Alaska Road Trip, 2016

Okay, as promised, photos from July 13 through July 18th ....... a very few from hundreds taken!

Below, is a shot of the highway between Palmer Alaska and Glennallen (and before the shot of Drum Mountain) ...



Below, on the road to Valdez just north of Thompson's Pass...



Below, Thompson's Pass.... July 13th



Below, a quick stop at the Valdez welcoming sign.... July 13th



Below, this is another shot of Drum Mountain near Glennallen. This was taken on the way back from Valdez ... The photo is significant because all 8 previous trips to Alaska we could not see the summit..July 13th



Below, is the Taylor Highway which connects to the Top of the World Road at the Canada border on the way to Dawson City, Yukon. The road becomes dirt/gravel before Canada,,, July 14th



Below, the obvious taken along the Taylor Higway.... July 14th



Below, in Chicken, Alaska ........ see the chicken dead center of the pic? July 14



Below, there you have a close-up



Below, is a shot of the 11 mile section of new pavement on the Taylor Highway right before the Yukon border, July 14

,,,,,,,,,,, Continuing with the photo update,,,

Below, at the Yukon (Canada) border (Customs) ... We sit there for almost two hours while Canadian Customs searched the car in front of us... an arrest was made!



Below, the Top of the World Road on the Canadian side ... almost doesn't look real, July 14th



Below, is a shot thru my window at Dawson City, Yukon from the Ferry crossing the Yukon River.... July 14th



Below, the next day (July 15th) at the beginning of the Dempster Highway east of Dawson City. Due to being held up at the border the day before, we got to the RV Campground late. So, we headed for the Dempster early the next morning,,,,



Below, on the Dempster Highway



Below, this dude is from Australia,,, driving the Earth Cruiser! He had a flat tire. I took several pics ...



Below, a scene along the Dempster Highway that doesn't give the road and region justice, but nonetheless gives you an idea of what you might expect to see, July 15th



Below, at Eagle Plains just south of the Arctic Circle on the Dempster Highway... July 15th



Below, at the Arctic Circle ... notice that the top of the sign is gone! Authorities said that high winds blew it off!



Below, Dee and me at the Arctic Circle ... I believe this makes our 4th time at this location,,, July 15th

Continuing with the update... picking up back in Dawson City, Yukon the next day, July 16th. We got back from the Dempster excursion at 4:30 am

Below, this machine was parked on the main drag in Dawson City, July 16th



Below, is an example of what you will see on Saturday during the Farmer's Market set-up along Front Avenue in downtown Dawson,,,, July 16th



Below, is a shot from the Dome overlooking Dawson City. The Klondike River coming in from the left can be seen running into the Yukon River,,,,, July 16th



Below, July 17th, this is Pelly Crossing over the Pelly River which is south of Dawson City on the way to Whitehorse,,,



Below, is a shot of Five Finger Rapids on the Yukon River north of Whitehorse. This was a challenge for the sternwheelers to navigate ,,,



Below, July 18th, is Emerald Lake along the highway to Skagway,,,



Below, is Dee wondering around in the "Carcross Desert" along the highway to Skagway,,, July 18th



Below, is the gang wondering around in the Carcross Desert



Below, is Bove Island and a lake (?) which are many along the road to Skagway that were created by glaciers of days gone by,,, July 18th

Continuing with the photo update! The following photos are all on the way down to Skagway on July 18th.... so no narrative! (It takes a long time to select, upload and them post pics in this thread.)



Below, see the narrow gauge railroad to the far right center

So, we left Whitehorse this morning (July 19, 2016) and drove south to Toad River ,,, sitting in the same camp spot as a few weeks ago!

Tomorrow, we will head to Dawson Creek which will be a full day's drive!

Hopefully, I can update with more photos in the next couple of days!

The Van is doing fine! The gang have been doing quite well too!

Made about half a mile from my house. Visit their website to see local photos.

Yesterday, we pulled out of Toad River and headed south to Dawson Creek, BC. About 75 miles from Dawson Creek we were hit by a thunder storm with blowing rain and hail. The going was so bad we had to pull over and wait for almost an hour.

We are heading south today with Rocky Mountain House as the goal.

We just missed each other. I took a pic of the Aussy RV when they were at the Walmart in Yellowknife. I was in Inuvik on Monday the 18th

AndyBees said:

Continuing with the update... picking up back in Dawson City, Yukon the next day, July 16th. We got back from the Dempster excursion at 4:30 am

Below, this machine was parked on the main drag in Dawson City, July 16th

Below, is an example of what you will see on Saturday during the Farmer's Market set-up along Front Avenue in downtown Dawson,,,, July 16th

Below, is a shot from the Dome overlooking Dawson City. The Klondike River coming in from the left can be seen running into the Yukon River,,,,, July 16th

Below, July 17th, this is Pelly Crossing over the Pelly River which is south of Dawson City on the way to Whitehorse,,,

Below, is a shot of Five Finger Rapids on the Yukon River north of Whitehorse. This was a challenge for the sternwheelers to navigate ,,,

Below, July 18th, is Emerald Lake along the highway to Skagway,,,

Below, is Dee wondering around in the "Carcross Desert" along the highway to Skagway,,, July 18th

Below, is the gang wondering around in the Carcross Desert

Below, is Bove Island and a lake (?) which are many along the road to Skagway that were created by glaciers of days gone by,,, July 18th

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Wow, 4JimmyVee, I hung around in the general area trying to find the owner to that machine! Sorry we never connected.

Well, we made it to Dawson, Creek, then on down to Caroline, British Columbia (south and west of Edmonton on hwy 22), then on down to Babb, Montana and finally to Livingston, Montana in record time!

Tomorrow, we plan to attack Yellowstone National Park and more!

We made it through the huge crowd of tourist in Jellystone & the Grand Tetons as well as Jackson, Wyoming on Sunday. We spent the night in a forest service campground because everything was full, including motels.

Today, (July 25the), we went south of Jackson into Idaho to visit Palisades Dam and then back tracked up to Jackson Lake to visit the damn there. Lewis' father worked on that project during the CCCs of the 1930s.

Then we headed to Douglas, Wyoming to position ourselves for Crazy Horse, Rushmore and the Badlands tomorrow (July 26th).

The heat from Riverton to Douglas was unbelievable combined with smoke from a forest fire due east of the Grand Tetons (about 30 miles away). Anyway, the Vanagon AC system struggled to stay ahead of the heat for almost 200 miles and four hours.

Since the road trip is winding down, I'll update pics when I get home in about 4 or 5 days. We hit the 10,000 mile mark today.

The drive from Douglas, Wyoming wasn't as bad as the day before... but still very hot. We made it through Crazy Horse, Mt Rushmore and the Badlands.

There was as storm off to the south and west of the Badlands that put on an awesome show late in the evening as we made our way through.

We stayed south of the Badlands last night. Today, we are heading home. It will take two or three days. There are no points of interest that we will be stopping to see.

Pic update in a few days!

Amazing trip! Am envious of you all. You allowed me to live vicariously through you, however!
My two brothers, on their BMW bikes, are almost home (Columbia, SC) their trip to Anchorage started 10 Jun and will end 30 Jul. Family joined them in Anchorage to do "tourist" stuff for a week. They drove back through AL, SA, ON (up to Montreal) and then via Niagara Falls and Buffalo, NY. Their only mechanical/maintenance issue was new tires for the bike. Be safe!

CHDriver said:

Amazing trip! Am envious of you all. You allowed me to live vicariously through you, however!
My two brothers, on their BMW bikes, are almost home (Columbia, SC) their trip to Anchorage started 10 Jun and will end 30 Jul. Family joined them in Anchorage to do "tourist" stuff for a week. They drove back through AL, SA, ON (up to Montreal) and then via Niagara Falls and Buffalo, NY. Their only mechanical/maintenance issue was new tires for the bike. Be safe!

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Wow! We did see a lot of bikers on the Alaska Highway as well as in Alaska from the lower 48. We also saw several Europeans on bikes. Yes, I've read road trip blogs and felt like I was right there with the author on the trip! I like to read journals of hikers at Trail Journals.com...

Well, last night (July 27th) we stayed in Rock Port, Missouri (almost Iowa) off I-29.

Today, (July 28th) we drove 600.1 miles down through Missouri to St. Louis and on south to the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. (Really, it looks more like the Mississippi River runs into the Ohio!) Then we traveled on to Mayfield, Kentucky and then east to Ken Lake State Park... spending the night in the best motel room of the entire trip.

Looks like we've camped in the Popup 18 nights and stayed motels 12 nights...not bad! (no Walmart parking lots)

I will update with photos is a few days!

We should be home tomorrow afternoon (July 29th) ...... 11,600.7 miles as of Ken Lake State Park!

Thanks for posting your trip,I hope to do it in the not to distant future.I lived in Anchorage and Eagle River in 1982.I've been looking forward to a trip back for years.

Home at 5:00 pm EST.. 11,869.0 miles (GPS, which may need at least one adjustment [tunnel at Whittier, Alaska]).... 31 days!

Will begin to post more pics tonight.... late!

Okay, when a vacation/road trip/adventure comes to an end, well, priorities do change. However, I will finish posting additional photos in a few days.

In the meantime, for the gearheads, here are the final stats:

11,869.0 miles (GPS) in 31 days (two years ago, 10,881 miles in 33 days)
11,774.2 miles (Odometer)
94.8 miles difference (0.0079% difference [less than one 1%) (two years ago was 17 miles)

Total gallons of fuel = 443.213
Total cost = $1,234.47 (adjusted for currency differences)
Average fuel cost = $2.79 (two years ago, $4.68)
Cheapest fuel $1.999 in Missouri and most expensive at Toad River, BC $4.17 per gallon
Average MPG for the trip = 26.779 (two years ago, MPGs were under 26)
EDIT: Correction, two years ago the MPGs were 26.544

Andy, take your time. A trip to Alaska is always great, even reading about it in September or October.

Okay, I've uploaded almost 60 additional photos to the photo gallery. That part of the process takes the longest. My Internet service resets tonight at mid-night. So, now was a good time to use up any remaining bites ... LOL.

So, over the next few days, I'll post and narrate them....

Andy thanks for the photos and trip updates. My wife and I want to make this trip in the next few years. And looking forward to your next round of photos.

Question, for a summer time trip, are campgrounds and motels pretty easy to get if you don't have reservations?

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Phaser, starting from Southeast Kentucky, I always try to knock out a little over 2100 miles in three days.......... Day 1. to southern Wisconsin, day 2. to Minot, ND and day 3. Vegreville, Alberta (east of Edmonton, AB). So, for those three nights, I do get reservations.

Campgrounds just about always have space. But, you cannot show-up at 8:00 pm with great expectations (although we have a few times).

On our return leg of the trip, we did get "trapped" in Jackson, Wyoming and could not find a motel or campground vacancy. So, we drove on south to a US Forest Service campground ....... and, it was pretty full too! In fact, the first USFS campground we come to was all but full and no spot left looked easy to get my popup camper into.

Liard Hot Springs (primitive camping, no electric or water) always fills up during mid-June to mid-August. Liard Hot Springs is well worth the stop.

I intend to post more pics in the next few weeks...

......... planning another trip for next summer (Alaska, out west, northeast.. not sure yet)

AndyBees said:

Liard Hot Springs (primitive camping, no electric or water) always fills up during mid-June to mid-August. Liard Hot Springs is well worth the stop.

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I lived south of Liard Hot Springs and spent many times camping, kayaking and hiking, that is beautiful country. Muncho Lake is just before Liard and it is stunning, sometimes we'd be the only people on the lake. The best time to see Liard Hotsprings is in the winter, you can actually walk right up to the source and with the snow and frost, it is beautiful. The upper springs are the best but it's been closed for years due to bears.

Picture of Muncho Lake which is at mile 465 on the Alaska Hwy.


This shot gives you an idea of how clear this glacier fed lake is, and the fugly life jacket I had back then:

Of the 9 trips to Alaska, we've always been passing thru when we got to Muncho Lake. I do have loads of pics of the lake from numerous different locations along the highway. I only recall seeing a boat on that lake one time. Of course, from the time we approach the lake and depart is only a short time.

Hopefully, if we make another trip, we intend to spend more time at places like Muncho Lake.

Although Alaska is awesome and extremely diverse, the "journey" is no less than fantastic. In Canada, there are so many side excursions that we'd like to take. The area north of Watson Lake (Robert Campbell Highway, I believe) appears to be an awesome place. Seems the "un-climbables" (something like what can be seen in Yosemite National Park in California) can be seen at a distance from the RC Highway.

Well, there is so much to see and so little time to do it....

I promise more photos soon...

really enjoyed reading through your pages about your trip, great journal. We still have family up on the Alaska hwy so we're going back up next summer; it's also 75th anniversary of the Alaskay Hwy in 2017.

JohnnyCanuck.Comox said:

Picture of Muncho Lake which is at mile 465 on the Alaska Hwy.

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I swam in that lake

Me and my buddy were on a mission to swim in every frigid body of water we passed, that was of course one of them. Lake louise had the most shocked people around, tourists wearing down coats, windy...



Kluane lake was probably the most painfully cold, 50* air temp, WINDY, raining too, and I measured the water temp at 41*

When we first started the cld water swimming it was a sunny day thing, but then we decided to up the ante, and made a no excpetions rule, also, no whinging/grimacing/kvetching allowed, get in and swim around like you're in the bahamas

Twice other people went swimming after they saw us get in, pretty cool to be the impetus for others to get in some cold water!

This was the coldest water, Grewink lake on the south side of Katchemak bay, but it wasn't as bad as Kluane as it wasn't howling wind here...




And some poutiene from the food truck at Liard hot springs

haha the food truck, we still laugh at the prices, crazy.

JohnnyCanuck.Comox said:

haha the food truck, we still laugh at the prices, crazy.

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With the exchange rate the prices aren't too bad

We always had groceries for camping and avoided the usual tourist traps, but they had great grub on the food truck for a treat. Nice to read about our old hangouts, such a beautiful part of the world up there.

That restaurant across the highway from the entrance to the Liard Hot Springs Provincial Park is a nice place with good food. Late, after checking in at the park, we got there as they were closing the doors ....... they whipped up some grub for us at no charge, to go! We tipped the young lady very well.

Breakfast there the next morning was awesome (talking about the 2014 trip and not this 2016 trip). We only stopped for a quick walk to the springs and then headed on to Watson Lake this go around...

Those pics of the lake are awesome...

There's no way on Earth I'd go for an ice water swim.... LOL