Traveling the Alaska Highway to the Kanai Peninsula
In all things, look for the silver lining! Cynthia and I are definitely ones to look for the good in every situation! We decided after getting settled in the new motorhome, that we were too wired to sleep so should just keep driving awhile since it was just starting to get daylight. Had our motorhome not broken down, we would have never seen the sunrise and the early morning moose! The photos above were taken between 3:30 am and 5:00 am. The sunrise cast incredible hues of oranges and yellows across the sky and reflected across the mountains making them look pink. We had the road completely to ourselves for hours. The solitude and quiet when we would stop made the vastness of the landscape surrounding us seem even greater. We did eventually stop for a nap, and let me tell you...4' of extra space makes all the difference in the world! Although the cab bunk was bigger and there was a ladder, as claustrophobic as I am, the floor was a much better option, and my mattress almost fit completely blown up! The bathroom sink leaked, and the kitchen table wouldn't stay up if you leaned on it or set something heavy on it, but in the grand scheme of things, these things didn't bother us much after what we'd been through already. Because of the delay caused by the motorhome breakdown, we knew we were not going to make it to everywhere on our itinerary. We decided our best option was to cut out our visit to Valdez (it's just an excuse to travel back to Alaska right?) and head on to the Kanai Peninsula.
Let me tell you, the views on the way there did not disappoint! We will never regret driving the Alaska Highway. This is the road to drive if you love spectacular landscapes! We passed picture perfect lakes, so still and glasslike it was like looking in a mirror reflection. We stopped along our way to dip our feet in a gently flowing river, and then again to see the views of the snow capped mountains and the glacier. It was truly magnificent. No matter which direction we looked, there were incredible views for miles. Then, as we are driving along, what do we see? A sign that says Glacier access just 1 mile away! Now, this wasn't on our itinerary, but, we are adventurous women on our own time schedule. Dirt and gravel roads don't scare us....not even when we're (by we, I mean Cynthia, but I helped by holding my breath, keeping my mouth shut and praying we didn't die) driving a 24' RV that barely fit on the wooden bridge. Ya'll, I was so scared! I didn't see a weight limit sign on that bridge, and all I could imagine was the RV falling through the boards into that rushing river. I think I had a death grip on the door handle with knuckles turned white as we crossed it the first time. I was able to breathe a little easier and video on the way back across.
Since I'm sitting here writing this blog, you know we made it safely, and no one died! It took us all day, but we made it to the Kanai Peninsula and found a beautiful pull off to set up camp for the night! I just couldn't believe how amazing of a view we had from our front door! I really enjoyed the fact that we could boondock and not even have to pay for this view, even though it would have been well worth paying for. Thankfully, the motorhome had great privacy screens that blocked out some of the light, because the picture below was taken at 9:20pm, and we were very tired!
Join us in Part 6 (coming soon) for Homer Spit, Kanai Fjords and Seward and the funniest escapade of the trip!
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