After a brief stop in the ferry parking lot, the convoy is ready to roll. Matt and Carrie, our "wagonmasters," offer to bring up the rear in the new Jeep they purchased for their Alaska assignment.

We follow the Chilkat Inlet out of Haines. At certain times of the year, this valley is the best place on earth to see eagles. But we don't see any today.

Not far out of Haines we hit snow and ice on the road. This will be the norm for the rest of the trip. Fortunately, most of the ice is rough and cold and not too slippery.

The convoy slows down. Most of the vehicles are 2-wheel drive and no one has studded tires. Everyone is glad for the safety of our numbers.

We soon arrive at Canadian customs. It takes over an hour to process all seven vehicles.

Willie and Catira and their two young sons are moving to Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks. They are driving a black truck, towing a white car.

Ryan is headed to Eielson,too. The customs official does not accept his military ID for driving, so he asks if anyone would be willing to drive his car through Canada.

Christina is the only other member of the convoy who's from Alaska. She's headed home, riding with her nephew Tony, after a long absence. She offers to drive Ryan's car.

Each time we stop, we introduce ourselves to another car or two. Allison is an occupational therapist working for a temp agency. She's just finished a job in Ketchikan and she and her dog Tonka are going to be in Anchorage for a few months. Don is a pharmacist who's lived in Anchorage before but has been working in Guam.

February 15, 2005
We pull into Haines Junction about 10pm and get motel rooms. No place is open for dinner. I ask when the bakery will be open and am told, "Oh, a couple of months."
We meet again at 6am. We're able to buy gas but not breakfast. Armed with junk food, we hit the road.

We think maybe we'll stop for breakfast down the road, but most businesses are closed for the winter. We're careful to gas up whenever we can. Even many of the pull-offs and rest areas are not plowed.

We come to Kluane Lake and National Park.

We drive along the lake and skirt around the bottom.

Even in winter, Kluane Lake is beautiful and awe-inspiring in it's immensity.

Morning sun hits the mountains ahead of us.

We finally stop at a roadhouse for lunch. Seven cars arriving all at once overwhelm the couple cooking our food. It takes an hour and the food trickles out. My burger and fries are cold. Luckily, we still have some food in the car.