ALASKA- "Just the facts, Ma'am"

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We left White River and drove the into Tok, Alaska today. WOOHOO! Sorry, it just felt really good to see that sign that said "Welcome to the United States of America" when I crossed the border. I didn't go out bear hunting with Doc last night. I figured I survived the first night out, so I wouldn't push my luck.  The last 50 miles or so of the Alaska Highway to the Alaska border REALLY sucks. It is a 35 to 40 MPH road at best, unless you want to unload your closets onto the floor (Diane was getting tired of rehanging all the clothes up at the end of the day.) 

We rolled up to the Alaska border and were happy to see there was no one in line. I pulled up to the border agent at the window, ready for a third degree.  Instead he was friendly and asked relatively few questions.  How many people we had on board, (2 and a 1 dog) does she have her health certificate? (Yes, would you like to see it?) No, that's OK. Any weapons on board? (Yes, one shotgun) Do you have the Canadian paperwork? (Yes, here you go).  I handed him the paperwork, he glanced at it and handed it back.  "Thanks, enjoy Alaska!" 

Wow, finally someone that made me feel that they wanted me to be there. It had to happen eventually. The whole process took about 3 minutes.  Then as I pulled onto the Alaskan side of the highway, they must have taken pity on all the travelers that had just drove up that way from Canada.  Because the next 14 miles of highway towards Tok is brand new, shiny black asphalt that felt like glass.  Even when the new section ended, the rest of the road to Tok has some damage, but the repairs are already done, even if just filled with patches.  The rest of the way in you can pretty safely travel 50 to 55 MPH. 

The first thing I noted is that the fuel is a lot less here in Alaska so far. The station across the street from the RV park is selling Diesel for $4.26 a gallon.  We paid about $5 a gallon at the last fill up in Yukon.  We pulled into the Tok RV Village, just ahead of a Caravan.  We paid about $45 a night for a 50 amp site (the first 50 amp site I have had in a while).  It's is about 90' long and is shaded with Pine trees on both sides. 

After not being able to get the Direct TV box to give me any coordinates in the Yukon I was curious to see if I would get the box to work here in Alaska.  I plugged in the Zip Code of the park and the box popped up the AZ and EL.  The elevation of the dish was only 11 degrees!  Surprisingly the direction our RV space was pointed was straight towards the direction that the Direct satellite was supposed to be.  I cranked up the dish and hit the satellite within seconds.  Not a real high reading on the strength meter, only about 50 to 50 on the meter, but plenty strong to pull in the signal. 

I also pulled out the Telus air card when crossed the border this morning.  When we stopped at a roadside pull off for lunch I plugged the Verizon air card back into the router and turned it on. At about 10 miles from Tok we hit signal and Diane had internet the rest of the way in. 

I think we may take the Jeep and drive to Chicken tomorrow just to look around. We probably will not drive into Dawson City, not on this trip.  The sun is shining, there is light fluffy clouds and a light breeze blowing.  So far so good!   
 
If you'll go ahead and drive the rest of the Taylor up to Eagle, you'll see some country that is different than anything else we saw on the trip.  After the road turns north going toward Eagle, you're really on top, then the road starts down, crosses a river then follows a canyon down to the Yukon at Eagle.  For us, that road was a highlight of our summer in Alaska.  The Yukon Quest sled dog race travels part of the route every February.  I couldn't imagine what it must be like on top of that ridge in February!!!
 
Marty,
I love traveling with you.  Your posts are informative, engaging, interesting and  a highlight of my day.  As I told you before, much less expensive to follow your travels than to fire up our rig to make the second trip.

Keep those journals coming.  They are most appreciated. I too recall that feeling of "being back in the USA."

Betty
 
We are enjoying it vicariously as well - every report brings vivid memories of our 2002 journey. I've even gone back and looked at my old Alaska logs & photo library a few times to assist my increasingly deficient memory!
 
Today we drove into Chicken to see what we could see.  We drove the Jeep the 77 miles from Tok and it took us a little over an hour. The road to Chicken is 2 lane, curvy and hilly, but easily traveled at the 50 MPH speed limit. Most of the 77 miles is all nicely paved, save a few short repairs that are in progress. Several other repairs have already been done, and made nary a bump as we cruised over at speed.  The last 2 miles of the road before you get to Chicken is hard packed DG (decomposed granite) and almost as smooth as the road. I'm not sure if that part is just not paved yet, or they left it that way to get you prepared for Chicken itself. 

You can drive the whole town and all of it's buildings in a few minutes. The main part of town, 3 buildings all hooked together, a cafe, a bar, and a gift shop make up the bulk of the retail establishments.  The town once had a motel, but it was damaged by rain and ice in 2009 and never reopened.

There are RV spots in town, some are marked "free" but really amount to a place to stop your vehicle and boondock. There is a separate RV park across the street from cafe that had a few RVers in it. A few were being repaired, and all were pretty dirty. 

We drove back to the cafe to get some lunch. It looked pretty much like you would expect a cafe to look like in a place called "Chicken". A large menu written on the wall, a lot of various bumper stickers and trinkets advertising the town, and two guys behind the counter that looked like cooks, bus boys, dish washers, and maybe auto mechanics.  The food was actually pretty good, although a bit pricey.  But since everything the town uses either comes a long way by truck, or is flown in, it wasn't a big surprise.  I took a picture of a sign that they had hanging on the wall of the cafe that kind of sums up life in Chicken.

We peeked into the old west looking saloon, which was empty (at 1 PM on a Monday) and went into the gift shop. One thing to note here is that all of the buildings share one characteristic.  And that is when you walk in the door, you are instantly walking up hill.  It seems that all three of the buildings are sinking on the front end into the permafrost. The slope is quite noticeable and when Diane asked the female shop keeper about it, she seemed a little offended.  We poked around the shop and bought a few T shirts to prove to our friends and family that you really can go to Chicken with it being a Colonel Saunders. 

I am going to mention an interesting observation here that both Diane and I have noticed. It has been almost 3 weeks since we crossed into BC and headed north. It seems like the further we get away from the more urbanized areas, the grumpier the residents become. From the RV parks in BC that talked about those "damn caravans" the pulled into his park on a regular basis, to Crazy Bob (Doc) at the last park in the Yukon, and including the ill mannered female in Chicken, it's a love/hate relationship with their jobs.  First they will tell you that they love where they are, the area, the lack of congestion, and the weather. Then the next sentence is that they hate putting up with the people that are responsible for their lively hood. They all seem to be trapped into what they are doing for a living, and we (the public) are keeping them there.  I don't think that this is just a Canadian or Alaskan attitude by any means, we have just run into more of them in a row here lately.  Who knows, maybe it is just getting later in the season and their patience is wearing thin. 

We have been leap frogging a few caravans most of the time since we have entered BC. One is from Fantasy RV tours, and the other is a group called SMART which is comprised of all retired military. So far it looks like all or most all are enjoying themselves. I did see one guy that was serious about protecting his towed car from damage from rock chips.  While walking Heidi tonight we walked past a Jeep that had the entire front end covered in grey duct tape. The lights, turn signals, fog lights, hood, grill, everything.  It looked kinda like a Christmas present that never got unwrapped. 

We plan on pulling out of Tok in the morning and heading up to Fairbanks for a few days. Time to restock the shelves at a bigger grocery store and give me the chance to poke and prod at a few mechanical parts of the rig to make sure that everything is ship shape.  Then on to Denali.
 

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Marty,

If you have any questions about Fairbanks let me know. I lived there for over 20 years.

The one thing not to miss while you're there is the University Museum.
 
SargeW said:
It seems like the further we get away from the more urbanized areas, the grumpier the residents become.

When we arrived in Ennis, MT last year after a long snow season, my wife, Christi, an LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor) remarked something similar. She said she ought to come out of retirement because everyone was so depressed. Everyone loved where they lived, had great trout fishing, in a gorgeous area, but the winter had worn them down.

The shop keepers there were often tired of the tourists, yet that was the only way they made their living.

Possibly both of us are commenting on the fact you can have what you think you want and still not be happy! No doubt, you and Diane are having a big time, so I guess this is another chapter in the upcoming book on the interesting adventures that are the Alaskan tour.
 
This entry comes from the "You have got to be kidding" file. Not exactly Alaska related, but maybe in a round about sort of way. We left Tok this morning in a light rain. We stopped across the street from the RV park and fueled up before we headed out. We paid $4.23 a gallon, and took about 37 gallons to fill up. I checked the mileage and calculated out at 9.2 mpg.  The lower speeds and relatively flat grades are keeping me pretty happy with the MPG on this trip. 

And there are no real big grades to pull coming to Alaska. A few days ago we were driving along and Diane read from the Milepost, "you are now at the highest point on the Alaska Highway at just over 3200 feet".  Even though you are routinely surrounded by mountains, the road has been built through the low lying passes.  That makes it easier on just about any rig not to have to pull long 6 to 10% grades. There are a few steep grades, but most are no more than a mile long.

So on to the issue of the day. After traveling for a few hours on the highway and not seeing anywhere in particular we wanted to stop for lunch, we decided to hit one of the many pullouts and have a sandwich.  I pulled over on a scenic overlook and prepared to shut down and make lunch.  I pull on the air brake and hit the neutral button on the shift pad. Nothing happens. We are still in Drive. I hit it a bunch more times. Nothing. There is a light rain still falling, and everything is all wet.  My mind starts spinning and I am trying to think what the problem could be. I am afraid to shut off the key, because if I do, I will never get it started again if I shut down in gear. So we decide that I will sit here in gear with the brake on while Diane makes a few quick sandwiches. While she is doing that, I pull out the black bag of manuals and find the owners manual. I flip to the transmission section and start looking for clues. Nothing leaps out at me. I see that there are a few fuses that control the shift control. Maybe one of them is blown. This is a "shift by wire" system used in most newer RV's. It has no shift linkage, just an electronic pad with a wire that runs back to the trans control mechanism. You punch a key, it sends a pulse back to the controller telling it what to do. 

Well, we are only about 60 miles from Fairbanks, and the park we intended on staying at (Rivers Edge RV park).  Lets just go the park, get a spot and I will figure it out from there.  Enroute Diane asks a good question. Will the trans down shift if you hit a button now? Good question, lets give it a try.  Nope. Nuts, I was hoping it would fix itself. 

We pull into the park and Diane goes in to register. I sit in the RV with the air brake on, still in gear. We get a site and I pull in and get out to start poking at things. Diane sits in the drivers seat to keep the RV from running me over. I open the appropriate fuse box and check the two fuses responsible for the electronic shift mechanism. Nuts, they both look good. I pull them out and clean off the contacts and put them back in. Nothing. 

The next step is to crawl underneath and according to the owners manual, I can change the gear that the trans is in by pulling a plug out of the back of the electronic gear selector and using a hex key, I can change the gear.  If I can get into neutral, I can at least shut down and have some time to work on the problem. I had mentioned to Diane that this may require a trip to a Freightliner dealer, to which she almost comes to tears (we have been in Freightliner parking lots before).  So before I crawl under the rig, I figure I may as well try the levelers. I don't know if they will work or not with the coach in gear. I hit the auto level switch and the air bags start to dump. In a few moments the RV is leveled and we are still in gear. 

I get the necessary tools and crawl under the rig and spot the electronic gear selector. I see the plug that I have to remove to put the allen wrench into to take the rig out of gear. I start fiddling with the plug, then I make a startling observation. There is a large flat 8 pin connector hanging right in front of me, that is not connected. Your kidding me, could it really be that easy?  I reconnect the two plugs and the engine which has been running this whole time suddenly smooths out. Diane tells me on the FRS radio "the gear shifter just went into neutral!".  I don't believe it. A goofy plug came loose, and nearly caused me to be towed.  I zip tied the connector together, and shut down the rig.  It seems silly that something like that could happen so easily.

Well, I just finished my second Jack and coke, and I think I am going to take Diane to dinner at the on site restaurant "Chena" here at the RV park. A little pricey, but after today we both need it. Tomorrow we go explore Fairbanks. 
 
Reading your reports are a pure joy. Your format is impeccable and you know how to captivate your audience. Every evening I look forward to read your next instalment. It is as if I am reading a serial!

Safe travels.
Marie
 
Hey Marty,
You rock. Your troubleshooting skills take a second only  to your writing style.  Glad you made it safe and sound to Fairbanks. While there we  made Russ go to the Museum of ice sculptures.  We slide down an ice slide.  Fairbanks has much to offer and now that you do not have to be towed you should splurge! Enjoy.
 
Marty:

Nothing beats the feeling of managing to solve a problem and avoid another repair bill. ;D
 
Boy no kidding Jeff. Nothing will stall a good trip like spending a few days in a Freightliner parking lot! Even if it would have been covered under warranty, it seems like you sit there longer when they are being paid in cash.......
 
Marty,
Thank you so much for sharing your trip. I am really enjoying reading about y'all s adventures!!  Watch out for a group of Blue Bird Wanderlodges, too.


Regards,
Jack and Liz
 
Good thing you got it fixed Marty. There isn't a Freightliner shop in Fairbanks. There used to be an excellent Allison shop but the last time I was in Fairbanks it was closed. Allison lists a new authorized dealer there but I don't know anything about them.

If you want an excellent prime rib dinner, head out to Fox north of town to the Turtle Club.
 
Well we scouted around Fairbanks a bit today. A nice metropolitan city with all of the amenities you would expect in a larger city (except for a Freightliner shop, that's in Anchorage) but thankfully we didn't wind up needing one.  The Rivers Edge RV park has been a nice surprise. While the park still follows the theme of many of the parks we stayed in coming through BC and the Yukon, this one has some perks.  If you stay here try to get a site near the river. Sometimes staying too close to the body of water has been a bad thing because of the mosquito population would eat you alive. This has not been a problem though, and as I sit and write this looking out at the river at about 10:45 at night, the sun is still high in the sky and plenty of folks are out enjoying the weather.  The park here doesn't have some of the usual amenities found in RV resorts in the states, but it does have several very nice looking cabins for rent right on the river, and a upscale restaurant.  The meal we had there last night,while not cheap was excellent food.  I highly recommend the location for a nice dinner out.

Yesterday was rainy and cold most of the day, but this morning was sunny and pleasant. The temps hit the low 70's and the locals are taking full advantage of the weather. Boaters, rafters, even skiers are up and down the Chena river all day long. We went to the visitor center today and it was impressive. Lots of displays both static and video to showcase the summer as well as winter activities available in Fairbanks. 

Now this is different, as I look out my window at the river, a couple in a canoe, apparently just married, paddled down river. Her in her wedding dress and him in a white tux. Trailing behind the boat were plastic bottles floating along tied to the back of the canoe.  Only in Alaska!

We went out to get some American cash for the time here in Alaska. No Bank of Americas (my bank) in Alaska, so we hit a Wells Fargo. Gas up here is running close to prices on the West coast of the lower 48,  at least when we left. Unleaded is about $3.95 a gallon, and diesel is going for about $4.08.  It's still cheaper than the $4.95 I was paying in Canada for fuel. 

Diane hit a Safeway store today and was happy to have much of the selection of foods that we are used to in the lower 48.  Sometimes finding similar foods going through Canada was a challenge.

We went to the visitor site for the Alaskan Pipeline today.  Just a roadside stop really, but they had some static displays that talked about the building of the pipeline. Very interesting stuff, and it still looks in great condition. The section we looked at is above ground because of the Permafrost in the area. The oil moving through the pipeline can hit 100 degrees F. and would melt the the Permafrost if it were below ground. Interestingly, even though the supports are anchored in the permafrost, they have taken precautions to keep the permafrost from melting.  If you look at a few of the pics below, you will see what look like coils on top of the supports.  These coils are actually ammonia filled coils that work much the same way as our RV refers work. A chemical transference takes place that bleeds off the heat, and transfers the cold vapor to the parts of the support in the ground to keep the frost from thawing. It must be working as they have been in place for over 40 years. 

I had a water leak in some of my storage bays driving in from Tok on this last leg. I spent part of the day removing stuff and drying out the carpet. I'm not sure if it was because of the constant light rain that I drove through, or the fact that I pressure washed the mud off at the last place we were at. Either way I will keep and eye on it see if I need to do some detective work to figure out where the leak is coming from. My battery bay is a mess. Since it is open to the air, all of the batteries are covered with dirt and mud from driving some of the roads.  I see a day of battery maintenance and cleaning in my future.

BTW, the sign in the last photo was right across the street from the oil pipeline road side location. I guess these Alaskans have some strong opinions about their resources!

 

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Sarge, I just heard there is a rather large solar flare supposed to be here on Saturday. Just wondering what effect it will have on the top of the world. :)
 
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