Day 10 – We made it to Delta Junction, AK, our new home (07/06/2009)

Today we decided to do our longest segment of the Alaska Highway unbeknownst to us this is also the worst section of the Alaska Highway. We drove 500 miles in 11 hours. The first forty miles after Whitehorse consisted of suicide prairie dogs. They stood on the side and waited until you got about 50 feet from them and they take off running at full speed and trying to cross in front of you. After about the fifth one I stopped braking and swerving to miss them. They are pretty good, only one should have retired from the game early. Then we entered a 200-mile permafrost area, what a ride. They needed signs on this section that said, Do Not Eat Next 200 Miles If Subject To Motion Sickness. I hit my head on the ceiling twice and Nina popped her neck several times. I really do not know how to describe it best, really rough seas or really bad air turbulence. Additionally, they put red flags on the side of the road to mark problem areas. Nina said they meant slow down, I said no they mean hold on! After about the fourth marked area Nina won, I started to slow down in order to keep the suspension under the vehicle. Educational note: Did you know that marsh plants contain 10 to 400 percent more sodium than the plants around the marsh? That is why you see moose standing in the middle of a pond, as we did today, eating plants off the bottom. It put it’s entire head under the water and ate for awhile and then raised it’s head and shook. Did you know that swans migrate? Yes, those big things fly all the way up here to nest in the quite secluded ponds. We saw several pairs today on different ponds. Because swans are very private, there is only one pair per lake. When I saw the swans I had flashbacks to a horrible part of my childhood, I can only hope there is a hunting season so I can get even.
Our total trip took 10 days and covered 4,810 miles. More on Delta Junction tomorrow.