August 3rd, 2024


The letter “F” on the map above is Tok Alaska. It is the gateway town to those driving to Alaska. The map shows the full circle we’ve made from entering Tok, heading north to Fairbanks(A),  down the west side pass Denali (C) down the Kenai Peninsula (E & D) and then today’s drive to close the loop back to Tok. As you can see on the map, we drove by some pretty impressive mountain ranges and glaciers today and yes, I couldn’t stop taking pictures! Unfortunately, once again, it was cloudy but no rain and the clouds were high. Here’s just a sampling but truly pictures do not capture this vast, wild wilderness. 





It was 300 miles of driving which should take around 6 hours. Today’s drive took 7 just due to the condition of the roads. It was like driving a roller coaster road. Not only was Gary trying to take in all the scenery but he had to keep a close eye on which way the road was going to dip so he could cut across it instead of straight ahead. It was tricky and he was tired by the time we arrived in Tok. 


We did see some wildlife today which was fun, albeit brief. Gary spotted three mountain goats high up on the side of a mountain. We watched them graze through binoculars. We watched an eagle soar above us. We came around a corner and caught 2 huge moose grazing on the side of the road but they ran into hiding as we slowed to take their picture. We also came across many trumpeter swans which are just pristine in the backdrop of this wild territory. 



The evening came to a close with a friendly game of pancake toss!! The campground hosted a pancake toss challenge that awarded the winner $10.00 off their breakfast if they could toss a pancake in a white bucket. Hey! It’s more difficult than it sounds! Especially when the pancakes are like crepes. It was a way to get campers talking and sharing their stories. The only one who was able to land one in the bucket was a young man from Germany who was visiting with his family. It was fun to join in before heading back to our camp site. 





Road Kill Count: 3 moose 1 porcupine 

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