ALASKA- "Just the facts, Ma'am"

Oh I understand the free market system very well Ed. But it's not just one city we are talking about. We are talking entire Provence's that are priced that way. And it's not just the tourists that are getting fleeced, it's the residents that live here as well. I would have loved to have paid $5.50 for the box of Cheerios, but $8.00??  Come on now.  But I digress, just an observation from a lone traveler. 

It's all part of the adventure, and I am still glad that I am able to experience it. 

Look at the map, Sarge.  The cereal is $5.50 plus shipping.    General Foods doesn't have a distribution warehouse 50 miles away by interstate highway.

Gary hit it. Freight costs are the killer, combine a small population and long distances from major distribution points. Perishables have to be flown in in many cases. 

      FWIW, I just did an on line search at Walmart, Cheerios in FL was $398, in Prince George BC was $5.50, and $4.47 here in Ottawa.  Things have always been a bit more expensive here in Canada, but what you're seeing is mostly what Gary said, remoteness from distribution and transportation, like you have noticed the price of diesel is a lot more than in the US, maybe that's because we sell it to you cheaper per barrel than we have to pay ourselves.

Ed

The Jeep dealer in Whitehorse came through for me. I stopped by the dealership today to check on the delivery that was due tomorrow.  Surprisingly it came in a day early, and was the right piece of glass and everything!  So I took the glass and went down the glass shop down the street that does all of the dealers installs "All West Glass".  I had originally made an appointment to get the install done tomorrow (Friday) at 2 PM.  I figured that it was worth a shot so I walked in and asked how busy they were. To my surprise they said "how about in 10 minutes?" 

Cool! So I dropped off the keys and asked about a place for lunch. We had planned on trying the "Klondike Rib and Salmon Bar-B-Cue" not too far from the glass shop (and recommended by Marsha and several others on the forum). The manager of the glass shop, Brad, offered to drive us over to the restaurant and drop us off.  When we got there we saw that they had an outside patio of sorts right in front. I asked one of the servers if I could bring our dog Heidi onto the patio with us while we dined. She asked "how big of a dog are we talking?".  I told here she was a medium size mutt kind of dog. She said "well, we aren't supposed to, but go a head, just keep her in the back of the table".  So we enjoyed a few beers, had fish for lunch and even had some dessert.  We walked back to the glass shop and the new window was installed and ready to go.  The window itself cost $194 delivered to the dealer, and the install was $150.  The windows in the Jeep hard top are not held in by rubber molding. They are held in by a two part silicone system.

With the window installed and the Jeep road ready again, we are pulling out of Whitehorse tomorrow morning and heading for White River RV park, a half way point on the road to TOK. We will stay a few days there then drive the rest of the way to TOK. 

Great outcome Sarge. Do you have a URL for the dealer &/or the restaurant?

Good idea Tom. The web site for the glass shop is www.all-westglass.com  The Jeep Dealer is www.metrochrysler.ca and the restaurant is Klondike Rib and Salmon, http://www.klondikerib.com

All were great to work with and highly recommended, and the restaurant was tasty and fun!

Hi SargeW and all,

Wondering if you were to secure cardboard over your vehicle tote window while you travel, it might be a cheap insurance from picking up any gravel and having to repeat the window replacing process in the future.

Just an idea and seems like it would be easy to remove if you needed to drive it when camped.

camperAL said:

Hi SargeW and all,

Wondering if you were to secure cardboard over your vehicle tote window while you travel, it might be a cheap insurance from picking up any gravel and having to repeat the window replacing process in the future.
 
Just an idea and seems like it would be easy to remove if you needed to drive it when camped.

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Was wondering the same thing - especially since Marty is a rock magnet.    I've heard a lot of stories about busted windows on the Alaskan highway.

Kev

We pulled rocks out of the well in front of the windshield after most travel days and then we got a windshield star crack just outside of Tok. We added a heavy piece of vinyl with a cotton felt backing to our toad. Basically a big bra that covered hood and windshield, but home  made and strapped on with bungy cords. Worked fine, but would not have prevented Sarge's side window problem. You can only do so much... unless you want to use an enclosed trailer.

Really enjoying your reports Sarge.  Makes me ready to go again!!!!  We were very lucky on our trip and had one tire go down overnight and our battery charger in the TT quit requiring me to hook a charger up to the battery when we stayed in the same place for several days.  I left TX with a cracked windshield in my truck and didn't add any on the whole trip!!!!  I still haven't replaced that winshield.

Yeah Al, if it got much worse I would consider your idea. But I think that side shot on the Jeep was just a freak occurrence. There wasn't even a second chip anywhere on the side of the Jeep. Just that one window.

Kevin Means said:

especially since Marty is a rock magnet. 
Kev

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Boy, no kidding Kev. But other than the one new "star" the first day after entering BC, I have been doing pretty good. 

Today though things changed quite a bit on the Alaskan Highway. Even the Milepost made a specific comment as to the road conditions. Ever since I entered BC I have been wary of the road conditions. But I have to admit, in about 2500 miles, I have only encountered one big dip that got my attention in BC. Most of all the rest have already been repaired. But interestingly the road flags are still in place. The ones that are there to alert you to a rough or unsafe condition.  It's kind of a fake out on most of the ones that I have come across thus far.  Until today. 

We stayed to the Alaskan Highway today passing up the road to Dawson City. We will drive back that way once we get to Tok in the Jeep.  And today was the first day in a while that we have really noticed a dramatic change of scenery. So far a lot of the way through BC we have seen lakes, and trees. Lots of trees. However today upon leaving Whitehorse we noticed that the scenery has changed for the better. Lots of dramatic snow laden mountains, clear mountain lakes and all close enough to reach out and touch them. 

But back to the roads. The Milepost noted that the roads past Destruction Bay to the Alaska border have presented a "significant challenge" to the road department do to the extensive perma frost conditions found here.  And boy howdy.  There are also many road repair projects in progress, ranging from a few miles, to as many as 10+ miles in length. The road surfaces are dirt and gravel, and the travel speed is reduced to around 50 kph (30 MPH). After my last rock incident with the truck in BC, I leave LOTS of space between me and the front vehicle, and when passing a truck coming the other way, I nearly drive off into the ditch to create space.  And of course where there is road construction, there are water trucks to wet the surface for compaction purposes.  So the nice clean Jeep that I had for a few days in Whitehorse looks like I have been out "mud blogging".  Oh well, another opportunity to detail the Jeep.  The frost heaves in this stretch of road are so numerous that they don't even flag them.  You just have to play very close attention and slow down. The travel speed in this stretch only averaged about 45 MPH anyway, but when a rough spot was coming I would slow to 30 to 35 MPH.  I missed one such heave and unloaded all the clothes in the closet. Again. 

But for now we are in White River, at the White River RV park. A nice little place with excellent mountain views. They generate there own power, so that hum you hear in the background is the generator running that supplies power to the campground, the hosts, and anything else that needs 120 volt power. Once while writing this entry the generator shut off, and everything went quiet.  Fortunately I didn't lose the whole entry!

There is also a road crew working here that is being transported around by helicopter. The helicopter is using the campground as a base of operation and from our site we can watch occasional take offs and landings.  We will be here for a few days to get caught up on things, wash a little mud off, and head for Tok, Alaska.  I will wait to refuel until Tok, as the prices are reported to be better than it the YT.

Internet here with the Telus air card is non existent. The campground does supply free WiFi if you get a space closer to the office. But, I am able to get Direct TV. Interestingly, the last two campgrounds when I attempted to enter the coordinates into the Direct set up screen, it has refused to process the entry and give me a Azimuth and Elevation. It just wouldn't accept the numbers (I know that they were correct as I obtain them from the GPS).  Then it occurred to me today what the issue may be. I am pretty certain that Direct is not licensed to do business in Canada. I have seen several RVers with dishes out that are getting satellite signal, but not with the Direct name on the them. And the dishes are really big, like at least 3' round.  It is my suspicion that Direct is not supplying me with coordinates because of where I am at.  It will be interesting to see if when I get into Alaska if the Direct box will return to normal.

Well, I had interesting night last night in White River. And some of the facts I reported yesterday have changed a bit so I will elaborate.  First the helicopter that is operating out of the RV park is not for road crew work like I had thought, but rather shuttling geologists around. I talked to the pilot last night at a community campfire held every night here in the RV Park.  A young man named ?Scott?. Scott is 28 years old and has been a helicopter pilot for the last 6 years. He works for a company that for the last few years has had a contract to provide support to a geological research company working in the mountains around the area.  He fly?s crews, materials, fuel for diesel powered drills, and core samples to and from two different coring operations in the area.

The crews are looking for gold, silver, or any other precious metals that they may find.  It?s been going on for a few years now, so they must be having some luck. Scott works 7 days a week, sometimes long hours servicing the crews. Some days it?s just materials and workers, and other days they will disassemble and move a diesel drilling rig to a new location. He works every day possible, sometimes in inclement weather just to keep the crews working. He works from early May to approximately mid August before the weather turns bad.  He has to make as much money as he can to make it the rest of the year. What a life!

I also met the owner of the park last night, a colorful gentleman named ?Bob?. Or, as Scott calls him, ?Crazy Bob, or Doc?.  I asked Scott why ?Doc?. He said, think about Doc from the ?Back to the Future? movies starring Michael J Fox.  And he was right, there is a striking resemblance to Christopher Lloyd.  And he is almost as colorful.
 
A few facts that Doc shared with us last night at the campfire was that a large part of this whole area is ?Permafrost? or what he preferred to call buried glaciers.  In this spot where the RV Park is the Permafrost is only down about 18?.  Now mind you this information is being relayed over drinks at the campfire, in a place that never gets dark.  So at 11 PM he says he will take us to a place and prove it. Doc is feeling pretty good about now with several of whatever he was drinking put away already.  There is me and about 5 other guys, so he loads us in a 1942 Dodge D62 military 6X6 truck that he has restored and drives us a short distance to a clearing in the trees next to his 3000? long air strip.

We walked about 50? into the brush and trees to a small hole in the ground that he says he dug there 13 years ago. He instructs me to roll up my sleeve and stick my hand in the hole. Hoping that this is not a joke, I comply. About 8? down the hole I hit ice water, then 6? into the water I feel a solid block of ice.  Doc says that this Permafrost is about 200? to 300? feet deep in this location.  Interestingly, the whole area around this spot feels like a giant sponge. Not wet, but spongy that goes up and down a few inches when you step on it.
 
By the time all of us finish feeling the ice in the hole, it?s about 1130 PM. We load back into the truck and head back to the campfire. Now Doc says ?You want to see something really cool??.  Sure, why not. He sends us back to refill our drinks (apparently drinking and driving at midnight in the Yukon is not a problem).
 
All I know is that we are going to the first bridge ever built over the White River by the US Army in 1942. I have no idea how far we are going, but we all are committed now. Fortunately we just drive across the highway and down about 50 yards. We turn down a dirt road that disappears into the brush and trees. I jump out and open a gate and he drives through. It?s now he displays the amazing ability of the 1942 Dodge 6X6. He keeps to a brush covered trail at first, then suddenly turns the wheel hard right towards a thick bunch of trees and tall brush. The old vehicle mows over the trees and anything else in the way. Some of the tree trunks are 3? in diameter, and the jeep doesn?t even slow down.  Now it almost midnight and from the jeep I take a picture of the setting sun, if you can say that, at about the lowest point it?s going to be all night.

Within a few feet we are stopped and jump out of the jeep. A short distance into the brush is the remnants of a 1942 era bridge.  It is made out of huge timbers and cut tree logs. The bridge is not very high as it was just intended to move heavy army vehicles over the river.  We walked out onto the top of the remaining timbers, and some are soft and decaying.  Others though have maintained a solid, firm feel, even after 70 years of sitting out in this brutal climate.  I took some pictures of the bridge, and had one taken of me and Doc (Bob) standing on the bridge beams. The picture is a little fuzzy (but so was the guy taking the picture).

We finally head back and I head off to bed at 1 AM. It?s still light outside, and Diane is wondering if I got kidnapped.  The next morning I took a few pictures of the 6X6 and a few more of some 1940?s era Army vehicles that Doc has displayed here on his property.

If you are heading up or down the Alaska Highway, White River RV Park is worth a stop, even if it?s only for the night.  No telling where you might wind up in an old Army truck.

Obviously, you don't need lights on your vehicle in the Yukon in the dark... ;D

Great stories...there may be a book in this...like most, I am living vicariously through your adventures...ain't life fun?

Absolutely Kim! And tonight we are supposed to go hunting for bear in the woods..........

SargeW said:

Absolutely Kim! And tonight we are supposed to go hunting for bear in the woods..........

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Are you sure he didn't say snipe?

Ned

I like your thinking..when they were in the truck, could they hear banjo's

Very cool.I like the idea of light late at night, maybe I could actually see where I'm going ! OTOH, isn't it hard to sleep?

Wendy

Boy no kidding!  So, if a tree falls in the woods, can anybody hear you scream?

Wendy said:

Very cool.I like the idea of light late at night, maybe I could actually see where I'm going ! OTOH, isn't it hard to sleep?
Wendy

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Yeah, sleeping is tough. I have to keep telling myself not to look at the windows. And then waking up to use the restroom is tough too. Your head tells you it's the middle of the day.

Wendy, I slept just fine.  Probably better than I do when it is dark all night