Doctor J
Texas
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Joined: 12/28/2005
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I hope to save people a lot of aggravation. Driving to Alaska from Texas was not a very good idea. In summary, the roads in Canada were beyond horrible. The drive was very scenic but the views in Montana equaled or exceeded those in Canada and Alaska. You can see rivers, lakes, mountains and animals anywhere. You don't need to drive 9000 miles to see them in Alaska and Canada. Get real! What you won't find anywhere is are the glaciers and sea life. I strongly advise not driving to Alaska but flying to Seattle and taking a maritime cruise. It will take less time, less money and save your vehicles. I'm not joking.
The wife and I drove to Alaska via Canada entering at I-15 in Montana in June. We left the Odessa area of west Texas at the end of May. We drove our 38' Travel Supreme DP and towed a 1999 Saturn SL2. We installed Pressure Pro tire sensors on all of the tires and made sure the vehicles were fully serviced. We measured the full height of the RV and calculated it in metric as well. We measured 13' 3" (4 meters)at the top of the satellite dome and figured we would use a minimum bridge height of 14' or 4.25 meters. We were glad we measured that.
We had attempted to exchange $2000 US into Canadian in Great Falls, but that was almost a disaster. The local bank only had about 30 dollars Canadian on hand and directed us to their main office where they promised we would be able to purchase Canadian money for a fee, since we were not customers. They directed us to drive under an overpass to cross the Missouri River and so forth. The overpass height was only 13'. We gave up. Attempting to get back onto US
89, our TomTom GPS sent us under the highway. We managed to drive onto the highway using just our sense of direction. We proceeded towards Canada hoping to find an easier bank somewhere and discovered a nice bank in the town of Shelby, just south of the border off of I15. We exchanged $2000 US into about 2200 Canadian. The bank there was really nice and charged us nothing.
We entered Canada at the end of Montana's I15 on June 1st. New border crossing rules went into effect on that day. They were pulling RVs over for inspection left and right at the crossing in Coutts. There was a sign not to apply the parking air brake. My foot got real tired waiting in a long line pushing on the brake pedal (I was tired and it didn't occur to me to put the transmission into neutral). The Canadian customs agent was rude. She asked me all of the ATF questions. We didn't have any contraband and when she asked about tobacco I said, "We don't smoke." She retorted in her best Ruth Buzzi whiney voice, "That's not what I asked you." Anyway, we proceeded through and amazingly didn't get inspected.
We stopped north of Calgary that night. The camp ground had no full hookup sites left, those mostly went to the long term residents. They had a dump station, which they kept locked at all times so that non-paying campers couldn't mooch off of them by dumping without paying. They apparently didn't count on that inconveniencing their paying campers. We waited for a full hookup site to become available the next morning and dumped there before moving on. In Calgary, we had no problems with our XM or DISH-1000 reception and cell phone coverage was fine. We drove to Edmonton and then went north and west towards Dawson Creek (DC), which was our next stop.
Highway 16 goes to DC. It was a 2 lane highway each side. The older portion of the highway was eastbound and we would experience it on the way back. But on the way to DC, the road was deceptively good. Speed limits were 65-70 and we made good time. In DC, there are confusing roads and traffic circles and my TomTom GPS didn't find the campground. My Delorme Street Atlas USA was much more useful. Cellular coverage was spotty. XM worked but I could only lock onto one of the 3 DISH satellites. Being a Fox News junky, I was concerned, but could at least listen to Fox on XM. At the time, Michael Jackson's death consumed the airways, so there was little else to listen to. We were trying to stop at all Flying Js for diesel. At the time, diesel in the States was about $2.30/gallon and costs about $2.60 in Canada after converting for currency exchange rate (90 cents US gets you about 1 dollar Canadian). We passed a Shell station on the west side of DC on the Alaska Highway and didn't realize it was a Flying J (there was no sign). We would stop there on the way back. In general, fuel was cheapest in Alberta where there was no provincial sales tax.
The views from the highway as we headed towards Whitehorse were very pretty. We stopped at the Real Canadian Superstore in Whitehorse and bought some mild and bread. Then we went to Walmart, which was nearby, to buy some camping supplies we had forgot to bring along: RV wash and a telescoping brush. The roads were getting dusty and the vehicles were pretty dirty.
After Whitehorse, the roads got progressively worse and were one lane each side. It was easy to pass - there was no traffic to speak of. There were slower speed limits and the travel took longer due to road conditions. The closer we got to Alaska, the worse the roads got. The paved roads were the were the worst. There were frequent dips, sometimes several in a row. Some of these were marked with little yellow flags or signs of a rough road but not all of them. We had to slow down to about 35 MPH in order to not bottom out. You never knew where one was. Sometimes you could see a ripple in the road and slow down only to find it was a nothing, and at other times what looked like a minor dip was a big one. Next came the dirt roads. The dust was so thick that you tasted it. Listening to a CD on the dash stereo, it stopped playing. Ejecting the CD showed it was covered with dust. I wiped it off with an eyeglass cloth and it played again, but the CD player refused to eject CDs after that and I had to pull them out with a needle nose pliers (which didn't help the CDs any). When we stopped at a campground, we found everything coated with dirt, even insides drawers and cabinets. Anything with a charge collected the dust, such as TV screens. When we heated up coffee in the microwave oven, it would come out coated with dust. Everyday we had to do a thorough cleaning of everything in the RV.
Next came the gravel roads. The gravel broke both windshields on the RV and the Saturn got hundreds of tiny dings on its windshield and had to be replaced when we got back home. We had a car bra but it not only got gravel in it but the car bra shredded. We had to throw it away. The wires to the Saturn's brake and turn lights were in plastic tubing to protect them. The tubing was torn away and the insulation on the exposed wiring was stripped off resulting in blown fuses and nonfunctional brake lights on the RV. Until I found the fuse, the exhaust brake wouldn't work, either. The Pressure Pro sensors on the Saturn's tires stuck out from the tires. They took a brutal beating and one after another these $50 sensors failed. The ones on the RV were recessed into the wheel wells and were protected. I had brought one extra sensor with me and that was the only one to survive. So I lost 4 sensors ($200). I also had to have the hood of the Saturn painted from the gravel damage done in spite of using the car bra (another $540).
For most of the trip, cellular coverage was nonexistent. We encountered very little traffic. We saw one police car each way on this month long trip, not counting police cars in the larger cities. On the long windy roads, there was often no where to pull over if you were disabled.
The campgrounds we stayed in usually had full hookups available. They rarely had 50 amps service. The weather was generally cool in June and we rarely needed more than one air conditioner at a time. Many camp grounds closed late and some stayed open to midnight. Sites were plentiful and we didn't have make reservations. We found out that school was still in session and once they let out for the summer near the end of June and July, finding sites became more difficult. Camp sites cost from $25 to $35 a night. One campground owner complained of Americans who pulled in late and left early so they could escape paying the fees. Fuel was plentiful but not cheap. We didn't eat out until we got to Alaska. XM radio continued to be available until got to Alaska where it didn't work except in Wasilla, briefly. DISH Network worked almost everywhere, at least we could get one satellite. DirecTV dish owners also said they had reception. Most campgrounds had some kind of free internet connection. As we approached Alaska, we did not see a lot of wildlife. There were mosquitoes, but they were slow and stupid and DEET insect repellent worked very well.
In Canada, we saw beautiful lakes and mountains. We didn't stop to take pictures of the gorgeous half-frozen lakes and promised to stop on the way back but the ice had melted by then. The roads became nerve wracking as we approached the Canadian Alaska border.
The sun never really went down. Several times my wife asked when we were going to bed. I would look out the window and it looked like it was 7 PM in Texas in the summer. But my watch said it was after 11 PM! We tried sleeping masks (got them at BB&B) but they moved around as we slept and the elastic would cut into our ears. It would get slightly dark around 12:30 AM and then the sun would come up with a vengeance at 3:30 AM. The daytime temperatures would rarely get into the 70s.
Crossing into Alaska, our customs people made us park the RV and they took our passports inside the building, then quickly returned and sent us on our way after asking the usual questions. Once in Alaska, the roads were immensely better. There were fewer gravel and dirt roads and very few dips. We stayed in Tok and then went to Fairbanks, Denali, Anchorage and Valdez. Wherever we went, everything in Alaska was much more expensive. Fuel was $1.20 more a gallon for diesel or gasoline. Food prices were ridiculous. Safeway has pretty much a monopoly on everything. Safeways seem to be everywhere and you will need to get a card. We figured that salmon would be dirt cheap, I mean you can get it for $7/pound in the lower 48. Well, it was $12.99 at Safeway and then only if you had a Safeway card. If you didn't it was $29.99. What a rip-off. Every Safeway had the same prices. There are a lot of Carrs markets, but they're really Safeways, too. They often had gas stations at these Safeways and they would give you a few cents off their very high prices. We had read that since Alaska had fuel and refineries, that prices there were the same as the lower 48, but this was not true. Expect to pay at least 20% more for everything you buy in Alaska, from food, fuel, campgrounds. When in Alaskan cities, we unhooked the Saturn and drove around town in it. I think we only bought one tank of gas for it.
There are neat places to eat and visit in all places. The Riverboat cruise and gold mine tour are well worth it in Fairbanks. The Denali park was a disappointment. Wildlife was so far away, you needed a high magnification camera and tripod to see them. We did see some grizzlies walking across the road. You can only drive 15 miles into the park and to see the rest of the park cost us $82 for bus tickets. Mount McKinley is only visible 20% of the time and we were lucky to see it. It is so far away and so high, that is is covered in snow and looks like a cloud in the sky. The best views of the mountain were when we were driving to Anchorage. The "canyon" outside of Denali has many souvenir shops and we bought some denim Alaska jackets and place mats. We couldn't find place mats anywhere else. The campground was there. The water source was glacier and was so full of minerals that we had to use distilled water to bathe.
We drove through famous Wasilla, just north of Anchorage. It's a little smaller than Fairbanks. We didn't see Sarah Pallin. You absolutely cannot see Russia from Wasilla, nor could you in an airplane flying over Wasilla!
Anchorage is their largest city and it had lots of shopping and museums and so forth. Everywhere you go, you are educated about the Alaskan natives and Alaska geology. It can be tiring. Cellular signals were available in all the big towns. XM didn't work anywhere in Alaska and DISH satellite reception was possible in most areas but not usually Echostar 129, needed for most HD channels. The TomTom GPS only worked in the cities of Alaska. It would get lost everywhere else but worked okay in most of Canada. We used it a lot to estimate arrival times.
Our last destination was Valdez. It is a port made famous by its being the end of the Alaskan Pipeline and the Exxon Valdez. Our most expensive single purchase, other than fuel and repairs, was for the Stan Stephens Prince William Sound cruise ($274). It was fantastic. We saw 2 glaciers, sea otters, sea lions, orca whales, porpoises, puffins, bald eagles in the all day cruise. This and driving back through Montana were the most beautiful parts of the trip.
Leaving Valdez, one inside tire suddenly went flat. I brought a portable air compressor with me and after re-inflating it, I never had any more problems with it. Driving back into Canada from Tok, the customs agent was being attacked by mosquitoes. It was comical. He let us pass quickly. The bad roads returned and gradually improved. We took our time going back, staying in the same campgrounds. But the roads were unsatisfactory until we got to Edmonton. We stayed 2 days there and visited the amazing West Edmonton Mall, built by the same people who subsequently built the Mall of America in Minneapolis, but much larger in Edmonton. Try to see it not on a Sunday - they're only open 11-5 then and there's so much to see and do. Driving back to Montana, we stopped in a Bank of Montreal and exchanged our remaining cash, about 200 hundred Canadian, into US dollars. They charged us nothing but I had to sign a form for the exchange. Entering the US, we finally got inspected by our guys. It was raining. The agents seemed to be looking for Canadian produce. We made sure everything had product of the US on it. It was a superficial and friendly inspection and we proceeded without further problems. Driving to Helena, MT, we were impressed by the scenic beauty. We hope to go back - to Montana.
Not including repairs, we estimated this 30 day trip would cost us about 500 a day. We found that it cost closer to $200/day including fuel, campgrounds, food, restaurants, museums and tours, altogether, about $5000. I don't think it was worth. I guess I would have thought that I would have missed something if I hadn't done it, but I have to recommend not driving it because of the distance and terrible roads.
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garym114
Texas
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Joined: 07/24/2006
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Reminds me of a story my wife came home with. She was talking to an administrator at school, I know him, everything he does is one up. Supposed to be a big sportsman. He went Alaska last summer. Wife asked him about the fish he caught. His reply: Oh, I didn't go fishing, I can fish at home.
Took me 10 minutes to recover. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. World class opportunity and he skips out.
Enlarge the pic of my DW in my profile.
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tonyandkaren
pennsylvania
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Did you do this entire trip from Texas to Alaska and back in thirty days?
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grampachet
West Coast
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Joined: 12/14/2006
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Doc J I guess it would be better if you stayed close to home. The world will continue to operate as normal.
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sbishop
Eagle Rock, CA
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Dr. J, I'm sorry that you had such a bad trip, funny how all those things happened to just one person out of the hundreds (maybe thousands) of people that made the trip this year. Like Grampachet said maybe you should stick close to home from now on.
David Bishop
1990 Bounder 27D
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2chiefsRus
USA Somewhere
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Joined: 09/08/2004
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Dr J - sorry to hear you didn't enjoy your 30 day trip to Alaska. We were able to take 120 days from Indiana and back. We had a fantastic time but can't imagine trying to do it in only 30 days. I can see where that time frame would make the trip much more difficult to enjoy.
We're already making a list of things we want to see next time we go.
Dave & Kathy
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Before you give someone a piece of your mind, make sure you can get by with what's left.
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gandalf42
Fort Collins, CO
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Joined: 08/13/2006
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Wow! Hard to imagine we took similar trips! Yes, we had our share of lemons: 3 windshield dings, a broken overhead window from a rogue piece of gravel, one really rude border agent (the last one, as we re-entered the states wouldn't you know), but the overall experiences and memories make those lemons all trivial.
Can't understand the inside dust comments. Yes, we had plenty of dust at times..but on the outside. Seems like you were either driving in dust with the windows open or your RV is sealed very poorly. We had no dust issues except for brief moments of getting the windows up when entering a dusty stretch.
We took about 6 weeks border to border as we had some timing constraints on each side of the trip. It was nice but a little pushed. Next time I would hope to take more time. In any trip, being able to take your time really helps to enjoy the trip.
Mike
Fort Collins, CO
'99 Born Free 26' Rear Side Bed
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robanddi
Burton TX USA
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Joined: 08/11/2003
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We have driven from Texas to Alaska and back five times and will do it again! We love it but would never limit ourselves to only 30 days. Our goal has been to summer in Alaska or Atlantic Provinces to get away from the Texas heat. (I love retirement.)
To each his own. It is paramont to understand what your own priorites are. What is important to one couple (or person) leaves another cold. However, if you like wildlife, scenery, history and people (our loose order), Canada and Alaska can be a great trip. Nothing is perfect and there will be road construction, bugs, dirt, rain and sometimes fires. And yes it costs more than at home. Still we have made lasting friendships and have viewed some absolutely incredible sites which I would not trade for any dollar figure.
Diann
Robert & Diann
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2004 Avalanche
Burton TX
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Turbo Diesel Dude
Green Mountain, NC
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We must have gone to different places. As others mentioned, you should stay in your back yard where you have everything handy and stop trying to "cope" with the rest of the world. Personally, I don't think it's possible for you to enjoy anything due to your attitude. JMHO.
charles weidman
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mockturtle
Northwest
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Joined: 05/31/2005
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Thank you for the honest, detailed report based on your experiences and expectations. While many would not share your conclusions, it's nonetheless valuable information for those planning to go.
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