Day 45
Today we got back to Tok, the place that holds the world record for lowest recorded temperature (-83 F) in an inhabited area(if you drive in or out of Alaska you must go through Tok). We finally had a night without rain, we drove all day without rain and we got to see all that beautiful mountain scenery again today; as we get to the campsite it starts to sprinkle, then heavier, then rain, and more rain - but it did stop and we had a nice evening, we went to the concert and had a good time, then we heard the news....
The Taylor Highway is closed again; there was a lot more rain, a mud and rock slide and another part of the road washed out. We talked to some people who got through early this morning and it was closed after they got through; I looked on the web and found a story out of Anchorage that showed a picture of the wash-out - it was so depressing. They say when travelling that "the shortest distance between two points is under construction"; when in Alaska this summer "the shortest distance ... is closed"....
So here is our plan - we have no choice for tomorrow, we are heading back the Alcan hwy route; it takes us across the worst road and we expect a long day, then we plan to go via Whitehorse and then back up to Dawson City the long way; this means that it will take 3 days to get there instead of 1 and that puts us 2 days behind schedule again; but the other bad news is that the Cassiar Hwy is still closed and we may have no choice and will gain those 2 days back because we can't get to Hyder.
Two weeks ago when we were here it was wonderful; since then they have had a lot of rain; and, since then they have hatched a crop of mosquitoes that are carrying us away.
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