This is the first post for our 2016 Alaska trip. We planned this trip extensively last
year. The whole trip will be about
11,000 miles and last 3 months. We left
on this journey on June 15 and we are projecting our return home around
September 15th.
We will take US-2 across the UP, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North
Dakota, and on to Glacier National Park in northern Montana. We then proceed north into Alberta through
Banff and Jasper National Parks on up to Dawson Creek in British Columbia. Dawson Creek is mile 0 for the Alaskan
Highway (used to be called the Alcan Highway).
Most people follow this road through the Yukon to Tok, Alaska. We are going to follow it to Whitehorse, Yukon
Territory and turn northwest onto the McKenzie Highway to Dawson City. This is where one of the highlights of the trip
will originate.
Ever since I was a little kid, I have always wanted to
someday drive north as far as I can until I run out of road, or I reach the
Arctic Ocean. It’s been a bucket list
thing for me my whole life. Well I’m
getting very close to full filling this dream.
There are only two roads in all of North America that go
north of the Arctic Circle. They are the
Dalton Highway, north of Fairbanks which goes to Prudhoe Bay. This is called the haul road and was built to
service the Alaska pipeline. It has a
lot of truck traffic. The other is the
Dempster Highway which starts just east of Dawson City and goes to Inuvik,
Northwest Territories. Inuvik is still
150 miles from the Arctic Ocean. The
Dalton does not go to the Arctic Ocean either.
It stops at the oil facilities at Prudhoe Bay. Both roads are unpaved and are about 400
miles long, each, with hardly any services along them at all. The first service area on the way to Inuvik
is at Eagle Plains. A gas station,
mechanic, restaurant, bar, campground and motel. That’s it for the first 200 miles. For this trip, we will leave the camper in
Dawson City and travel to Eagle Plains and stay overnight at the Eagle Plains
Motel. It’s 200 miles of pure wilderness
beauty. The Arctic Circle is about 30
miles north of Eagle Plains. Then we
return to Dawson City the next day. I
will post a picture of us at the Arctic Circle after we achieve that milestone. I’ll send a selfie of me standing next to a
musk ox, too. At this time, we don’t
plan on going further than the Arctic Circle.
They are currently building a 150-mile road north of Inuvik to the native
village of Tuk which is where the McKenzie River delta meets the Arctic
Ocean. It will be completed in 2017 or
2018. I will then drive to the Arctic
Ocean on a future trip.
After returning to Dawson City, we take a ferry across the
Yukon River and drive on the Top of the World Highway into Alaska, through the
village of Chicken, and then on to Tok, where it meets up with the end of the
Alaskan Highway.
We pass through Fairbanks on the way to Denali National Park
where we will spend three or four days.
Then swing east on the Denali Highway to the Richardson Highway, south
to Wrangle- St. Elias National Park and then on to Valdez. There we are taking a boat ride to watch
Pacific Life whales (humpbacks) breech and icebergs calving off of glaciers,
and sea otters breaking clams on their stomachs. And maybe a puffin or two.
Then a trip to Seward and maybe Homer.
Then we start back, but still have a lot more to see. Back up to Tok and onto the Alaskan highway
to Haines Junction. To get to Haines, by
car, you have to go into Canada and drop down back into the panhandle and then
drive back up again. The same for
Skagway. We will do both. In Skagway we are going to take a train ride
on the Yukon & White Pass Railroad.
Then back up to the Alaskan Highway only to drop down again on another
highway through British Columbia called the Cassiar Highway. Another scenic wonder that enters Alaska at a
little town called Stewart (Canada) Hyder (USA).
After that we’ll either drop down into Washington, or cross
over to Banff and drop down into Montana.
Yellowstone for a few weeks will wind up the trip.
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