Wednesday June 1st we will start our trek to Alaska.
Abby and I have been planning this trip for several years. Various events have prevented us from fulling our dream of spending the summer in Alaska until this year.
We will be traveling in our RV, towing Abby's jeep with our 2 man fishing kayak on top and a freezer on the tow hitch.
We will caravan with Ken and Debby Arthur. We met them a few years ago in Michigan while camping and fishing for Lake Michigan Salmon. They are both retired and are delightful companions. We will join up somewhere around Glacier National Park, cross the border together and drive up the Alcan Highway.
The Alcan highway was approved by FDR shortly after Pearl Harbor and construction started in March 1942 and completed by late 1942. The road starts at Dawson Creek, British Columbia, and 1500 miles later, ends at Delta Junction, Alaska, just south of Fairbanks. At the peak of construction there were 11,000 military troops and 7,000 civilians utilized.
The road is a 2 lane paved highway. During the summers months, construction crews are busing repairing the sections of the highway that has been broken up due to "frost heaves". These sections freeze during the winter. The frozen water expands and breaks up the surface. When the spring thaw begins, these areas are nasty patches of mud and severe bumps. In 2006 when we made the drive for the first time, we accidentally discovered the dangers of frost heaves when Abby was in the bathroom and I drove over a section at 55 mph. It was then I discovered the genesis of the saying "madder than a wet hen". Abby has made me promise not to do that to her again.
We plan to stop at Yellowstone National Park for a few days before driving to Glacier NP. Our plans are very fluid. The only time constraints we have is the desire to be home by October 1st. We will drive through Calgary on the way to Banff. At Banff we will camp for a few days at the Canadian NP just above the town. From there we will drive along the Iceland Parkway by Lake Louise and fish our way towards Jasper. This drive is the most spectacular drive we have ever experienced.
From there we will pass through Whitecourt, Valleyview, Grand Prairie, cross the BC/Alberta border and spend a day in Dawson Creek. We will then drive to Fort St. John. From Fort St. John on Hwy 1/97 to Fort Nelson will be multiple opportunities to sight see and fish. At Muncho Lake we will spend several days fishing in the Provincial Park. The kayak will get a serious workout. Did I mention it is a 2 man kayak? That means, I fish, Abby paddles (haven't told her yet). Odds that this will occur?
From Muncho Lake we will drive to the Laird Hot Springs where we will spend a night at the NP. The hot springs are a short hike from the camp ground and very relaxing.
We will proceed to Watson Lake in the Yukon Territories and visit "Sign Post Forest". The forest was started in 1942 by U.S. Army G.I., Carl Lindley. While working on the Alaska Highway, he erected a sign pointing the way and stating the mileage to his hometown. Since then over 76,000 signs have been placed in the forest. We will be placing the 76,xxx sign that we had specially made for the trip. Pictures to follow.
We will continue along Hwy 1 and sight see/fish our way to Whitehorse where we will have to make a decision. We may go to Skagway on the way north or continue to Tok. Near Whitehorse the road splits, becomes Hwy 5 and goes north and ends at Tok, Alaska or we can continue along Hwy 1 and go west until arriving in Tok. We plan to make a stop in Skagway during the trip as Abby wants to try her hand at panning for gold. We will probably stop on the way north because if we get lucky (I'm talking about gold), there is a shop in Anchorage that will create jewelery from your gold.
Tok is the first town in Alaska on the Alcan highway. From Tok we will visit Fairbanks, the North Pole (have to say hi to Santa), Valdez, Glenallen, Wasilla (hi Sarah), Anchorage and down the Kenai peninsula to Homer for some serious King Salmon and Halibut fishing. At some point we will also visit Seward.
We really have no firm dates to be anywhere. We have made no reservations as we will be stopping at roadside camp grounds determined by the weather and fishing. We do want to be in Homer by mid July as this is when the monster King Salmon start their spawning runs.
That's all for now. I have to go buy some salmon to prime the freezer. :) Check back from time to time as we make our way north.
Don and Abby
