Alaska

[dogmeat]

you need one to get into Alaska too. that or maybe some of that new official "real" ID.

[Bob Brimer]

Spent 9 weeks, 9000 miles to and from Wisconsin to Alaska in 2010 Greyhawk. No problems and returned with same windshield. Strongly suggest you buy the latest version of “THE MILEPOST”. Mid June to early August. We were wonderfully alone except when passing through a town or an occasional road maintenance area. Worst road was last 30 miles near Alaskan border. Permafrost. Rock & Roll used the entire road, make sure everything is secured. No traffic fairly straight so it was slow but fun. Saw all kinds of wildlife. Photo op at every turn. Use digital camera or iPad. People in northern Canada really great. A little less so in southern parts of BC & Alberta. Caught a 55 lb King Salmon. Dry camped several times. Some campgrounds were on your honor and first come basis. 2nd greatest trip on my life. Great weather, maybe two or three days of rain. Mount Denali hid in the clouds for several days and when it appeared it was fantastic. Time your gas stops and RV camping sites. The Milepost was a great help to find services. Stop for a cinnamon bun in Telsa mile 375 on AlCan. We called ahead a day or two in advance for RV parks. Only had one problem over the Canadian 4th of July celebration. No not our 4th. Common driving courtesy requests and some areas require a driver to pull off at the first safe area if you have 5 vehicles behind you to allow them to pass. I only had this occur maybe three times. Must end now, too many great memories. Make your own!

[Marmot]

I’ve travelled the Alaska Highway many times. It’s mostly paved now. Gas is very expensive and readily available. Camping is easy. When you see a semi truck approaching, pull off the road and stop; that will preserve your paint and windshield. It’s a two-lane backcountry road so plan on 45 to 50 mph for 1200 miles. The scenery is amazing and changes constantly.

[dogmeat]

he's describing the parts that are dirt because because of construction. those patches come & go. they usually have a pilot car on the bad ones. unless you're talking about the haul road....

[tljwYaki]

Originally Posted by campersam9

When Covid is controlled some day we want to take our Jayco from Pennsylvania to Alaska and back.
Has anyone out there made the trip. We took a cruise and found some mice campgrounds?

Check out Jennings Journeys on Facebook. It's not complete, but a good start. We made the trip in 2011. It was the most fabulous time I've ever had. Just do it! Best of luck.

[IrishSettler]

I went two years ago from Wilkes-Barre, PA.
Drove all the way to the Artic Circle. I spent 10 days in Alaska touring and camping.
It was approximately 4,500 miles one way. I went to Chicago, up to Fargo and then took Highway 2 all the way to Montana and on to the Alcan highway. Drop me a line if you have any questions.

[spark of insanity]

I did a lot of research into driving to and from Alaska from Michigan and back. Will take a week unless you really hoof it. I found a nice campground I think Valdez? It was a KOA and none of the campgrounds I found had full hook ups. But I did decide on a cruise but will have to wait 5 years to do a cruise because I am hearing most Alaska cruises are on hold any where from 2 to 5 years. We can thank the chi com virus for that one. Canada has said they will not reopen their borders until what I heard was March but was extended to who knows when. I think they are little upset over what creepy joe did but that was to be expected when you have promises to keep. So I would put that dream on hold for a while. I did hear they will fine you if you stop any where other then over nite for a rest period. And there is a 14 day quarantine as well in Alaska. So my dream of Alaska will probably happen in the next 5 years. Good luck. I too am dreaming of Alaska baked or otherwise. But do get their travel magazines. They do help plan while we wait for Canada and Alaska to reopen.

[HJ Rosch]

We did Alaska in 2019, 100 days and 11,000 miles. Utah to Seattle, Cassiar Highway to Alcan to Tok, Fairbanks, Denali, Anchorage, Homer, back out the Alcan to Washington, Idaho, Montana, N Dakota, Minnesota and back to Utah. All I can say is stunning and make the trip when and if you can. We drive a 32’ gas Class A and had no problems with our rig, finding gas, campgrounds, roads and supplies. My best recommendation is take your time, don’t rush, enjoy.

[campersam9]

We are retired and have no reason to rush. We need to save our equipment. When we did the cruise we were pushed all the time. We now know what we want to see. We will do Alaska in the spring and Florida for the winter. Poor trailer it is getting used hard.

[Mzellers5]

In 2019 we took our 2018 Greyhawk from Ohio to Key West for 3 months, then home to Ohio to do taxes and then left for Alaska June 3rd, home late September. We have driven 60k in Class C's since I retired in 2007 so we aren't newbies. However, we learned some stuff. Here are the highlights.

1. I don't care who your cell phone carrier is or what kind of International plan you have, when there are no towers, there are no towers. In BC and the Yukon Territory Sirius/XM doesn't exist. Nor the GPS. Paper maps work swell.

2. Gas in British Columbia (BC) was about $7.00 per gallon. Total fuel bill for the Alaska trip was about $6500. Our traveling companions were in a Tiffin diesel pusher. Better mpg but identical fuel cost.

3. Set your phone to upload pictures to the cloud automatically. My wife's phone died months later and she lost hundreds of great shots.

4. Loved the Yukon Territory. DID NOT love the Top of the World Highway, particularly from the US border to Chicken, AK. Drove 3 hours at 10 mph (violent washboard).

4a. There is this tiny issue of dust. It gets everywhere. In the photo below, that is not dust on the Pepsi can. It is the paint ground off the can. From an unopened 12-pack on the floor of our Geo Tracker Dinghy, under a bunch of other stuff. Every can.

4b. A warning about opening soda cans at 9000 feet elevation in your brother-in-law's dinghy.

5. In spite of item #4, Nothing Broke! Well, nothing Jayco related. I do now know what a "Yukon Windshield" is.

5a. And we were thrilled to discover in the very first campground after Chicken, AK, a Safelight Auto Glass van was cruising around all evening doing no-charge chip repair. Of course, everyone threw money at her which she cheerfully pocketed.

6. We did loose a water pump near Glacier National Park (the one under the bed, not the Ford one. ) The new one lasted 5 weeks. Bought another and 18 months later it is still fine. I don't count that as a Jayco issue but they did reimburse me for one of them.

7. Which brings up another point. On motorized Jayco units, the 24 month warranty goes poof at 24,000.00 miles. Unless ... you call the factory Customer Service number to make a record of it while still in warranty. And save your receipts.

8. Campgrounds are everywhere. And cheap and decent. Roadside rest stops every 15 or 20 miles on the Alaska Highway. Sign says no overnight parking but many are full every night.

9. Found a sort of tacky little diner along the way somewhere. Daily special was chicken strips and fries. 4 orders with tap water was $84.

10. On average, the roads ranged from pretty fair to absolutely awful. But to Jayco's credit, Nothing Broke. No Jayco issues, no Ford issues, no tire issues (Hankook). No 27 year old Geo Tracker issues.

All in all, though, it was a wonderful trip. Beautiful scenery everywhere. Really nice people. Needed more time than we had. Still came in under budget.

If you have time the Pioneer Village in Minden Nebraska was a hoot.

We could have spent a month in South Dakota. They even have cell reception.

[Finally Able]

Originally Posted by dogmeat

so Canada is locked down. they don't have half a million dead people though. can anyone make the connection?

Thanks -- was going to say the same thing. Better safe than sorry.

[spark of insanity]

From what I am hearing Canada is not releasing any of its numbers. They are staying quiet so far. I am hearing though that Canadians are really sick to death of not being able to leave or return from snowbirding to and from the US. Trudeau just banned airport travel to certain areas and I am not sure how that is going over well. But I am hearing Trudeau is really making sure no one leaves or reenters unless you are Canadian. And I just heard if you get the border without some sort of testing you will be fined 1500 bucks. Ouch. Glad we did our Canadian travels when we did. Good luck.

[yondering1]

If you decide to drive to Alaska , be sure to take the Cassiar hwy from Prince George , British Columbia to Watson Lake , Yukon Territory on the way up , then take the Alcan Hwy back .
This is an awesome journey .
Enjoy your adventure . Have a Blessed day , Al Weaver WA5AEW

[Ricky555]

Originally Posted by yondering1

If you decide to drive to Alaska , be sure to take the Cassiar Hwy from Prince George , British Columbia to Watson Lake , Yukon Territory on the way up , then take the Alcan Hwy back .
This is an awesome journey .
Enjoy your adventure . Have a Blessed day , Al Weaver WA5AEW

The Cassiar Hwy goes from Kitwanga, BC to near Watson Lake, Yukon. Kitwanga, BC is about 500 KM west of Prince George, BC. on the Yellowhead Hwy (Hwy 16). Gas is $137.9 cents per liter in Watson Lake but that is Cdn. dollars. today $1.00 US = 1.26 Cdn. Come and enjoy Canada when Covid is over. Very little access across the US - Can border now.

[Finally Able]

I love Canada (though have never been west of Montreal -- I've been to Quebec, NB, NS and PEI.) I'd love to see more of that sprawling country and spend their loonies and twonies. I know, things can cost more, esp fuel. I feel an affinity for eastern CA, as three out of my four grandparents emigrated from Quebec. I'm descended from forebears who arrived in New France beginning in 1640s. Fortunate to possess documented histories from 2 of the 3 families. I'm now 65, and have no one left from my parents' generation to ask questions; wish I had the level of interest to ask when they were around. I can only go to see the areas my grandparents left to seek work in the U.S., at least once COVID restrictions are eased -- but I'm patient.

Of course, none of this has anything to do with Alaska, apart from pretty much needing to pass through Canada, a country that is now especially dear to me, to get there.

[jkaras7]

In 2018 we did a 66 day, 12,000 mile trip to Alaska from Las Vegas, Nevada. We are hopeful to be able to do this again either this year or next year. There are so many more things we wanted to do on this trip but time became an issue as we had to be back on Las Vegas by the end of July that year.