The highway up until now had been better than we had imagined based on our friends' descriptions of their trips up here. Well today we encountered the other road conditions! Almost as soon as we departed Burwash Landings this morning we started running into marked and unmarked frost heaves and pavement breakups.
As soon as we would get back up to 45mph another unmarked frost heave would throw the m/h into the air so the only option was to slow down to 30-35mph and be ready to slow down even more when bad road appeared. For the first 40 miles or so the road had dissipated to horrible conditions. We then came onto two long “construction” projects where the gravel surface had been in place so long that it had turned into a washboard with plenty of loose gravel and rocks to be thrown by trucks traveling at high speed coming from the opposite direction. So far we have one small scratch (no chip) in the m/h windshield from a truck-thrown rock today and no damage to the CRV or the m/h body so it has worked out fine. Jeff installed a clear film shield on the front of the motorhome before leaving Washington and it seems to be doing a good job.
We did get to see a bear today that stuck around long enough to get some photos! It was starting across the road when we came over the hill so we were able to slow down as he kept going. It finally turned around and looked at us as we came to a stop and then lumbered off into the woods. A few White Swans swimming in a small lake were the only other wildlife today.
It took us three hours to reach the Alaska border and we were ready to get back onto good old USofA highways even though they too had frost heaves. After crossing the customs checkpoint we were on roads with many repairs that had obviously had been made this Spring and made the road passable at the posted speed limit of 55mph.
We are spending a couple of days at the Gateway Salmon Bake RV Park in Tok through Friday morning. Went to their "Bake' tonight and it was wonderful! Sue had Copper River red sockeye salmon and Jeff had halibut that was perfectly grilled; far superior to MukLuk Annie's food. We may have to go back again tomorrow night. The young couple who run the park are leasing it from his dad who owns Fast Eddie's next door that is also supposed to have good food.It is the 21st of June and Equinox is today. Here in Tok it is 11:15PM and the sun has finally set but it is still a bright beautiful day out there! It takes some getting used to.
Friday morning we head to Valdez via the Tok cutoff to Anchorage as far as Glennallen and then down through the Copper River Canyon to Valdez.
The highway up until now had been better than we had imagined based on our friends' descriptions of their trips up here. Well today we encountered the other road conditions! Almost as soon as we departed Burwash Landings this morning we started running into marked and unmarked frost heaves and pavement breakups. 
As soon as we would get back up to 45mph another unmarked frost heave would throw the m/h into the air so the only option was to slow down to 30-35mph and be ready to slow down even more when bad road appeared. For the first 40 miles or so the road had dissipated to horrible conditions. We then came onto two long “construction” projects where the gravel surface had been in place so long that it had turned into a washboard with plenty of loose gravel and rocks to be thrown by trucks traveling at high speed coming from the opposite direction. So far we have one small scratch (no chip) in the m/h windshield from a truck-thrown rock today and no damage to the CRV or the m/h body so it has worked out fine. Jeff installed a clear film shield on the front of the motorhome before leaving Washington and it seems to be doing a good job.
We did get to see a bear today that stuck around long enough to get some photos! It was starting across the road when we came over the hill so we were able to slow down as he kept going. It finally turned around and looked at us as we came to a stop and then lumbered off into the woods. A few White Swans swimming in a small lake were the only other wildlife today.
It took us three hours to reach the Alaska border and we were ready to get back onto good old USofA highways even though they too had frost heaves. After crossing the customs checkpoint we were on roads with many repairs that had obviously had been made this Spring and made the road passable at the posted speed limit of 55mph. 
We are spending a couple of days at the Gateway Salmon Bake RV Park in Tok through Friday morning. Went to their "Bake' tonight and it was wonderful! Sue had Copper River red sockeye salmon and Jeff had halibut that was perfectly grilled; far superior to MukLuk Annie's food. We may have to go back again tomorrow night. The young couple who run the park are leasing it from his dad who owns Fast Eddie's next door that is also supposed to have good food.It is the 21st of June and Equinox is today. Here in Tok it is 11:15PM and the sun has finally set but it is still a bright beautiful day out there! It takes some getting used to.
Friday morning we head to Valdez via the Tok cutoff to Anchorage as far as Glennallen and then down through the Copper River Canyon to Valdez.
