So we had driven approximately 60,000km over 16 months through15 countries but finally we would be starting the famous Alaska Highway! Here the road would lead us onto the final destination of our trip, Alaska. It was both sad and exciting, would the Dodge actually make it all the way after all this driving? Only time would tell...
On Friday the 28th of March we woke up in the Walmart car park of Dawson Creek and set out to explore the town and learn more about the historical Alaska Highway. First up we found the Northern Alberta Railway Park home to the Mile 0 Cairn, the Visitors Centre and the Dawson Creek Station Museum. Unfortunately for us the Visitors Centre and the Museum were closed as we were a few weeks away from the official start of the tourist season but we still got our photo of the famous Alaska Highway sign despite the sun direction making it tricky. Afterwards we had a quick look around the Dawson Creek Art Gallery, we didn’t think much of the art work but as we were leaving we discovered their collection of photos from the construction of the Alaska Highway hidden in the stairwell. It was amazing to see all the old equipment they used and the treacherous conditions they worked through. Eager to learn more we turned to The Mile Post (a detailed guide book we had brought about all of Alaska and northern Canada's highways) and it recommended a stop at the Alaska Highway House in the centre of town. We drove over and found it was closed for lunch. We were torn between wanting to wait for it to reopen and leaving to start the highway. We contemplated what to do over some left over pizza and before long the doors were reopened. We were really glad we stayed in the end as the displays were second to none, the film very informative and the staff incredibly friendly. Here’s a little of what we learnt about the construction of the Alaska Highway:
The Alaska Highway or the Alaska-Canada Highway (or ALCAN) was ploughed through in only eight months during 1942 for the purpose of connecting the contiguous United States to Alaska through Canada. This was to enable the delivery of supplies via road during World War II. The highway was originally 2,700km (1,700mi) long but as of 2014 it has been reduced to 2,230km (1,387mi) due to constant reconstruction that has rerouted and straightened a number of sections. Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway starts at the crossroads of several other highways in Dawson Creek, BC, Canada and runs north west through the vast Yukon before crossing into Alaska and ending at Delta Junction where the highway connects with other established roads in the United States northernmost state.
On Friday the 28th of March we woke up in the Walmart car park of Dawson Creek and set out to explore the town and learn more about the historical Alaska Highway. First up we found the Northern Alberta Railway Park home to the Mile 0 Cairn, the Visitors Centre and the Dawson Creek Station Museum. Unfortunately for us the Visitors Centre and the Museum were closed as we were a few weeks away from the official start of the tourist season but we still got our photo of the famous Alaska Highway sign despite the sun direction making it tricky. Afterwards we had a quick look around the Dawson Creek Art Gallery, we didn’t think much of the art work but as we were leaving we discovered their collection of photos from the construction of the Alaska Highway hidden in the stairwell. It was amazing to see all the old equipment they used and the treacherous conditions they worked through. Eager to learn more we turned to The Mile Post (a detailed guide book we had brought about all of Alaska and northern Canada's highways) and it recommended a stop at the Alaska Highway House in the centre of town. We drove over and found it was closed for lunch. We were torn between wanting to wait for it to reopen and leaving to start the highway. We contemplated what to do over some left over pizza and before long the doors were reopened. We were really glad we stayed in the end as the displays were second to none, the film very informative and the staff incredibly friendly. Here’s a little of what we learnt about the construction of the Alaska Highway:
The Alaska Highway or the Alaska-Canada Highway (or ALCAN) was ploughed through in only eight months during 1942 for the purpose of connecting the contiguous United States to Alaska through Canada. This was to enable the delivery of supplies via road during World War II. The highway was originally 2,700km (1,700mi) long but as of 2014 it has been reduced to 2,230km (1,387mi) due to constant reconstruction that has rerouted and straightened a number of sections. Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway starts at the crossroads of several other highways in Dawson Creek, BC, Canada and runs north west through the vast Yukon before crossing into Alaska and ending at Delta Junction where the highway connects with other established roads in the United States northernmost state.
From Dawson Creek we headed north and 76km later arrived in the small snowy town of Fort St. John. The Mile Post guide book recommended a visit to the North Peace Museum so we popped in and for a small donation we had a look around the quaint old fashioned museum with little individual displays depicting scenes of days gone by. Before long we were back on the road and then as the afternoon progressed into the evening we started looking for a place to camp. Will spotted a side road off a road that lead to a oil rig site and found a spot to camp. We promptly got stuck in the snow on the unploughed road but before we made too much noise trying to turn the Dodge around we went for a walk in the hopes of spotting some wildlife as the sun began to set. Will being ahead was fortunate enough to spot a large moose next to a pump shed but it escaped my eyes. Back at the Dodge the sweaty work of shovelling snow and then putting on snow chains kept us nice and warm while our dinner cooked and before long we were fed and tucked into bed.
On day two of our Alaska Highway traverse we put in a few more miles before stopping in at the famous Trappers Den Wild Life Emporium on the outskirts of Fort Nelson at mile 278.4 (448km). Hailed as a "unique Northern Gift and Souvenir Shop owned and operated by a local trapping family” we had to have a look. Inside we found all sorts of things from intricately carved antlers and $800 wolf furs to humongous snow shows and hunting attire. Will brought his Dad a book about big game hunting in the Yukon and we took a few photos before moving on.
On day two of our Alaska Highway traverse we put in a few more miles before stopping in at the famous Trappers Den Wild Life Emporium on the outskirts of Fort Nelson at mile 278.4 (448km). Hailed as a "unique Northern Gift and Souvenir Shop owned and operated by a local trapping family” we had to have a look. Inside we found all sorts of things from intricately carved antlers and $800 wolf furs to humongous snow shows and hunting attire. Will brought his Dad a book about big game hunting in the Yukon and we took a few photos before moving on.
In Fort Nelson we were in need of a wash and some lunch so we cooked up a feast of Brad and Julie's left over pulled pork in the car park of the rec centre before heading in for a soak in the hot tub and a shower. We wanted to announce to the world of Facebook that we were on the Alaska Highway so went looking for the regular free wifi and power point inside the Rec Centre but couldn’t find either. We could solve the wifi problem by linking the laptop to the 3G on the iPad but we still needed power. I think I forgot to mention that the inverter died a little while back. We think a fuse burnt out given the strong burning smell coming from it one day (amazingly a fire was one thing we still hadn’t had to deal with from the Dodge). Back outside walking to the Dodge we realised we could easily plug in the laptop! In fact there were plugs everywhere out here because everyone had to plug their vehicles in to keep them warm in the cold weather! After making our Facebook post we mucked around the closed Fort Nelson Heritage Museum across the road to give Scout some time outside then continued on.
As we drove we kept our eyes peeled in the hopes of spotting another moose or any large wildlife. I was driving and suddenly Will yells “MOOSE!!!!”. Like every other tourist dose but that the guide book says explicitly NOT to do I vaguely checked there was no traffic behind me before slamming on the brakes and reversing back up the road to hang out the window and look at the moose. That lasted a few seconds before it bound into the cover of the trees. Scout thought it was all very exciting and was starting to learn to look out the window in the same direction we were to see what was going on. Later at Mile 357.5 (575km) The Mile Post description of “fabulous hot cinnamon buns” had us stopping in at Tetsa River Services and Campground to try a cinnamon bun for ourselves. Despite the price we weren’t disappointed, the huge sticky cinnamon buns were to die for and we brought another one (which was enough for us both) and some bread for the next day.
An hour later at 8pm it was still as bright outside as it was in the middle of the day so we pulled over to stretch our legs and have a play on a picturesque frozen river. We slid around for a bit and revealed in the beauty of it all before continuing. Around 10pm at mile 442 just past the Northern Rockies Lodge we spied an old moose sitting in the snow and moments later we found our first Bison also just sitting in the snow by the road. A few miles further and just shy of the Liard Hotsprings we pulled into a rest area and tucked in behind some big skip bins for the night. It was well past 11pm when the sun finally set and it got cold fast. We made sure we wrapped ourselves up warm and Scout too, even though he didn’t seem very impressed by his new bed time outfit which included an old T-shirt and a neoprene vest we had brought him from Sportsmans Warehouse.
On Sunday we woke to clear blue skies and after a quick breakfast we pulled into the renowned Liard Hotsprings. We weren’t the only ones looking to get an early morning swim as we saw several people had spent the night in their vehicles there. Some also with their dogs but without the luxury of two thick sleeping bags nor tinted windows so everyone could see them in their slumber. We nipped down the icy board walk and got changed in the changing sheds as quickly as possible in the freezing cold. The relief was immediate as our toes burned in the heat of the thermal waters. We were in what is known as Alpha pool, there is/was a Beta pool too but after two tourists were attacked and killed by a black bear in 1997 the board walk to Beta pool was removed and in 1998 50 bears in the area were culled. We pushed the bear attack to the back of our minds and took in our postcard perfect surroundings. One side of the pool had been tastefully developed with wooden changing sheds on a deck and wooden steps leading into the pool, while the other side of the pool had been left undeveloped and natural. The floor of the pool was a nice clean gravel and there were several strategically placed concrete benches in the pool to sit on. The hair on our heads may have been frozen but we were toasty warm as we chatted to an older couple who had a few hundred travel stories from back in the day to tell us. Even a few from good old NZ. Back at the Dodge in a fresh set of clothes we had some lunch; meanwhile Scout attempted to chase a squirrel that kept escaping up a tree and taunting him with its chatter.
We drove on a bit further until we discovered a local heard of bison meandering down the highway. Again like tourists the world over we stopped in the middle of the road for a gawk and a few thousand photos. We must have seen about 100 all up they were such amazing animals. Some right in the middle of the road totally unconcerned by the trucks rolling past them, while others were using their huge powerful heads to move snow and uncover the tufts of grass underneath. As we were driving Will and I were wondering what the heck the ploughed track was on the side of the road, it certainly wasn’t fit for vehicles. Then we put two and two together and realised that it had been ploughed to try and encourage the bison to walk on the ploughed track rather than on the highway. It was good in theory but only worked about half the time. We were also told how you had to be very careful when driving at night in bison territory as they keep their heads lowered so their eyes do not reflect in the headlights like the eyes of other animals do. We still had a lot to learn about driving in Alaska and now as I write this from back in NZ I can say its taken me a while to remember that I’m unlikely to hit a bison or deer while driving at night here!
Around 7pm we entered the remote Yukon province and half an hour later at mile 612 (984km) we arrived in the town of Watson Lake. The main attraction of Watson Lake is the Sign Post Forest. Started back in 1942 by Private Carl K. Lindley who put up a sign giving the name and distance to his home town. The attraction now boasts over 100,000 signs and covers several acres. We didn’t have a pre arranged sign to add to the mix and we racked our brains trying to think of something in the Dodge we could part with and scribe our names into but came up with zilch. Instead we had to settle for a look around, in doing so we found quite a few other signs from New Zealand and other far away places. We would have hung around in Watson Lake until the next day if the Northern Lights Centre had been open, but as I mentioned before we were still a few weeks away from the tourist summer season so we pushed on until we came to an unused quarry up a steep hill. Our camp spot was well hidden from the road but not the icy wind so after cooking dinner we went straight to bed.
Day four on the Alaska Highway began with a trip to Rancheria Falls at mile 695.5 (1119.3km). The guide book said it was a 10 minute walk but the trail was covered in a meter of snow. Will put on his snow shoes and rather than struggle behind him I decided to put on my skis which... also resulted in me struggling behind him argh! The skinny board walk didn’t help either! I tried some skijoring by holding onto Scouts lead but the snow was too deep for me to slide easily and so it didn’t work. Eventually we made it to the frozen waterfall and had some salami and cheese on crackers at the lookout before returning to the Dodge. A few hours later we passed through Teslin Lake and crossed the Nisutlin Bay Bridge which is the longest spanning bridge of the Alaska Highway. It has a grated surface so you can see the water underneath you as you drive across, pretty cool and very beautiful.
By 6pm we were almost in Whitehorse but we were afraid if we went into town then we wouldn’t find a place to cook dinner so we pulled into a recreation area and boat ramp on the shore of the still frozen Yukon River. As we drove in we noticed a guy in a beat up old Toyota Tacoma shovelling snow from underneath his tires parked just out on the ice. We were quite experienced at getting stuck ourselves so knew he must have been stuck. We offered to give him a tow back onto the gravel which he greatly accepted. Good deed done we cooked up some one pot wonder for dinner while Scout entertained himself out on the ice with an empty plastic milk bottle. Later that evening we arrived in the town of Whitehorse and headed to where else but the local rec centre. It was super busy for a Monday night and the place was filled with mix of rather interesting people that made us hit the showers soon after arriving. Afterwards we drove down to the Walmart to camp the night.
Wills Facebook post sums up the next morning pretty well "It's been a productive morning... Ran out of milk so had MacDonald’s for breakfast, went grocery shopping and now doing some laundry. Off to the Whitehorse library soon for some power and internet time.” We spent the whole day the the library before going to meet Dan Greg creator of wikioverland and website http://theroadchoseme.com for a beer. Dan had driven the Pan-Am over 2009-2010 in his Jeep Wrangler and was now in the early stages of planning a trip across Africa. We had a few beers and some food while swapping travel tales. Once again we were shown how travel can turn strangers into friends in moments and we hoped to see Dan again at Overland Expo in Arizona. We were currently toying with the idea of driving back to LA after making it to Deadhorse as then we would have a vehicle in LA to get around in, we wouldn’t have to ship all of our stuff home form Alaska and we could take the Dodge over to Arizona for one final hoora at Overland Expo. We had just been invited to attend the expo as VIP travellers meaning free entry to the event and a chance to catch up with a few good friends from the road. Will and I were also contemplating walking the Stampede Trail near Denali National Park (Alaska). The problem was that there was a river crossing to overcome in order to make it to the famous magic bus. We had heard that the river was still frozen but we were a bit unsure, spring was rushing closer everywhere. Even the length of daylight was increasing by a huge eight minutes per day. In the end Dan convinced us to hike the trail, he had hiked it himself at the start of his Pan-Am trip and rated it as one of his highlights. We loved the film ‘Into the Wild’ based on the true story of Chis MacCandless journey of self discovery that ended at the magic bus so decided we had to make the trek ourselves. After saying good bye to Dan we returned to Walmart for the night and saw a few other RV’s there too.
On Wednesday 2nd of April we for some crazy reason declined the offer of a shower at Dans work asking only to fill up our water tank. Filling up our tank had become a real hassle as all the outside taps had been shut off for the winter (to keep the pipes from bursting when the water expands as it freezes). After filling up the tank we strolled around the river frontage and had a look around the huge old SS Klondike paddle steamer on display. We also did some retrieving training with Scout and he was really starting to get quite good at it. We had these things called bumpers that we would throw for him to retrieve and then get him to come back and sit beside one of us then give the bumper. He had it about 80% down depending on the amount of other distractions. A bit like writing this blog I sit down to write it and then a whole hour goes by and I’ve been so distracted by other things that I’ve only written a few lines.
We spent the rest of the day driving north and stopping to look at whatever caught our eye in the endless landscape of the Alaska Highway. Sometime in the evening we stopped off at another old quarry up on a hill just because we could. We had brought some cheap CD’s from the Walmart back in Whitehorse so we had some sing along country music from Luke Bryan pumping and Will was hoofing the bumpers way into the quarry for Scout while we both danced around. The trip was nearing it’s end and we had almost made it, we were happy and there was nothing more to do than live in that very moment. Life on the road was close to the ultimate freedom.
We should have camped there that night but there was still so much light left in the day we pushed on. A few hours later we past the town of Beaver Creek, a quick look at the Mile Post guide book revealed we were quite close to the border and while desperately looking for a place to camp we accidentally left Canada. We hadn’t anticipated crossing the border that day, the Dodge was a mess for one so before officially arriving in Alaska a few miles away we bulldozed down a snowy road to another abandoned quarry. Only this time we got properly stuck in the snow. My elation from earlier in the day was quickly fading as we got to digging ourselves out and hoped no one would tell us off for being there. Like things always seem to have a way of doing, it worked out fine and we slept the night there undisturbed. Then with the chains on in the morning Will worked the Dodge hard and it slowly grunted back up the snowy incline to the road.
In the morning we brushed our hair and tried to make ourselves look less like homeless people who lived in their car. We weren't expecting any problems at the border so it came as a surprise when the border officer said we could only enter the USA for two weeks as the six month visas we had spent so much time and money getting apparently included our time in Canada. We had spent 3.5 months in the US and 2 in Canada so according to their rules that was 5.5 months of our 6 months gone. We had interpreted the visa wrong and were under the impression we would receive another 6 months when we entered Alaska. I was devastated but Will wasn't having a bar of it. He parked the Dodge and went inside to see what was what. The border guy laid it all out to us while his female colleague stood at her office door-way and agreed with him saying there was no way we could get an extension. Will pleaded our case, being mainly that we had to go back to the US so we could export Scout home with us and he had to be 9 months old before we could do that. It was difficult to convince her because we hadn't yet booked our flights home but eventually she came around and after making some phone calls we were granted an extension giving us until the 23rd of May to be out. Phew!! The other option we had thought of was to take the Alaska marine (ferry) highway back to the US as then we wouldn't have to leave the US again. This would work but we would then be marked as overstayers and have difficulty if we ever returned to the US.
Border dramas over we took some photos and a short film of us with the ‘Welcome to Alaska’ sign before moving on. Later in the town of Tok at mile post 1279 (2058km) we stopped in at the public library for some wifi. Most importantly we needed to contact Michelle DeCorso an ex overlander who had been posting on the overlanding Facebook pages with offers of a free place to stay in Fairbanks. I had already been in contact with her during the previous months and by the sounds of it we had struck it perfect as their cabin that they usually rent out to holiday makers was unoccupied so they offered to to us for free! We were pretty excited to be staying in a real Alaskan log cabin!
In the morning we brushed our hair and tried to make ourselves look less like homeless people who lived in their car. We weren't expecting any problems at the border so it came as a surprise when the border officer said we could only enter the USA for two weeks as the six month visas we had spent so much time and money getting apparently included our time in Canada. We had spent 3.5 months in the US and 2 in Canada so according to their rules that was 5.5 months of our 6 months gone. We had interpreted the visa wrong and were under the impression we would receive another 6 months when we entered Alaska. I was devastated but Will wasn't having a bar of it. He parked the Dodge and went inside to see what was what. The border guy laid it all out to us while his female colleague stood at her office door-way and agreed with him saying there was no way we could get an extension. Will pleaded our case, being mainly that we had to go back to the US so we could export Scout home with us and he had to be 9 months old before we could do that. It was difficult to convince her because we hadn't yet booked our flights home but eventually she came around and after making some phone calls we were granted an extension giving us until the 23rd of May to be out. Phew!! The other option we had thought of was to take the Alaska marine (ferry) highway back to the US as then we wouldn't have to leave the US again. This would work but we would then be marked as overstayers and have difficulty if we ever returned to the US.
Border dramas over we took some photos and a short film of us with the ‘Welcome to Alaska’ sign before moving on. Later in the town of Tok at mile post 1279 (2058km) we stopped in at the public library for some wifi. Most importantly we needed to contact Michelle DeCorso an ex overlander who had been posting on the overlanding Facebook pages with offers of a free place to stay in Fairbanks. I had already been in contact with her during the previous months and by the sounds of it we had struck it perfect as their cabin that they usually rent out to holiday makers was unoccupied so they offered to to us for free! We were pretty excited to be staying in a real Alaskan log cabin!
With The DeCorso's ready for us that evening, we took the chance to call Wills family for a catch up then popped across the road at the Liberians recommendation for a gander inside Burnt Paw Gifts and Cabins. They had all sorts of treasures and Will and I ended up purchasing an Ulu or traditional Alaskan knife, one for his family and one for my brother. Of course a week later we saw them in another store for less than the price we'd paid. But you can’t win them all.
Mile post 1387 at Delta Junction marks the end of the ALCAN highway so with a nostalgic feeling about finally having completed this epic highway we pulled in to get a photo with the sign and reflect on the last weeks adventures it was 9pm on the 3rd of April. The evening was drawing out but the excitement of being in Alaska kept us going the last 150kms to Fairbanks. After getting lost a few times and knocking on one wrong door we eventually found the DeCorso’s snow covered property and were warmly welcomed into their cosy cabin. It was heaven and the biggest place we had had to ourselves in ages. We had to be careful to conserve the tank water and keep the diesel heater on low but we both jumped at the chance to have a long over due hot shower then promptly hit the hay.
Rochelle & Will
PS: We have been back in New Zealand now for over 4 months and both are back working full time. It's certainly a change from life on the road but we feel fortunate to have found jobs again so easily. As I write this blog and relive the trip of a lifetime it’s 4:33am and I've got 3 more hours of my night shift at work at the hospital to go…
PS: We have been back in New Zealand now for over 4 months and both are back working full time. It's certainly a change from life on the road but we feel fortunate to have found jobs again so easily. As I write this blog and relive the trip of a lifetime it’s 4:33am and I've got 3 more hours of my night shift at work at the hospital to go…
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