Long Drive

We have been in Alaska nearly two years, and I recently decided to start looking for a new job back down in the lower 48. And it so happens I was able to find one back in Atlanta, GA. Due to the distance, they gave me two full weeks to get down to Atlanta before I start so we decided to make the long drive down. We were originally going to leave on Monday March 7th, but packing took longer than expected (even with my parents help during their trip up for the Iditarod). So, on a frigid, sunny Tuesday we left with the Subaru packed to the brim, bikes on the roof rack, and towing a U-Haul with nearly everything we owned.

We drove slowly getting a feel for the trailer and headed off towards the Canadian border. Soon, we were turning towards Tok on some of the last remaining Alaska Highway we had not previously been on.


I have to imagine that the border between Alaska and the Yukon Territory is the least busy US border. We arrived at the US side just as the sun was setting, and stopped for pictures in between at all of the crossing signs.



After crossing through the Canadian side of the border, we then hit some of the worst stretch of "paved" road I have ever driven on. The 80 or so miles between the border and the town of Destruction Bay is notoriously bad. There are huge frost heaves and potholes that could swallow a tire. Since we arrived at night there was zero visibility which gave us even less time to brace for impact and wince, hoping my TV which is packed in the trailer didn't just crack.

We stopped for dinner (at Buckshot Betty's) in the first town we came to, Beaver Creek, and then pressed on as we still had much driving to do. One of the downsides of hauling the trailer is we average about 13-14 miles per gallon, meaning we have to stop at least every 180 miles or so for gas. Since the towns throughout northern Canada are about 100-150 miles apart (sorry 160-240 kilometers apart) we had to stop and gas up at just about every opportunity.

Around 11 pm I spotted some weird light in the sky, so I stopped to try and see what it was. Since we hadn't seen the northern lights yet, I was keeping an eagle eye out hoping we might see them before we ventured too far south. My parents had seen them on their trip to Fairbanks, and had told us how the scientists they ran into said that sometimes they appear white instead of brightly colored. That matched the description of what I was seeing on the northern horizon now, and sure enough when I took a picture with a long exposure they turned out a greenish color (#75 on the list).


We finally arrived in Whitehorse after 1 am and checked into our hotel. We made it over 700 miles on our first day! Not a bad start, but to get through Canada in 3 days as planned we were going to have to drive at least that far each of the next two days as well.

After a quick stop at the grocery store (and the local bookstore to buy a post card), we continued on our way the next morning. We had chosen to take the ALCAN Highway instead of the Cassiar, mostly because the towns are closer together on the older ALCAN and we needed all the fuel we could get.

The Yukon River also flows through Whitehorse and we crossed it just outside of town.


Also, on the second day of the trip we began seeing lots of wildlife. From caribou on the road...


To bison on the side of the road...


In total we saw 53 bison, 9 caribou, 3 moose, and 3 deer.

Stopping for gas every couple of hours helped break up the trip. And, it was an interesting experience in northern Canada. We bought fuel in liters, and paid an equivalent of over $6 a gallon at some stations. Many of the tanks were above ground and had to be "turned on" from inside the store or hotel that sold it. The pumps looked like ones most people in the US haven't seen since the 70s or 80s.

Later in the day we crossed through Watson Lake, Yukon and stopped to view the impressive Sign Post Forest.


Shortly after we crossed into British Columbia for the third and final time of the day.


We were making good time on Wednesday, but unfortunately this all changed after dark. It started to snow right as we began entering some steep mountain passes going through the Canadian Rockies. A short way up the first mountain we had to stop and help someone who had run off the road into a small ditch. We were able to help them, but as we got back moving it started to snow even harder.

Our options at that point were limited since we were in the middle of no where. We either had to turn around and head back to the last town we had come from or continue on to the next town. Since we were already miles from the previous town, and with hopes that the weather might improve, we pressed on. Unfortunately, the weather did not improve but we were able to slowly continue driving and after a couple of hours made it to Fort Nelson in Northern British Columbia.

It was only around 8 pm and we were still a couple of hundred miles from where we were planning on stopping that night, but we decided to get a hotel there due to the weather. Of course, as soon as we paid for our hotel room it stopped snowing.

Since we had an early night, we decided to get up early on Thursday to try and make up some time. The snow from the night before had already been plowed and we were able to make very good time. In the early afternoon we reached Dawson Creek, BC which is the starting point of the ALCAN our easternmost point in Canada, being just a few miles from Alberta.


After taking some pictures of the ceremonial markers we pressed on with the drive and continued making good time until a little after sunset. With a strong hinting of déjà vu, it again began to snow as we were approaching a series of mountain passes. Only this time the passes were steeper, the snow was coming down even harder, and there were more semis on the road.

Driving slowly, we were again able to make it to the next town where we decided to stop for the night - the small town of Quesnel. By this point we had given up hope of remaining on schedule.

Friday morning we woke early and continued the drive through the Canadian Rockies. We finally made it to Vancouver, just in time for Friday evening rush hour traffic. After meeting our friend Jenny for a brief dinner at the mall by Canada Place, where we had departed from on our Alaskan Cruise, we made the journey to the US Border.

While on a map Vancouver appears to be right next to the border, it sure feels a lot longer when you are making the actual drive. It took well over an hour from the time we left the mall until we made it to the border, waited in line with nearly a hundred other cars, and answered a number of very specific and sometimes weird questions from the agent.

Back in the United States we continued down to Mukilteo, Washington (just north of Seattle) and to the home of our friends Chris and Christie, who would kindly be playing host and tour guide during our time in Seattle.

Steven

The Haul Road

In early September I started to get anxious. It was getting very late in the summer, but there was one trip I definitely wanted to do before it ended. We decided to take off Thursday, Friday, and Monday around the last weekend in September to drive the Haul Road.

The Haul Road, also known as the Dalton Highway (#84 on the list), is 414 miles long and stretches from just north of Fairbanks to Deadhorse, Alaska along the Arctic Ocean. The road was built along the Trans Alaska Pipeline and was used by workers to build the massive project. Now it is mainly used as a trucking road to transport goods to Prudhoe Bay (where they drill for oil). This is also the road driven on for the History Channel show Ice Road Truckers.


Since we were leaving so late in the season we had to be even more prepared for the cold weather and possible snow. The road is 80% gravel, has many steep grades, and has the longest stretch of road without service in the United States (240 miles between Coldfoot and Deadhorse). After reading about the drive online we packed extra food and water, warm weather gear, 2 full size spare tires (purchased the new tires and wheels), 5 gallons of extra gas (purchased the spare gas container), and a CB Radio to communicate with the truckers (purchased and installed myself).


We left Wednesday evening and drove a couple of hundred miles to just north of Denali National Park. The next morning we woke up to 26 degree weather. After shaking off the cold we continued along our way, made a short stop for breakfast and gas in Fairbanks, and quickly made it to the start of the highway.

Now in the past month we had driven on the Denali Park Road, the Denali Highway, and the McCarthy Road. After reading on line about the Dalton Highway I figured it would be the worst road we had driven on in Alaska. I also figured (like most typical roads) the first part would be the 20% that is paved and the gravel road would arrive as we got farther away from civilization.


Wrong on both accounts. The Dalton Highway was the nicest of the gravel roads we drove on in Alaska. Are there potholes and is it possible to get flat tires? Definitely. But the biggest problem with the road is that it is very remote. Since 18 wheelers are constantly driving this road year-round, the Department of Transportation maintains the road very well. We saw several water trucks and graders working the road as we made our way through. The speed limit is 50 MPH for the entire drive and we were able to go at least that fast. And the paved parts are strategically placed by the DOT in spots with the sharpest turns and most difficult terrain.


There was even a bustling intersection with a traffic light.


About 60 miles along the way we made it to the famous Yukon River (new entry #120). We stopped briefly, but it was still quite cold outside (the water in puddles along the road was frozen solid) so we continued on pretty quick (this was a common theme throughout the trip).


An hour later we crossed the Arctic Circle (#119 on the list).


During this entire stretch of road we are driving between two National Wildlife Refuges, the Kanuti and the Yukon Flats (part of #121). I was not able to verify any of this, but I believe there were 4 national lands (these two and two others we will see later) that had their borders moved in order to build this road. Because this road goes between these four lands on about a 10 mile stretch of land that is just a little too convenient. Needless to say the views on both sides of the road were gorgeous.


An hour later (these first 3 destinations along the Dalton are very conveniently spaced apart) we arrived in the bustling town of Coldfoot (new entry #117). It consists of 1 hotel, 1 gas station, 1 restaurant, 1 bar, and 1 gift shop. All of them are owned by the same company and share 3 or 4 "buildings" which are really trailers. Pretty much every building along this road is made of these temporary buildings.


After gassing up we continued along our way. Starting now there are no services for 240 miles.


About 70 miles north of Coldfoot we came across a van that had just pulled off with a flat tire. Not wanting to be caught in that situation our self, we decided to pull of the road and help the poor folks. In the van were 2 gentlemen from the Czech Republic who were working for a year at a resort in Canada. They had purchased the old van from another worker there and had decided to attempt the trip.

They did not have any full size spare tires. Instead they had 1 miniature donut that was so rusted I was convinced it would have fallen apart from the weight of the vehicle. On top of that it was also flat. Since we had tires to spare, we offered our full size donut however it didn't line up and would not work.

About now the Czechs were beginning to freak out. They decided to try and flag down a passing trucker. I had read on several websites that truckers would not stop. They are on a tight schedule and coming to a complete stop and getting back up to speed wastes too much gas. A few minutes later we could hear the first truck approaching. One of the Czechs held up his hand to try and waive down the truck.

Sure enough, the trucker pulled over. He had a bunch of equipment in his cab so not only did he repair the flat tire and pump both the flat and the spare full of air, but he refused to take any money as payment. About 10 minutes after he stopped he sent the van back towards Coldfoot to get properly patched.

We got back on our way and shortly after passing the farthest north Spruce Tree along the Dalton Highway, we started rising up to Atigun Pass. This is the highest point along the highway, and is also a Continental Divide between the northern Arctic Ocean and the southern Pacific Ocean. This is the main spot we were worried would have snow on the road, but luckily it was just gravel the entire way.

Shortly after the pass the sun began to set so we pulled off for the night. The next morning we awoke to frost on the tundra and a frosty temperature of 16 degrees. As we continued driving we began dropping down and the terrain got flatter and flatter. The last 50 miles of land is completely flat with tundra and many small lakes dotting the terrain.


This flat terrain opened up the landscape and as we drove past the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (part of #121) we began to see animals.

There were caribou...

our first wild musk ox...

and the first fox we had seen in Alaska (part of #86).

Just before lunch time we made it into the town of Deadhorse (new entry #118). This town is much larger than Coldfoot and is the town attached to Prudhoe Bay. It is about 4 miles from the Arctic Ocean, but unfortunately Prudhoe Bay is gated off and in the way. During the summer there is a tour which operates to the ocean from Deadhorse, but the 1 guide that runs the tour left Deadhorse for the winter 3 weeks before we arrived.

We showered at one of the 3 hotels in town and then went to eat lunch at another.


After lunch we explored the town a little. It is very industrial and there are all kinds of weird vehicles and buildings. While they do get a few tourists, most of the town is working. Employees on the North Slope typically do 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off.

Since there wasn't very much to see or do in Deadhorse, we started heading south again early in the afternoon. We made it into Coldfoot for a late dinner and stayed to have a drink at the bar and relax after the 2 long days of driving.

The next morning was 15 degrees. We drove off the highway past Wiseman (the only town along the road that has a full-time, year round population down to a mining operation about 10 miles back. We bundled up and hiked down into the Gates of the Arctic National Park (#82). As we were hiking through the valley we walked along animal paths and kept seeing moose tracks. We knew they must be in the area, and sure enough saw a big bull moose about 1oo yards away just as we turned back.

Since it was so cold on the trip that was the only real hike that we did. We made it back to Anchorage that night. In just over 3 days we drove 1900 miles. It was a lot of driving, but was a very unique and interesting experience. There are very few places in the world (if anywhere else) to see and do the things we did on this trip. It is one of my favorite trips we have taken while in Alaska and we will not soon forget the experience.


Steven

Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

On our way back to Anchorage from Seward on the last day of the family's vacation, we stopped at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in Portage, Alaska. This place is home to many animals who have been injured or orphaned. It is a non-profit and they depend on our entrance fees to take care of the animals. The first animal that we saw was the grizzly bear. It was lunch time and our bear friend was enjoying some moose roadkill that was donated to the center. The bear came to the center because its mother was killed when it was just a cub. If it had not been brought to the center, then it would not have survived on its own.

The next animal that we saw was the moose. Actually, more than 1 moose lives at the center. Here is a picture of the moose that we saw. He was resting as the afternoon heat was too much for him.

Next, we saw the wolves. Here is one gray wolf. He was a shy little thing. I much prefer to see the animals at the Conservation Center rather than at the zoo because I feel that their habitats are more humane, comfortable and natural. All of the animals have lots of space to roam and explore.

Here is a picture of a caribou. He was looking a little mangy due to it being summer and the molting that was occurring.

We also saw a bison. He is quite hairy and moves slowly as well due to his size.

We saw some baby animals as well, including a baby musk ox (which we didn't get a picture of) that was super little and cute. The last animal that we saw was an eagle. he was rescued because he had an amputated wing. Although you cannot tell in the picture, he does only have one wing.


Getting to see all of these Alaskan animals up close was such a great end to a fun trip! I know that this will surely be a talked about trip for many years to come!

Rebekah

Denali National Park and Hatcher Pass

After a short nights sleep in the Denali River Cabins we got to Denali National Park in time to make our reservation on the 5:30 AM bus into the park. It had rained the previous night, but as the day went on the weather cleared up very nicely.

On the bus ride into the park we saw Brown Bears,

Moose,

Wolves,

Caribou,

Marmots,

Dall Sheep,

Falcons,

and many other birds and wildlife (all part of #86 on the list). There were also some great views as the bus winded through the park.

We took the bus in all the way to Wonder Lake at the 85 mile mark. However, the mosquitoes there were so bad that we didn't even get off the bus. So, we took the bus back to the Eielson Visitors Center at the 66 mile mark. From there we got a clear view of the peaks of Denali.

And since the sun was out we decided to take a hike up the mountain side by the visitors center.


It was very windy at the top, but there were some great views of the surrounding areas.


The next morning we got up and started heading down to Girdwood through Hatcher Pass. On the way through the pass we stopped at a garden for some pictures.


When we reached the pass and Summit Lake we hiked around the lake to a remaining late summer snow bank.


While some of us ate lunch, the others hiked up the hillside to the top of a nearby waterfall.


We were running behind and still had a long way to go, so we quickly drove the rest of the way to Girdwood stopping only in Wasilla so Mama could see where Sarah Palin is from.


That night we ate at the Double Musky restaurant, which was excellent. It is a New Orleans style restaurant that has a famous French Pepper Steak. We stayed that night in a house we rented from a local agency and used the opportunity to sleep in and (try to) catch up on our sleep.


Steven