On to Tok

¸.·´ (¸.*´Are we having fun yet? Alaska, the last frontier.. ·´ ¸.·*¨) ¸.·*¨) ¸.·*¨ ) (¸.·´ (¸.*´ ¸.·´ `·-* **´¨)*´¨. ·´ ¸.·*¨) ¸.·*¨) ¸.·*¨ ) (¸.·´ (¸.*´ ¸.·´ `·-* -
Crossing over the border back into the Good Ole US is a little less than expected. The sights in Yukon are most memorable and certainly more dramatic than imagined. Pix on last post of the tranquil smooth Lake Kluane, choppy windy morning lake-watching fishing boats bouncing.

Sunday 8/22/10-50 mi.before Alaska border -stopped for coffee, Jim and Dorothy Cooks’ store and gift shop in Koidern,YK after T was inside for about 20 minutes I decided to check to see if he heard the call of the wild and escaped thru the back door. Inside a delightful couple was giving him the rhubarb recipe her aunt left behind 40 years ago. With coffee (fresh perked) in hand along with rhubarb cake it took another 90 minutes to get out the door, after so many amusing stories and funny experiences under their belt.
(need any decorated railroad spikes or rocks we will gladly stop on our way back to pick some up for you) Leaving behind a few bulbs of our fresh garlic from NY state farm, we promised to stop on our way back.
T realized he shoulda helped grinding the 30lb. moose meat they were getting ready to grind for burgers. GREAT EXPERIENCE.

First moose sighting-momma and 2 offspring running thru rain into the woods. Evening stopover at TOK, weather sunny and warmish (60’s), nice evening meal and good sleeping. Maybe RV life isn’t so bad, lots of people doin-it?

Trivia- History/Geography facts:
Capital-Juneau*Largest city-Anchorage*Area-663,268 sq.mi.
Alaska is the largest state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait. Approximately 1/2 of 698,473 live within the Anchorage metro area. As of 2009, Alaska remains the least densely populated state of the U.S
Alaska was purchased from the Russian Empire on March 30, 1867, for $7.2 million at about two cents per acre ($4.74/km²). They became an organized territory on May 11, 1912, and the 49th state of the U.S. on January 3, 1959.
The name "Alaska" (Аляска) was already introduced in the Russian colonial time, when it was used only for the peninsula and is derived from the Aleut alaxsxaq, meaning "the mainland" or more literally, "the object towards which the action of the sea is directed". It is also known as Alyeska, the "great land", an Aleut word derived from the same root.
Alaska with a longer coastline than all the other U.S. states combined. It is the only non-contiguous U.S. state on continental North America; about 500 miles of British Columbia separate Alaska from Washington state. Alaska is thus an exclave of the United States. It is technically part of the continental U.S. The capital city, Juneau, is situated on the mainland of the North American continent, but is not connected by road to the rest of the North American highway system.
The state is bordered by the Yukon Territory and British Columbia in Canada, to the east, the Gulf of Alaska and the Pacific Ocean to the south, the Bering Sea, Bering Strait, and Chukchi Sea to the west and the Arctic Ocean to the north. Alaska's territorial waters touch Russia's territorial waters in the Bering Strait, as the Russian Big Diomede Island and Alaskan Little Diomede Island are only 3 miles apart. As it extends into the eastern hemisphere, it is technically both the westernmost and easternmost state in the United States, as well as also being the northernmost.
It is the world's largest wildlife refuge, comprising 16 million acres. Alaska has more acres of public land owned by the federal government than any other state,approximately 65% of Alaska is owned and managed by the U.S. federal government as public lands, including a multitude of national forests, national parks, and national wildlife refuges