we ran across a beautiful, healthy gray wolf walking down the road right towards us. That was a sight. Honestly, the more time we spend out here on our way to our destination, the less we care about actually reaching our destination.
We hope to cross the Alaskan boarder yet today, and then make our way into the Anchorage bowl. Targeted arrival day is Tuesday, but we'll see how it goes, and we'll keep updating you.
We love and miss you all.
Bob and Pam