Trip to Alaska Day #4

Today was an organization and social day. Tonight is our first GAM (Get Acquainted Meeting, not "Grab a Man"!) and we are scheduled to host 4 other couples at our Airstream. As hosts, we provide the space and a table (picnic table) and the guests bring food (heavy hors d'oeuvres) to share and their own beverage. We also supply a conversation starter question to get everyone talking. Then later this evening, after the Drivers' Meeting, we are going to be served ice cream!! We may just have hors d'oeuvres and ice cream for our dinner.

We took this picture at the National Heritage Museum that is located next to the RV park. 

This cast of a stone sheep was made from a kill by a local guide and the horns on this particular sheep are a world record. Pretty impressive.

Here is some information about the building of the Alaska Highway that we received at the information center presentation last evening.

The Alaska Highway, which has been dubbed as the Alaska-Canada Military Highway or "Alcan" begins at Mile 0 in Dawson Creek, British Columbia and leads in a northwesterly direction through the Yukon Territory to Mile 1,520 at Fairbanks, Alaska.

The bombing of Pearl Harbor in December, 1941, spurred the construction of the Alaska Highway. The USA Military considered Alaska to be a vulnerable target to a Japanese invasion, and the highway was deemed a military necessity. USA President Roosevelt authorized the construction of theAlaska Highway and the build began five days later in March 1942. The Alaska Highway was completed in just eight short months!

The general route of the highway was along a line of existing airfields from Edmonton, Alberta to Fairbanks, Alaska. But down on the ground, the road followed existing winter roads, old pack trails and rivers. Literally bulldozed through the wilderness, the road conditions along the Alcan were horrific. Construction persevered through the spring as the winter weather faded and crews were able to work from both the north and southern ends. Ninety degree turns and twenty-five percent grades were not uncommon. Construction accelerated after reports of Japanese invasion of Kiska Island and Attu Island in the Aleutians. On September 24, 1942 USA Military crews from both directions met at mile 588 at Contact Creek. The highway was officially dedicated on November 20, 1942 at Soldier's Summit.

In exchange for the highway's right-0f-way through Canada and other considerations, the USA paid for construction of the highway and turned over the Canadian portion of theAlaska Highway to the Canadian government in April, 1946. After considerable improvements, the Alcan officially opened to the public in 1948.  (Northern Rockies Travel Guide. )

We just got back from our Drivers' Meeting and hitched-up tonight because we are on a work crew tomorrow and we have to depart with our leaders, JJ & Sandy, at 6:45 a.m. tomorrow morning. We will drive to our next destination, un-hitch ourselves, and then help park the other Airstreams that will be coming behind us. It's all very organized and efficient.

Here we all are, gathered around JJ, man in the navy blue shirt at the table in the middle. Sandy, his wife, is in the hat beside him.

Getting instructions for the day tomorrow. We also had ice cream during the meeting which was much appreciated because today the temperature was in the upper 80s.