So you want to drive to Alaska, Hey!

Darlie has been under the weather the past few days so my star photographer is out of commission.  I know most of you just look here to see her photos so I apologize for nothing but text tonight.  We are camped in a very nice RV Resort in Spokane Washington tonight.  I am here to have my third ignition switch installed on my Workhorse chassis.  But enough of the boring stuff.


What I learned about driving to Alaska may help you plan your trip someday.  You may not believe everything I tell you but I can assure you it is true.  You had best be prepared for all that may happen and that means having a sense of humor, patience, and deep pockets cause it's going to cost you.


If I were to drive up again, I would plan to hit the Alaska highway about the second week of July.  By that time most of the worst sections of the miserable hundred miles in the Yukon have been repaired.  I found sixty of the one hundred to be drivable at normal speeds.  Sections that had no pavement at all in the spring had fresh coats of tar and stone.  It makes for a nice dusting of you RV. 


Speaking of that, if you are one of those guys who is always polishing the hubcaps when you stop at night, you might better just stay home and save yourself the aggravation.  Mud, dust, grime, rocks and gravel will pummel your rig all the way.   Be sure you are not the type who whines at every scratch, dent or busted windshield.   Not to mention what happens to your toad, if you don't lose it all together that is.  I'm serious.  It happened to a few we encountered.  Many suffered superficial damage.


I had both windshields replaced on my motor home last winter.  Both of them are damaged now.  One side can be repaired.  It only has some stone chips from flying gravel.  The drivers side has a plum sized hole in it.  Yes the rock nearly came through.  Glass flew all over the dash and on me when it hit.  All of this happened in Canada so I can't blame Alaska.  Alaskan roads were pretty good overall.

Top of the World:  Save that for your return trip end of August or first of September if the weather has been fairly dry all summer up in that area.  In the spring, right after break up and with days of rain that road turns into a sea of mud.  If you get out of the track you are gone.  The soft shoulder will pull you right over in the ditch.  That is if you are lucky and there is a ditch where it pulls you over.  One poor soul from Texas was driving a 40+ foot  diesel pusher that got a wheel in the goo and it pulled him over an embankment turning the rig upside down.  All that was left after it was pulled out was the frame, wheels and engine.  The rest came back in dumpsters.  It's true.  You can see the remains at Willard's Garage in Tok.  I was there when he brought it in.  A $4,000 plus tow job, I might add.

Remains of diesel pusher.

Denali is over rated.  I know I will tick some people off with that statement.  I have been there twice and wasn't all that impressed either time.  I did take the 11 hour endurance trip out into the park.  It is long and if you don't see any game, it is boring.  Fortunately on the day we went visibility was good with overcast so we didn't see the mountain.  We did see caribou and other little varmints and an eagle or two.  The bag lunch was best left in the bag.  There are far more beautiful places than Denali in Alaska.


I'm sure there are those few who will say they went and all was just peachy.  We didn't meet them but I am sure some were around somewhere.  Everyone we talked to had their story to tell.  Whether it happened to them or it was something they witnessed, all had a story.


It is one time I was thankful to have an old RV.  If it was new, I might be the guy with the dust cloth you see in the parks in the evening.  I am sure we got some new dings and scratches but when I see one I can't remember it was there before or if it is new.  It is all just part of the experience. 

One of many bears to cross our path.

The Weather:  Be prepared if yo plan to do anything outside.  That means having rain gear and boots would be good to bring if you have them.  It rains a lot in Alaska.  When it rains it rains.  It can be a steady downpour for three or four days without let up.  You either will sit inside bored out of your mind or you will be like the Alaskans and do whatever you want outside.  Cookout, fish, eat lunch, visit or just go for a walk, all are rainy day activities for an Alaskan.   When in Alaska do as the Alaskans do.  Pay no attention to the weather.  


Have clothing that can be formed into lots of layers.  Summer in Alaska is down right cold for this Florida boy.  Day time highs average mid 50s to mid 60s with a rare 70 or higher day thrown in.  Expect about three sunny days a week and four days of downpour.  You get so you don't think about it and if you are there long enough you find yourself getting hot when the temperature gets up to the mid 60s.  That is where the layers come in.  You can start shedding.


If you walk out to look over a nice little mountain lake, be prepared to sink in over your shoes when you are about twenty feet from the lake edge.  The ground is like a huge sponge.  You sink right in.  Also if you are walking in tall grass or bushes near a lake edge be prepared to discover a knee deep pocket filled with cold water.  You detect these when you are knee deep in cold water, not before.  I know these things from experience.  I almost bought myself a pair of Alaskan sneakers (boots) but wondered what I would do with them at home.


The Cost:  Everything is expensive.  Get over it.  Think about where you are. The nearest supply house may be three hundred miles away in Anchorage.  You pay for the convenience of not having to run up to Anchorage every time you need something.  I never felt things were priced to take advantage of the tourists.  People live in those places too all year long and they pay the same prices.  Again, think about where you are.


Fishing:  I bought an annual license for $145.00.  I felt it was worth it.  You can buy a one day, three day or two week license also.  If you just wanted to go out on a charter for the day or if you just wanted to get a few days on the stream when the salmon run, those options would work for you.


I could stop and fish those little mountain lakes when I passed one.  Also, when the salmon run, there is a mentality like the gold rush is on again.  Everyone is on the river after salmon.  If you haven't seen a salmon run I don't know how to explain it other than fish are literally on top of one another.   Drop in a hook and pull and you have a fish.  Snagging is legal in salt water.  In fresh water, fish must be snagged in the mouth.  People had boxes full of red salmon frozen and packed for shipment back home.  


If you do your own checking around, you will find you can have them frozen, packaged and shipped fairly reasonably yourself rather than using the charter boat captain's favorite fish packer.  I found you could ship fifty pounds for about $3.00 per pound and have it packaged and frozen for about a $1.00 per pound.  You can't buy halibut anywhere for $4.00 per pound.  Let's not talk about the cost of the charter though.  


Flat Tires:  We didn't have any.  I think you are more prone to getting a flat if you have worn tires, over inflated tires or soft tires.  There are roads with lots of stones on them but good tires, properly inflated can hold up to the conditions.


Cell Phones:  Before leaving home, be sure you have coverage in Canada.  You may be able to add it while you are up there.  Don't plan on having a cell signal once you get up on the Highway.  It is pretty spotty up there if there is any at all.  My phone didn't work at all in Canada.  


Internet:  I used a mifi from Verizon while in Alaska.  I didn't find anywhere it didn't work.  Some areas were very slow though but I always had a connection.  Don't use your mifi in Canada unless you have added international coverage.  It will cost your $2.05 per megabyte in Canada.  I learned the hard way.


Many campgrounds offer wifi.  I tried to log on to their systems a few times just to see how good it was.  I always had trouble connecting.  


Campgrounds:  Forget about a nice grassy site.  Gravel pads are an upgrade in Alaska and northern Canada.  We found state recreation sites had some very nice campgrounds.  A few even had paved pads.  Forget about water and electric.  Most are so remote there is no power in the area.  Few have dump stations for the same reason.  You can find dump stations everywhere, however, gas stations, Fred Myer grocery stores and many municipalities have them.


One thing I found to be useful when driving were the flashing lights before every intersection that tells you the green light ahead is about to turn red.  If it says prepare to stop, you had better stop because it will be red when you get there.  I wondered why they had these things.  They must be costly.  Then it dawned on me that stopping on slippery ice covered roads in the winter may be a problem.  These signs give you a heads up to start slowing.

Buddy.  Longing for home.

I know I could share more but I am getting tired.  Maybe I will think of some other things to share later.