Oh, Canada!!!!!

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This final leg can be kind of deceiving.  It is strange to think just how far away Alaska is from Washington, at least for me it is strange.  To put it in perspective, my drive from New Orleans to Seattle (across on I40 to Los Angeles, then up through San Francisco) was roughly the same distance as getting from Seattle to Homer where I live.  Whereas I had taken a month to do that first part, we gave ourselves 4 to 5 days to get through the last chunk.  It worked out well because with winter still in full swing there was not much else to do but drive.  Of course there was plenty of scenery and wildlife to take in.

Bison

Lake Kluane

Sheep licking the salt from the road

The second day of driving ended abruptly when the road was closed for an accident.  Reports were the highway would not be opened for 6 to 8 hours so we set up camp at a pull-out with a few other travelers. Conscious of our good fortune to have not been involved in the accident we settled in for a very cold night.

On the third day we did take a short break to enjoy the Liard Hot Springs. Despite the slight sulfur smell, they were absolutely amazing and I wish we had stayed there all day, though our entire bodies would have been pruned by the end.  

Traveling northwest that third day allowed us to chase the sunset and get in about 15 hours of driving putting us well ahead of schedule.  We spent that night just past Haines Junction and woke up the next morning knowing that Alaska and even Anchorage were within our reach.  

Chugach Mountains, Alaska

I spent the final night at Claire's house just outside of Anchorage, leaving the final 4-hour drive south to Homer for the next morning.  It was comforting to be back on roads that I have driven before and navigating the 'big city' of Anchorage now seems like a piece of cake.  I had a few snow flurries as I drove through the mountains but thankfully signs of the record snow falls from this winter were scarce by the time I got home.