January 14, 2011: Wasilla, AK

Shatomi and Dominick are sitting in a 2002 Jeep Liberty Sport- the temperature outside is hovering around -10F. Its about 5AM in Wasilla, AK the morning of January 14, 2011- we are packed and ready for a 5,155 mile road trip that will extend from Alaska to Alabama during the month of January. 

Last night Shatomi arrived and we made a few last minute changes to the Jeep at Rob and Joci Gustafson's place. 

 Wasilla is Alaska's six largest city and home to the official start of the Iditarod sled dog race. 

 We are excited to get on the road and plan to have lunch in Tok, Ak before crossing into Canada. Our final destination for today will be Whitehorse, YT.

January 14, 2011: Tok, AK

We made it into Tok, Alaska just before noon. After fueling up we stopped into Fast Eddy's, the local eatery at mile post 1313 that received 4 stars by tripadviser. 

We both dove into some delicious halibut burgers and enjoyed the free wifi! The roads were great- dry without much ice. Temps outside are hovering around -39 below zero. Gust of wind made things interesting at times however the Jeep is running well. Whitehorse, YT is estimated to be 8 hours and we are hoping to meet our host family sometime before 9pm this evening.  We spotted several packs of caribou "hanging out" on the highway- no moose-sightings yet.  Not surprisingly- we haven't noticed many folks driving this stretch of highway.  Its good to be on the road- we are making good time!!  Alaska-Canadian Border- here we come, eh!

January 14, 2011: The Trail to Whitehorse, YT

We passed through the Alaska-Canada border without issues and entered the mighty Yukon Territory. Driving conditions are good and apart from some chatter bumps and frost heaves in the road surface caused by the extreme seasonal weather changes, the highway on the Canadian side is in great shape.

 

We looked out over the St. Elias Range, which were snow-capped and home to Mt. Logan, the highest point in Canada (19,520 ft).  Frosted spruce trees line much of the winding two-lane highway that splits the steep mountain slopes. We are mostly alone on the road except for a few passenger vehicles and the occasional 18-wheeler truck. Dom has enjoyed superior cell-phone coverage for most of the journey (thanks to his Alaskan provider- ACS) but there have been stretches when even he looses phone coverage and we are in a cellular dead-zone.

We encountered our first unexpected challenge about 200 miles outside of Whitehorse, YT when we noticed that the Jeep continued accelerating on level ground and without a foot on the gas pedal. The brakes worked to slow the Jepp but the tachometer refused to budge below 2000 rpm's. The engine appeared to be stuck in "go" mode --probably due to the -30 F temp outside. Our attempts to unfreeze the stuck throttle by revving the engine were unsuccessful.  We manage our speed with the brakes and allow the Jeep to self-propel us over the next 60 miles to Haines Junction, YT (mile post 1016).  We used the brakes to slow down to 30mph and cut the engine in an effort to stop the vehicle. Thankfully it was late at night and we did not have to deal with traffic lights, stop signs or patrol cars. When we attempted to restart the engine- the tachometer raced uncontrollably.

With time on our hands, we found the only open business establishment in sight--the Alcan Motor Inn--and sought input on how to correct and prevent our cold-weather-associated car malfunction. Six seasoned residents that were perched at the bar shared their thoughts:

• "Sit down and have a drink, gas up and in a couple hours you'll be back on the road---it will all be good."
• "It's warmed up. Be thankful it's not that cold outside."

Encouraged, we added a can of HEET fuel-line antifreeze and emptied a jerrycan's of gas into our fuel tank. It was so cold outside, we both had difficulty breathing. Jumped in the rig, used some instant heat pouches to warm up our frozen fingers, cranked up the engine.... and voila.....the engine purred at its normal low rpm. Problem resolved!! We happily drove the next 100 miles into Whitehorse to the beat of Turkish hip-hop. Lessons learned: respect the cold, respect the road, listen to the locals.

January 14, 2011: Whitehorse, YT

We arrived in Whitehorse, YT the late evening of January 14, 2011 and stayed the night with the Doering family. Dom and their eldest son, Nate Doering were on the Nordic ski team at University of Alaska Anchorage back in 2000-2001. Almost 10 years had elapsed since Dom had seen the Doerings' so a reunion was in order.

Garry (aka"Yukon Garry") has served for 30+ years as an air traffic controller at the Whitehorse airport and his wife Maryanne is the assistant to Witehorse's mayor. They moved to the YT in the 1970's and have watched Whitehorse grow while raising their three children: Nathan (an aspiring physician), Michael (marketing and public relations for the YT government) , and their daughter (busy raising the first Doering grandchid).

The Doerings' welcomed us into their cozy home that can be heated by a wood-burning stove. After dinner we sampled a variety of superb microbrews crafted by the Yukon Brewing Co. ("Beer worth freezing for") and Yukon Garry's legendary homemade puffed wheat cakes for dessert--both well worth the drive from Anchorage.

We talked about a variety of topics including: gun control (Canada has strict laws), hockey (Canadians love to play it anytime and anywhere), gold mining (still an industry in YT), national holidays (Canada has some unique ones e.g. Boxing Day), and food (ketchup chips and French fries with gravy are national favorites). The 2010 Olympic gold-medal men's hockey final surfaced and was a sore subject for the Americans (Canada won in OT) but we managed to bridge the impasse in dialogue with more microbrew and puffed wheat cakes.

When they heard about our upcoming driving literary, the Doreings' asked us if we were racing back to Birmingham and advised us to slow down and tak'er easy--especially considering that the most challenging stretch of the ALCAN, 604 miles between Whitehorse and Ft. Nelson, was just ahead of us. They warned us what to look out and how to prepare for: black ice, isolated roads, whiteouts, and animals (bison and caribou mostly) crossing the highway. It was a long day and we were both ready for a good night sleep.