he U.S. Border Station ("Port Alcan") is roughly 92 miles from Tok. It's 230 miles from Glennallen, and about 300 miles from Fairbanks. Alaska runs on Yukon Daylight Savings Time in the summer. (The Yukon, on the other hand, runs on Pacific Daylight Savings.) So when you come into Alaska, set your watch back an hour.

Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge is south of the Alaska Highway as you enter the state, and covers about a million acres. It was set aside as an important waterfowl production area, and is the summer home to at least 186 bird species, including these trumpeter swans, which were once almost at the point of extinction, but are now on the increase in Alaska. The refuge's main office is in Tok, but around 9 miles from the border there's a Wildlife Refuge Log Cabin Visitor Center, run by Fish & Wildlife and open from Memorial Day to Labor Day, 8 am to 5 pm. You should also keep your eyes open for a number of interpretive exhibits just off the road as you drive into Tok.