Tips, tricks, facts and myths.

Road to Alaska:  Tips, tricks, facts and myths.  

Gulf Shores, AL to Fairbanks AK.  Route through Paducah, Fargo, Portal Crossing, Cochrane AB to Dawson Creek, Alcan to Fairbanks.  Ford F250 Super Duty Diesel and 24’ bumper pull trailer.  We brought 1, 5 gallon jug of diesel with us.  (Didn’t use it on the trip.)

We had 31 fill ups on our journey.  It should be noted that we filled up any time we saw a station beyond Cochrane Alberta and were near a 1/2 tank.  Multiple stations in the Milepost were closed due to being out of business or for sale.  If you think (should I fill up?) do it.  

Alaska is a destination, but the journey shouldn’t be overlooked.  There is so much to see along the way, even more if it’s between May 1 and September 15th.  Take your time, smell the flowers and see the sites.

 

Things are expensive in Canada, gas and food in particular.  They have a ton of taxes.  GST, provincial taxes, liquor taxes…. I’m not saying you have to stock up on tons of things.  There are many stores in Fairbanks and Anchorage that are pretty reasonable.  Fred Meyer, Walmart, Costco, Safeway (Fred Meyer was very reasonable in our opinion). Getting back to Canada, there is not much between Fort St John and Whitehorse.  FYI Walmart in Fort St John requires you to pay a Looney to use a shopping cart.  

Boondocking:  if you are OK with no hookups, there are so many places to pull over and sleep.  We ran into quite a few places that were still snowed in, but used Harvest Hosts, Boondockers Welcome and multiple rest areas.  

Road conditions:  we found the roads to be in good shape (no different than the average roads in the lower 48). Things did get a little spicy at Destruction Bay pretty much to Fairbanks.  There were some patches of good road in there.  Pay close attention to orange flags, traffic cones/pylons, and signs with (3 hills) on them.  This means things are going to get a little western.  Keep your eyes open for the frost heaves and holes that aren’t marked too, they are plentiful.  After Destruction Bay, we had a few spots where we slowed to 10.  As one of our YouTube families said, “Pay attention to Bob”.  Bob is the rig in front of you.  If they dip, rock and roll, etc. you will soon.  FOS also recommended watching the white (fog line) if present to see road imperfections.  The road is passable and all part of the journey.  It will break things if you aren’t paying attention though.  A plug kit and good air pump may be a good idea.  

Communication:  we had a VHF/UHF radio with us and didn’t need it.  If you are caravanning, some Midland or Motorola radios may be handy.  Speaking of radio, there are vast stretches of highway with no radio stations.  One of our co-workers said their satellite radio was a waste because it didn’t work this far north.  Katy and I downloaded books and a few podcasts.  We

also listened to the same 50 songs we had downloaded to iTunes.  

Bear Spray:  this one got us.  We saw conflicting information online prior to Canada so we got rid of our two cans.  IT IS LEGAL to bring through Canada as long as it’s the big can and has a bear on it or UDAP printed on it.  Regular pepper spray is a no-go.  Costco currently has a great deal on two cans with belt holsters.  I bought one replacement can at Three Bears in Tok.  

Mosquitoes:  yes they are out and yes they are big and the air is thick with them.  The locals say these are the big slow ones and the fast attack mosquitoes will hatch in June.  They aren’t the worst I’ve ever seen…yet.  That was at a campground between Yellowstone and Grand Teton.