Our time in Anchorage ran out far too quickly. A friend once told me it was better to leave the party a little early, for you'll remember your experience that much more fondly. She's right. Madison and I bid a warm farewell to our hosts and loaded up the car for the return journey. Allison, the consummate nurturer, made sure that Madison bought a warm coat for the ferry ride and sent us off with a cache of nonperishable provisions big enough to restock MacArthur's G.I.'s on Bataan. Mason burned us a mix CD that included one of The Audio's songs and a Flyleaf number- sadly, he didn't have a copy of The Rogues' and Wenches' Finest Sea Shanties.
Our first day of driving bought us back to Tok, where we ate dinner at Fast Eddy's and revisited The Lodge Bar for another round of ales with some folks we had met in Tok two weeks before, Kayleen and Mary. We visited Judy's shack for more of her delicious homemade halibut dip. Against all odds, I also managed to recover a hoodie I had left in the town. Saturday morning dawned crisp and sunny (dawned is too strong a word. It never got dark in the first place), and we headed northeast towards Haines Junction. There's pretty much only one road in and out of Alaska, and we had to drive a day and a half northeast in order to backtrack down another highway south and west to Haines (note: Haines and Haines Junction are two different towns). It was necessary to reenter Canada in order to loop down and back into lower Alaska. We cringed at the thought. But at least Madison had the chance to spend the rest of his monopoly money.
Treacherous frost heaves nonwithstanding, it was nice to be back on the Alaska Highway. Frost heaves are an interesting phenomenon- glacial soil is relatively porous, and the suspended water freezes and expands under the road, lifting the pavement. In the spring, the ice melts and the weight of the asphalt crashes down and compresses the soil, leaving an undulating ribbon of bouncy asphalt that can launch a car upward with axle-breaking force. Imagine driving up the slicing edge of a humongous cheese grater. And that's in the areas where the road is actually paved- much of the Alcan Highway is still gravel. It was slow going. Although the Army Corps of Engineers had done the best they could, Alaska was, and remains, a largely untamable land. Most rivers and streams had signs that announced their names. We passed Dry Creek Bed #1, shortly followed by Dry Creek Bed #2. I was duly impressed by the Army's creativity- what incredibly imaginative names!
We arrived in Haines, Alaska on Saturday evening. Madison wasn't feeling well, so we splurged on a pair of hostel beds for the night. It was refreshing to shave and shower. On Sunday we walked around town, visited the local library, and made camp at Chilkoot Lake, a beautiful National Park with a glacial lake and excellent salmon fishing. Bald eagles soared overhead as I grilled a pair of steaks to celebrate our last night on the Alaskan mainland- a New York Strip for Madison and a succulent T-bone for me, both served rare. Delish. Our boat was scheduled to depart on Monday evening. The men in the campsite nextdoor would be on the ferry as well, and I talked with one of them about classic cars for a while while Madison built a fire.
This morning, we woke up before 7, struck camp, and headed into town so Madison could get his coffee fix. I paid $2 to use the weight room at the local high school, and it felt GREAT to work up a sweat. Too bad Kerri wasn't here to play racquetball. I would have liked to beat soundly as I so often do in Atlanta. After my lift, I walked nextdoor to the community pool to shower, but it was closed. A striking blond around my age was sunbathing outside. I didn't understand how she planned to get tan in a one-piece, but hey- it's Alaska. She called the pool director down and let me in.
After the shower, I headed over to the local library to meet Madison. We're now waiting for the town's brewery to open at 1pm, where we'll refill our growlers with fine Alaskan lagers for the ferry ride. The State Ferry steams from Haines tonight at 7pm, with us and the Element aboard, and arrives in Bellingham, Washington, in 5 days. Ever wary of scurvy, Allison packed us a bunch of oranges. Instead of booking a stateroom, we decided to save $1500 by pitching our tent on the deck of the ferry. Even though I worked out today, it'd be very hard to hammer tent stakes into diamondplate steel. Instead, we had to get duct tape to hold our "cabin" to the ship. The Gasparilla Pirate Festival this past January allowed me to brush up on my pirate lexicon in preparation for the voyage. Hopefully the crew of the M/V Columbia is ready for us. All hands to the mainsail, make ready the guns! ...And run out the sweeps!
In Seattle, we'll be staying with my freshman roommate Nick- he's as rabid an automotive zealot as I am, and it's with no small amount of enthusiasm that I'm looking forward to seeing him at the end of the week. When I visited in 2007 we'd installed a Saleen supercharger in a brand new Mustang, along with rerouting coolant lines, adding a secondary radiator, repositioning the alternator, and more. I had to fly back to Atlanta just before the project was finished, and am totally stoked to get behind the wheel of the killer supercharged 'Stang we built 3 years ago. Based on the mechanical specs and Nick's descriptions, I know the Ford is going to be the fastest car I've ever driven: a beast uncaged, a roaring, muscular, insanely powerful tire-shredding speed machine with no legitimate business on any road in this world or the next. He's also got a drop-dead gorgeous '71 Camaro named Bernadette that he restored himself. Both are yellow. Both are awesome. Step 1: Apply clutch. Step 2: Engage 1st gear. Step 3: Open throttle. Step 4: Drop clutch. Unleash hell.
America is my favorite country, and the 4th of July is my favorite holiday. It is also Nick's favorite country and holiday. Several years ago he showed up to Madbus's Communist-Party-themed birthday wearing an American flag as a cape. I could think of no better person with which to spend Independence Day. It is likely that we will celebrate in the manner that characterized our friendship in college. "I bet you guys make great decisions together," his friend Kirsten's mother mused 2005. His reply: "Stellar."
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