ALASKA- "Just the facts, Ma'am"

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Hi Roy, thanks for the explanation.  We knew it had something to do with getting rid of the "harmonized" tax, but we didn't know what that meant exactly.  Now I have some idea.

No matter how the taxes are figured, you still have a beautiful Province and the further northwest you go, the more beautiful.

Marsha~
 
We pulled into Dawson Creek and found the town to be quite a bit more interesting than Prince George.  The RV parks are all built along the same lines. Gravel and dirt roads, sparse grass, and not a lot of room between rigs. Not awful, just not up to the standards we might expect in the states for the price. We picked Northern Lights campground for this stop on the trail. We based it on reviews from rvparksreviews.com.  An interesting observation by Diane while using the "Mile Post" as we traveled along. If a campground is not an advertiser in the book and have it's own ad, it may not be listed in the book. Therefore you will need a secondary reference for reviewing campgrounds, Good Sam, Woodalls, rvparkreviews, ect. 

While the sites at this park are not real handicapped accessible (no paved pads or the like) the new modern restroom is.  It has a long gently sloped ramp that leads up to the restrooms and laundry area and wide entrance doors. 

The next stop is Fort Nelson, BC and the pickins are slim as far at campgrounds go. I foresee some bookdocking or provincial campgrounds in our future. This was where the rvparkreviews web site was useful. Many of the reviews written by campers told a much different story than the advertisement in Mile Post. One reviewer described that the electric that he paid for at $55 a night, as a 15 amp plug, powered by a large generator that was in front of the sites that was turned off at 9 PM. The sewer was not available because the septic tank caved in and there were no plans to fix it.  Boy, talk about buyer beware!  And another campground a camper reported that after checking in and paying his money he was advised that he had to boil the water before he could use it. 

We are fully self contained so that isn't a real issue, it's just nice to know where not to throw your money away at. Our Telus air card worked well in Prince George, and is working well in Dawson Creek, but not much in between here and there. We were glad we had the air card here in this park when the Caravan rolled in this afternoon. The campground bandwidth was loaded!

Before we left Dawson Creek we had to make the obligatory trip to the official Mile Zero highway marker.  Now it's official!
 

Attachments

  • Alaska highway sign.jpg
    Alaska highway sign.jpg
    89.1 KB · Views: 88
  • Alaska highway start marker.jpg
    Alaska highway start marker.jpg
    77.6 KB · Views: 75
  • Zero mile marker.jpg
    Zero mile marker.jpg
    102.4 KB · Views: 82
  • P1000406.JPG
    P1000406.JPG
    158.5 KB · Views: 105
Hi Marty!

Now that you have the official Mile 0 photo of the Alaskan Highway you have to go to the eastern end of the country and find the Mile 0 sign of Highway 1 near St. John's so you can have your picture taken there.

Campgrounds are very rustic up there.  I suspect the really short camping season makes it's difficult getting a campground to pay for itself.  Many are nothing more than a log rail with electric plugs at intervals and maybe a water hookup.  Keep your fresh water tank full so you can boondock for several days at a time if necessary.

I'm enjoying your Alaskan log along with the others.  We found that every town had a little museum and they weren't as repetitious as we expected.  Most were pretty unique and specialized in one area.  One was on the gold rush and had a particularly interesting diary of one of the Gold Rushers.  We really enjoyed the Beringia Museum at Whitehorse.

ArdraF
 
    Ardra, US1 runs north - south from Key West FL to Presque'Ile ME, with mile Zero being in Florida.  What you are thinking of is the Trans Canada Highway that runs from St John's to Vancouver Island.  It has various route numbers across the country, but does use the designation of Trans Canada and connects the Atlantic to the Pacific.  Mile Zero is in St John's next to their downtown hockey arena.

Ed

Ed
 
lcbrady said:
SargeW

Keep posting...we're eating it up...excited as we plan our own rv trip to Alaska 2013. Right now I'm just trying to absorb everything you and others are posting so we aren't caught with any 'surprises.' My biggest concern is my husband is wheelchair bound so if you have the opportunity to observe and report on 'accessibility' for disabled folks I'd really appreciate it.

Icbrady - I use a wheelchair too. We went to Alaska last summer and I posted about accessibility on my blog. Here's the link for the Alaska section. When you get to the bottom of the page click on "older posts" to see more of the Alaska posts - http://rollinginarv-wheelchairtraveling.blogspot.com/search/label/ALASKA

There are also sections on Canada too. Neither Canada or Alaska is as wheelchair friendly as most parts of the lower 48  but there is still plenty to see and do. You'll enjoy your trip!
 
Hfx_Cdn said:
    Ardra, US1 runs north - south from Key West FL to Presque'Ile ME, with mile Zero being in Florida.  .
Ed

Ed

Ed:

US 1 actually continues north to Van Buren, ME where the highway crosses into NB at St Leonard. ;)

(Had to say something as I grew up on a farm south of Caribou on US 1.)
 
Ed, you're right.  I was thinking about the TCH in Canada, not the U.S. route 1.  Thanks for catching that!

ArdraF
 
I'm eatin' up every word Marty... reading Diane's blog too. Can't wait to do it myself. I love the details and pictures you've been using to describe things - especially the shot of you with your "I'm gonna rip your face off" look in front of the milepost 0 marker. Keep 'em coming!

Kev
 
Oh shoot, that's what Diane said! It wasn't on purpose......... old habits are hard to break I guess!  And you know that I'm not armed up here, so that's the face that keeps the homeless and the nut jobs from wanting to talk to me!
 
Today we made the trip from Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson, BC. That was after a slight delay to visit a Veterinarian in Dawson Creek with our pup Heidi. She had came down with a urinary tract infection and was having some potty problems. A few hours and few hundred dollars later and we were on our way.

We were down to about a half tank of fuel so I decided to hit a Flying J about 35 miles up the Alaskan highway in St John. It was the last one listed on the Alaskan highway for at least 250 miles. We arrived expecting a typical Flying J. Wrong! It was a run down chunk of concrete with a dumpy little building that was closed with a sign in the window that just said "sorry".  The pumps were still working with an automated credit card machine to use. The Frequent Fueler card was not recognized. They were selling diesel for $1.21 a Liter ($4.57 a US gal).  MPG on this leg of the trip was 9.1 MPG. 

The road was in pretty good shape on the way to Fort Nelson, save for some road construction on the way. We did hit some gravel spots on the highway but they were mostly short pieces, 30-50' long.  I was surprised at the lack of N/B traffic.  When we pulled into the Triple G campground it resembled many of the others in BC so far. This campground is fairly large though with over 130 sites. Another campground though with no circuit breaker on the post for your site though. Just a single 30 amp plug in.

I think that we will stay here for another day though before we head to Watson Lake in the Yukon province. 
 
Well lots of stuff happened today. We left Fort Nelson for Watson Lake, which was just over a 300 mile drive. Unfortunately we left about the same time as several from a Caravan group. That added several rigs to the road and made for some slow travel for awhile as some folks can't maintain an even speed.  I considered fueling up before I left Fort Nelson, but I still had just under 3/4 of a tank, and felt pretty confident that I could gas up when I needed it (more on that later.)

Most of the road was pretty good except for a a few long stretches of dirt and gravel (more on that in a minute too).  There was some stretches that were just patches cut out that were a few car lengths long, but two stretches were very long. One was 10 miles of dirt and gravel and the other was about 15 miles long. There was not a lot of traffic fortunately, but we did pass a few large trucks that were hauling butt.  I moved over and slowed down, but it didn't make a whole  lot of difference.  We still got sprayed with dirt and gravel.

After a while the Caravan pulled off as they were going to Laird Hot Springs.  Traffic picked up and we moved along a little better. This part of the road was much more hilly with steep inclines and declines, and I observed that I was not going to get the same MPG that I had been getting on the flatter routes.  One thing that really increased was the wild life sightings. Several road signs advise to be aware of animals on the road, specifically bear, bison, moose, and wild horses.  Up to today we had seen a total of 2 black bears since entering Canada.  Today though past Laird Hot Springs we sat a total of 8 bear, 2 of which was a mother and her cub, and two heard of Bison, totaling nearly 75 in all. Plus several pairs of Bison grazing along the highway. 

As I drove I kept an eye out for fuel stops. The fuel gauge was dropping pretty steady and I had over 400 miles on this tank already.  I saw a sign advertising a lodge with a restaruant and fuel pumps called Northern Rockies Lodge. It was a pretty decent looking place so I pulled in and went to the pumps. One truck and TT had just pulled out and another was fueling as we pulled up.  I had Diane jump out and check the price on the pump as no signs displaying prices were displayed anywhere.  She came back and told me that the price for diesel was $1.99 a liter!  That comes out to $7.53 a gallon! I decided to drive on.  About 30 miles later I came upon another fuel stop and they likewise were selling fuel for $1.98 a liter, and they were sold out of diesel!  Watson Lake was still about 75 miles down the road and I knew I could make it if I had to, but it would be closer than I like to be.

HOT TIP! Fortunately I came upon a place called "Contact Creek" about 30 miles before Watson Lake. They actually had signs displaying their fuel prices. They were selling diesel for $1.38 a liter ($5.22 a gal).  That still was pricey, but a whole heck of a lot better than $7.53. I filled up and took just over 63 gallons of diesel.  It turned out that I paid about .07 per liter less than the best place in Watson Lake. So the hot tip is be full, or near full when you leave Fort Nelson, and wait until you get to Contact Creek to refuel.  The ones that get hosed are the trucks and SUV's pulling 5vers and TT's because they usually don't have the fuel capacity to make it to Contact Creek.  They wind up having to fuel at one of the earlier stops that are gauging the customers. 

None of the RV's parks in Watson Lake get rave reviews, as they all are similar in features and ambiance. We picked the "Downtown RV Park" as it is right in the heart of downtown Watson Lake, and convenient to several of the things we need, and want to see in the area.  The owner is a real hoot, and has quite a sense of humor. After parking in our piece of gravel, we started set up.  Then we had our next surprise.  Apparently when being passed by one of the big trucks flying by us in the long gravel stretches, one of them launched a rock and shattered the left rear window in the Jeep hardtop.  It was a center hit and the whole window, while still intact, was completely shattered with the impact point starting to lose chips of glass.  I scrounged up some cardboard and duct tape, and taped a piece of cardboard over both the outside and inside of the window.  Now I have to research and try to find out how I can get the window repaired and where. Unfortunately I don't see anyway to replace just the window, as the windows in the hard top do not have any rubber seals around them that would allow them to be replace.

Oh well. Just another part of the adventure I guess.......
 
Marty,

Sorry for the window issue.  Drats.  One word of caution, when you get to Haines Junction on Alaska 1 heading towards Tok, take it easy.  There are about 8-10 miles of really rough road full of pot holes, dirt and gravel.  Horrible road.  Also, only one gas station in Haines Junction and we passed it up. 

Ain't this fun?  We are now in Klume lake at Cottonwood RV Park with temps in the low 40s and rain.  The owners of the campground said they have lived here for 20 years during the summer season and it is the first time they have seen snow this low on the mountains this late in the season.

Just heard a dear older friend died this evening.  The rain isn't helping.

Plus we just got our Verizon e-bill of over $400.00.  They have charged us roaming fees.  When I talked to them and set up the Canada plan, they said there would be NO roaming fees.....aaarrrggg!  So now I have to tackle them.

Marsha~
 
Thanks Marsha, let me know how the Verizon thing turns out.  Our Telus air card doesn't seem to be connecting here in Watson Lake. I have to see if there is a connection problem, or just no coverage.
 
Greetings Sarge,

Thanks for posting all of your adventures here and on your blog!!!! I've enjoyed the photos. Sorry to hear about your window and hope you can find a cost effective fix.

Wondering how many miles total you'll be traveling?? I've not ever entertained traveling there before but perhaps in the future. While it sounds like untamed wilderness, the sites have to be amazing and perhaps more like it use to be in the lower states years back.

Stay safe and hope things run smoother than they have for you yesterday!
 
Sarge,
Enjoying your trip posts. We were last there in 2004. Have made the trip 3 times and have flown up and rented rv's 2 times. Your posts bring back many memories and makes us anxious to make "just one more trip " to Alaska. Seems like almost everyone that makes the trip is ready to return in just a short time.
Have fun,
Indiana Journey
 
Your experience with the Watson Lake RV parks - and the highway gravel & flying stones - is pretty much typical of Yukon & Alaska. Get used to it!  ;)

There is probably a glass repair guy working in Tok for the summer - they get a lot of business! Whether he could do the Jeep is another question, though. You may have to wait for Anchorage where there are actual automotive glass shops, e.g Safeco and such. Call your insurer and ask for a referal along your route.
 
It's so much fun to read the travel tales you all are posting on the Forum.  I'm also enjoying your online blog.  Sorry to hear about your Jeep window.  Hope you find someone to fix it at a fair price.

Margi
 

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
131,753
Posts
1,384,359
Members
137,524
Latest member
freetoroam
Back
Top Bottom