The Alaska Highway is over 1300 miles long and gives new meaning to the word "remote". Alaska seems positively tame compared to the Yukon Territory. And while it took us 3 days of hard driving to even get to the beginning of the Alaska Highway from Michigan, that 1300 miles seemed much, much longer.
While Mileposts magazine, the self-proclaimed bible of British Columbia, Yukon Territory and Alaska, states that the entire AK Hwy is paved, it is not. We met perhaps 40-50 miles of gravel roads on the way. In the Yukon Territory, that was a relief because the frost heaves were so bad that we could actually drive faster on the gravel roads. We got through it with only a chip on the windshield of the UHaul and one headlight bashed out from a rock.
The roadwork did not slow us down more than an hour the whole trip. Most stops were for 5 minutes here or there. The longest wait was on the Tok cutoff in Alaska, which was 20 minutes. Luckily, we were stopped right by some portapotties so that was our break!
A number of small gas stations were closed on the AK Hwy. When we asked one gas station owner about that he said that with gas prices so high, fewer people are driving the highway, and they have gone out of business. He said it costs a lot just to get the gas there, so the high prices are justified. While no one wants to pay a lot for gas, I made a point to thank someone at every gas station for being there. That country is so remote, and once you leave Dawson Creek (the start of the Highway), there is so little out there. I cannot imagine living in that seclusion. And yet those people see so many people with dreams and stories pass by. Few people just "happen" to drive the Alaska Highway. For those in RVs or campers, they may have planned this trip for years. For those in UHauls, they are moving to a new life, whichever way they are going.
Wildlife on the Highway was neat. Bison, moose and mountain sheep were regular treats. Aurora also saw bear and caribou on her trip up. Supposedly bear are a common sight, and we were really hoping to see some, but did not.
We drove 4000+ miles in 6 days. That ended up being 12 hour days, and one day, a 15 hour marathon. What with regularly going through time zone changes, and the constant vibration of the vehicle, it took us a good 5 days to recover feel like our feet hit the ground once we got here. The UHaul was very comfortable! I expected to have a sore back or behind, but I did not get sore at all until after we got here and started unpacking! Driving the UHaul was easy, and despite the car in tow and being fully loaded, it made it up most hills with ease.
Having a 7-year-old boy in the front seat with us the whole way wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The routine was, the person who wasn't driving would read to Denver or talk to him for a little while and then sleep until it was time to switch. Then the other person would read or play with Den, then sleep. Denver managed to occupy himself quietly most of the time, though a couple evenings he started his loud, silly singing. He drew, played with his hotwheels, did math problems in a workbook or even occasionally slept.
The first two nights we slept in hotels, then we camped for three nights, and the last night we stayed in a cabin. Camping was free to reasonably priced. Just before we reached the British Columbia border we stopped at a petting zoo. They said if we paid to go through the zoo, camping was free. Sounded like a deal to us. The highlight of the zoo was catching a loose rabbit and returning it to its cage! Mileposts Magazine bills the Pink Mountain campground as the best campground on the Alaska Highway, and that is where we camped one night. It had co-ed bathrooms and showers (yep, you read that right!) which was a little weird. The highlight of that campsight was playing hacky sack with a young couple from B.C. I haven't played hacky sack since I was a kid, so it brought back lots of memories. The third night of camping was somewhere further along the AK Hwy in a nice, sterile RV park that had a little grassy section for tenters. Our last night of the journey was in a cabin that most people would probably not consider staying in. However, we were not willing to pay $175/night for a simple hotel room, so we kept driving and the cabin became our only option. It was very comfortable and cozy, and since it is light out all night, not a big deal to walk to the bathroom.
I'm afraid we didn't take many pictures of the journey. We were pretty focused on getting here. For once, the destination not the journey. Personally, I recommend driving the Alaska Highway just for the experience of it. However, I know Doug would say differently!!
Before I finish I have to share one story. When we crossed into Canada from Minnesota, we had to declare firearms, and give the seriel number, stock length, etc. We weren't thinking when we packed the gun in the mom's attic, the very far forward part of the UHaul. Customs officials weren't going to let us off without the information, so we were going to have to dig that gun out. It was packed nearly to the roof of the truck, but there was just enough space for me to climb in and scootch my way over the stuff almost to the mom's attic. One ladder had to be taken out, and with much effort I got the trampoline unstuck. A little rearranging, a trip back to the entrance to get a flashlight, and I finally got got to the gun. Whew! We learned our lesson!
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